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The Dragon Republic starts out with a bang; right out of the gates as I like to say. Rin is messed the hell up! She's fighting Opium addiction and trying to control her power. I had so many moments that I felt for her, so many moments I wanted to strangle her for being so stupid and childish. But most of all, I loved watching her grow in this book. Rin went through some sh•t people. Not just Rin but her whole crew; whom I adored.
Though she does not want to live, she refuses to die until she avenges the traitorous Empress who betrayed Rin’s homeland to its enemies. Her only hope is to join forces with the powerful Dragon Warlord, who plots to conquer Nikan, unseat the Empress, and create a new republic.
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As a summary: Dark fantasy lovers, this series are getting so much better. I highly recommend this second book of this series! Kitay’s face was purple with anger. If he was at all relieved to see Nezha alive, he didn’t show it. “Your men tried to blow up my house!” The company has teamed with financing and production banner SA Inc to develop and finance the female-led, fantasy epic, which combines the history of twentieth-century China and a world of gods and monsters. Rin writes to Moag and tells her that Vaisra plans on double crossing her. Hopefully this will get Rin into Moag’s good books if things go sour here.
The Poppy War is the story of Fang Runin, or Rin, a young girl orphaned from the Poppy Wars that ravaged the Nikan Empire. Determined to avoid the fate of so many other war orphans, Rin takes the Keju, an empire-wide civil service exam, and wins herself a spot at Sinegard, the most prestigious military academy in all of Nikan. She thinks this is her key to a good life, but Sinegard is full of the scions of wealthy families who are prejudiced against her because of her origins, as well as her brown skin. Chief amongst her bullies is Nezha, the son of the Warlord of Dragon Province; and Venka, the daughter of another wealthy family from the Dragon Province, who has a sibling-like relationship with Nezha. Mason, Everdeen (2018-05-02). "Best science fiction and fantasy books out this month (brief book review)". Washington Post . Retrieved 2 September 2018. White, Peter (2020-12-08). "Starlight Media Developing TV Adaptation Of Rebecca F. Kuang's Fantasy Books Including 'The Poppy War' ". Deadline. Archived from the original on 2022-04-14 . Retrieved 2022-04-14.I was nervous going into this book that it wouldn't be as great as the first one but here we are... If nothing lasted and the world did not exist, all that meant was that reality was not fixed. The illusion she lived in was fluid and mutable, and could be easily altered by someone willing to rewrite the script of reality.” He’d desperately wanted to explore those caves for years—and today would be the day to do it, when everyone was too busy to pay attention. But it was his responsibility to protect Mingzha. He’d never been trusted to watch his brother alone before; until today he’d always been too young. But this week Father was in the capital, Jinzha was at the Academy, Muzha was abroad at the Gray Towers in Hesperia, and the rest of the palace was so frazzled over Mother’s sudden illness that the servants had hastily passed Mingzha into Nezha’s arms and told them both to keep out of trouble. Nezha wanted to prove he was up to the task. For while the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks across a narrow sea. The militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikan for decades after the First Poppy War, and only barely lost the continent in the Second. And while most of the people are complacent to go about their lives, a few are aware that a Third Poppy War is just a spark away . . . the only thing preventing me from giving this five stars is the fact that the plot is so war/politics/strategy heavy. which is such a silly thing to complain about, i know. i know this is a war-based historical fiction fantasy novel/series, but its the fantasy elements that really draw me into the story and sell it. i wish i could enjoy the war aspect more, but my eyes tend to glaze over long paragraph of tactical descriptions. thats no fault of the books, though.
Yet the heavy garment lying half-buried in the sand was undeniably Yin Vaisra’s. Nezha could see the crest of the dragon embroidered in silver thread against the rich cerulean-blue dye that only members of the House of Yin were permitted to wear. Three times throughout its history, Nikan has fought for its survival in the bloody Poppy Wars. Though the third battle has just ended, shaman and warrior Rin cannot forget the atrocity she committed to save her people. Now she is on the run from her guilt, the opium addiction that holds her like a vice, and the murderous commands of the fiery Phoenix—the vengeful god who has blessed Rin with her fearsome power. I so enjoyed The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang ... It is all about survival, and how a person's will and determination can change the course of their life. I loved the central character, felt her pain and her far-too-brief moments of joy, and just loved how Kuang breathes fresh life into the warrior training school ... Highly recommended' As with its predecessor, the narrative was told exclusively through Rin’s perspective. The events of the first book have left Rin riddled with guilt, regret, and anger. To say that Rin is angry is seriously putting it mildly. She’s angry at the world, at herself, at her friends, at everything. War has changed her and her companions, and yet they still can’t catch a break; peace remains firmly lodged out of grasp and unforgettable loss continues to happen. This is a grim book, written with more mature and refined prose; the character’s darkness and personality elicited emotional responses of all kinds from me. I mentioned in my review of the first book that that Rin is one of my favorite heroines in fantasy because I found her to be very well-written and her personality traits were really clear. That being said, something you have to know is that Rin is inspired by Mao Zedong, Rin does make questionable decisions. She has no impulse control, and she does a lot of stupid things because of her anger and what happened to her. In her path toward overcoming legacy, opium addiction, and accepting her power, Kuang deconstructs Rin’s character completely down to her core, presenting her at her worst for almost the entirety of the first half. I’ll admit that in the first half, there were moments where I wanted to slap her several times, and in my honest opinion, this period of time could’ve been shortened a bit. However, seeing her at her worst did make her the fruition of her character development in the second half stronger. This situation reminded me of Blood of Assassins by R.J. Barker, another book I really loved which involved the main character being driven heavily by darkness and rage, but came out all the better once the character was able to overcome it. I highly praise Kuang for her characterization for Rin and the side characters. Most of the side characters helped immensely in bringing moments of heartwarming and light to balance Rin’s life; their interactions were charming, compelling, and I loved reading about them.
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Publishers Weekly called the book "a strong and dramatic launch to Kuang's career," [22] while Michael Nam, writing in New York Daily News, referred to The Poppy War as an ambitious start to a trilogy. [23]
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