This book, and the trilogy as a whole, was a difficult one for me. I went into the series with quite high expectations based on the fact that it was a fantasy series couched in Chinese mythology and culture (which is a rare spawn) and also due to the high praise that I'd seen on a lot of internet reviews and reading lists. However, I ended up having a two main issues with it that significantly impacted my enjoyment, even though there were some very powerful aspects to the story.

The first was the use of the Chinese mythos and history. I'm not sure if this is just a result of cultural background, but I grew up with a lot of Chinese stories and folklore, especially the Journey to the West. The Poppy War draws a lot of these, but while these elements was creatively used in some ways, many of the references felt very on the nose to me. For a more Western comparison, it would be the equivalent of having a story set in a fantasy alternative universe, but having Zeus or Hercules being dropped in. This definitely broke the immersion for me, and together with the very overt historical allusions also, I felt the worldbuilding could never decide on whether it was trying to create it's own setting with its own lore, or whether it was just reinterpreting and amalgamating aspects from the real world.

The second was that I did not find any of the characters inherently likeable. While I understand that Rin was not intended to be the typical hero that the reader is meant to root for, I found her incredibly difficult to engage with, mainly because everything that she did or experienced was an extreme. As a rather rationally minded person myself, it was very frustrating to see the lack of character development in this sense, how even with everything she goes through, down to the very last chapters she continues to make rash decisions and be completely unreasonable. This frustration is exacerbated by the fact that the reader is constantly reminded about how 'powerful' she supposedly is, so much so that she considers herself a 'god' by this last book, yet she is constantly upstaged either in scenarios where her abilities aren't sufficient, or she just acts on impulse or is reckless. The result is that very few of her victories felt deserved, and it often seemed like she managed to achieve what she did by chance, or just by virtue of being the main character. Some of the other characters were more convincing - Nezha for instance saw good development - but because the story is almost entirely from Rin's perspective, the reader isn't able to get a wholesome picture of any of them. As others have mentioned, this is very much a series that could have benefitted from multiple perspectives, as well as more distinctive character voices.

It also has to be said that I'm not particularly well-versed in grim-dark fantasy, and from what I've seen, The Poppy War series has a lot of the trademarks of that subgenre. It may be that this kind of fantasy is just not for me, because although I felt Rebecca Kuang did a phenomenal job in depicting the horrors of war, both physical and psychological, the overall tone of the books, together with the issues I had above, meant that my level of actual enjoyment gradually diminished the more I got through the books, and I was more motivated by the goal of finishing than actually having fun reading. The final verdict is that while I can appreciate what the books were trying to achieve, they didn't end up ticking the boxes for me. ( )

Absolutely devastating in a multitude of ways, although not totally unexpected ones. I think certain characters have been barreling towards an inevitable point for some time now- but that still doesn’t mean it's not almost excruciatingly difficult to watch happen. ( )

DNF at 400
Some good parts and some not very so.
I slowly lost interest in the lead characters. ( )

Series Info/Source: This is the third (and final) book in the Poppy Wars series. I got a paperback version of this for my birthday.

Thoughts: I really enjoyed how this series wrapped up. The ending was very in keeping with the feel and themes of the whole series.

In this final novel in The Poppy War trilogy, Rin is initially focusing on taking over the south provinces, especially her home town of Tikany. However, when the leaders of the south betray her, she decides to make an army of her own out of the people of the south and not only take back the south, but also take on the Dragon Republic. Unfortunately, she is only focused on vengeance and not on the leadership that will be needed after the war to pull her country out of the mess it's spiraled into.

This is very well written and engaging. The pace is fast and, even though there are a lot of places and people to follow, Kuang does an excellent job of making this easy for the reader.

The tone to this remains grim, with a lot of violence and war. There is a lot of discussion of what (and how many people) is okay to sacrifice in order to provide the country with what Rin thinks is a brighter future. There is some great insight into leaders and war and how these leaders justify some of their horrendous actions. There is also a heavy theme of an invader with better technology and what should be done when a society could really benefit from that technology but doesn't want to be ruled by the invader.

If you enjoyed the first two books in the series, you will enjoy this one as well. I thought the way everything was wrapped up was very appropriate and in keeping with the tone of the series.

My Summary (5/5): Overall I enjoyed this book a lot and really enjoyed the series as a whole. The whole series has wonderful world building, amazing characters, intriguing magic, and a well done political plot. I would recommend to those who enjoy epic fantasies and don't mind a lot of war and violence. This book does an excellent job tying up the series and stays true to the series' themes and tone. I am excited to read Kuang's book "Babel" at some point in the future. ( )

pain. I'm in pain. ( )