Book · 2018
The Poppy War
by R. F. Kuang
A war orphan tests into an elite military academy, awakens the power of a fire god, and becomes the architect of the genocide the history books warned about.
What does Reddit think of The Poppy War?
r/Fantasy dominates the conversation — 464 of 760 mentions against 245 in r/suggestmeabook and 51 in r/printSF — and it isn't kind. One frequently upvoted comment (↑336) is explicit that the problem isn't the depicted horrors of "mass torture and genocide that most readers were not prepared for" but that the book is "just poorly written." Another says they "slogged through like 95%" before giving up on the prose (↑225), and a third calls the trilogy "pretty bad" while noting the consensus has shifted recently (↑267). The unlikeable-protagonist complaint is treated as intentional rather than accidental: Rin "is not intended to be a likeable character," one reader notes, adding that character work generally isn't R.F. Kuang's strength, even while crediting the premise's "what if Mao were a woman" hook (↑245). Others just find it "too depressing" to finish (↑231). Mentions peaked at 155 in 2020 and have drifted down to 85 in 2025.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · grimdark history-inspired violence
- · deliberately unlikeable protagonist
- · prose quality contested
- · trilogy quality decline after book one
Common praise
- + One reader credits the premise itself, calling the "what if Mao were a woman" hook cool even while criticizing the execution (↑245).
- + The book gets treated as genuinely upsetting rather than gratuitous — one commenter clarifies the objection isn't the depicted horrors themselves (↑336).
Common criticism
- − One commenter says they read the first book, dropped the second, and won't be finishing the trilogy (↑382).
- − Another slogged through 95% before the prose finally beat them (↑225).
- − A third calls the whole trilogy "pretty bad," noting the online consensus has only recently started shifting that way (↑267).
- − One reader just finds it too depressing to get through (↑231).
Who it's for
This rewards readers who want grimdark violence tied to actual history — the parallel to real genocide is the point, not incidental gore — but you should know going in that Rin isn't built to be liked; one commenter says that's deliberate, and that character work generally isn't Kuang's strength (↑245). If prose style matters more to you than premise, the loudest complaint in the data (↑225, ↑336) is specifically about the writing, not the content. Squeamish readers should sit this one out regardless of how good the premise sounds.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for The Poppy War?
Top-upvoted quotes across the subreddits where this book is mentioned. Click through to read the full thread.
“The Poppy War. Surprised I don't see this. Recommended many times by many people. Finished the first book and dropped the second. Just no.
“Just one, The Poppy War. Not because of explicitly depicted horrors of mass torture and genocide that most readers were not prepared for in an otherwise mostly tame novel, but because it's just poorly written.
“The consensus seems to have changed recently, but the Poppy War trilogy was pretty bad imo. Faithful and the Fallen by John Gwynne was pretty forgettable. The Licanius Trilogy by James Islington was quite a slog.
“Short answer: no. Not only because Rin is not intended to be a likeable character, but also because character writing is not one of RF Kuang's strengths as an author. *The Poppy War* has a cool premise ("what if Mao were a woman?" and also "how does someone like Mao become Mao?") with some didactic…
“The poppy war is just too depressing for me.
“Poppy War/Traitor Baru Slogged through like 95% of poppy War and finally had to put it down. Writing style/pose really got to me.
“You mention in YA and NA in your body, but not your title, so I am going to throw out books that are also Adult (because that's more what I read). I also am going to second another commenter who mentions that there's not always a 1=1 on race/culture when you're talking about made up worlds. * The G…
“The Poppy War Kings of the Wyld
Convinced? Pick up The Poppy War
Readers also mention
Books that share discussion threads with The Poppy War — counted from the comments, not curated.
Babel, or the Necessity of Violence
R. F. Kuang
An Oxford translation student discovers the empire's magic runs on stolen language, and the fallout got the book pulled into a Hugo Awards scandal.
Mexican Gothic
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A socialite travels to a decaying Mexican estate to check on her cousin and finds a house that will not let anyone leave.
Circe
Madeline Miller
An exiled witch on a deserted island turns men into pigs and spends three thousand years deciding what she actually wants.
The Way of Kings
Brandon Sanderson
A suicidal bridge slave assigned to the war camp's deadliest crew starts hearing storms answer when he gives orders.
Legends & Lattes
Travis Baldree
An orc mercenary retires from adventuring to open a coffee shop in a city that has never heard of coffee.
Spinning Silver
Naomi Novik
A moneylender's daughter boasts she can turn silver into gold, and the winter king of the Staryk takes her up on it, then takes her as his wife.
The Poppy War — frequently asked
Is The Poppy War too dark to read?+
Depends on your tolerance, but the more common complaint isn't the darkness itself. One top comment (↑336) states directly that the issue isn't "explicitly depicted horrors of mass torture and genocide" but that the book is "just poorly written." Others (↑231) do find it simply too depressing to finish.
Is Rin a likeable protagonist in The Poppy War?+
No, and Reddit treats that as intentional. One comment (↑245) says "Rin is not intended to be a likeable character," while adding that character writing generally isn't one of R.F. Kuang's strengths even when the premise works.
Does The Poppy War trilogy get worse after book one?+
Multiple commenters think so. One reader (↑382) finished the first book, dropped the second, and calls it "just no." Another (↑267) says the trilogy was "pretty bad," while noting the online consensus on it has only recently started to shift.
Why do people dislike the writing in The Poppy War?+
It's the single most repeated complaint in the sample. One reader "slogged through like 95%" before the prose finally stopped them (↑225), and a separate top comment (↑336) singles out the writing quality, not the violent content, as the actual problem.