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The Poppy War
A Fantasy Novel by R. F. Kuang
Book 1 of the The Poppy War Series
Subgenres & Tropes:
- Military Fantasy,
- Historical Fantasy,
- Magic Academy,
- Grimdark,
- Chosen One
This book is for you if you're into...
- Grimdark fantasy rooted in twentieth-century Chinese history
- Misfit heroines who channel rage into dangerous magic
- Elite military academies with brutal class and gender dynamics
From Little Stack
Nobody believes Rin could ever be anything great. She’s an orphaned war refugee, a peasant, abused, and at the very bottom of the social hierarchy with no future to look forward to. Her only ability lies in being obsessive and intensely driven to learn enough to force her way into the military academy—which is impossible, but of course she pulls it off (and what a way she does it, too!).
Even in the academy, she’s mocked, bullied, and ostracized. All that breeds a deep-rooted anger in her, and it’s that anger which feeds the divine magic that she unlocks. The world will come to respect her for a hero—or fear her as she burns it all down. It’s one of my favorite uses of the misfit hero trope, and does an amazing job of twisting it to create a dark, vengeful character.
One of Time Magazine’s 100 Best Fantasy Books of All Time
From #1 New York Times bestselling author of Babel and Yellowface, the brilliantly imaginative debut of R.F. Kuang: an epic historical military fantasy, inspired by the bloody history of China’s twentieth century and filled with treachery and magic, in the tradition of Ken Liu’s Grace of Kings and N.K. Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy.
When Rin aced the Keju—the Empire-wide test to find the most talented youth to learn at the Academies—it was a shock to everyone: to the test officials, who couldn’t believe a war orphan from Rooster Province could pass without cheating; to Rin’s guardians, who believed they’d finally be able to marry her off and further their criminal enterprise; and to Rin herself, who realized she was finally free of the servitude and despair that had made up her daily existence. That she got into Sinegard—the most elite military school in Nikan—was even more surprising.
But surprises aren’t always good.
Because being a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south is not an easy thing at Sinegard. Targeted from the outset by rival classmates for her color, poverty, and gender, Rin discovers she possesses a lethal, unearthly power—an aptitude for the nearly-mythical art of shamanism. Exploring the depths of her gift with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychoactive substances, Rin learns that gods long thought dead are very much alive—and that mastering control over those powers could mean more than just surviving school.
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 . . .
Rin’s shamanic powers may be the only way to save her people. But as she finds out more about the god that has chosen her, the vengeful Phoenix, she fears that winning the war may cost her humanity . . . and that it may already be too late.
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