The Poppy War

The Poppy War is the first book of The Poppy War series by R. F. Kuang, published by Harper Voyager in May 2018.

The Poppy War is a historical fiction novel based on the events of the Second Sino-Japanese war. The book follows the life Fang 'Rin' Runin, a war orphan from Nikara. It is followed by The Dragon Republic (2019) and The Burning God (2020).

Synopsis
A brilliantly imaginative talent makes her exciting debut with this 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.

Plot Summary
Rin continues her studies under Jiang until the Federation of Mugen, an island off the coast of Nikan, declares war on Nikan. The Federation marches on Sinegard and the students are all drafted into the war. Sinegard almost falls, if not for Jiang and Rin exposing their shamanistic powers. Jiang disappears and Rin is shipped off the Cike division in order to protect her from the infighting of the Twelve Warlords. There she is under the command of Altan Trengsin, a former start pupil at Sinegard and the last of an extinct race called the Speerly. Altan attempts to teach her how to call upon the Phoenix at will while the Cike and several other divisions attempt to hold off the Federation of Mugen from capturing the city of Khurdalain. During the siege, Rin is no closer to calling upon the Phoenix at will but she does make a new friend. Nezha and the Fifth Division are sent as reinforcements for Khurdalain. Rin and Nezha strike up a friendship before Nezha is captured by the Mugen during a gas attack. Soon after, the Cike Seer Chaghan, determines that the Federation is marching on Golyn Niis, the wartime capital of Nikan. When the Cike arrive at Golyn Niis, they find complete and utter devastation. The Federation had done unspeakable atrocities to the civilians and soldiers within its walls and had then kept marching. This genocide angers Rin and Altan. Altan hatches a plan to free the shamans contained within Chuluu Korikh in order to create an unstoppable army. However, when they arrive at Chuluu Korikh, the pair realize the error of their plan and that those within the mountain are vessels for their gods and have lost their humanity. One of the shamans, Feylen, does escape the mountain and disappears before Rin and Altan can contain him. While Rin and Altan were in, the Federation surrounded the mountain and since they cannot call upon the gods while in Chuluu Korikh, Rin and Altan are captured.

Altan and Rin are drugged with opium and taken to the testing facility that Altan was imprisoned in as a child. During an instance where she and Altan are both drugged with opium, Altan takes her on a spiritual journey throughout the past of Speer. Rin receives the blessing of the ghosts of Speer and when they come out of their drugged state, she manages to call down the Phoenix and orchestrate an escape for both her and Altan. However, there are too many Federation soldiers so Altan sacrifices himself so that Rin will be able to swim to the Island of Speer as an escape. While on Speer, Rin discovers the underground temple of the Phoenix and makes a bargain with the Phoenix in order to wipe out the entire Federation of Mugen. She burns with the fire of the Phoenix before she is able to crawl onto the beach of Speer. Three days later, she awakens on a ship that is being sailed by the Cike. Kitay is also on this ship and he informs her of how she completely destroyed the islands of the Mugenese by triggering a long dormant volcano. Kitay is disgusted by her decision to do this but Rin hardly feels any remorse for the death she has caused as she has deemed it a necessity in order to save Nikan. Chaghan and Qara then board the ship, as they had been sent on a mission by Altan to destroy a dam in the northern part of Nikan, thereby flooding the plain below and killing thousands as well. At the end of the novel, Rin realizes that she and other shamans make their own destiny and their choices are not controlled by the gods. She makes the decision to use the gods as tools of destruction and rain down devastation on all of her enemies that are still left on Nikan.

Book Information

 * ISBN: 9780062662569
 * ISBN-10: 0062662562
 * Publisher: Harper Voyager
 * Publication Date: May 1st, 2018
 * Pages: 544

Audiobook Information

 * Length: 18 hours and 57 minutes
 * Release Date: May 1st, 2018
 * Publisher: Harpercollins Publishers Limited
 * Narrator: Emily Woo Zeller

Content Warnings

 * Self-harm
 * Suicide
 * Violent rape
 * Sexual assault
 * Murder
 * Massacres
 * Brutalization
 * Mutilation
 * Torture
 * Substance abuse
 * Abuse
 * Emotional abuse
 * Physical abuse
 * Relationship abuse
 * Human experimentation
 * Chemical warfare
 * Genocide

Dedication
The book was dedicated to Iris Chang, an Asian American author who wrote about The Rape of Nanking. The events documented in Chang's book directly inspired some of the scenes in The Poppy War.

Cover Art
The cover art was illustrated by Jung Shan Chang and cover design by Dominic Forbes. According the Dominic Pomerico, editorial director at Harper Voyager, the original cover used different colours, but changes were made after a conversation with Kuang. The red accent originally employed was changed to orange, as "[Kuang] pointed out that in Chinese culture, red and white are rarely mixed. Most people know of red as a color of joy and good luck, but white generally represents mourning and death—so mixing the two is taboo".

Kuang is impressed with the illustration on the cover, saying “It’s incredible to see your own characters come to life, and I honestly don’t know how the illustrator managed to portray Rin precisely the way I’ve always imagined her."