Welcome back to Rate & Review Books with NCBC! 

May’s book review comes from a Columbus area Next Chapter Book Club that first began meeting in 2013. The club continues to meet at a local Barnes & Noble each Tuesday evening.

Book or series of books: The Poppy War

Author: R.F. Kuang

First, please tell our readers a little about your book club.

“It’s pretty nice,” says Sam. “We meet at Barnes & Noble each week.” Like many other Next Chapter Book Club members, Sam often arrives early to browse around the bookstore and get a snack.

Some people have been in this club since the beginning, and others have joined along the way. Over the years, the group has generally preferred science fiction/fantasy books, as well as a few beloved non-fiction titles.

Brian adds, “Sometimes we’ll play games instead of reading.” Scrabble is a favorite game of several members in this book club.

Shalom shares, “It’s nice that a group of adults can meet to improve reading and social skills and do positive things.” Others nod in agreement with Shalom. “It’s a very welcoming group,” he says.

Co-facilitator Cassie adds with a smile, “It’s a great way to end a day.”

Left to right: Brian, Cassie, Alex, Scott, Shalom, Sam (standing); Not pictured: Luci, Manisha

What is The Poppy War about?

According to Goodreads.com, The Poppy War is “an epic historical military fantasy, inspired by the bloody history of China’s twentieth century and filled with treachery and magic.” The Poppy War is the first book in a fantasy trilogy that offers a magical yet violent reimagining of Chinese history.

Co-facilitator Alex states that the main character, Rin, “does not want to marry, so she joins a military academy and becomes a soldier.” Everyone in the story is surprised by Rin’s talents, even Rin herself.

“She controls fire,” adds Cassie, who says that Rin has special powers.

In the story, “humans use hallucinogenic drugs to access the gods, while the gods are using humans for their own personal agendas,” Alex explains.

“Yeah, there are some magical creatures in the book,” says Sam, “but there’s a lot of substance abuse and a lot of other negative things. I didn’t like it.”

“But you asked for months to read it,” Alex responds while laughing.

“I know, but I didn’t know what was in it,” Sam replies. He shares that the book sounded good at first, but ended up being darker and more graphic than he would have liked.

Calling the book a “grim, dark fantasy”, Sam continues, “I guess it’s supposed to be a social commentary on how war can scar generations.”

To learn out more about The Poppy War, click HERE.

How easy was this book to understand?

“I’ve had easier things than this, to be honest,” shares Brian, and the group laughs in agreement.

Scott adds, “It was kind of hard to follow.”

“There’s a difference between reading and understanding,” Shalom notes. “Everyone took their time.”

Despite taking things slowly, it appears that The Poppy War was a more complicated story than most of the book club members would prefer.

Cassie also notes that in some cases, it was “tough to read aloud the graphic parts of the book,” as it contains both physical and sexual violence.

What did you like about the book?

Despite the dark elements in the book, Cassie says, “I liked the fantasy aspects.”

Alex notes that she enjoyed some of the worldbuilding in the book. Worldbuilding is the process of building an imaginary world or setting, such as the fantasy version of China in The Poppy War.

Were there any parts you didn’t like? If so, what were they?

This book includes both historical events as well as entirely made-up events, which sometimes seemed “convenient” to club members. For example, Alex says, “The author invented a whole new people group just to make them the scapegoats.”

Cassie shares, “The main character arc also took a dark turn.”

Unsurprisingly, Sam states, “I didn’t like the tone in general.”

If another Next Chapter Book Club was thinking about reading this book, what would you tell them?

Brian says, “Yes, if they know before beforehand what is in it!”  Everyone agrees.

What book or series of books has been your favorite so far?

• Sam: The Aurora Cycle, a series by Amie Kaufman
• Brian: The Answer Is…: Reflections on My Life, by Alex Trebek
• Cassie: M is for Magic, by Neil Gaiman (specifically, Cassie likes the short story format)
• Alex: Seraphina, a series by Rachel Hartman
• Scott: The Answer Is…: Reflections on My Life, by Alex Trebek
• Shalom: Shalom joined the club in the middle of The Poppy War. He most recently enjoyed a biography of Ulysses S. Grant.

Please rate this book on a scale from 1 to 5 stars.

This club gave The Poppy War 2.67 out of 5 stars.