The Poppy War (The Poppy War #1) by R.F Kuang

Our hero has lots of adventures as she rises through the ranks in a bid to prove herself to allies and foes alike. This first part of the book is fast-paced. Time flies as a lot of character development goes on.

This is one of those reads that you actually find pleasant while not getting fully engrossed in the story.

It starts off as a Kvothe-style coming-of-age tale. There’s an unlikely hero coming from the backwater of a rural province to study martial arts in a prestigious institution in the national capital. Our hero has lots of adventures as she rises through the ranks in a bid to prove herself to allies and foes alike. This first part of the book is fast-paced. Time flies as a lot of character development goes on.

I found the second half of the book to be a bit of a letdown. The author suddenly introduces certain themes whose backgrounds (I felt) are not properly laid in the book’s first half. It drastically slows down the pace of a previously fast-paced read.

The story is enjoyable without particularly catching fire. It’s a sort of historical fantasy… There are hints of oriental culture littered through…