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A Promising Vision That Failed to Connect
The Poppy War presents a compelling and brutal premise, drawing clear inspiration from 20th-century Chinese history. While I can see the ambitious vision R.F. Kuang was aiming for, the execution ultimately fell flat for me.
I struggled to connect with any of the characters, who felt more like vehicles for the plot than fully realized people. This was compounded by a narrative that felt disjointed; the plot's sharp pivot from a magical academy story to a harrowing wartime account lacked a cohesive flow, making it difficult for me to become invested.
Ultimately, the book suffered from an unclear identity, never fully committing to or successfully blending its competing tones and genres. It's a novel with undeniable ambition, but for me, its potential remained frustratingly unrealised.
Post from the A Song of Legends Lost forum
So… when’s the next book coming out😂 You can’t give me amazing worldbuilding not expect me to want the series and side stories completed!!
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The Wheel of Time is a series of high fantasy novels by American author Robert Jordan, with Brandon Sanderson as a co-author for the final three.
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