The Poppy War
China

The Poppy War

by Rebecca F. Kuang

War & Conflict Historical Fiction Fantasy Fiction 2019

Summary

An orphan from a poor southern province. An elite military academy. A power that could destroy an empire.

When Rin unexpectedly earns a place at Sinegard, the Nikara Empire’s most prestigious military academy, she believes she has finally escaped a future of poverty and forced marriage. But prejudice, relentless training, and the discovery of her extraordinary shamanic abilities soon push her into a world far more dangerous than she imagined. As war threatens to engulf the empire, Rin discovers that the gods are real—and that the power they offer comes at a terrible price. Inspired by twentieth-century Chinese history, particularly the Second Sino-Japanese War, this dark and uncompromising fantasy explores the brutal realities of warfare, the seduction of vengeance, and the devastating consequences of power. Rin must decide what she is willing to sacrifice to protect her people—and what remains of her humanity when survival demands unimaginable choices.

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Country
China
Asia
About the author
Rebecca F. Kuang
Rebecca F. Kuang

Rebecca F. Kuang, known professionally as R. F. Kuang, is a Chinese American novelist and scholar celebrated for her ambitious fiction exploring history, power, identity, and colonialism. Born in Guangzhou, China, in 1996, she immigrated to the United States with her family as a child. She studied international history at Georgetown University before earning an MPhil in Chinese Studies from the University of Cambridge and an MSc in Contemporary Chinese Studies from the University of Oxford. She is pursuing doctoral research in East Asian Languages and Literatures at Yale University, focusing on diaspora, contemporary Sinophone literature, and Asian American literature. Her debut novel, The Poppy War (2018), launched an acclaimed fantasy trilogy. Subsequent works include Babel (2022), Yellowface (2023), and Katabasis (2025). Her fiction has earned numerous honours, including the Nebula, Locus, and British Book Awards.

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Details
Published
2019
Author
Rebecca F. Kuang