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I love how light hearted and whimsical this series is, it’s like being wrapped in a wool blanket on a cold day. Truly a healing experience for all who read it. 🔥☠️🔥☠️🔥☠️🔥☠️

Poppy war is the most brutal thing I’ve read by far. I don’t know if I would ever dare to read something that dark again, but god did I love that trilogy. I wasn’t prepared but I was glued to every scene. It encouraged me to diversify my fantasy reading. And I may or may have not stumbled into a reread of the dragon republic 2 days ago so this video’s timing was great.

What i love about it especially the first book is the tone shift. I went blind into it and enjoyed the ya elements but what made me really appreciate it was realizing that these teenagers who study in a military academy are completely unprepared for a real war. I also love Rin

Out of everything I have read, I'd actually consider The Poppy War to be the trilogy that got me into reading fantasy. And one of the scenes near the end of The Burning God still might be my favorite scene in fiction, period. Such a wonderful series and it genuinely deserves the praise it gets and more.

As a massive history nerd I was super impressed by how well she depicted in a fantasy way the events of the Sino Japanese War and also addressing the Western Colonialism. I was also unaware about the Yellow River Flood until reading about the Four Gorges Dam in the book, and figured it must have also been used in real life.

I feel like "inspired by real-world history" is quite generous for The Poppy War. It's mostly "basically actually real-world history with some different names and a few magic people squished in"

Daniel about 3 years ago: "Berserk is some edgelord BS." Daniel now: "Berserk is now a measurment on my newly invented tradegy-scale." Glad you came around :)

5:00 If you're wondering, the length is actually 19 hours like Daniel says, not 9 like it says on screen. Very small nitpick, great video as always. Loving the breakdown series.

I remember listening to the trilogy during the summer of ‘21, and I really loved it. The final shot/description from _The Burning God_ has been burnt into my head ever since. Based on how _Babel_ turned out, R.F. Kuang is definitely getting better and better with each publication.

I love the phrase "people who still have to live". Because, boy do I feel that burden lol. Also Yellowface is sooooo good, so even though it isn't fantasy and you won't review it on the channel, I really hope you pick it up outside of the channel! Bring on RotE!

I finished The Poppy War just a couple of weeks ago and it will forever be burned into my mind. I love history and found it really fun recognising some of the events that happened in the books and real life. The ending has still not left me and it finally pushed me into start writing my own book. This trilogy changed me and I will forever be grateful for that.

Just want to say Daniel that the quality of recent videos this year has been fantastic, the editing and prep put into them is brilliant 🤙

I was just reading Babel and loving it, already considered this series, your timing is perfect!

Poppy War is one of my favourite series that I've read, no question, Kuang is a fantastic author...Babel's prose showed her growth and it was a-mazing. A series review (with book 6 slated for May) you might consider is "Red Rising".

The first book has been sitting in my to read pile for a while now. Looking forward to finally getting around to it

I'm glad you brought up RF Kuang's improvements as an author as the series went on. I almost didn't finish Book 1 because I was so frustrated at the execution of the cool ideas and world. Glad I stuck with it though, Book 2 was a huge jump in quality. The Poppy Wars became one of my favorite series and Babel is high on my list of favorite individual books.

I absolutely love The Poppy War series, so thank you for making a breakdown video for it!

Hey Daniel, great content as always. Here's a rather niche perspective for you - I'm Singaporean, ethnically Chinese. I read the poppy war and loved it, but some of my friends did not, because they felt it was too much of a fusion. I would be considered slightly more western/non-traditional than the average Singaporean. Some of my friends skew more the other way (for example they read much of the same English-language fiction as I do, but they also read Chinese fiction) and they felt rather weird about the poppy war. Like how some people don't like fusion foods - because the Poppy War does feel like a fusion book, even to me. As much as Rebecca is Chinese as well and one of her sources is her grandfather who literally grew up in China, she's also American and her writing probably has been influenced by that. Furthermore, seeing Chinese words in an English book was strange for my friends, as well as the way they're used. They also disagreed on some of the (Chinese) word choices. They also didn't like the way the myths/historical figures of people like Ziya, Nezha and Sunwukong (the monkey God) were adapted. Like cherry picking characters from five different unrelated stories and throwing them together in a semi-historical narrative. To be honest, I don't know any of those myths (except Sunwukong, vaguely) so it didn't bother me, but to others I can see how that would be weird. It would be interesting to get more Chinese perspectives of this work. And it will be something Asians will have to grapple with over time, as more non-western fiction gets written and popularized. Do we support it just because it's Asian-authored and Asian-based? Or is staying true to the context important as well? The target audience must also be considered. At the end of the day my personal view is that language, culture, and stories are made to change over time, and we should embrace that while still valuing traditional values and stories.

It's a... hard series to read. I believe part of the reason why I like Cradle so much is because I read it right after finishing this series, and it was such a breath of fresh air (that I quite needed). Got to give it props for making me feel so goddamned bad, when it comes to immersion and making you empathize with its characters it definitely gets a 10. (Although that empathy pretty quickly leads to suffering). I do like grimdark here and there, but The Poppy War puts the GRIM in grimdark, for sure.

This is just what I needed to continue with this series. I loved the first book, but was a bit hard to get into The Dragon Republic after the high of the first ending.

I finished this series this weekend and it absolutely rewired my brain chemistry. I will think about these characters forever. On my favorites shelf for sure. Now I just need to get my hands on those damn hardcovers.

This is actually really well done. Poppy war is one of the main series I want to dive right into when I'm really ready to start consuming adult fantasy once more 📖

After reading the Poppy War, I had to DNF the rest of the trilogy. It just wasnt for me. I was super disappointed. I completely bought the series because of the gorgeous cover art, and it was a sad day when I decided to sell them all. I tried Babel thinking it would be different, but I felt exactly the same and DNF'd it after 100 pages. It's just me, but I just do not enjoy her writing style I guess.

By some act of fate I started reading the poppy war the day this video released and finished it not too long ago. And it's utterly fantastic

Great idea with the tone scale! Could you make a website where you add the tone scores to the books you’ve already read? Would be really interesting to see where you rank WOT, ASOIAF, Red Rising and all the rest

I read the trilogy last year and really enjoyed it! It ranges in tone wildly though, from Name of the Wind style beginnings to full on uber-intense grimdark. Gave me whiplash but I loved it.

Just finished poppy war yesterday while on vacation. The first two days i finished "legend & lattes" then i went on to read poppy war. Almost broke my neck with that whiplash and i think this book came closer than any other to giving me *actual* nightmares. The blip at the back of the Edition was perfect "i thought i was prepared. I was Not". I actually have waking flashbacks to some of the parts of the book, closest to having a waking nightmare that i ever came. Its genuinely a great book, with a lot to say. But shiva, Kristna and Christ only read that when you prepared for something *super* dark and in an emotionally stabile state

Currently reading the last book in the series ;)

Just finished this series two days ago, the absolute timing is amazing

Midway through the first book and ordered the other two just yesterday! A god among men, you are 🙏🏽

Great series. Burning God's ending was a bit abrupt but apart from that, I loved it

I own the first two books in the series they may get read this year this video definitely makes me want to read them great content

Your fascination with numbers just reminds me of Kitay....

For me I really enjoyed the first book, book two was a step down, and book three was a step further down. I still enjoy the other two books, but there is something about the feeling of the first book that the other two cannot quite capture for me.

Oh crap! When you looked into the camera and said "I am watching the video at 1.5 speed". You really got me and I laughed out loud. Imao.

Hated Poppy War... But keep these breakdowns coming, the more people read, the better. I actually picked poppy war up because you recommended it. On this occasions our tastes diverge, but I also picked up malazan because of your breakdown and that... Well that is a masterpiece.

Just bought the first book a week ago! This video is perfectly timed

I'm almost finished 'The Burning God', one of the best books I've read in a long time

Yeah the Poppy War kicks ass. Kicks my ass emotionally

I was looking for something new to read after I finish my current series and this video made me go to my local book store and buy the first book and order the second through them. Can't wait to get into it.

Thank you for the breakdown. I think Poppy War just jumped to the next on my TBR, just behind the Malazan series.

I'm just finished book 1, and if the the rest of the books are like this it's well on its way to being my favorite series

please review more Vinland Saga

Great, now i want a nice adaptation

I listened to the audiobook after you have recommended this on your channel. That was a ride, indeed. I like grimdark, but man, that was daaark. Loved it. Additionally, Rebecca won totally legit and official Tolkien Jeopardy here on Daniel Greene channel, which shows how enlightend being she is.

Minor editing error for the length of the audobook for Poppy War. It's 19 hours, not 9 hour long.

I have this on my shelf, but I've actually heard mostly bad things about it, so it's very low in my TBR list. It did have an interesting premise that immediately grabbed me and got me to buy the book, though, so I'm sure there's something worthwhile there! :)

Audiobook narrator was great, too, for all those ear fans out there

I won't be watching this video yet since I'm 1/3 with The Poppy War, and I own the other 2 books. But I'll have this on my watch later so that I can enjoy it after I'm done

This video is super well made with the epic music doing justice to the series! I love the goblin breakdown series

Rin just got so many demons it can be hard to hear about them over and over and over and over and over but its a gripping story nonetheless

“What if Mao was a teenage girl…” was what convinced me I need to read this. 😭 Once I’m caught up on the Cosmere this very well might be my next read

Masterpieces, simply put, you give them a special place in your heart Another kind, idk what to call it, but they make a special place in your heart without you wanting to, poppy wars is the latter

Rin’s childhood is terrible and then her life gets difficult. What a great synopsis.

I loved the first half of the first book. The intense academic drive of the MC, to the point of sheer insanity, and that being paid off was the ultimate catharsis for a college student like me. But the later half completely ruined the book for me. To avoid spoilers I'll just say this: It was a dramatic shift in pacing and tone, trying to cram some dense real world history ON TOP of an already complex drug magic system exploring themes of addiction and recovery. It felt like one book that would have been better split into two. The time skips, the landscape changes, the new characters, the graphic war scenes, all would have had time to breathe and hit home further. I've debated reading the second book, but not if it can make up for the failings of the first

Just want to let you know I love these (new?) little effects that you use between shots. Fun, but in line with the tone of the video and also subtle enough. Great job (also love the video's content and I will definitely go read this series now!)

Dude, review her next book, even if it’s not fantasy. We will watch it.

That tonal scale thing is really cool. Can you make a video about 1 - 10 tonal scale for every series. Btw, love you Daniel 💓💓

Read the first two and could not finish the third. It was too dark and depressing and I tried to read it during a time where the real world was too dark and depressing. Unfortunately I probably won't finish it. It did cement into my brain that I am not built for grimdark, so at least it was a learning experience about my personal tastes as well.

The grittier the better for me. Loved this series!

If I could make a suggestion for the next Breakdown, it would be for some old school fantasy I don't see many people talk about, and that would be the Dying Earth series from Jack Vance (aka the author and series that inspired the Greyhawk setting, magic system, and one of the biggest baddies of D&D, since Vecna is an anagram of Vance)

It’s a crime that Dresden Files breakdown isn’t here yet.

Daniel, you sweet summer child. My old ass doesn’t have time for 1.5x, we have BOOKS TO CONSUME!! 2x for unfamiliar series, or ones with complex dialog or plots to follow, and 2.5x for rereads, non-fiction, and YA or below-level literature.

The timing of this! I'm about 90% of the way through the first book

I found it interesting that by the end of the series, the colonist absolutely have the moral high ground. Not what I was expecting.

I ended up DNFing the first book right BEFORE chapter 21 and after hearing what happens in that chapter I think I made the right choice. I loved the writing style and everything, but it was just a little too dark and disturbing for me.

These videos are such good advertising, I really want to pick this series up

I read the very first one all the way through (okay listened at 2.5 speed, sue me) and every minute of it hurt my heart. I recognized the real world corollaries though, and similar to the harder scenes in Malazan, used it as a mirror to some of the worst humanity can offer. But yeah, was NOT strong enough to go straight into the second, will try it once my mind has refreshed...

This video led me to read The Poppy War and I have no regrets.

So happy to see this, love your channel and love The poppy war seris

I read the first book like… meh. The second book like… huh. And the third book.. ouch. BUT when I finished the trilogy I looked back and realized I was hooked and bamboozled from book one. Great trilogy. She’s quite talented. Subversive and brutal.

i started the first one a few days ago, i genuinely did not know anything about this book going in to it and it has shit beyond my comprehension of dark. I’m 17 and never in my life have i ever read a book this dark but i literally cannot stop reading. I don’t really know what to expect with the next two but i’m just about finished with the first

I will one day read the 'The Poppy War' trilogy, but I am still in recovery from 'Babel' I loved Babel, but it also emotionally destroyed me.

Excited to watch this, thank you so much for the video, Daniel! ✌️🤎

Unpopular opinion: Poppy war is one the most underwhelming and unsatisfactory trilogies ever written. The protagonist is insufferable and accomplishes nothing, the side characters all die or just disappear. The main conflict is left unresolved. The third book is a train wreck that should have passed through a strong, determined editor before being publish. Truly a shame a trilogy with such a good premise fell so short of actually telling its own story.

It was on my tbr for a while now, deffenetly gonna pick it up soon!

My personal peeves regarding the poppy war. 1. Poor prose and pacing. Dan showed crossed check boxes but did not elaborate. The prose is a little on the clunky but forgivable side. The pacing is noticeable side because of the use of time skips. 2. This wasn't a problem for me, but it's something to note. Like Dan said this is a corruption arc. The main character remains compelling, but increasingly unlikeable. 3. Kuang of course has to talk about the real life parallels, but she toes the line between informative and preachy. That said, it is a brutal mess you can't peel your eyes away from. The world is vibrant, the characters are compelling, and the story makes sense as long as you understand that this is a flawed grimdark world where people make terrible decisions.

Altan you deserved better. Should've been the main character.

FYI, The poppy war has also been translated to Indonesian, but isn't on the list in 4:08. And actually you've already shown the cover of indonesian version in 01:12 and 08:28

coincidentally, breakdown is the exact word to describe how i felt after finishing this series

The Poppy war... I hate this book. I think the reviews should absolutely warn people of the incredible amount and detail of gore this book contains in its second half - also dont forget multiple genocide's. And I didnt go further than the first book. I would have been very grateful if I have been spared the experience. So thanks Daniel for starting with that! If these are not things you want to read about this is not for you!

I sat through the torture scenes in 1984 barely blinking, but I can’t even re-read the part where they get to Golyn Niis.

Man, I do enjoy me some Breakdown. I've heard about this series for a very long time and I can't wait to read it! But I have to, because I'm not in a good mental space right now and I'm not sure I can handle war crimes in my fiction!

I had a lot of issues when I read the Poppy War series around it’s depiction of racism and genocide because it felt as though the story was justifying both so long as the “right people” were doing it. Maybe that’s my own First Nation/ descendant of residential school (look it up) survivor’s perspective but it’s not unreasonable. I don’t think. Shé:kon

Given that so much of the Poppy War is based on Asian and Chinese history I'm kinda disappointed it hasn't been released in Mandarin yet. I suspect it's probably because a lot of it is pretty critical of the regimes and ideals of the era, many of which are still held by the Chinese population today. A shame, I'd love for my wife to read it - she's a huge reader but her English isn't quite fluent enough to tackle something this dense.

Just finished the burning god. Daniel is a mind reader :o

I know I'm part of the minority on this one, but I couldn't get myself to like this trilogy. I appreciated the setting and the premise of the story, and I really enjoyed the first half of book 1. However, by the end of The Poppy War, a couple of nitpicks with regard to the protagonist and the world itself gave rise to pure annoyance that accompanied me all the way to the end of The Burning God. If I weren't so stubborn when it comes to finishing a series that I've started, I'd probably have left halfway through The Dragon Republic, at the latest. But hey, that's just how it is, not everybody likes the same stuff and that's ok 😉 Still love you for getting me into WoT a couple of years back and many novels since then, Daniel 😘

I’ve read the first two books and Rebecca is just incredible. I loved what’s happened with vin and so many other characters in the first two books. Hopefully going to finish the trilogy next month 😊

Hehehe. Listening to Daniel complain about fast listeners while I'm watching at 2x speed. I'm a monster. :)

i just love that you used the indonesian cover

no shot this video dropped now. im currently reading the first book and im halfway through :D

I have anything about 1x speed for almost anything, no one cares about my opinion, but I am slapping it here

Yeah, the reception of Poppy War was really polarized and I’m definitely on the negative side of that. I see a lot of people calling it disturbing because of its’ dark tone. And I certainly find it disturbing. Mostly, due to the abundance of cliches, derivative worldbuilding, main heroine that is about as interesting as a piece of wet carton and weird mishmash of historical references and allusions that really don’t go well together. I had to drop the first book after reading a little over a half when it started to resemble a third-rate young adult fantasy novel with tropes and humor lifted from some mediocre shonen manga/anime. So, for a good Asia-inspired speculative fiction series, I’d probably have to stick with The Green Bone Saga. Or Liu Cixin, honestly. He does a better job at incorporating Chinese history and culture into his work, even though it’s not the main topic of his books.

The Poppy War, along with many other books, is in my TBR. I wouldn't mind a breakdown of the Arcane Ascension series by Andrew Rowe. I haven't read the 4th book yet and I don't know how many books are going to be in the series. But with the other recent news you had the other day, it might be a good one to break down.

The "9hours" on the screen contradicting the "19hohrs" spoken will bug me for the rest of my life.

Oh please rank every fantasy series on that berserk to discworld scale !❤️

Im gonna have to read this series but at the moment im half way thru a 14 book series that i let some crazy internet person convince me i should read so gotta get thru that first

Love the new B2D (Berserk to Diskworld) scale

I really really liked the first book, book 2 has been nothing but the protag sucking and nothing happening... I will definitely finish it though, it might reach the quality of the first book... if it doesnt I might not read the 3rd book