8 Books like The Poppy War
Looking for more books like The Poppy War? In the world of The Poppy War, everyone is shocked when Rin excels in an Empire-wide examination held to find the most talented young people to study at the Academies. But surprises are not always good. As a dark-skinned peasant girl from the south, surviving in Sinegard is no easy task. That is, until Rin discovers that she possesses a deadly, unearthly power, and with the help of a seemingly insane teacher and psychotropic drugs, Rin is able to explore her gift further.
Although the Nikara Empire is at peace, the Federation of Mugen still lurks in the narrow seas. After the first poppy war, the militarily advanced Federation occupied Nikara for decades, only barely losing the continent in the Second War. While most people are complacent, a few realise that a third Poppy War is just a hair’s breadth away. The countries in The Poppy War trilogy have obvious counterparts in China, Japan and Europe. In the early 20th century, China’s Qing dynasty fell, ending thousands of years of rule by emperors considered to be the sons of heaven.
8 Books like The Poppy War
Inspired by Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils and other Jin Yong novels, author R. F. Kuang’s 2016 fantasy debut, The Poppy War, set in a 20th-century Eastern country in an empty world, was published in 2018 and became a hit, one of the brightest in the European and American fantasy world in recent years. So enjoyed The Poppy War book? We’ve scoured the web for book blogs and looked at all of their recommendations for books similar to The Poppy War. Here are 8 books that you may like if you liked The Poppy War.
1. A Song of Ice and Fire
Westeros is a continent that has the size of South America, also it comes with a long history dating back 12,000 years. Each season there usually lasts for several years. The original inhabitants of this continent were the Children of the Forest. And the Children of the Forest lived in harmony with nature and used magic. The earliest warriors, armed with bronze weapons and riding skills, landed in Westeros via the land bridge linking Westeros to the eastern continent and fought a series of long wars with the Children of the Forest. The war ended in a peace agreement on the Isle of Faces, whereby the First Men were given all the open land and the Children of the Forest kept the forest.
As the name of the book suggests, everything is developed in contradiction, in opposition and unity, and the characters are so complex and multi-faceted that you will find them more like “people” in the story. They face the cold outside world, but inside they are complex and passionate. A vain and romantic young girl may be determined to take revenge, and a vengeful young man may let his enemies live. In this Game of Thrones story, those characters, whether loved, pitied, hated or despised, they play their cards according to the rules of the game as they see fit. If I had to define them, I would have to say that it is human nature.
2. The First Law
In the world of The First Law, three continents stand on the vast stormy seas, the scattered archipelagos of the East are scattered with trading city-states. The glory of the ancient empires of the West has long since sunk beneath the horizon of history, and the seeds of unrest have long been sown in the federal kingdoms of the centre of the world, which appear to be in the ascendant. In the north, a new king sits on the throne, ambitious, and has summoned the wildlings of the mountains to his banner, vowing to achieve greatness, and war is imminent.
The story of The First Law has a breathless feel to it, where death becomes commonplace and the story is tighter and more complete, with just enough subversion in the plotting. While the readers think this is just a typical character and traditional story, the author breaks with the usual fantasy thinking by taking an unexpected turn in the plot, and this unpredictable future is what makes this work so watchable.
If you can tolerate shock and awe, if you can accept subversive characters and plots, and if you don’t like princesses and princes living happily ever after stories, then I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised by The First Law trilogy.
3. Chronicles of Narnia
During the second world war, when London was threatened by German war eagles, the four Pevensie children were put up with an old professor and a maid to escape the war. In the middle of this huge mansion, Lucy, the youngest sister, accidentally discovers a strange wardrobe which is the entrance to the magical kingdom of Narnia. After a strange encounter, Lucy tells her brother and sister about her experiences, but they don’t believe their particularly fanciful sister. During a game, they also enter the magic wardrobe. The adventure of four children in a magical kingdom begins.
The Chronicles of Narnia is a children’s adventure novel that is characterised by its clever integration of mythology and fantasy. It is also a magical novel that combines elements of mythology, Christian thought and modern spirituality. Although Chronicles of Narnia is a fairy tale for children, it has a very grand theme: salvation, a timeless theme that the author wishes to represent.
That is the magic of Chronicles of Narnia, the power to take us from impossibility to possibility, from disbelief to belief, from silent endurance to constant creation. Open this collection of Chronicles of Narnia and you will believe that there is something beautiful in this world, made possible by Narnia, made possible by fantasy, made possible by you.
4. Perdido Street Station
A strange and gifted scientist, a struggling and freedom-hungry insect-headed man, a flightless hawk-man, a thinking mechanical council. A dangerous experiment accidentally unleashes a swarm of life-threatening moths, plunging everyone into a nightmare and sweeping the city with deadly danger. The fate of these exiles is tied together in a dangerous plan to find out the truth about the experiment and the escaped captures.
Miéville’s exceptional talent for fantasy is evident through his attention to detail. Under his pen, layers of culture flow abundantly. You can witness how a batman prides himself on vulgar pranks, how a bug-headed artist with a feminine body mates, and how even the wind takes on passion and life in the author’s well-written descriptions.
Straddling the boundaries of genre literature, this Perdido Street Station book is a savage and delicate blend of fantasy, science fiction, steamy punk, suspense thriller and current affairs criticism, with a clear moral running through them all, awakening deep empathy in the reader from the very first chapter. From the moment you pick up this book, you will be in for a feast of the imagination.
5. Good Omens
According to Good Omens book, the world will come to an end on Saturday. As a result, forces have joined the melee, visions are appearing and the world is in turmoil. While some are running around, others are muddling through. The two protagonists have each been ordered to participate in this melee, but both brothers have been on earth for thousands of years and feel that the world is still a pretty good place and it seems a bit of a shame to ruin it. In all the chaos, no one seems to notice that the key player who will rule the fate of the world is actually someone else.
The book is full of humour, superbly lovable angel and demon characters, and fleshed out mortal characters. The story is childlike, but not childish, and there is a lot of wisdom and wisdom in the childlike plot and language. You can feel that these are two adults who have seen it all and have experienced it all, telling a superb and lovely story about how interesting and cherishable this universe.
In this book, you get a sense of playing with words, a sense of freedom that makes both the author and the reader feel happy. I think the process of writing this book must have been very enjoyable, because the feeling of being able to do whatever you want to do is conveyed to everyone through the words.
6. American Gods
Odin, Loki, Annecy… the ancient gods have actually always inhabited America, living around us in human form, but they have lost the faith of mankind and become weakened. High technology, automobiles, media… a new generation of gods has emerged from these things, growing stronger by virtue of human dependence and faith. In the land of America, the strife between the new and the old gods escalates. To reclaim the faith of the people, Odin, the Norse god, travels across America to unite the old gods in a battle against the new. A war of the gods is about to break out.
This American Gods novel exposes the fact that the gods come from the minds of men, that they are created by men, and that therefore all the faults of men can be found in them: jealousy, vanity, brutality, murder, prejudice – traits that we have seen in other mythologies, but not as thoroughly and unforgivingly as in American Gods. Gods exist as aliens and alter egos of men, so of course Gods can fall, too. The American gods are such a complex group, like the people and history that make up this country, that they are a mirror that reflects the human condition.
7. The Broken Earth
In the midst of the Stillness, a great red rift tears the continent from its centre and the cruel and terrible fifth season arrives. The city of Eumenes, the heart of the Sanze Empire, faces collapse. Anonymously living in the town, Essun’s son is murdered, her daughter disappears and her peaceful life is gone overnight as her fate takes an irreversible turn towards the other end. Mournful despair pushes Ison down a lonely, mad path of revenge. Destruction begins and evil reawakens. A city in ruins, an empire in fear. A long night has fallen and civilisation has fallen. This time it is truly the end of the world, the final end.
In recent years, the Hugo and Nebula awards have become more artistic. Hard science fiction, which is familiar to a wide range of readers, has struggled to win awards, while works with delicate writing, a personal focus and a reputation for portraying complex emotions have become increasingly popular. And this is exactly what female author Jemisin is known for.
More importantly, Jemisin portrays emotions without lapsing into romance novel nonsense. She creates an allusion to the insensitive, get-it-done order-builders, allowing readers to hear the true voices of minorities and elevating the entire series into an egalitarian parable that everyone can read.
8. A Wizard Of Earthsea
Born with magical powers, Sparrowhawk, a shepherd boy, thirsts for greater power and deeper knowledge and chooses to leave his homeland to study at the legendary College of Wizards in order to make his mark. In order to prove his strength, he cast a forbidden spell in public to summon the undead, but he made a terrible mistake. The evil spirits he summoned hunted him, and the evil of the ages tempted him. To make amends, he embarks on a quest that no one has ever completed before, to the end of the ocean, to the end of the world.
This A Wizard Of Earthsea book is a magical fantasy and a story of spiritual growth. In the book, the black shadow represents the dark side of Ged – pride, jealousy, low self-esteem, just figuratively speaking. When Ged avoids it, it becomes powerful and rampant. When Ged decides to face it, it retreats and runs away. The beauty of the story is that Gerd does not kill the Black Shadow, but becomes one with it and accepts himself. How is this story any different from ours? We all have our dark side, and only by facing it and accepting it can we be whole and strong.
Enjoyed this article on 8 books like The Poppy War? Then be sure to check out this book review of 8 Books Like The Three-Body Problem.