The Poppy War

R. F. Kuang's writing is a min-maxed D&D character with all the points dumped into world building. This is the second book by Kuang I've read (the first was Babel). I started each book hooked on the world, and ended each book annoyed with the plot and tired of the characters. I think the world is so good that The Poppy War was worth the read, although I don't plan on picking up the rest of the trilogy.

To me, The Poppy War feels like an early work of an author you love, written before they really hit their stride. Almost amazing, but it feels like some of the ingredients are missing. I hope Kuang's writing evolves with future works, and can't wait to read what happens if it does.