The Poppy War trilogy, Rebecca F. Kuang’s debut fantasy series, creates a new magic system with very old roots. the Chinese-American writer borrows Taoist and Chinese folk themes to build her own pantheon of gods, then draws on the ancient tradition of using opium as a way for her characters to commune with those gods and utilize their powers.
the trilogy follows Runin Fang, or Rin, a war orphan who learns to control fire to become a key player in the empire’s latest war. the third Poppy War depicted in Kuang’s historic military fantasy draws heavily from 20th century China, including depictions of historic events such as the Nanjing Massacre.
Kuang wrote the trilogy while completing a master of philosophy in Chinese studies from the University of Cambridge and a master of science in contemporary Chinese studies at Oxford University. the first of the series, earned Kuang the Compton Crook Award for best English language first novel of the year, the Crawford Award,
