The Poppy War

We’re pleased to announce an oversized signed limited edition of R. F. Kuang’s The Poppy War, which will feature: Two color printing throughout on Finch, the paper we use for higher end limited editions. A Full-color dust wraparound dust jacket. Full-color endsheets. Two full-color, full-page interior illustrations A chapter head-illustration. The Poppy War is the first installment in a Chinese-history inspired epic fantasy trilogy about empire, warfare, shamanism, and opium. The Poppy War is a Goodreads Choice Award finalist (twice over), Nebula Award finalist, Locus Award finalist, and winner of the Stabby, Crawford, and Compton Crook Awards. Limited: 500 signed numbered hardcover copies Lettered: 26 signed copies, bradel bound, housed in a custom traycase From Publishers Weekly: “Debut novelist Kuang creates an ambitious fantasy reimagining of Asian history populated by martial artists, philosopher-generals, and gods…Kuang highlights the horrors of war, especially the moral and emotional toll on combatants who employ scorched-earth strategies. Heroic responses pale in view of the collateral damage that they trigger, and the novel does not allow its characters to slough off their culpability for channeling godly powers. Readers may empathize with Rin’s desire for vengeance, but any thrill at her success is matched by horror at its costs. This is a strong and dramatic launch to Kuang’s career. ” From The Washington Post: “A study in every kind of violence…Kuang pulls from East Asian history, including the brutality of the Second Sino-Japanese war, to weave a wholly unique experience. ” From The Book Smugglers: “Moving from academy, to battlefield, to metaphysical plane is no small feat, but Kuang pulls it off with a grim, gleeful sense of sadism…It’s dark, it’s daunting, and it’s heartbreaking in equal measure. ” From Fantasy Book Review: “Spectacular, masterclass, brilliant, awesome…If you like dark adult fantasy then check out this masterpiece by grimdark’s newest and perhaps darkest daughter. ” From RT Book Reviews: “Kuang’s debut is a thought-provoking, coming-of-age fairytale stocked with myths, legends, lore, politics and power struggles…Setting the stage for an epic fantasy is an understandably enormous undertaking, but Kuang does an exceptional job of world and character building. The first half of The Poppy War has an expected slower pace, but the second half is rich with a brutal, beautiful bevy of bloody battles. ”

The Poppy War is the first installment in a Chinese-history inspired epic fantasy trilogy about empire, warfare, shamanism, and opium. Kuang creates an ambitious fantasy reimagining of Asian history populated by martial artists, philosopher-generals, and gods… Kuang highlights the horrors of war, especially the moral and emotional toll on combatants who employ scorched-earth strategies. Heroic responses pale in view of the collateral damage that they trigger, and the novel does not allow its characters to slough off their culpability for channeling godly powers. Readers may empathize with Rin’s desire for vengeance, but any thrill at her success is matched by horror at its costs.