A grimdark fantasy, it draws plot points and politics from mid-20th-century China,[1][2][3] with the conflict in the novel based on the Second Sino-Japanese War, and an atmosphere inspired by the Song dynasty.

She secretly studies for a national test to escape an arranged marriage and places first, which sends her north to Sinegard, the imperial capital and home of the military academy.

She wins the first year tournament over Nezha, is enthralled by the appearance of the empress at a festival, and is taught by Jiang how to access the magic of the gods via meditation and psychedelic drugs.

Rin learns she is a Speerly and to avoid the warlords fighting over her, is selected to join the Cike, a misfit unit of mostly-shaman imperial assassins now led by Altan.

The Cike realize that the Kurdalain siege is a feint and travel to the wartime capital of Golyn Niis to find the city destroyed and its inhabitants massacred by the Mugenese.

Kuang wrote The Poppy War while teaching debate in China and graduated with a degree in Chinese History from Georgetown University a few days after its release.

[11][13] The Poppy War was a 2018 Nebula Award nominee,[14] and was named one of the best books of the year by several publications and organizations, including The Washington Post,[15] Time,[16] The Guardian,[17] Paste,[18][19] Vulture,[20] Bustle,[21] and The Verge.

[25][26][27] Publishers Weekly called the book "a strong and dramatic launch to Kuang's career,"[28] while Michael Nam, writing in New York Daily News, referred to The Poppy War as an ambitious start to a trilogy.

[30] Lila Garrott in Locus gave the novel a more critical review: "It's well executed for what it does, but it's a shame that Kuang chose to downplay the more original elements in favor of material that has been seen before.

"[32] As of November 2024[update], The Poppy War has been translated into 15 languages: Bulgarian, Czech, French,[33] German,[34] Hungarian, Indonesian,[35] Italian,[36] Polish,[37] Brazilian Portuguese,[38] Romanian, Russian,[39] Serbian, Spanish,[40] Turkish,[41] and Ukrainian.