What happens when war turns a girl into a soldier, a soldier into a weapon, and a weapon into something far worse?
R.F. Kuang’s The Poppy War is an unflinching exploration of power—who wields it, who suffers under it, and what happens when the line between hero and monster disappears entirely. Inspired by real-world historical events, the novel blends Chinese military strategy, shamanic magic, and political intrigue into a world that feels both fantastical and horrifyingly real.
At the heart of this war-torn saga are characters who define, destroy, and reshape Nikan’s fate—soldiers, rulers, survivors, and betrayers. Kuang doesn’t spare any of them, forcing all of her characters to go through harrowing arcs. In this post, we’ll take a closer look at the key players, unpacking what makes them so compelling, and how their choices drive this unforgettable, devastating story.
For a summary of the first book of Kuang’s series and an exploration of its main themes, click here, and then return for a dive into the characters.
Trigger warning: this book, its characters, and by extension this article, tackle heavy, disturbing topics, including child abuse, graphic violence, war crimes, sexual assault, genocide, addiction, and self-harm.
If you choose to read the series, be prepared—Kuang does not hold back.
Also, many spoilers ahead.
Rin is a survivor first and foremost—scrappy, determined, and willing to do whatever it takes to claw her way out of helplessness. A war orphan born on Speer Island and raised in the impoverished Tikany under the brutal rule of her opium-smuggling foster family, she learns early that the world is cruel, and the only way to escape it is through sheer willpower. When faced with the prospect of an arranged marriage to a much older man, she doesn't hesitate—she steals, bribes, and burns herself to exhaustion studying for the Keju to secure a place at Sinegard Academy. But even when she scores top and manages to get into the military Academy, she is never really accepted. As a dark-skinned, peasant girl from the rural Rooster Province, Rin is ridiculed and underestimated. Instead of breaking under the pressure, though, she sharpens herself into a weapon.
Rin is defined by her ambition and anger. She is relentless in her pursuit of power, whether through academic excellence, combat, or shamanism. She never hesitates to endanger or even harm herself in her pursuit. She gets addicted to praise and the feeling of success. But the power is never enough. Under the guidance of the enigmatic Jiang, the Lore Master of Sinegard, she discovers her Speerlie heritage and her connection to the Phoenix, a god of fire that demands total destruction. At first, she is terrified of the implications—of losing control, of losing herself to the god—but once war erupts, she stops questioning. The more she fights, the more she burns, until her rage and grief become the only things keeping her standing. She throws herself into battle, into the Cike, into Altan’s shadow, desperate to be strong enough, ruthless enough, to protect the Nikara Empire against the Mugenese.
But war is never that simple. The more Rin fights, the more she loses—her innocence, her mentors, her closest friendships. Her grief and fury at Nikan’s endless betrayals, and her desperate need to prove herself, drive her deeper into the Phoenix’s grasp. As the war drags on, her vision narrows more and more. She no longer fights for a better Nikan, only for vengeance, only to destroy the systems that have hurt her and her people. Her inability to compromise, to see beyond her fire, isolates her, and in the end, it leaves her with nothing.
Rin’s journey is the slow unraveling of a girl who fights to never be weak again, yet in her quest for power, she loses her humanity. A war orphan, a shaman, a weapon, a commander, a monster, a god—Rin is all of those things and many more.
Master Jiang appears, at first, as little more than Sinegard Academy’s resident lunatic—the carefree, unhinged teacher of the obscure “Lore” subject, who dodges responsibilities and seems perpetually high. His whimsical nature and bizarre training methods (pig-lifting, meditation marathons, spontaneous sparring) make him a true oddity in the military academy. But beneath his erratic behavior lies a man who understands power far better than anyone else, and, more importantly, fears it.
He takes Rin under his wing after seeing her potential, training her in both martial arts and shamanism. He teaches her patience, meditation, and restraint—values she struggles to embrace. As Rin’s ambitions grow more violent, Jiang becomes her most vocal opposition, warning her that true power isn’t about destruction but balance and spiritual knowledge.
His own terrible secret? He is The Gatekeeper, one of the legendary Trifecta who defended the Nikaran Empire during the previous war. His past is drenched in blood and betrayal, a path he chose to tear himself from, trying to protect and teach others.
Jiang’s tragedy is that of a man who has seen too much and chosen to withdraw, only to watch history repeat itself in his absence. His warnings go unheard, his pupil follows the path he fears most, and his attempt to walk away from war ultimately only ensures that it will find him again later on.
Altan Trengsin is yet another character in The Poppy War, caught between tragedy and legend.
He is introduced as the perfect soldier—Sinegard’s top student, the strongest fighter, and the leader of the Empress’s elite assassin unit, the Cike. But beneath his skill and discipline, there is a man shaped entirely by his immense trauma. As the last known Speerly before Rin, he is a living remnant of a people erased by the Federation of Mugen. He spent his childhood being imprisoned and experimented by the Mugenese, forcibly addicted to opium. Later on, he was saved and taken to Sinegard where Master Irjah continued feeding his addiction while honing his skills, making him into a soldier.
When Rin joins the Cike, Altan becomes her commander, her mentor, and the closest thing to family she has ever known. Their shared heritage binds them, but their relationship is fraught—she admires him, fears him, and desperately seeks his approval. He pushes her relentlessly, seeing in her both potential and a reflection of his own past. But Altan is not an infallible leader; he is volatile, obsessive, and teetering on the edge of self-destruction. His addiction to opium is both a coping mechanism and a quiet surrender to the same forces that annihilated his people.
Fueled by an unrelenting need for vengeance, Altan leads Rin to the Chuluu Korikh, determined to unleash an unstoppable force against the Federation. When Jiang warns them of the consequences, Altan refuses to listen, convinced that war justifies any cost. That cost becomes incredibly painful when they are captured by the Federation, tortured by Dr. Shiro, and betrayed by the Empress they served. In the end, Altan makes his final, irreversible choice—incinerating the research facility, and sacrificing himself so Rin can escape.
Altan is not a hero. He is a weapon forged in suffering, a man whose brilliance is eclipsed by his rage. His downfall is heartbreaking and yet feels inevitable, not just because of his past, but because he refuses to imagine a future beyond war.
Kitay is Rin’s first and closest friend at Sinegard, the one person who treats her as an equal despite their vastly different backgrounds. Born into privilege as the son of the Empress’s defense minister, he grows up close to Nezha and Venka, but unlike them, he is neither cruel nor arrogant.
Kitay is more interested in books and ideas than in proving himself on the battlefield and would rather become a scholar than a soldier, but as the only son of his family, military service is expected of him. Though he lacks Rin’s physical prowess, he more than makes up for it with intellect, excelling at understanding battle tactics and political maneuvering.
After the war breaks he gets stationed in Golyn Niis. He is one of the few survivors of the horrifying Federation attack in the city, experiencing war firsthand in the most brutal way possible. And yet, he does not lose his morality.
Kitay is one of the only people willing to challenge Rin after the annihilation of Longbow Island. Where the rest of the Cike see justified vengeance, Kitay sees an atrocity. Unlike Rin, he cannot accept that genocide is an answer to war. Despite being appaled, though, he does not abandon her. His loyalty remains, though it is no longer blind. He becomes a constant presence in her life, not just as her friend, but as her conscience, a reminder of what she is becoming and the cost of her choices.
Yin Nezha is introduced as Rin’s arch-enemy in the Academy. He is wealthy, handsome, effortlessly talented, and the son of Yin Vaisra, the powerful Dragon Warlord. At Sinegard, he embodies the arrogance of the elite, mocking Rin for her lower-class origins and brutally clashing with her at every turn. Their rivalry is intense, driven by class, pride, and an unspoken need to outmatch each other. It culminates in a brutal match where Rin’s given abilities are awakened, and she almost kills him.
But as the war escalates, the lines between friend and foe blur. When they fight side by side against the Federation, a fragile understanding begins to form.
Beneath the confidence and malice, Nezha is a deeply layered, conflicted character. He carries the weight of his father’s expectations, the burden of his own hidden shamanic abilities, and the scars of a past he rarely speaks about. As the war escalates, his role shifts. He fights alongside Rin, then against her, torn between loyalty to his father’s Republic and his complicated bond with her.
Nezha is both an ally and an enemy, someone who understands Rin better than most yet stands in direct opposition to her. He is caught between duty and desire, ideology and personal connection. No matter how hard he tries to define himself, he is always at war—with his family, with his fate, and most of all, with himself.
Once a privileged Sinegardian elite, Venka is introduced as Rin’s roommate and tormentor in the Academy. She is beautiful, vain, ruthless, and fiercely loyal to Nezha’s social circle.
But war changes Venka as it changes every other character. The horrors of Golyn Niis shatter the life she once knew, leaving her brutalized and discarded, her body half-destroyed by the Federation’s soldiers. Yet, Venka does not break, she rebuilds. Where others pity her, she seethes. When her family and the Dragon Army deem her “damaged goods,” she refuses to be discarded. She trains despite her injuries, forcing her body to function even when it fails her, and she joins the Cike. Her bitterness sharpens into something cold and unrelenting. Venka is brutally honest, scathing in her assessments, and intolerant of weakness—both in herself and others. She has no patience for pity and no desire to be coddled.
Empress Su Daji, The Viperess, is the cunning and elusive ruler of Nikan, a member of the Trifecta, and a master manipulator who maintains power through deception and control.
Gifted with hypnotic abilities from the Snail Goddess, she bends the wills of others, making herself appear irresistibly beautiful and beloved. Though publicly seen as a unifying leader, she secretly conspires with Nikan’s enemies, orchestrating the Third Poppy War alongside Mugen’s Emperor Ryohai. Her ultimate betrayal comes when she turns on the Cike—first by murdering their commander, Tyr, and later by leading Mugen’s forces straight to Altan and Rin at the Chuluu Korikh.
The Poppy War isn’t just a story—it’s an experience. Brutal, thought-provoking, and utterly unflinching, it forces us to confront the rawest parts of human nature. There are no easy answers, no clean victories, only the weight of impossible choices and the scars they leave behind.
R.F. Kuang crafts characters that are deeply flawed, complex, and unforgettable, making The Poppy War one of the most compelling modern fantasy series to date.
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Not really. There is no romantic plotline in the first book. Rin does develop something close to an infatuation with Altan and there is tension between her and Nezha, but romance is never the main focus of the narrative.
Yes, it is the first book in The Poppy War trilogy, followed by The Dragon Republic and The Burning God. Each book explores the consequences of Rin’s choices and the larger political struggles of the Nikara Empire.
Probably not. The Poppy War is grim, violent, and emotionally intense. It contains depictions of war crimes, addiction, and extreme brutality. If you prefer lighter fantasy, this book may not be the right fit for you.
While the book is a work of fantasy, it is heavily inspired by real events, particularly 20th-century Chinese history. The Second Sino-Japanese War, the Opium Wars, and the atrocities of the Rape of Nanjing all inform the world-building and themes. R.F. Kuang’s academic background in Chinese history adds depth and authenticity to the story.
Almost every major character in The Poppy War exists in shades of gray, but Rin stands out as particularly complex. She starts as an underdog we root for, but her descent into vengeance and her hunger for power make her increasingly difficult to categorize as a hero. Even characters who seem outwardly noble—like Jiang—carry dark histories and questionable choices.
First and foremost, Nina is a reader; she devours literature with gusto, from classic novels to contemporary poetry to graphic novels and everything in between. She believes that within each story, there's a universe waiting to be explored, and loves exploring with company. She's often found sharing her perspective on characters, plot twists, and literary themes with friends. When her friends get tired of listening to her ranting, she writes blog posts sharing her explorations with the other bookworms of the internet. In recent years she has developed an inexplicable addiction to matcha lattes, but has asked us not to talk about that.
