The Poppy War book 1 paperback

A war orphan from the provinces passes the entrance exam of the military elite, and discovers a dangerous gift there.

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang opens the trilogy of the same name with Rin, an orphan girl from a poor southern province who, to everyone's surprise, passes the Keju, the state examination of the Nikara Empire. And so she ends up at Sinegard, the most prestigious military academy in the land, where among students of noble birth she remains the peasant girl who does not belong. An eccentric teacher is the first to notice that Rin has access to the powers of gods everyone had forgotten. Meanwhile, the truce with the Federation of Mugen grows more fragile by the month.

Kuang based this fantasy novel on twentieth-century Chinese history, and it shows: what begins as a story about a girl at a strict school turns along the way into something much harsher about war and power. For readers looking for epic fantasy with sharp edges and little comfort, who can handle a book that does not gloss over the violence of war. This English paperback is book 1; The Dragon Republic and The Burning God complete the trilogy.