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macknificent's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
"One last thing,” I say over my shoulder, too quiet for my family to hear over the hovercraft churning. “Don’t think I’ve overlooked that you came to my house and almost foiled my plan, despite knowing how important it is to me. If you tip off the army in even the slightest way, I will kill myself when they lock me up, and then I will haunt you.”
What I Liked: The opening of the book was stellar! I felt like I was in the midst of a Gundam battle and somehow it had been turned into a novel! The world felt very full and the characters were complex, Wu Zetian's fury and follow through was glorious in the first portion of the book. I appreciated the constant call out of the patriarchy and how it was shown to affect every level of their world.
What I Didn't Like: Once Wu Zetian achieved her initial objective it felt like the book lost its momentum and cohesiveness. In the second half of the book we jumped from gritty & dark to sappy & thoroughly YA with no warning, rhythm or purpose. As happens with many debuts, the ending felt rushed as we tried to wrap up a lot of loose ends and set up for the next book.
I enjoyed this book immensely but there are issues with consistency and character cohesiveness that I hope are improved in the next book.
Graphic: Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Suicide, Addiction, Alcohol, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Medical content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual violence, Slavery, Trafficking, Violence, War, Rape, Self harm, and Xenophobia
house_of_hannah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The beginning is brilliant. You will come to hate this world as much as Zetian does. This story revolves aroung rage, revenge, and injustice in a brutal way that makes me very surprised that this is YA. However, since the start is so strong it does feel like it drags in the middle, and becomes a bit repetitive.
I do wish there had been a bit more world building. I feel like I don't understand the politics of this world well enough, or who's running it. (Besides men) I think that may have been done on purpose due to the ending, but I definitely wanted a few more things explained than what we got.
The whole time I was reading this I was getting major Hunger Games vibes. (Movies, I have not read the books) The layers of betrayel upon betrayel upon betrayel got to be too much though. It left me with no one to root for in the end.
One of the major selling points of this book that is pushed a lot is the polyamory. It's there, and there's some good commentary about being able to love multiple people at once, but man, I wish there was a bit more of it !
Overall, prepare for a violent tale about standing up to the patriarchy that turns into a different book by the end.
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Classism, Child death, Torture, Slavery, Sexism, Bullying, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Addiction, War, Violence, Murder, Misogyny, Death of parent, Death, and Body shaming
Moderate: Xenophobia, Gun violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness
Minor: Rape
atomicbritt's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Sexism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Murder, and Xenophobia
recycled_personalities's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Rape, Violence, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, War, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Medical content, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Blood, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Physical abuse
soundlysmitten's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
“Under siege by monsters beyond the Great Wall like that shitty Matt Damon movie (except the monsters are Cybertronian-like sentient machines) a society that has the fashion, social customs, and beliefs of Ancient China but futuristic tech fights back by pulling a Neon Genesis Evangelion and rebuilding their very invaders into giant mecha. A boy-girl pair in their teens, because of course they have to be teens, pilot the mecha Darling in the Franxx style, except in a much more sensible position (he hugs her from behind). Under command of human pilots, these mecha take on forms inspired by East Asian myth creatures and transform like Transformers through Digimon-esque evolution lines that get more humanoid as you go on. The pilots physically embody them, so it's more Attack on Titan than Gundam. Oh, and they blast qi attacks, so the battles honestly read like a bunch of furries engaged in a Dragon Ball Z fight, and that’s no one’s fault but mine.”
I heard NGE, Digimon & Dragon Ball, lol. Suffice it to say, Iron Widow is a trip 😹 In a good way, though. I don’t usually follow sci-fi well, but all the fast paced action in this book is surprisingly easy to visualize. The pages are rife with brutality, but there’s a good amount of well-timed humor as well. The morally grey cast is complete with a cinnamon roll character. There’s a love triangle that doesn’t follow the usual set up where everyone gets hurt and you can guess early on who ends up alone. And, another brilliant twist.
However, some people don’t like that the book is marketed as feminist because the main character, Zetian, is all about violence and bloodshed. In my opinion… some people need to recall that this story is set in a world where survival is rooted in violence and the government has been systematically sacrificing women for generations. It’s not like Zetian can change anything by say, running for office or writing to representatives. And we are capable of thinking critically, so should we really require her to be the ultimate feminist icon at all times just because the book has feminist themes? Zetian's life is constantly on the line. She isn't given many options, so while her actions might not always reflect an ideal picture of humanity, I think she operates in a realistic way considering all she's been through and all she's up against. In the beginning, it’s obvious that she is desperately done with life. Consumed by grief and rage, she is ready to sacrifice her awful family along with herself. Moreover, she contemplates possibly damning the human race for the sake of revenge. I would’ve liked more content on Zetian’s bond with Big Sister in order to make better sense of her death as Zetian’s initial driving force, but all the same… as circumstances shift, she comes to realize she has a bit of power to leverage and hope begins to spark in her chest. Her goals get bigger, less selfish. It’s still very clear, though, that if things don’t change, she doesn’t want to be around. Taking her past trauma, the conditions she's being forced to endure, and her mental/emotional/spiritual state into account, how can readers expect her to be this golden heroine who always does the right thing? Even the very concept of ‘the right thing’ becomes convoluted as the story progresses. Right or wrong, Zetian is the type of person who’s willing to make heartless decisions in order to tear down the toxic system she was born into. But she’s also prone to lashing out in fits of anguish. And I do wonder how the aftermath of her actions will settle, how she will process it all…
Another reason people have argued the book shouldn't be labeled feminist is that Zetian goes about attaining victory the way men are often portrayed doing so. I agree that women don't need to emulate men in order to be strong and I so appreciate stories about women who are strong by their own feminine standards. But Zetian is a girl whose qi manifests the way society might expect a guy’s to, and it's great. It doesn't change the fact that the narrative centers on the liberation of women, so I don't see it as a reason to denounce the story's feminist themes.
My question isn’t how did Zetian get such ‘radical’ ideas, but why does she appear to be the only one seeing clearly enough to get big mad?
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, War, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Confinement, Grief, and Torture
Moderate: Blood, Racial slurs, Racism, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Domestic abuse, Rape, and Body shaming
nicole_schmid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and War
Minor: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
cakeylu's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, and War
Moderate: Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Xenophobia
Minor: Body shaming, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Fatphobia
annir's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Confinement, Death, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Ableism, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Child death, Slavery, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, and Kidnapping
kimberlyb's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Alcoholism and Alcohol
Minor: Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Fatphobia
ramiel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Murder, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Torture, Violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, and War
Moderate: Sexual assault, Classism, Dysphoria, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Rape, and Sexual violence
Minor: Confinement, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Bullying, Death of parent, Racism, Body shaming, Classism, Sexual content, and Racial slurs