Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

86 reviews

queenqueso's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

I'm really torn on how I feel about the book, so I'm giving it 3 out of 5 stars despite adding it to "favorite reads of 2021" list.

On one hand, the premise is really interesting and

the ending threw me for a huge loop

, the whole "Chinese history meets Revolutionary Girl Utena meets Pacific Rim" angle is VERY cool and I always love an unapologetically messy and powerful female protag.

On the other hand, the book itself stumbles into things that are not entirely unexpected for an author's first book. Exposition that is way more tell than show, emotions or plots switching from one to another so fast I had to backread to understand what was happening, and so on. I at times felt like the story or characters were held back a bit by being in a YA book and that perhaps a full Adult rating would've allowed for better flushing out of some things the author clearly wanted to explore but often pulled back from. But maybe I'm just reading too much into it at the same time? And perhaps strongest of all I sometimes wasn't sure exactly what Wu Zetian's motives or feelings were.

Does she hate Shimin or does she not? Does she want to overthrow the system or exceed within it? Sometimes rather than being sure it was complicated feelings on her part, I was left feeling that it was swinging from one to the other with no clear middle ground.

All in all, I was left with a feeling of being intensely interested in the characters, dynamics, and setting but not as fully satisfied with the writing itself. As such, I'm still going to be looking forward to the sequel

Content Warnings

adhdru's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

“You’ve been living a dream long enough!
Welcome to your nightmare.”

I don’t even know where to start because I love so many things in this book. But let’s start with a quick summary of…

What this book is:

🐉The first of a sci-fi series “featuring giant mechas inspired by Chinese myth creatures”

🙆🏻A book with morally grey characters (who you will adore) ~~and contemptible ones that you’ll want to tear apart~~

🧡The evolution of the overused love triangle trope into its ultimate form: ✨polyamory✨

✊A magnificent delivery of very relevant social commentary —including misogyny, gender roles, [lack of] sustainability, racism, corruption, etcetera

What this book isn’t:

🙅Historically accurate —if you wanna learn about Wu Zetian’s life, this is a (total) reimagining of her life in an astronomically different setting!

📖A light, breezy read —there are some potentially triggering ones, as well as general fucked-up stuff happening

👓Your typical YA read —it’s a million times better and you should get reading asap

With that out of the way, let’s us dive into... my review

[Warning, cursing will ensue]

I’m not usually a big fan of mecha and I don’t read sci-fi very often, but I loved this setting so much. I was super into the (very misogynistic) mecha system though, which is powered by qi and spirit energy and the chrysalises (the robots) are creatures from Chinese folklore

all it needs is to have the pilots in balanced seats

Zetian, the main character and reimagining of the only female emperor of China, is fucking awesome. She has all I love in a person and as I was conflicted deciding whether I wanted to date her or be her, I decided that I want both —minus the lottus feet, that’s definitely something that should stay buried in the past (and fiction)!

The love interests Shimin and Yizhi, or as she describes them murder boy and sweet boy are not only decent and the opposite of a misogynist, they are also fucking awesome. They will make you soft, sad, mad and proud. They will also make you want to protect them at all costs.

What I probably loved the most though, is how this felt so cathartic in a way. Their world is horrible but, honestly, so is ours… Reading Zetian acknowledge and rage about all the injustice and broken systems infuriated me but also in a way made me feel validated. I often feel (or I’m made to feel) as though I just care too much, as though I spend so much energy on lost causes, speaking out about what’s wrong with the world and trying to act consciously to improve it. The fact that I cared about many themes and not just one has often given me the label of ‘intense’ and finding a character that is as ‘intense’ in that sense as me was so exciting and comforting.

Fuck the police and the patriarchy

As mentioned previously, this book has a lot of social commentary, more than I’ve ever read in fiction. It was all brilliantly incorporated in a way that felt natural and makes you rage too —if you’re like me, you’ll be angry a lot (I have a lot of orange book tabs to prove it)— but doesn’t in any way take away from the narrative or distract you of what’s going on.

“There will be no redemption. It is not me who is wrong. It's everyone else.”

There’s criticism about societal rules and expectations based on gender, particularly when it comes to women, blatant racism (disguised in high morals), injustice towards the poor/uneducated, corruption in the government, military and media; the justice system, and just so much more.

"There's no such thing as karma," I say, enunciating every siyllable like I want to crush them with my teeth. "Or, if it dies exist, it sure does not give a shit about people like me. Some of us were born to be used and discarded. We can't afford to simply go along with the flow of life, because nothing in this world has been created, built, or set up in our favor."

I truly enjoyed reading all these parallels to today’s world through a character that is actually aware of the irony and the wrongness of it all. And even when she exploits certain aspects of it, you can’t help but root for her.

"Humans...scourge of the universe..."

Highest level of badassery

This book is action-packed, and it just doesn’t get boring. But besides these scenes, what makes this so awesome is that Wu Zetian is an unapologetic bad bitch —and the love of my life. She is ruthless (see exhibits A and B for a couple of examples), brilliant, defiant, rebellious and will not hold herself back. She is witty and daring, takes no one’s shit, literally murders assholes, and says goodbye to gender roles, heteronormativity and monogamy —I’m stopping here cause if I were to list everything, I’d reach the max. character count.

She also single-handedly pilots the second biggest chrysalis into a Hero form and then goes on to co-pilot the highest class of chrysalis in existence, so there’s that. ☺️

Exhibit A (pg. 38):

To Yizhi: “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.”

Exhibit B (pg. 104):

To Shimin: “Ripples of visible heat lift his long hair above his shoulders, exposing his neck, splashed with horrid scars. 'It’s all wrong.’
‘Can't you fix it?’
‘I don't know how.’
Anger roils through my stupor. This conversation is pointless.
Only one can live.
‘I can't fix anything,’ he goes on. ‘I only know how to destroy.’
‘Then die.’
I stomp forth and shove him over the edge.”

Screw jealousy

I cannot emphasise enough how refreshing it is to read a love triangle resolved the right way: by making them all fall for each other. A healthy relationship where gender is irrelevant, there’s no toxic jealousy, they all work as a team and that doesn’t pressure anyone into having sex and consent is valued.

"Cheating is deception. He and I have talked about this. He's secure enough to know it's not a competition. That any feelings I have for you don't cancel the ones I have for him. He's okay with however close you and I get."

So many monogamous relationships could learn from them —both in fiction and reality.

"No, don't worry. I don't consider my instincts logical. so I don't want to be defined by them."

Before the poly becomes canon he also explains why he doesn't mind Zetian (potentially) being with Shimin in such a wonderful way:

"Where does jealousy come from, if not an insecurity that I'll lose you because of him? But that's not how it works, no matter how many people believe it so. You're not something to be kept or taken, and love isn't some scarce resource to battle over. Love can be infinite, as much as your heart can open."

I'll wrap up this kilometric review with one of my favourite quotes cause it has some of my favourite things grey morality, defiance, a fuck you to gender roles and the hierarchy, and perhaps the most important of all: food.

“Perks of refusing to play by the rules: you don’t have to choose between the boy who’d torture a man to death with you and the boy who welcomes you back with pastries.”

Instagram: https://cutt.ly/druloveswords| Storygraph: https://cutt.ly/mystorygraph | Goodreads: https://cutt.ly/mygoodreads

Content Warnings

leedolee's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense fast-paced

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

BRUH. THIS BOOK.

First of all, the premise of this book did not, at all, prepare me for what was truly about to happen. I imagined it as Pacific Rim with a stunning Chinese backdrop and a strong main character with a polyamorous relationship.

I did not at all imagine the discussion of gender roles, sexualities, relationships, and the full on eff you to the patriarchy. I also was not prepared for the drama, the violence, the dialogue, and the plot twists.

Needless to say, I enjoyed every second of it. A morally grey character? Villainous intentions? Or just what I needed?

Honestly, I was tired of reading about strong characters who were scared to enter into the dark side and fearful about how the world would view them. This book's leads completely did not care about that one bit. And I was here for it.

Read this book!

Content Warnings

karambit's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

rocketships's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

THIS BOOK IS BRILLIANT i don’t think i’ve ever felt so strongly about the end of a book in YEARS - the character development is flawless, the plot is flawless, THE PLOT TWIST AT THE END IS FLAWLESS - i could go on.

Content Warnings

horns_and_ember's review against another edition

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dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

Content Warnings

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