Reviews tagging 'Death'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

705 reviews

the_quickening_tree's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual violence

kbairbooks's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

CHILLS. The rage, the revenge, the sit down little boy and let me handle it. Everything. I have been waiting for a book like this my whole life. I absolutely loved it. I want to reread it this instant. Absolutely stunning and I CANNOT WAIT FOR BOOK TWO.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

sup3r_xn0va_maya's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

This is like a Pacific Rim fanfic, but it's really good! 20 minutes after I finished it, I'm still thinking about the ending and I'm really excited for the sequel. 

So in this book there are these monsters that attack the cities that the main character Zetian lives in and around, and these male celebrities with their female concubine partners get in giant animal shaped robots and they fight these monsters. The woman often die after going into battle so there's always a need for female concubine pilots. The main character has a big sister who was sacrificed in battle as a concubine pilot and she wants revenge. Her plan is to get chosen to pilot along side the man responsible for her sister's death. 

Okay, so I really love how the

love triangle was handled, and as a polyamorous person, I'm so happy to see polyam representation in this book. This is the first time I've read a book where the author decides to make a trio out of the "love triangle" and it works perfectly!

I liked how much action there was and I loved how the action scenes played out, it was like I could imagine the scenes in my head while I listened to the audiobook. 

I really loved the twists and turns in the book and I'm so happy that I didn't get anything spoiled for me, because those surprises were worth the wait.

Does Zetian fall under the "evil cripple" trope that is apart of the "magical disabled persons" trope? I don't think so, I don't think Zetian is evil, though I think she's emotionally evolving. I think her character walks the line of the "evil cripple" trope though, so I could easily see how some people think she falls under that trope. 

<blockquote>"Typically, the disabled characters are limited to four types: the “magical cripple,” the “evil cripple,” the “inspirational cripple” and the “redemptive cripple.” An Evil Cripple is a villain or generally morally perturbed character who also suffers a debilitating physical condition, often taking the form of paralysis requiring the use of a wheelchair. The Evil Cripple doubles as the Genius Cripple a lot, providing an intellectual threat to compensate for their physical frailty. Alternatively, the Evil Cripple can become a physical threat if they use futuristic enhancements to overcome their disability, such as replacing missing or defective limbs with super-strong Powered Armor or cybernetic parts."

- tvtropes.org</blockquote>

Overall, this was a really good book and I enjoyed it very much. I'm giving this 
5 out of 5 stars. 
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

libbyapp.com

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

thenoboshow's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

A coming of age story in a dystopia hellscape where that means teens climb into body operated giant mechs to protect the country from "invading forces". Female rage in a society that treats women as disposable. Action was well written and dialogue was witty when it was meant to be.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Self harm and Toxic friendship

matturay's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• 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

5.0

I don't usually read sci-fi, but this book grabbed me by the throat and wouldn't let go.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

samanthamaejane's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark fast-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Violence, Murder, and War

toy_masterpiece's review

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

 ⭐🎧Audiobook Listener🎧⭐
 
What. A. Book.

It is angry girl hours everyone. This book is a masterclass in saying the quiet part out loud: Love is not a finite resource. A system that hates women also hates men.

The system is literally rigged and we should talk about it. Also you don't owe anything to people who don't respect you, even if "they're family".

I don't know how I'll be able to go back to other fantasy worlds when this one was so intricate. I don't know how I'll go back to other romantic subplots when this one is so much of what I have always wanted from a romantic subplot.

I at first had a hard time getting along with Xetian but it was just a classic case of relating to the point of disliking the parts of her that I see in myself.

Rong Fu truly brought this text to life with her reading. It was emotional, blunt, and engaging at all the right parts.

This book has quickly become one of my all time favorites.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, and War

louisallama's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

It ended up being a bit more of a popcorn novel than I was hoping. We jump from plot point to plot point, and the book doesn't really allow for any nuance or speculation, it spells out everything in rather simple terms. I also though the action sequences really needed some work, especially since this is meant to be a mecha-centric novel. 
All that being said, it was very delicious popcorn, I thought all of the characters were absolutely fucking bonkers, and once I got started I ripped through it much faster than I thought I would. 

Also bonus points for Zetian's incredible canon bisexual polycule with her cinnamon bun boyfriend and her hardened criminal boyfriend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, and Torture

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Violence, and War

anindistinctaccountant's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Sexism

nadalien's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Misogyny