Reviews with content warning for Gore - Iron Widow

Reviews tagging 'Gore'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

148 reviews

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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sup3r_xn0va_maya's review

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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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matturay's review against another edition

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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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mothkit's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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? It's complicated

4.0

I grabbed this book on a whim because of the cool cover and thought it was a stand-alone novel. When I learned it was part of a series I was disappointed because I wanted something quick and "unattached" to read, but I already bought it, so might as well still go for it and just let the rest of the series remain a mystery. It would be a quick read, anyway, I thought. I was sure in my choice too until litterally the last chapter. The author pulled the rug out from under me and left me in shock. It made think over the entire story with new understanding. So, now I'm probably gonna buy the sequel.

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oliviathebookwyrm's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

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justmys's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

2.75

I enjoyed the world the story took place in. The premise and intrigue but I wish there had been more of it.
Everything happens so fast and so easily (???) that it just felt...like watching a movie adaptation of a novel?
I didn't like the main character. I wanted to.

But every time she opened her mouth I cringed at her. She was not the cold genius she I thought she was. She was manipulated and easily played and only accomplished what she did because of the men around her. She never did anything herself.

If there's another book set in the same world I'll read it. It's an easy read and a decent idea for a story. I just hope we get to delve further in and read a novel instead of watching the YA movie version.

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