Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

133 reviews

uwubies's review against another edition

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

4.25

i have manyyyyyyy feelings over this book; i went into it nervous bc i had seen a staggering amount of negative reviews right before reading, i devoured this book within one day which was very cathartic zetian encompasses everything i love about "female rage" im obsessed with her

my biggest cons with the book are that it tries to cram a huge amount of topics in under 400 words: alien fighting sci fi, feminist commentary on the history of & present day china, love triangle turned polyamoury, and like poltical drama - its a Lot and many aspects are not given the attention they really deserved (the polyamourous relationship was a big factor in why i read this and i wish we could have seen more)
 also when i got to like the last 10 pages of the novel i was struck with a vague deja vu and then the shame hit me, this was playing out exactly like all of these dark!harry potter fanfictions i read when i was 12 ☹️ it does end on a cliffhanger though! so im hoping the sequal adds more nuance to zetians actions than just a blind rage to murder everyone that crosses her path

ummm this book is not for everyone  it will definitely make some people feel Weird since zetian shimin & yizhi are horrible people who do horrible things for like, the entire book but i had fun

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Murder, Torture, Violence, War, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Medical trauma, Grief, Addiction, and Alcohol

Minor: Blood, Colonisation, Xenophobia, and Suicidal thoughts

annorabrady's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

This is a great, compelling story that's hard to stop reading. The characters are fully fleshed, morally grey characters (even those who think they are one extreme or the other). The combination of traditional cultures melded with a futuristic, sci-fi setting give strong foundations for allegories and messages that can be applied to our society today without feeling heavy handed. And the writing is masterfully done so that the plot twist at the end feels earned and satisfying. 

Also, there once was a review I saw that said "any love triangle can be solved with polyamory" and I am pleased to say that this book chose that method. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Medical content, Addiction, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, War, Torture, Confinement, Death, Murder, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Alcoholism, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Colonisation and Classism

ajhling's review

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book is not just gold tier, but platinum tier. It's such a great book that I have technically brought two copies of - the paperback (which I brought first) and the audio (which I brought so I can listen while driving or playing video games). I have all intentions of buying an E-Book version in the near future so I'll always have a copy on hand. 

This book has characters that are mostly grey at best, and down right evil at worst. Our protagonist is a ball of rage and is someone who would be seen as the villain in many works of fiction. I love it. Even her romantic partners are on the verge of being villains in other works of fiction. 

My favourite part besides the plot and our protagonist and her romantic partners, and the world as a whole?

The fact that there's no explicit sex scenes which have impregnated the publishing industry these days. Meaning you have a book that treats its readers like the older teens and adults that we are without having to worry about sex scenes because it's aimed towards an older teen, recent high school graduate age range, which apparently means sex most be included un the eyes of modern publishers.

I'm so hoping that the lack of explicit sex scenes continues onto the next book/s in the series (though even if they were present I'd still buy/read them anyway).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexism, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, and Misogyny

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Torture, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Genocide, Child abuse, Child death, Sexual assault, Rape, Homophobia, Colonisation, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Violence, Body shaming, Racism, and Alcohol

devirtualized's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual harassment, Torture, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and War

Moderate: Cursing, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, and Confinement

Minor: Sexual content

bibim's review against another edition

adventurous tense medium-paced

• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism and Death

Minor: Colonisation

bookishcori's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Misogyny, Sexism, War, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Colonisation, Confinement, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault

marsh_mall0w's review

dark emotional 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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Grief, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Murder, Sexism, Torture, Violence, and War

Moderate: Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Body shaming, and Confinement

miniingrid's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

La historia tiene potencial y engancha. Pero me falta world building y un poco más de contexto.
El tono parece muy de fanfic adolescente. Y se lee casi de una sentada (a pesar de la cantidad de veces que he puesto los ojos en blanco).

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, War, Grief, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Torture, Alcohol, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts

miggyfool's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Addiction, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Colonisation, Confinement, Drug abuse, Murder, Police brutality, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Dysphoria, Medical trauma, Slavery, and War

cristina_margarita's review

adventurous 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

4.75

I with always root for feminine rage so Zetian was someone who was easy to get behind. I really appreciated how her initial mission was over so quickly & so much of the book was her constantly pivoting & honestly going a little power mad. 

The relationship development was so amusing to me because as a reader it was fairly obvious where it was heading but the characters are so oblivious. 

I couldn’t answer a single question you asked me about the chrysalises or the war; but the vibes were excellent!! I look forward to the sequel & the author’s inevitable book about the French Revolution.

This book majorly gave the hunger games for me despite them being so different 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Physical abuse, War, Confinement, Murder, Violence, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcohol, and Body horror