Reviews tagging 'Misogyny'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

1122 reviews

dark emotional tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Hands down one of the best books I've ever read. The execution of the characters, world building, and plot devices tying into the themes of the book was near flawless. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous challenging dark medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

So good and so complex. It addresses so many issues relevant in Canada and other countries, right now and in the past. Intersectional feminism, queer and gender theory, characters of colour, this book has it all! It even addresses decolonization, which I (surprisingly, considering how colonial many fantasy works are) don't see much in fantasy literature!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I have very conflicted opinions on this one. If you really want them all you can find them here: https://www.tumblr.com/sofipitch/769508205964443648/i-finished-iron-widow-and-have-too-many-opinions?source=share

Tldr: Some of the didactic-ness of the book is annoying or poorly done but it's very earnest and self indulgent which is charming

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous mysterious 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

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I can’t believe I waited this long to read this book, but I’m also very glad that I won’t have to wait very long for the sequel. This was so much fun. Xiran Jay Zhao perfectly combines Chinese history, scifi chaos, and feminist rage into a compulsively readable novel. It is also exactly what is says it’s going to be, and this is so rare that I have to give Zhao and their team massive credit for that.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Really wonderful concept and hints of incredible world-building, including a GREAT twist at the end… but it’s dragged down by uneven pacing, lack of detail, immature writing style, and jumps in characterization (Zetian’s feelings about Shimin seem to completely change overnight). I’ll continue the series, but can’t recommend it.

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

 Nowadays I'm hesitant to start series that aren't already finished, but this one has come up often enough with enough praise that I decided to just go for it. And I only wish I'd done that sooner. As an anime fan who was wildly disappointed that Darling in the Franxx did not live up to its promise, I went through each chapter of this book with ever-increasing glee. All of my thanks go to the author for writing the kind of story that I'd wanted to see from that show.

I didn't read this book so much as devour it - from the second the main character chooses revenge over love, you're there in the whirlwind of events that follow. I could not put this book down. I needed to know just how far Zetian would go to tear down the society that was trying so hard to grind her into dust - and also hoping that she'd find some inner peace for herself at the end of it. All of this, plus an on-page polyamorous relationship, and I loved every moment of this story, even as the cliffhanger ending reminded me yet again why I usually wait for a series to be over.

Thanks to all of that, for most of this book I was ready to give it five stars just for the emotions that it inspired in me. But the last thirty pages or so highlighted the one major problem I have with it - the author keeps pulling back to tell rather than show. I'm not sure why the author does this - I could accept it in the scenes where the characters were quickly moving from place to place, or when it was clear that it was acting as a written version of a montage. But in the middle of action sequences or as a way to share important plot information? Not as much. And the author can craft compelling scenes - I'd find myself lost in the conversations, imagining the clothes, the armor, the way the mechs were fighting. But then that flow would be interrupted by pulling backwards to tell how someone sounded, rather than show it through their words. At times it felt like the author was afraid to go all in, but I wish that they'd let even more loose. The book is already hundreds of pages - some extra space to properly flesh out scenes wouldn't be that much more to ask, would it? 

Regardless, I'm joining the legion of people waiting for the sequel. And I'm still keeping my fingers crossed that Zetain finds her happy ending, whatever she decides that looks like. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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

Was ein Buch! In den momentan Zeiten genau das was ich brauchte. Eine starke Weibliche Protagonistin die das Patriarchale System ohne Gnade zerstören will!

Zetian ist eine so spannende Protagonistin. Sie hat klare Wertvorstellungen und weiß was sie will. Ihr ist kein Mittel zu schlimm und sie entscheidet sich eine Welt die voll mit Grausamkeit ist, auf die gleiche Art und Weise zu bekämpfen. Ihre Wut und ihr Ziel junge Mädchen und Frauen aus diesem System zu befreien, in welcher die Verstümmelung der weiblichen Füße zur täglichen Praxis gehört, ist bewundernswert. Trotz ihrer gewaltreichen Seiten ist sie dennoch ein bewundernswerter starker und guter Charakter. 

Die Welt in welche wir in diesem Buch eintauchen hat mich von der ersten Seite an gefesselt. Und mit jedem Kapitel immer mehr in den Bann gezogen. Diese Welt in der alles so schwarz weiß zu sein scheint uns aber durch Zetian, Yizhi und Shimin gezeigt wird wie Falsetten reich die Gesellschaft, Liebe und Macht sein kann. 



Mit der Enthüllung des manipulierten Pilotensystems zur Entdeckung der Einwanderung der Menschen auf den Planeten, hat mich dann voll ends überzeugt. 
Der Konflikt der in Hauxia durch das System herrscht hin zu einer über den Planeten hinausgehenden Vertuschung, lässt mich nur mit absoluter Spannung auf das nächste Buch warten. 

Und wenn Shimin nicht überlebt dann mach ich Krawall😭!

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
adventurous dark tense fast-paced

Expand filter menu Content Warnings