Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Viúva de Ferro by Xiran Jay Zhao

274 reviews

jenny_d's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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micah_mac's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

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julbel's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Intense experience of one young woman's struggle in a system that views her as no more than fuel for an endless war. 
The quick pace of the book does leave me wishing for more moments of quiet, which are few and brief, to get a sense of the characters outside of turmoil. Zetian, Shimin and Yizhi are compelling characters, with much potential for further development of depth (and hopefully *some* down time to figure out who they are when they aren't trying to overthrow the government). 
Looking forward to the continuation of this story in the next book!
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franksreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious 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

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_andviolet's review against another edition

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

1.5

Don't read this book if you're sensitive to mentions of rape, femicide,  and patricide.
 
I had high hopes for this book because I followed Xiran Youtube channel for many years but this book was astonishingly subpar.

The prose is too childish for a story with such heavy, dark topics it's almost embarrassing. It's a poor attempt at critiquing the patriarchy with no real resolve or clear message/call to action as the main character Zetian
ends up also killing women as well despite her countless narrations of being against femicide, but "only at the hands of cis-men" i guess right?


[At this point I feel like I have to iterate that I'm not white, I'm also a queer POC so it's not anything about "not relating" to Zetian or Xiran.]

I understand that a lot about the character Zetian is a self insert of Xirans own struggles with their culture and sentiments with identifying as nonbinary, but a lot of the narration felt like aimless venting. I'm sorry I dare say its virtue signaling because Xiran only further perpetuates the concept of binary roles instead of eliminating them ("All. Boys. Want. It."; and when Zetian gains control over the Dragon saying "I finally feel like a man"). 

The love triangle was also pretty subpar for how much people hyped a bi-poly team. The 2 male characters felt like role played side characters and Zetian was kind of insufferable, and way too fueled by hatred. That's not female rage.

Oh also the weird racism against Shimin for not
being a Han person?
That parallel exists IRL but why did Zetian have to perpetuates the barbarian stereotype against him even in the last 30% of the book?

The last half of the book was really a drag and the only interesting plot revelance happened in the last 10 ish pages, but at the cost of
Shimins faked death and Yizhis character assassination
. I don't think I'll be reading the sequel if it's just a poor attempt at critiquing
colonization
next.

 We get it, bad thing is bad! Please for the sake of your followers that are still willing to read the sequel, give them some sort of resolve to your talking points.
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amandadevoursbooks'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? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Fun mix of fantasy and tech. Angry new adults wielding fury like a weapon in all its shapes. I DNFED (did not finish) this one back when it came out. GLAD I CAME BACK.

The only reason it wasn't a 5 star is the end felt rushed to me, but it's great!
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sarahasperger's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring 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

3.0

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angelfireeast24's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring 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

 A disabled queer feminist hero who took no shit and served endless power despite deep discrimination and injustice told within a sci-fi world of robots vs aliens. 5 stars Highly recommend reading 

It is an epic story of a world shaped by discrimination and sexism. A woman dares to change the world by refusing the horrible role society has assigned her. The world seems like one thing and quickly stands out as something altogether different. Nothing is as it appears. I was rooted in the story of Wu Zetian even as I sometimes had to look away and take a break from all the angst. Wu Zetian never stops fighting patriarchy and injustice. As the story develops, so do Wu Zetian's views on feminism and the characters around her. It goes hand in hand as her worldview changes throughout the book. I was supposed to be shocked and perhaps conflicted about a few things that happened by finding I was 100% behind our heroes. Near the end, twist after twist leaves me desperate for more. 
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pj99's review against another edition

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adventurous dark inspiring medium-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

5.0

Bloody spectacular, like inspecting an artwork the size of a soccer field with a magnifying glass!
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fragrant_stars's review against another edition

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

4.25

Honestly I loved this book. I didn't love it.. as much as I wanted  to love it, if that makes sense. It did come off as a little "preachy" at some points-- like when the characters talk about how men aren't just animals who can't control their sexual urges-- but the book as a whole, I loved, and I also loved, loved, loved the ployamoury in it, and the characters, and the ending. I'd definitely recommend this to any and all my friends.
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