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adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have never read a book all in one sitting like this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Genocide, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Dysphoria, Classism
Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child death, Miscarriage, Rape, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-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:
Yes
What a follow up to Iron Widow! It definitely had a different vibe- it's wasn't full time female rage and mecha- smash-things, but there still were elements of that vibe in this book. It was interesting to see how Huaxia changed after the old regime was overthrown, and I felt like sometimes it was almost like a foreshadowing of what could happen if capitalism was overthrown semi-violently. I really liked to see what Zetian did to try to uplift women. Qin Zheng grew on me, to the point where I was pretty much rooting for him and Zetian to make it work... but I should have expected her to not fully bow down to him, so that crazy ending shouldn't have been a surprise! But man, I had whiplash with Yizhi and his various betrayals, and like Zetian, I lost my trust in him. But wow, what an ending! I had pretty much guessed that the gods were just more advanced beings/society but not really gods, but it was interesting to see how that interaction panned out! Also, does this mean there will be more books? I thought it was a planned duology, but now I'm not sure! Overall, I continued to enjoy Zhao's writing style and world building, and I liked the revolution vibes. Definitely a worthy follow up after the excellence that is Iron Widow!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Gore, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Vomit
I kind of missed the polyamory between Zetian, Yizhi, and Shimin. Zetian and Qin Zheng was just different, and I felt like she didn't always fully want to be with him, but did eventually decide it was more of a physical release than an actual bonding beyond the physical act.
adventurous
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I think this book could have used a few more rounds of edits. There were some points that dragged but the good parts were really good. The ending is wild in the best way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, War
Moderate: Sexual content
challenging
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Pregnancy, War
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, War
Moderate: Body horror, Sexual content, Grief, Pregnancy, Colonisation
Minor: Child abuse, Miscarriage, Sexual assault
adventurous
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What a wild ride for book 2! Looking forward to book 3 and where the story goes next.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Colonisation, War
Minor: Child death
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Rated it a step lower because the pace was slow for my personal liking. I think this is going to be a very important book for 2025, especially with the new polical cycle we will be facing. Honestly. My first thought was "this is what happens when we let children be in control of a government" š I am absolutely looking forward to book 3. It's also important to note that bodily consent is not limited to sexual acts. It's includes anything done to your body with or without your knowledge and this is violated several times in the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Abortion
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
In the first book our female lead literally goes on a rampage to end the patriarchy and the government and in this one sheās fully beholden to men and the government. What happened?
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sometimes you like a book so much that you donāt know how to talk about it because thereās just so much to say.
Heavenly Tyrant picks up just where Iron Widow ended, with Wu Zetian, having overthrown the government of Huaxia with the help of just one giant Chrysalis, one barely-conscious two-hundred year old emperor, and one of her boyfriends, ready to take on the Heavenly Court, the mysterious āgodsā who live about the surface of her planet and claim to be holding her other boyfriend in a semi-alive state. But while I felt that Iron Widow (which I loved, this isnāt a complaint) was fairly predictable in its plot until the end, Heavenly Tyrant is a very different book, so immediately the story goes shooting off in a new direction. It turns out that it wasnāt just his high spirit pressure - the ability to manipulate qi that makes a Chrysalis pilot effective - that made Qin Zheng, recently-comatose two-hundred year old former emperor - so formidable in his time. Heās capable of things modern pilots canāt even dream, and in short order, heās taken over Zetianās revolution. Before she entirely knows whatās happening, Zetian finds herself the subject of the returned emperor, who has seized control of the government she left in shambles, instituted a ālaboristā (ie, Marxist) revolution, and is demanding that Zetian marry him to consolidate his power. As Zetian says, āsame shit, different man.ā
Zetian is the last person who is going to submit to a marriage against her will, but sheās smart enough to realize that Qin Zheng could be easier to take down from within his court, and thereās also the minor matter of his ability to help her challenge the gods and get back her lover, Li Shimin. So Zetian agrees to the marriage, and becomes Empress of Huaxia. And thenā¦ like a million things happen, this book is very long, but thatās not why itās a difficult one to summarize or review. Itās because there are so many ideas and themes and character arcs, and Iām a bit in awe of how smoothly Zhao manages to make them all work together while still keeping Heavenly Tyrant a compulsive read.
So, in no particular order, things I liked about this book:
- The handling of its politics. Zetian in the first book was not a political character in the traditional sense; she had strong views about the horrendous treatment of women in Huaxia, and to a lesser extent some anger about other marginalized groups, but her rage was very much rooted in the personal experiences of herself and those she loved, not some greater political consciousness. And while there were political ideas in Iron Widow beyond the overt feminism, such as a criticism of late-stage capitalism, that wasnāt really the focus. But in Heavenly Tyrant, Zetian finds herself the co-ruler of a Marxist empire and has to get a crash course on a lot of political ideas. This sounds like it could have been very boring, but it isnāt, mostly because Zhao is delivering all of this through character - both Zetianās development as someone who may not be educated in political theory but has a strong sense of justice, and that of her would-be teachers, including the often hilarious Qin Zheng (the whole private vrs personal property thing, with its very funny payoff, was one of my favorite jokes). And itās not as simple as just explaining the political ideas of the book; Zhao is addressing the flaws and benefits of the system Zetian is helping create, but also the problems of power itself. Having ended the previous book by overthrowing a government, Zetian learns the hard way that rebuilding one is a much more difficult task even before you take into account that she canāt trust the emperor or anyone in his court and that they are being manipulated by the āgods.ā Some of the most chilling moments of the book are those when we see Zetian, without fully realizing it, succumbing to the lure of power and justifying atrocities as necessary. But Heavenly Tyrant isnāt a dark book, not in that way, and so for all that the systems and the people involved in this new empire are deeply flawed, itās still a book about people who do have good intentions and want to make the world better, even if they sometimes do deeply fucked up things to get there. It manages to be both realistic and idealistic about the chances of making the world a better place and thatās impressive.
- Qin Zheng. The old/new emperor is a major force in this book and heās a fascinatingly drawn character, simultaneously a horrific monster who achieved ultimate power and was corrupted by it, an idealist with a genuine desire to improve life for his people, and a weird little guy who has no idea how to handle personal relationships or basic communication of any kind. Zetianās relationship with Qin Zheng is the heart of this story and itās incredible. There is so much going on between them - distrust, lust, betrayal, common goals, vying for power, partnership, hate sexā¦ even, oddly, moments of affection and understanding. They are very similar characters and thereās a lot of denial to the way Zetian feels about Qin Zheng; at no point, including the end, did I feel I truly understood what was going to happen between them, nor did I think Zetian did either. If youāre someone whoās never understood the appeal of relationships where the two people involved genuinely do hate each other but also want to screw like bunnies, this one could convince you. I started out wanting nothing more than for Zetian to get away from Qin Zheng, but the more he was on the page but more I just wanted to see more of him, without ever forgetting that he is in many ways a terrible person.
- The other new characters. Zetian has friends now! After being betrayed by one of the few people she thought might be a friend in Iron Widow, in Heavenly Tyrant Zetian gets a whole new crew of female friends and they are excellent. Qieluo, Wanāer and Taiping are all very different people from different walks of life, but they have a bond as women that is deeply important to the story. For all that Heavenly Tyrant is moving into other political and social ideas, feminism remains at its heart, and I loved that in this book, that meant hearing from different women with different perspectives. I didnāt mind that Zetian had so few relationships with women in the first book because that was thematically appropriate - Huaxian society works to keep women focused on men, not each other - but with Zetian getting a chance to put some of her ideas into practice, it was so great to see her connecting with other women. And this went beyond her personal friendships; I loved the part of the book where she was helping women organize and expand their role in the empire.
- Worldbuilding. Zhao continues to build on the really interesting world sheās created in these books, deepening the mystery of what the Hunduns are, fleshing out the gods and expanding the possibilities of qi manipulation and the pilot system. Zetian learned to do all kinds of cool new things in this book, but there was also a lot of emotional depth to the way she confronted her feelings about the war with the Hunduns or the exploitive pilot system. The Zetian of book one was focused on the way the pilot system hurt women, but now that itās becoming more equal, we got to see what it was like to be on the other side, fighting an unjust war and being in the position of the person who might drain her partner of qi in order to survive. Tantalizing hints at what might be possible if humans could find a better way to pilot their Chrysalises, if they could communicate with the Hunduns, not to mention the big twist at the end of Shimin becoming some kind of Hundun/human hybrid all left me really excited to see where the story is going.
- Yizhi. I said in my review of Iron Widow that Yizhi felt a little idealized to me, the perfect boyfriend to reward Zetian and Shimin for all the shit theyād been through, sweet and supportive and accepting with just enough of a dark side to match them. But Heavenly Tyrant strips away a lot of Yizhiās cover and gives us a glimpse of who he really is. In this book, we see Yizhiās manipulative side, the lengths heās willing to go to even if it means hurting those he loves, his ability to lie and scheme and play politics on a kind of terrifying level. And we also finally see the trauma and fury that turned him into his person, easily enough to match the people Zetian and Shimin became. I spent a lot of his book angry at Yizhi; at one point, I actually hated him. And I came out of it not sure exactly how I feel about him, or what I need him to do to be forgiven. But he also still remains one of my favorite characters, maybe even more so now.
- Zetian. Wu Zetian is definitely one of my favorite characters, not just in this series but in recent fiction. Her anger, her drive, her capacity for both love and sacrifice and also coldness and pragmatism - sheās excellent. This book, even more than the last one, put Zetian into situations she was completely unprepared for, whether that was taking on a public role as the empress, navigating political ideas and negotiations, or moral qualms like having a pilot partner she could kill, and all of them caused her character to grow in interesting ways that still felt true to the core of who she is. She remains always a sympathetic character to me, even when sheās doing things I donāt like or that seem designed to make a reader question her. And as in the first book, I really loved that for all that Zetian was forced to question herself and what she believed, for all that she was put in positions where she doubted her own judgement, whether that was in her relationship with Qin Zheng or her position as empress, she still stayed true to who she is: someone who fights for women, who refuses to compromise on the things that matter, and who is always determined not to be controlled or owned. The entire storylinearound Zetianās refusal to get pregnant and her fury at the men treating her reproductive system as a political tool had me wanting her to burn everything down while I cheered her on. Also, and this was true in Iron Widow too, I really appreciate that Zetian is a character who deals with chronic pain and spent a significant period of this book sidelined by injuries and post-surgery limitations while still managing to be a badass and fully involved in the plot.
- The ending. The final section of this book once again saw Zetian and her allies zoom away from the main plot to take explosive action against an enemy, but I felt it was much better paced here than in Iron Widow. The whole last section of this book was exciting, shocking, and full of action, but it also hit the emotional beats better than the climax of Iron Widow did, especially Shiminās death and rebirth and Zetianās attempt to kill Qin Zheng. . The book ended in a place where there are so many possibilities for what could happen next that I donāt even want to try to predict it.
Heavenly Tyrant picks up just where Iron Widow ended, with Wu Zetian, having overthrown the government of Huaxia with the help of just one giant Chrysalis, one barely-conscious two-hundred year old emperor, and one of her boyfriends, ready to take on the Heavenly Court, the mysterious āgodsā who live about the surface of her planet and claim to be holding her other boyfriend in a semi-alive state. But while I felt that Iron Widow (which I loved, this isnāt a complaint) was fairly predictable in its plot until the end, Heavenly Tyrant is a very different book, so immediately the story goes shooting off in a new direction. It turns out that it wasnāt just his high spirit pressure - the ability to manipulate qi that makes a Chrysalis pilot effective - that made Qin Zheng, recently-comatose two-hundred year old former emperor - so formidable in his time. Heās capable of things modern pilots canāt even dream, and in short order, heās taken over Zetianās revolution. Before she entirely knows whatās happening, Zetian finds herself the subject of the returned emperor, who has seized control of the government she left in shambles, instituted a ālaboristā (ie, Marxist) revolution, and is demanding that Zetian marry him to consolidate his power. As Zetian says, āsame shit, different man.ā
Zetian is the last person who is going to submit to a marriage against her will, but sheās smart enough to realize that Qin Zheng could be easier to take down from within his court, and thereās also the minor matter of his ability to help her challenge the gods and get back her lover, Li Shimin. So Zetian agrees to the marriage, and becomes Empress of Huaxia. And thenā¦ like a million things happen, this book is very long, but thatās not why itās a difficult one to summarize or review. Itās because there are so many ideas and themes and character arcs, and Iām a bit in awe of how smoothly Zhao manages to make them all work together while still keeping Heavenly Tyrant a compulsive read.
So, in no particular order, things I liked about this book:
- The handling of its politics. Zetian in the first book was not a political character in the traditional sense; she had strong views about the horrendous treatment of women in Huaxia, and to a lesser extent some anger about other marginalized groups, but her rage was very much rooted in the personal experiences of herself and those she loved, not some greater political consciousness. And while there were political ideas in Iron Widow beyond the overt feminism, such as a criticism of late-stage capitalism, that wasnāt really the focus. But in Heavenly Tyrant, Zetian finds herself the co-ruler of a Marxist empire and has to get a crash course on a lot of political ideas. This sounds like it could have been very boring, but it isnāt, mostly because Zhao is delivering all of this through character - both Zetianās development as someone who may not be educated in political theory but has a strong sense of justice, and that of her would-be teachers, including the often hilarious Qin Zheng (the whole private vrs personal property thing, with its very funny payoff, was one of my favorite jokes). And itās not as simple as just explaining the political ideas of the book; Zhao is addressing the flaws and benefits of the system Zetian is helping create, but also the problems of power itself. Having ended the previous book by overthrowing a government, Zetian learns the hard way that rebuilding one is a much more difficult task even before you take into account that she canāt trust the emperor or anyone in his court and that they are being manipulated by the āgods.ā Some of the most chilling moments of the book are those when we see Zetian, without fully realizing it, succumbing to the lure of power and justifying atrocities as necessary. But Heavenly Tyrant isnāt a dark book, not in that way, and so for all that the systems and the people involved in this new empire are deeply flawed, itās still a book about people who do have good intentions and want to make the world better, even if they sometimes do deeply fucked up things to get there. It manages to be both realistic and idealistic about the chances of making the world a better place and thatās impressive.
- Qin Zheng. The old/new emperor is a major force in this book and heās a fascinatingly drawn character, simultaneously a horrific monster who achieved ultimate power and was corrupted by it, an idealist with a genuine desire to improve life for his people, and a weird little guy who has no idea how to handle personal relationships or basic communication of any kind. Zetianās relationship with Qin Zheng is the heart of this story and itās incredible. There is so much going on between them - distrust, lust, betrayal, common goals, vying for power, partnership, hate sexā¦ even, oddly, moments of affection and understanding. They are very similar characters and thereās a lot of denial to the way Zetian feels about Qin Zheng; at no point, including the end, did I feel I truly understood what was going to happen between them, nor did I think Zetian did either. If youāre someone whoās never understood the appeal of relationships where the two people involved genuinely do hate each other but also want to screw like bunnies, this one could convince you. I started out wanting nothing more than for Zetian to get away from Qin Zheng, but the more he was on the page but more I just wanted to see more of him, without ever forgetting that he is in many ways a terrible person.
- The other new characters. Zetian has friends now! After being betrayed by one of the few people she thought might be a friend in Iron Widow, in Heavenly Tyrant Zetian gets a whole new crew of female friends and they are excellent. Qieluo, Wanāer and Taiping are all very different people from different walks of life, but they have a bond as women that is deeply important to the story. For all that Heavenly Tyrant is moving into other political and social ideas, feminism remains at its heart, and I loved that in this book, that meant hearing from different women with different perspectives. I didnāt mind that Zetian had so few relationships with women in the first book because that was thematically appropriate - Huaxian society works to keep women focused on men, not each other - but with Zetian getting a chance to put some of her ideas into practice, it was so great to see her connecting with other women. And this went beyond her personal friendships; I loved the part of the book where she was helping women organize and expand their role in the empire.
- Worldbuilding. Zhao continues to build on the really interesting world sheās created in these books, deepening the mystery of what the Hunduns are, fleshing out the gods and expanding the possibilities of qi manipulation and the pilot system. Zetian learned to do all kinds of cool new things in this book, but there was also a lot of emotional depth to the way she confronted her feelings about the war with the Hunduns or the exploitive pilot system. The Zetian of book one was focused on the way the pilot system hurt women, but now that itās becoming more equal, we got to see what it was like to be on the other side, fighting an unjust war and being in the position of the person who might drain her partner of qi in order to survive. Tantalizing hints at what might be possible if humans could find a better way to pilot their Chrysalises, if they could communicate with the Hunduns, not to mention the big twist at the end
- Yizhi. I said in my review of Iron Widow that Yizhi felt a little idealized to me, the perfect boyfriend to reward Zetian and Shimin for all the shit theyād been through, sweet and supportive and accepting with just enough of a dark side to match them. But Heavenly Tyrant strips away a lot of Yizhiās cover and gives us a glimpse of who he really is. In this book, we see Yizhiās manipulative side, the lengths heās willing to go to even if it means hurting those he loves, his ability to lie and scheme and play politics on a kind of terrifying level. And we also finally see the trauma and fury that turned him into his person, easily enough to match the people Zetian and Shimin became. I spent a lot of his book angry at Yizhi; at one point, I actually hated him. And I came out of it not sure exactly how I feel about him, or what I need him to do to be forgiven. But he also still remains one of my favorite characters, maybe even more so now.
- Zetian. Wu Zetian is definitely one of my favorite characters, not just in this series but in recent fiction. Her anger, her drive, her capacity for both love and sacrifice and also coldness and pragmatism - sheās excellent. This book, even more than the last one, put Zetian into situations she was completely unprepared for, whether that was taking on a public role as the empress, navigating political ideas and negotiations, or moral qualms like having a pilot partner she could kill, and all of them caused her character to grow in interesting ways that still felt true to the core of who she is. She remains always a sympathetic character to me, even when sheās doing things I donāt like or that seem designed to make a reader question her. And as in the first book, I really loved that for all that Zetian was forced to question herself and what she believed, for all that she was put in positions where she doubted her own judgement, whether that was in her relationship with Qin Zheng or her position as empress, she still stayed true to who she is: someone who fights for women, who refuses to compromise on the things that matter, and who is always determined not to be controlled or owned. The entire storyline
- The ending. The final section of this book once again saw Zetian and her allies zoom away from the main plot to take explosive action against an enemy, but I felt it was much better paced here than in Iron Widow. The whole last section of this book was exciting, shocking, and full of action, but it also hit the emotional beats better than the climax of Iron Widow did, especially
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Pregnancy
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault
Tagged this for pregnancy but itās really a theme of reproductive abuse and a womanās right to control her body being ignored. (The book is very much on the womanās side.). Sexism and feminism are strong themes. Child abuse, including child sexual abuse, are discussed as part of multiple charactersā backstories.