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dark
informative
inspiring
tense
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
Xiran Jay Zhao further explores the world of Huaxia in this sequel to Iron Widow, fleshing out not only the characters and their motivations but the revolution they are inciting.
The story of Heavenly Tyrant follows immediately after the end of Iron Widow, as the characters deal with the consequences of their actions.Wu Zetian has to not only manage being the Empress but also Li Shimin's kidnapping, the distance she has to keep from Yizhi, new relationships and the realisation about the Hunduns. All this while she tries to stick to her convictions and survive among so many people who want to do her harm.
The book spends more time describing the characters' activities and their conversations than the first one. This was a good choice as so much happens in such a short time in Iron Widow that you are left reeling and rather overwhelmed, even after a second read-through. Spending more time with the characters in moments of less action also allowed for more nuance when expressing their ideals and different points of view. It was important to have time to dwell on the explorations of the practical consequences of the policies Qin Zheng and Wu Zetian implement, of the terror, anger and fear involved in a revolution, and of how hurt and oppressed people deal with that in different ways.
Xiran Jay Zhao is able to explore complex themes in a nuanced and multifaceted way and I can't wait to read more of their work. And of course what is going to happen next to the Iron Triangle and the toxic waste Darth Vader...
The story of Heavenly Tyrant follows immediately after the end of Iron Widow, as the characters deal with the consequences of their actions.
The book spends more time describing the characters' activities and their conversations than the first one. This was a good choice as so much happens in such a short time in Iron Widow that you are left reeling and rather overwhelmed, even after a second read-through. Spending more time with the characters in moments of less action also allowed for more nuance when expressing their ideals and different points of view.
Xiran Jay Zhao is able to explore complex themes in a nuanced and multifaceted way and I can't wait to read more of their work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Miscarriage, Torture, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Pregnancy
adventurous
mysterious
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, War, Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Torture, Xenophobia, Vomit, Trafficking, Grief, Murder, Abandonment
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-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
I am… having complicated feelings about this book.
I absolutely loved Iron Widow, and I think following a book like that with a second book for a trilogy is going to be a tall order no matter what. I will admit that I didn’t do a reread of IW before starting Heavenly Tyrant and probably did myself a disservice, since I spent a lot of time near the beginning being very confused about what was going on, and trying to figure out who everyone was.
Overarching thematic spoilers ahead.
I loved being back in the world of Huaxia, and getting back in Zetian’s head was as exciting as I could have expected. I was also surprised by how much growth she exhibited throughout the novel; IW is very much an “I support women’s rights and women’s wrongs” vibe, but HT showed Zetian developing not only as a person but also as a leader. I really loved watching her figure out what having a legacy meant to her, and wrestling with those complicated ethics that come along with violence, revolution, class warfare, and women’s equality.
I would say one of my favourite elements of this book was Zetian’s arc in realizing how small her vision was in terms of women piloting chrysalises; in actuality, the majority of women and girls in Huaxia would not benefit materially from these changes in military policy. Her recognizing that she needed to make moves to improve conditions for all women, even those who would make different choices from her, felt so rewarding and well-earned, especially through watching her struggle through her lessons with Wan’er and learn so much about history and politics.
I also loved Xiran Jay Zhao’s absolutely scathing take on the Enlightened Leftist Man. Qin Zheng was a total treat of a character; impeccably written and a fascinatingly sympathetic monster. There were moments where you feel yourself rooting for him— he’s a revolutionary! He’s a hero! He’s got great ideas about economics and social programs! He wants equality for women! He is allegedly very attractive! And yet… despite all of that, he is still a horrible fucking human.
I could see so many parallels between him and soooo many “radical” “activist” “feminist” men in our modern day that it was truly chilling at times. Because then when you look at him past the policies, past the power and the skills and bravado, he is literally just Some Guy who is actually a giant hypocrite. He thinks he’s a good person because he ~respects women~ and wouldn’t ever take advantage of Zetian or force himself on her sexually.And yet he is totally okay with violating her bodily autonomy in about 50 other ways! I could talk about Qin Zheng for days and I will always respect the fuck out of XJZ for pulling off this character in such a nuanced way.
On the other hand… there was a lot of this book that I didn’t particularly enjoy or understand where it was taking us. The last 10-15% of the novel had me going ummm… how are we going to come back from this??? It felt like the scope of the story got way out of hand and I’m honestly perplexed at how things could possibly be wrapped up in only one more book! These stakes are absurd!
There were some good twists and there were a few moments where I actually gasped out loud, but other elements felt quite obvious (like, I saw this coming since the last book obvious), so those reveals felt like they took way too long. In general, the pacing of the story felt a bit off and so it felt both way too long but also left me wanting more at the end.
All in all, definitely worth reading if you liked Iron Widow, because it’s a wild ride and packs in excellent character work alongside political commentary (perhaps a little too on the nose for our current state of affairs😅), cool action scenes, and a whole lot of double (and triple??) crossing. I’m still very much looking forward to the next book despite having some issues with this one!
I absolutely loved Iron Widow, and I think following a book like that with a second book for a trilogy is going to be a tall order no matter what. I will admit that I didn’t do a reread of IW before starting Heavenly Tyrant and probably did myself a disservice, since I spent a lot of time near the beginning being very confused about what was going on, and trying to figure out who everyone was.
Overarching thematic spoilers ahead.
I loved being back in the world of Huaxia, and getting back in Zetian’s head was as exciting as I could have expected. I was also surprised by how much growth she exhibited throughout the novel; IW is very much an “I support women’s rights and women’s wrongs” vibe, but HT showed Zetian developing not only as a person but also as a leader. I really loved watching her figure out what having a legacy meant to her, and wrestling with those complicated ethics that come along with violence, revolution, class warfare, and women’s equality.
I would say one of my favourite elements of this book was Zetian’s arc in realizing how small her vision was in terms of women piloting chrysalises; in actuality, the majority of women and girls in Huaxia would not benefit materially from these changes in military policy. Her recognizing that she needed to make moves to improve conditions for all women, even those who would make different choices from her, felt so rewarding and well-earned, especially through watching her struggle through her lessons with Wan’er and learn so much about history and politics.
I also loved Xiran Jay Zhao’s absolutely scathing take on the Enlightened Leftist Man. Qin Zheng was a total treat of a character; impeccably written and a fascinatingly sympathetic monster. There were moments where you feel yourself rooting for him— he’s a revolutionary! He’s a hero! He’s got great ideas about economics and social programs! He wants equality for women! He is allegedly very attractive! And yet… despite all of that, he is still a horrible fucking human.
I could see so many parallels between him and soooo many “radical” “activist” “feminist” men in our modern day that it was truly chilling at times. Because then when you look at him past the policies, past the power and the skills and bravado, he is literally just Some Guy who is actually a giant hypocrite. He thinks he’s a good person because he ~respects women~ and wouldn’t ever take advantage of Zetian or force himself on her sexually.
On the other hand… there was a lot of this book that I didn’t particularly enjoy or understand where it was taking us. The last 10-15% of the novel had me going ummm… how are we going to come back from this??? It felt like the scope of the story got way out of hand and I’m honestly perplexed at how things could possibly be wrapped up in only one more book! These stakes are absurd!
There were some good twists and there were a few moments where I actually gasped out loud, but other elements felt quite obvious (like, I saw this coming since the last book obvious), so those reveals felt like they took way too long. In general, the pacing of the story felt a bit off and so it felt both way too long but also left me wanting more at the end.
All in all, definitely worth reading if you liked Iron Widow, because it’s a wild ride and packs in excellent character work alongside political commentary (perhaps a little too on the nose for our current state of affairs😅), cool action scenes, and a whole lot of double (and triple??) crossing. I’m still very much looking forward to the next book despite having some issues with this one!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Miscarriage, Medical content, Pregnancy
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, Alcohol
challenging
dark
tense
slow-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: Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-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
“Don’t you get it? You are to me what the gods were to you. I can’t breathe freely as long as you live!” - Zetian, Heavenly Tyrants
This book.
This book, y’all.
I laughed, I cried, I screamed, and I’m pretty sure the ending made me loose my mind.
I don’t even know how to write a review of this book without spoiling it, so this review will probably be somewhat different than most of my others.
We were warned that this book is very different from Iron Widow, and that is correct. Iron Widow is very much a girl power fantasy, and it is glorious in its fire. This book takes time to look at the details of what liberation, equality, and strength looks like, both on a small scale, personal level and on a broader, societal level.
Zetian continues to be everything I love in a heroine. She is broken, confused, and struggles, but bold enough to face her own established ideas and with a strength and fire to propel her forward. I loved watching her struggle with her ethics throughout the story as she wrestles with what it means to have equality as a woman and how to maintain her own autonomy within a relationship and a society that is constantly trying to take it from her.
Qin Zheng. I hate him. He’s very well written, but I still hate him. He’s the perfect example of a leftist man who doesn’t understand how those politics apply to his relationship with his wife (or women in general). He’s smart and charismatic and yet has gaping blind spots, primarily in his careless treatment of Zetian’s autonomy. If I see him, it’s on sight.
Yizhi is the most complex character in this book, and that made me like him even more, although I spent solidly 90% of the book wanting to strangle him. His politican side comes out in this book, both for good and evil, and it leads to a lot of horrid decisions but also some very smart ones.
Shimin, my poor baby. I refuse to believe that you’re gone.
My favorite part of this book is that the relationships focus so much on Zetian making good friends. So many heroines don’t have women around them, and this book changes that for Zetian, bringing some of my favorite side characters- Wan’er and Taiping particularly.
This book.
This book, y’all.
I laughed, I cried, I screamed, and I’m pretty sure the ending made me loose my mind.
I don’t even know how to write a review of this book without spoiling it, so this review will probably be somewhat different than most of my others.
We were warned that this book is very different from Iron Widow, and that is correct. Iron Widow is very much a girl power fantasy, and it is glorious in its fire. This book takes time to look at the details of what liberation, equality, and strength looks like, both on a small scale, personal level and on a broader, societal level.
Zetian continues to be everything I love in a heroine. She is broken, confused, and struggles, but bold enough to face her own established ideas and with a strength and fire to propel her forward. I loved watching her struggle with her ethics throughout the story as she wrestles with what it means to have equality as a woman and how to maintain her own autonomy within a relationship and a society that is constantly trying to take it from her.
Qin Zheng. I hate him. He’s very well written, but I still hate him. He’s the perfect example of a leftist man who doesn’t understand how those politics apply to his relationship with his wife (or women in general). He’s smart and charismatic and yet has gaping blind spots, primarily in his careless treatment of Zetian’s autonomy. If I see him, it’s on sight.
Yizhi is the most complex character in this book, and that made me like him even more, although I spent solidly 90% of the book wanting to strangle him. His politican side comes out in this book, both for good and evil, and it leads to a lot of horrid decisions but also some very smart ones.
Shimin, my poor baby. I refuse to believe that you’re gone.
My favorite part of this book is that the relationships focus so much on Zetian making good friends. So many heroines don’t have women around them, and this book changes that for Zetian, bringing some of my favorite side characters- Wan’er and Taiping particularly.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, War
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
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
Holy forking shirt balls. What just happened.
I literally just finished, and my brain is still catching up with the chaos of the last few chapters.AND APPARENTLY WE’RE NOT DONE YET!!! I was wondering if it’d be resolved, and yeah, there’s more to go. Outside of the TBC, there’s too much up in the air. This delivered one of the best truly enemies to lovers but still absolutely fucking enemies (literally and figuratively lol) that I’ve read. I hated myself for loving it as much as I did haha.
First of all, this book — like the author has said on their IG — is very different from the first book. It’s got a very different done and purpose than IW.
At times, I felt like this book would never end. It dragged a bit at times during the “rebuilding” stages. This book is unique in that I think we really get to see what happens after the power at the top has been toppled — how difficult it is to truly build something new and without the terrible parts of the old regime, without becoming a tyrant power reborn. It was also a bit hard to stomach at times, especially with the impending reelection of Ye Olde Rotten Cheeto Corpse and knowing how white men in power are doing everything they can to take rights from women, POC, immigrants, LGBTQ+, etc.
The way Zetian and Qin Zheng were literally like fire and ice — so toxic, so hateful, so delicious. If you’re looking for a book with a distinct good guy/bad guy, this is NOT the series for you. While yes, they are both attempting to create a better world for the working class, everyone is morally grey to their bones. Zetian is doing her best, but sometimes bad men still need to be unalived. And sometimes what she wants just doesn’t quite work out. Re: Zeitan and Qin Zheng — I love that as the reader, you’re never quite sure if you should want them together. I got to the point that I kind of did but then (massive massive spoiler!!)when she stabbed him in the heart and said she did it for HERSELF, the GASP I gasped. Yasss, Empress. Eat his heart. Also, the “cheap slut” and “dirty whore” moment almost took me out.
Anyway. I had no idea there’d be more until the very very end with the TBC. I can’t wait to see what kind of tyrannical chaos Zeitan gets up to next.
I literally just finished, and my brain is still catching up with the chaos of the last few chapters.
First of all, this book — like the author has said on their IG — is very different from the first book. It’s got a very different done and purpose than IW.
At times, I felt like this book would never end. It dragged a bit at times during the “rebuilding” stages. This book is unique in that I think we really get to see what happens after the power at the top has been toppled — how difficult it is to truly build something new and without the terrible parts of the old regime, without becoming a tyrant power reborn. It was also a bit hard to stomach at times, especially with the impending reelection of Ye Olde Rotten Cheeto Corpse and knowing how white men in power are doing everything they can to take rights from women, POC, immigrants, LGBTQ+, etc.
The way Zetian and Qin Zheng were literally like fire and ice — so toxic, so hateful, so delicious. If you’re looking for a book with a distinct good guy/bad guy, this is NOT the series for you. While yes, they are both attempting to create a better world for the working class, everyone is morally grey to their bones. Zetian is doing her best, but sometimes bad men still need to be unalived. And sometimes what she wants just doesn’t quite work out. Re: Zeitan and Qin Zheng — I love that as the reader, you’re never quite sure if you should want them together. I got to the point that I kind of did but then (massive massive spoiler!!)
Anyway. I had no idea there’d be more until the very very end with the TBC. I can’t wait to see what kind of tyrannical chaos Zeitan gets up to next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
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
dark
emotional
sad
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, War
Moderate: Pregnancy
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
tense
slow-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:
Yes
Content Warnings
Minor: Death, Infertility, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Grief, Murder, Sexual harassment, War
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