Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

94 reviews

lucystolethesky's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny tense fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Mental illness, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

Minor: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, and Sexual harassment

sodafer's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

such a captivating story, I couldn’t put it down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Violence, Blood, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Fatphobia, Rape, and Sexual content

chamaeleontis's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• 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

5.0

This book was honestly amazing. I physically stopped myself from reading it (I put it at the bottom of my backpack and piled stuff on top of it) so I could spread it out over multiple days and enjoy it for longer. It's a medium length book, but an incredibly fast read, with excellent pacing. I am blown away by the book and utterly loved it. I don't want to give away any plot here, because there are a ton of twists and turns that are fun to discover as the come, even if they wouldn't really be spoilers. 

The characters were well-developed, and have a very real sense to them. The plot is engaging and doesn't falter. Bonus points for the gorgeous cover, it did not disappoint.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Genocide, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Slavery, Abandonment, and Colonisation

embers_pages's review against another edition

challenging dark tense fast-paced

4.5

First, I would like to Xiran Jay Zhao for writing such a freaking cool novel.
Second, I would like to thank Netgalley and Penguin Random House for the opportunity to read the ARC. 

I decided to read Iron Widow two days before I wrote this review, 2 DAYS! I sat down on Day 1 and read half the book without even realizing it. I could not put it down, even when I wasn't reading it, I was thinking about it. While I didn't care for how the twist was executed, the book really made me think in a way no other book has.

Iron Widow very much follows it's pitch and Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid's Tale. Zetian decides to avenge her sister after her sister is allegedly killed by a pilot. When Zetian finds out the truth of it, she challenges the views and beliefs of a country indoctrinated on believing women do not have nor want automony. 

One of the most interesting things about this novel was the dissonance between banned practices, outdated values and modern language. Every time I saw characters speak the way I would, while in this fantastical time period mixed with technology and old practices (some are unfortunately not that old and still here, I use old to convey that they are not progressive), I was jarring and grounding. It was a reminder that the real world is not so different and the way the author conveyed that was outstanding.

The relationships between characters was done in such a cool way. The author does it in a way where they have you understand that it once again challenges the values within the book and outside as well. 

Overall, this book was incredible. I was so engrossed, and so much of it was amazing. I wasn't keen on how it ended, I'm curious to see if there will be a sequel and how it will handle the new development. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Violence