Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

87 reviews

justlilah's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Wierd. Not bad…just wierd. Throughly entertained but feel mildly confused aftwards

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Violence, War, Addiction, Murder, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Classism, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Torture

desiderium_incarnate's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional fast-paced

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

4.75

"How do you take the fight out of half the population and render them willing slaves? You tell them they're meant to do nothing but serve from the minute they're born. You tell them they're weak. You tell them they're prey. You tell them over and over, until it's the only truth they're capable of living. "

This story and it's main characters are so angry and rightfully so! It's exhausting being female in a society, that devalues exactly that. Your existence alone is a burden sometimes. It's good to have it addresses here while simultaneously not devaluing men on the basis of their gender alone. The book is also pretty brutal and cold, which in turn made me a little annoyed to read it, but I know that just stems from me being a very emotional person and here, it was mostly based on thoughts and strategy and that's just not really my vibe. It's definitely a good book tho! Angry and full of strategy as it is. That probably makes it even better for certain other people ^^ 
One of the main points I liked it better was the very lovely display of polyamory, which I find lacking in a lot of literature, and honestly, this here was the best love triangle! I can't wait for the next book and also I want to see more healthy polyam ships in books, it's amazing! :) 

"Look on the bright side, I tell myself. After this, I can die. Finally. Being alive has been painful, exhausting, and disappointing."

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Cursing, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, War, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Murder, Rape, Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Body horror, Grief, Racism, Blood, Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Sexism, Slavery, and Vomit

arachan's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A sucker punch of a book.  I had to space out my reading of this because Wu Zeitan is righteously furious at the misogyny, classicism and general oppression of her existence, all beautifully and immersively written.  It's hard to handle in addition to current events.

Cannot recommend highly enough.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Violence, and Slavery

twin1's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Slavery, Violence, Addiction, War, and Torture

Moderate: Classism

Minor: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

mssrquackers's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Slavery, Abandonment, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, War, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, and Torture

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Rape, and Gun violence

mxdegroot's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I'm a sucker for morally grey main characters, and this book excels in that.

This entire book breaks your brain in the best way possible. Just when you think you've figured something out of when a happy ending seems within reach, you're yanked back and thrown right back into the action. I absolutely cannot wait for the sequel to come out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Slavery, War, Child death, Gaslighting, and Child abuse

Moderate: Racism, Medical content, Alcoholism, Confinement, Torture, and Medical trauma

Minor: Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

fraxisle's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Torture, Murder, Violence, Alcoholism, War, Sexism, Addiction, Xenophobia, Misogyny, and Confinement

Moderate: Alcohol, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Classism, Child abuse, and Body shaming

Minor: Body horror, Chronic illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Child death, and Bullying

starship_olympus's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Honestly FUCK every other YA book, Xiran I fuck wit YOU

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, War, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Violence, Torture, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, and Genocide

Moderate: Blood, Body shaming, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Death of parent, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, and Drug use

Minor: Cursing, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Rape

mackalayla's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

This book was INSANE, I absolutely could not put it down 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Torture, Slavery, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, War, Alcoholism, Hate crime, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault

Minor: Sexual content

nebulasaurus's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Ableism, Classism, Cursing, Grief, Gore, War, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Violence, Sexism, Murder, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Misogyny, Blood, Physical abuse, and Gaslighting