Reviews with content warning for Medical trauma - Iron Widow

Reviews tagging 'Medical trauma'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

100 reviews

ka_ke's review against another edition

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

4.0

As a debut novel, Iron Widow gets the job done. It’s a good mix of sci-fi meets literary fiction. I felt that the first part was shorter than it could have been, while the other two parts were longer than they needed to be. I felt that some of the women’s rights pieces were either repetitive or preachy, and that is coming from someone who is actively watching the world turn against women and dying inside while it happens.

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kristynpittman's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Iron Widow had so many call backs to the stories we all love. It sprinkles in elements from The Hunger Games, Handmaids Tale, & even a dash of Power Rangers (IYKYK). But what really sets this apart is that Zetain is not some poor little girl with the hopes of the nation thrust upon her. She's not a Mockingjay that has to be manipulated into action. She's the damn Iron Widow. She doesn't give a FUCK about what her family wants, or even the boys that love her. She wants to show up at the capital and fucking rage against all the women-hating men in power until they stop. murdering. girls.

As far as representation goes Zhao excels on two fronts. She was able to blend so many beautiful Chinese elements into this brand new sci-fi world. Also, I don't want to spoil anything but this is how you do a love triangle. A triangle is the strongest shape after all...

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catapocalypse's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

Iron Widow lived up to the hype, and is my favorite read of the year so far by a wide margin!

I'm not usually interested in giant mech battles, but the battle scenes were clear and compelling, and the book deals with so much more: Zetian takes on a deeply misogynistic culture and fights for vengeance, justice, and the freedom to live the life of her choosing. While she pushes on with brute force where she can, she also must learn to navigate the necessary evils of military and media politics. She's also stuck with a couple young men as her closest allies: Yizhi, the son of a rich media magnate, and Li Shimin, a powerful pilot and dangerous criminal.

The feel of the book is very minimally YA, so there's a lot of appeal still for adult readers. And though there's a love triangle, it plays out in what I feel is the best possible way. I don't want to spoil it here (though I feel it is pretty obvious where it may go early on).

I had a great time with this and loved Zetian so much. Looking forward to the second book!

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mxdegroot's review against another edition

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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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emilinkaa's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Zetain becomes a concubine-pilot to get revenge for her sister, who was killed. Instead of killing him outright, she ends up killing him while they're in battle, and sets off a domino affect of events that lead her somewhere she never imagined going. She ends up learning things that have been kept secret for eons, risking her life to change the world and save the concubines and their pilots, and falling in love - more than once. The only complaint I have about this book is that it ended, I wanted more!! Impatiently awaiting the second novel in this series.

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