Reviews tagging 'Fire/Fire injury'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

70 reviews

scripturient's review

dark reflective tense 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? It's complicated

4.25

That was one hell of a ride. It is unapologetic female rage, which I really enjoyed, it is inspired by Imperial China's only female Emperor, which is also super cool, and

it has a love triangle that resolves into a throuple which was AWESOME

. I don't ever want to read that in any other way.
I felt the ending was a bit rushed, almost as if there was no real resolution at hand, so we had to go for more broad angry violence, which felt a bit empty. But overall a great read!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Torture, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape and Sexual violence

linblythe_pub22's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

enbyaddams's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious reflective 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

thebooksanctum's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Just incredible, once again! The conversations around patriarchal societies and extreme sexism, the Pacific Rim vibes, it's all incredible and perfect to me!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

keen's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Domestic abuse and Torture

Minor: Body shaming and Fire/Fire injury

rjbedell'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? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

“A primal scream of a book” is a very apt tagline, for better and for worse.  Zhao’s great achievement in Iron Widow is a raw, ferocious current of feminist rage, sustained by shocking plot twists and vivid action sequences.  Genuinely tender moments thread a surprising love arc through otherwise dark scenes.

However, for me the book was weighed down by excessive brutality, surprisingly immature dialogue, and at-times clumsy plot advancements.  The cruelty of the novel’s world makes it impossible not to root for the title character, yet the conclusion Zetian reaches as her revenge fantasy reaches its fever pitch —   “the world does not deserve my respect… kindness or compassion” — abandons speculative fiction’s potential to inspire.  From a serious standpoint, the story paints a grim portrait of a woman consumed by her own rage in a seemingly endless fight against injustice.  For readers able to take the book less seriously, it may provide a cathartic release valve in the form of a sensational, unpredictable bloodbath.

Reminded me strongly of The Hunger Games and Ender’s Game.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Homophobia, Sexual assault, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

lauralia's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This is my second time reading this book, as I’m preparing to read the sequel, and I loved it just as much as the first time. The intrigue and the different revelations throughout make sense, I love seeing the way the main characters shed the weight of what society told them is the right. I hope Heavenly Tyrant will be as good, because Iron Widow still hasn’t let me down! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Murder, and Alcohol

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Genocide, Homophobia, Sexual content, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation

aurora4847's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

5.0

Reread in audiobook form to prepare myself for reading the sequel Heavenly Tyrant. Iron Widow is just as incredible as I remember it being! I'm not a huge Scifi fan, but this blends futuristic tech and mecha battles so seamlessly with myth and magic that it's easy to forget. Zetian is the my favorite character ever for bloodthirsty female rage, and it doesn't hurt that Shimin and Yizhi are my favorite supportive male leads. The character arcs are brilliant, the stakes are just high enough, and the action sequences are so tense and fun. This book doesn't pull punches, so read with caution of course. But the ending is so satisfying and leaves you desperate for the continuation into Heavenly Tyrant.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Rape, Sexual content, Trafficking, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

This book has very heavy topics and scenes, including misogyny, foot binding, death, war, colonisation, murder, torture, death of family members, sexual assault, ableism, racism, exploitation, and war. It is all handled well, and is worth it.

sirpandacat's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, and Torture

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, and War

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Fire/Fire injury

sadetanssija's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-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

3.75

I recognise many many flaws with this book, and yet... I found myself enjoying it a lot.

Mainly because good polyam rep is so hard to find, I'm willing to forgo a lot of other standards.

To quote a good movie: "It makes no damn sense. Compels me though."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, and Classism

Moderate: Biphobia, Gun violence, Slavery, Vomit, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail