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A review by biancahartley
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Lots to say about this one but I'll keep it brief. This could have been, at the very least, interesting, but between the prose and the execution, it was just a muddled mess. Particularly the writing; it was a struggle to get through.
The misogyny displayed in this book is somehow both brutal and cartoonish, and Zetian never feels like a product of her environment. Her more unhinged moments, and moments clearly meant to be seen as powerful, are rendered toothless, since the narrative ties itself in knots trying to makes every concession for her. The book lacked rhythm, it lacked character development, it lacked good worldbuilding, it lacked a cohesive message, and the action will frequently be broken by long explanations of things that did not serve the story. The fights scenes were poorly constructed and dull. Blessedly, things moved along at a breakneck speed, both to its advantage and to its detriment.
The inclusion of a polycule is appreciated but underwhelming. I would have rather Zetian straight up just have a harem instead of pretending that the two boys have any semblance of a personality outside of her. Also, all three of them are bi, and in all three cases it feels like an afterthought.
The racism was off-putting. Shinin only seemed to be half Rongdi to make him seem more threatening, which doesn't even last because he is defanged so quickly. Both he and the one other Rongdi woman are so heavily stereotyped as "savage" indigenous characters (and it is so clumsily "subverted" on both accounts) that it felt like a joke.
She, naturally, has no women friends and few positive interactions with women at all, which is common for this type of book. Zetian spends so much time with/on these two boys (and their poorly realised traumas), while every other woman and girl is blamed for their own subjugation and portrayed as evil, mean or stupid, for being indoctrinated. None of the same grace afforded to the main three is afforded to any other character in this novel, not even the dead sister, who feels like a noncharacter.
It intends to be raw and unapologetic, but I promise you there are books out there that do it better.
Based on what we know of the real Wu Zetian, I'm not sure what about this book character warrants having her name. It just makes Book Zetian that much less compelling.
Also, while I don't mind obvious twists as long as the story is good, this story is not good, and by that point in the book, the final Hundun reveal annoyed me. Do I feel confident that in the next book Zetian's contributions to genocide or her new role as a dictator will be explored to my satisfaction based on this outing? No. I think I'll check back in with the author in a few years.
The misogyny displayed in this book is somehow both brutal and cartoonish, and Zetian never feels like a product of her environment. Her more unhinged moments, and moments clearly meant to be seen as powerful, are rendered toothless, since the narrative ties itself in knots trying to makes every concession for her. The book lacked rhythm, it lacked character development, it lacked good worldbuilding, it lacked a cohesive message, and the action will frequently be broken by long explanations of things that did not serve the story. The fights scenes were poorly constructed and dull. Blessedly, things moved along at a breakneck speed, both to its advantage and to its detriment.
The inclusion of a polycule is appreciated but underwhelming. I would have rather Zetian straight up just have a harem instead of pretending that the two boys have any semblance of a personality outside of her. Also, all three of them are bi, and in all three cases it feels like an afterthought.
The racism was off-putting. Shinin only seemed to be half Rongdi to make him seem more threatening, which doesn't even last because he is defanged so quickly. Both he and the one other Rongdi woman are so heavily stereotyped as "savage" indigenous characters (and it is so clumsily "subverted" on both accounts) that it felt like a joke.
She, naturally, has no women friends and few positive interactions with women at all, which is common for this type of book. Zetian spends so much time with/on these two boys (and their poorly realised traumas), while every other woman and girl is blamed for their own subjugation and portrayed as evil, mean or stupid, for being indoctrinated. None of the same grace afforded to the main three is afforded to any other character in this novel, not even the dead sister, who feels like a noncharacter.
It intends to be raw and unapologetic, but I promise you there are books out there that do it better.
Based on what we know of the real Wu Zetian, I'm not sure what about this book character warrants having her name. It just makes Book Zetian that much less compelling.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Colonisation