A review by inferiorwit
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

like reading a novel made of twitter threads--really interesting thoughts and ideas that never quite come together into a cohesive whole. could've used more time in the oven. or an editor who cared. also every female character besides the protagonist is either an abuser, an enabler of abuse, a catty mean-girl stereotype, or a beloved corpse, so the whole "smash the patriarchy feminist sci-fi" marketing angle rings kinda hollow.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, War, Vomit, Violence, Torture, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Pregnancy, Homophobia, and Eating disorder