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jordanreadsbookss 's review for:
Heavenly Tyrant
by Xiran Jay Zhao
adventurous
dark
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is more of a series review than just for Heavenly Tyrant, I just copy and pasted the one I posted on insta earlier. Work smarter not harder guys😌
The characters are AMAZING. Wu Zetian, our protagonist, is what every morally grey character aspires to be. They're strong and inspiring, but also flawed and deeply human. There's a character who comes from another time period, which is one of my favourite character archetypes - I always find it funny to see them adapt to modern living🤭. There are so many notable side characters actually, all of whom are well developed and complex!! And kind of horrible I'm ngl, but well written🙂↕️
The world of the books is an affecting reflection of our own, and themes of class disparity, corruption within politics and gender discrimination are explored. Lowkey scary to think about, but I only see the thematic elements becoming more relevant as time passes🫠. And speaking of worldbuilding, it's so cool?? There are illustrations in the beginning of Heavenly Tyrant which definitely helped me understand, but simply put: it's a sophisticated version of Transformers. And there are technically dragons tehehe.
It's queer!!! Very queer, we get sapphic rep, a polyamorous relationship and the mc is nonbinary. The science behind this is too complicated to explain but queer = just better in every way, if you get it you get it🤷♀️
I would compare this series to The Poppy War, in terms of themes and protagonists. Which is a super reductive statement as it's entirely its own entity, and they're different in a lot of ways!! But if you like one I almost guarantee you'll get on well with the other. The Iron Widow books aren't quiteee as brutal as tpw series either (ALMOST there tbh, but it is YA so a little less harsh in the details) so I beg you not to let this comparison deter you!
Sooo to summarise, Xiran Jay Zhao is an actual genius and both books are brilliant. They're rich in social commentary and balance action, character introspection, tender moments and political scheming perfectly!! Please just read them😭.
The characters are AMAZING. Wu Zetian, our protagonist, is what every morally grey character aspires to be. They're strong and inspiring, but also flawed and deeply human. There's a character who comes from another time period, which is one of my favourite character archetypes - I always find it funny to see them adapt to modern living🤭. There are so many notable side characters actually, all of whom are well developed and complex!! And kind of horrible I'm ngl, but well written🙂↕️
The world of the books is an affecting reflection of our own, and themes of class disparity, corruption within politics and gender discrimination are explored. Lowkey scary to think about, but I only see the thematic elements becoming more relevant as time passes🫠. And speaking of worldbuilding, it's so cool?? There are illustrations in the beginning of Heavenly Tyrant which definitely helped me understand, but simply put: it's a sophisticated version of Transformers. And there are technically dragons tehehe.
It's queer!!! Very queer, we get sapphic rep, a polyamorous relationship and the mc is nonbinary. The science behind this is too complicated to explain but queer = just better in every way, if you get it you get it🤷♀️
I would compare this series to The Poppy War, in terms of themes and protagonists. Which is a super reductive statement as it's entirely its own entity, and they're different in a lot of ways!! But if you like one I almost guarantee you'll get on well with the other. The Iron Widow books aren't quiteee as brutal as tpw series either (ALMOST there tbh, but it is YA so a little less harsh in the details) so I beg you not to let this comparison deter you!
Sooo to summarise, Xiran Jay Zhao is an actual genius and both books are brilliant. They're rich in social commentary and balance action, character introspection, tender moments and political scheming perfectly!! Please just read them😭.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault