A review by nytephoenyx
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

 This book was so exciting and I loved it. I loved a lot of different things about it, and there were only two very limited things I did not like. There was so much action and so much research (and I would expect nothing less from Xiran Jay Zhou) and such interesting characters and !!! I am so glad I stumbled across this one. Thank you, Xiran Jay Zhou, for writing a thread about historical inaccuracies in Mulan which blew up on Twitter and led to me finding your book announcement. You are very good at social media and I like your writing.

Rather than let this review go paragraphs long, I’m going to take this bullet-point style. So! Things I liked:

  • Content warnings were at the beginning of the book.
  • A non-historical disclosure was at the beginning of the book (Zetian is inspired by Empress Wu).
  • Our protagonists are not heroes in any sense of the word.
  • Love triangle that actually works (polyamorous rep!)
  • Tian’s anger through the book never subsides.
  • There is an actual, in-story reason why Tian and Shimin reconcile so quickly and it makes sense.
  • When Xiran Jay Zhou writes about unpleasant things, they do not hold back.
  • The characters never feel the need to explain themselves and I kind of loved that.
  • The physically intimate scenes were tasteful and non-intrusive. Way too much YA lets romance overthrow the plot, but not this book!
  • The writing balances description, dialogue, and action really well. It’s a debut, but doesn’t feel like your traditional “they’re still learning” debut. This book is polished and ready to go.
  • The chapters are short so it’s easier to find a place to take a break, assuming you’re not so sucked in that you binge read the whole thing, which would be very possible.
  • I appreciated the world and setting – it’s an Asian-inspired fantasy/sci-fi/action book and it feels both extremely original and yet somewhat familiar. Anime fans should love it. And for the rest of us, it’s a refreshingly different read.
  • There were multiple twists at the end I definitely didn’t see coming.
Those are a few of the reasons Iron Widow is such a compelling novel and why I enjoyed it utterly. I really liked Tian, Shimin, and Yishi. Even Sima Yi, who had his own growth arc, was interesting to watch. I’m struggling to pull together eloquent, comprehensive thoughts about Iron Widow because I genuinely liked it so much. I liked how there was dark revenge and murders early in the book – an author not afraid to make things messy is my favorite kind of author. While I didn’t like the interactions between Tian and so many of the other male characters, I can appreciate their necessity in painting a picture of exactly how misogynistic this society is (answer: very, very, very).

And I genuinely, genuinely liked the romantic relationship in Iron Widow. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book with polyamorous rep before, and I am not polyamorous myself so I can’t speak to its accuracy, but I felt it was respectfully executed. To get a real feel for the success of both the polyamorous and Asian rep, please seek out reviews from those communities!

I do have a couple small criticisms, but they are quite small. Every once in a while I’d come across a paragraph while reading that seemed so out of place, almost like it was written by a different person. The voice was slightly different, or modern-sounding dialogue would pop up, and it would briefly shatter the illusion. It really didn’t happen often – twice specifically I recall shaking my head like “wait, what happened to the voice?” – but I did happen.

My second criticism would be the speed at which things changed regarding Shimin. Not his relationship with Tian – that made since as they were in one another’s heads and that breeds empathy. Rather, most of his struggle to overcome his addiction as well as the love story between Shimin and Yishi felt rushed. The pace at the end of the book in general picked up quite a lot, and I’ll credit this to be part of the problem. As a reader, I’d have liked to see more gradual development for Li Shimin, but it was not so fast that it made his character unenjoyable.

My friends, I highly recommend picking up a copy of Iron Widow and giving it a try. Xiran Jay Zhou will transport you to another world, then they will ruthless batter your heart. It’s delightful. 

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