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A review by andromeda_1998
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Iron widow is one of those books that I followed on TikTok while it wasn’t released yet and my anticipations were HIGH, for the record they records they were so ridiculously high that I waited months to read it. And while the book hasn’t let me down there are still some points about this that I wish where different.
Characters
Zutain is a very strong woman, who challenges the ideals of her whole society. She is strong minded, brazen and dangerous. It’s amazing! She is really morally grey and we all know that I love those kind of characters. The only thing I liked less was the relationship…. I wanted more, more moments of tenderness. One of the relationships was already a thing when the book started and the other was a complete 180 from the way she viewed this character when they met. We get some growth into there relationship but I would have liked to see more bounding moments.
Worldbuilding
This world is very Mecha, which is exactly how it is advertised, but with a lot of story outside of the Mecha. The strong feminist take on these kinds of storylines makes it refreshing. I would have loved more detailed worldbuilding. It feels like I only know the basics at this point, which is fine if book two dives deeper into it.
Story
The story of a girl who wants to break the world and reshape it to her ideals. She wants a life where her value isn’t measured by her looks and her worth as a wife. Which is understandable and valued in every way. As a reader we also read a lot about her bound feet and the values she learned as a child. This is also a story about polyamory and that was one of the aspects that made we want to read this book. I don’t know if the representation is done well but I hope it was.
I hope you will read it to. I especially recommend this book to lovers of the Mecha genre and anime lovers.
Characters
Zutain is a very strong woman, who challenges the ideals of her whole society. She is strong minded, brazen and dangerous. It’s amazing! She is really morally grey and we all know that I love those kind of characters. The only thing I liked less was the relationship…. I wanted more, more moments of tenderness. One of the relationships was already a thing when the book started and the other was a complete 180 from the way she viewed this character when they met. We get some growth into there relationship but I would have liked to see more bounding moments.
Worldbuilding
This world is very Mecha, which is exactly how it is advertised, but with a lot of story outside of the Mecha. The strong feminist take on these kinds of storylines makes it refreshing. I would have loved more detailed worldbuilding. It feels like I only know the basics at this point, which is fine if book two dives deeper into it.
Story
The story of a girl who wants to break the world and reshape it to her ideals. She wants a life where her value isn’t measured by her looks and her worth as a wife. Which is understandable and valued in every way. As a reader we also read a lot about her bound feet and the values she learned as a child. This is also a story about polyamory and that was one of the aspects that made we want to read this book. I don’t know if the representation is done well but I hope it was.
I hope you will read it to. I especially recommend this book to lovers of the Mecha genre and anime lovers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and War