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A review by togidemi
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
5.0
4.5 rounded up because I can.
Honestly what struck me at first was how this book was probably one of the angriest ones I've read in recent memory. Zetian is a ruthless protagonist, and hearing someone - a YA protagonist, particularly - be so upfront about not just how willing they are to let masses of people die and suffer without a drop of mercy but how much they actively desire their violent deaths is just... a shock, honestly. Almost refreshing. Naked rage was cathartic to read. I think you'll leave this book with a bad idea of feminism if you take it at face value - overt feminist media does tend to make me uncomfortable, given that I'm, like, not cis and also spineless, and at first I did dislike how much Zetian made this a whole Not Like Other Girls Gatekeep Gaslight Girlboss Why Are Girls Treated Like This Why Don't They Value Women Why Why Why thing. But, god, did I appreciate that Zetian's rage made her fucking CRUEL; nothing wrong with a protagonist who has been ground to dust their whole lives and still finds it in their hearts to be kind and compassionate - God knows how much I adore and aspire to be Waymond Wang EEAAO - but sometimes you just wanna read someone completely unhinged and heartless, you know? Sometimes I want my protagonist to splash boiling water on a man and drown him in alcohol. It's morally wrong and horrifying and not one bit a feminist icon moment, of course, but... cathartic. This is a great book to read in a bad mood, is what I mean. (Does my current not-entirely-pleasant mental state, then, affect the rating I give the book? ...Critics remain divided.)
The mecha worldbuilding was neato and I couldn't help imagining it in anime form in my head, even though I'm not at all a mecha fan. Given that the prose isn't really stunning, it doesn't offer much more for me than fuel the anime storyboards whirring in my brain.
And... the romances. Look. I'm a simple man. Give the burly animalistic fighter a pair of glasses and a soft side (though Shimin's high grades and calligraphy were honestly pretty unnecessary endearing traits) and I'll go ooga booga. Give the soft boy a torsoful of tattoos and I'll bark at the moon all night. At the moment I don't care that they're not all that developed as characters, especially Yizhi, I'm just glad my dream tropes have been hit. And, FUCK yeah polyamory representation. That part is unironically what I wish would get more attention with regards to the book, since it's the nicest-done and most surprising aspect of it, I think. The feminist themes could be flawed as hell (and they are), the worldbuilding could be suspiciously flat outside of the Qi-based mecha wizardry (and it is), but MAN the communication they went through with each other for their lil ACTUAL LOVE TRIANGLE. God. Hell yeah.
tl;dr This is a YA book that is just, I guess, more mecha anime, more furious, and more poly than the average one, but it's still YA. Do not expect subtlety and do not engage uncritically with the shit Zetian says and does, man. But I was really engrossed devouring this book and clipping passages to send and I'd love to read it again, and that's really all you need to get those sweet five stars huhu
Honestly what struck me at first was how this book was probably one of the angriest ones I've read in recent memory. Zetian is a ruthless protagonist, and hearing someone - a YA protagonist, particularly - be so upfront about not just how willing they are to let masses of people die and suffer without a drop of mercy but how much they actively desire their violent deaths is just... a shock, honestly. Almost refreshing. Naked rage was cathartic to read. I think you'll leave this book with a bad idea of feminism if you take it at face value - overt feminist media does tend to make me uncomfortable, given that I'm, like, not cis and also spineless, and at first I did dislike how much Zetian made this a whole Not Like Other Girls Gatekeep Gaslight Girlboss Why Are Girls Treated Like This Why Don't They Value Women Why Why Why thing. But, god, did I appreciate that Zetian's rage made her fucking CRUEL; nothing wrong with a protagonist who has been ground to dust their whole lives and still finds it in their hearts to be kind and compassionate - God knows how much I adore and aspire to be Waymond Wang EEAAO - but sometimes you just wanna read someone completely unhinged and heartless, you know? Sometimes I want my protagonist to splash boiling water on a man and drown him in alcohol. It's morally wrong and horrifying and not one bit a feminist icon moment, of course, but... cathartic. This is a great book to read in a bad mood, is what I mean. (Does my current not-entirely-pleasant mental state, then, affect the rating I give the book? ...Critics remain divided.)
The mecha worldbuilding was neato and I couldn't help imagining it in anime form in my head, even though I'm not at all a mecha fan. Given that the prose isn't really stunning, it doesn't offer much more for me than fuel the anime storyboards whirring in my brain.
And... the romances. Look. I'm a simple man. Give the burly animalistic fighter a pair of glasses and a soft side (though Shimin's high grades and calligraphy were honestly pretty unnecessary endearing traits) and I'll go ooga booga. Give the soft boy a torsoful of tattoos and I'll bark at the moon all night. At the moment I don't care that they're not all that developed as characters, especially Yizhi, I'm just glad my dream tropes have been hit. And, FUCK yeah polyamory representation. That part is unironically what I wish would get more attention with regards to the book, since it's the nicest-done and most surprising aspect of it, I think. The feminist themes could be flawed as hell (and they are), the worldbuilding could be suspiciously flat outside of the Qi-based mecha wizardry (and it is), but MAN the communication they went through with each other for their lil ACTUAL LOVE TRIANGLE. God. Hell yeah.
tl;dr This is a YA book that is just, I guess, more mecha anime, more furious, and more poly than the average one, but it's still YA. Do not expect subtlety and do not engage uncritically with the shit Zetian says and does, man. But I was really engrossed devouring this book and clipping passages to send and I'd love to read it again, and that's really all you need to get those sweet five stars huhu