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A review by nenaveenstra
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is unlike anything I've ever read. Granted, I don't read a lot of sci-fi/fantasy, but I doubt that any other books have such a fierce female anti-hero as a main character as Zetian is. I was rooting for her while she destroyed the world, I felt for her hatred towards men, and I found it all utterly believable.
At the beginning, I was still comparing this book to The Hunger Games and Divergent in my head, and there are some parallels, sure (the most obvious being the female main character who participates in 'the system' only to rebel against it), but this really is a story of its own right, with characters that had more backstory, a very feminist one at that, and feelings other than the complicated love triangle they found themselves in.
Speaking of love triangles, I loved the one in here, and I'm dying to see how it further develops in the sequel(s). (Spoiler alert: it's a polyamorous love triangle, and I would die for it.) I never thought I would say this, but I think I'm continuing the series?
Praise aside, I did skim some of the battles, had to re-read a lot of sentences and I could barely keep some of the characters apart. Part of this is to blame on myself, and my lack of experience with the genre, part is the fact that Chinese names don't have any inherent meaning for me. It's all on me, is what I'm saying, but it did diminish my enjoyment of the book and that's why I'm 'only' giving it 4 stars.
At the beginning, I was still comparing this book to The Hunger Games and Divergent in my head, and there are some parallels, sure (the most obvious being the female main character who participates in 'the system' only to rebel against it), but this really is a story of its own right, with characters that had more backstory, a very feminist one at that, and feelings other than the complicated love triangle they found themselves in.
Speaking of love triangles, I loved the one in here, and I'm dying to see how it further develops in the sequel(s). (Spoiler alert: it's a polyamorous love triangle, and I would die for it.) I never thought I would say this, but I think I'm continuing the series?
Praise aside, I did skim some of the battles, had to re-read a lot of sentences and I could barely keep some of the characters apart. Part of this is to blame on myself, and my lack of experience with the genre, part is the fact that Chinese names don't have any inherent meaning for me. It's all on me, is what I'm saying, but it did diminish my enjoyment of the book and that's why I'm 'only' giving it 4 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Alcoholism, Misogyny, and War
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, and Racism
Minor: Murder, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, and Death of parent