A review by greymalkin
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

If you enjoyed Pacific Rim, Evangelion, or Robotech, you'll probably enjoy this.  Though fair warning, the first few chapters may make you blindingly angry (it's on purpose to establish the mysogynistic premise of the world, but it's still really infuriating).  Happily, of course the book addresses this, but it's not pleasant to read.  The writing is a little awkward in bits, and most of the plot is very predictable.  But that doesn't make it unenjoyable because half of the delight is seeing the spin that is taken on the "human pilot and giant mecha" setup.  Some of the character moments felt a little too stiff and "tell not show", but the dialog is solid and I liked that the characters were complex and often morally grey.  I look forward to the next one!
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