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asurasantosha 's review for:
Iron Widow
by Xiran Jay Zhao
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I really enjoy reading this book.
I think the main reason I didn't rate it higher is that I had a hard time liking the main character very much. Hey cause might be novel but her personality is annoying. I don't understand how her main Qi is metal and not fire or how she has any water Qi at all because she is really just a big violent ball of rage. Not that she doesn't have a right to be but personally I found it a little tiresome. My understanding of Chinese history though, which is admittedly or and very insufficient, is that it's incredibly violent so I suppose since real people and real history inspired Zhao, it makes sense.
I can also understand why don't people found this book a little hamfisted. Subtext doesn't seem to be XJZ's specialty. I do think there was some subtly in some of the relationship development (and I don't just mean the romantic ones) but especially as far as themes go, it really felt like we were being reached at by Zetian on repeat throughout the book. No subtlety on that front at all.
All that being said though, ones things I think Zhao was highly successful with in this book was the pacing and narrative tension. Even when the characters were annoying me and the plot didn't feel particularly captivating, I still doing myself wanting to know what happened next. I think it was the narrative tension that did it. It really drives the story forward and makes the reading experience more enjoyable.
Narrative tension should not be confused with plot tension though they are related. The plot of this book feel like it could have been tighter. This was another area where some reviewers have said some things felt thrown in suddenly and while this book was not even half as bad about that as some that I've read, I can see the validity in that. I think with the kinds of themes this book was trying to address, a tighter plot would have given it a lot more impact, but ai don't think the issue was particularly egregious.
Lastly, I wanted to say that while I appreciate that Zhao was trying to write an actual love triangle, I felt like the relationship between Shimin and Yizhi was kind of weird. Perhaps it just wasn't dived very into much because the book was from Zetian's perspective. I don't think it's correct to say their relationship came out of nowhere because Yizhi, at least, seemed interested from their meeting, and they had some cute moments likehand holding after Zetian is shot, but I just didn't quite understand their interest in one another. Especially from Shimin's side.
Overall though, this is a good book and I'd recommend it to people looking for some diversity in their books and magical universes. This book also features a thruple and a mech-like battle universe.
I think the main reason I didn't rate it higher is that I had a hard time liking the main character very much. Hey cause might be novel but her personality is annoying. I don't understand how her main Qi is metal and not fire or how she has any water Qi at all because she is really just a big violent ball of rage. Not that she doesn't have a right to be but personally I found it a little tiresome. My understanding of Chinese history though, which is admittedly or and very insufficient, is that it's incredibly violent so I suppose since real people and real history inspired Zhao, it makes sense.
I can also understand why don't people found this book a little hamfisted. Subtext doesn't seem to be XJZ's specialty. I do think there was some subtly in some of the relationship development (and I don't just mean the romantic ones) but especially as far as themes go, it really felt like we were being reached at by Zetian on repeat throughout the book. No subtlety on that front at all.
All that being said though, ones things I think Zhao was highly successful with in this book was the pacing and narrative tension. Even when the characters were annoying me and the plot didn't feel particularly captivating, I still doing myself wanting to know what happened next. I think it was the narrative tension that did it. It really drives the story forward and makes the reading experience more enjoyable.
Narrative tension should not be confused with plot tension though they are related. The plot of this book feel like it could have been tighter. This was another area where some reviewers have said some things felt thrown in suddenly and while this book was not even half as bad about that as some that I've read, I can see the validity in that. I think with the kinds of themes this book was trying to address, a tighter plot would have given it a lot more impact, but ai don't think the issue was particularly egregious.
Lastly, I wanted to say that while I appreciate that Zhao was trying to write an actual love triangle, I felt like the relationship between Shimin and Yizhi was kind of weird. Perhaps it just wasn't dived very into much because the book was from Zetian's perspective. I don't think it's correct to say their relationship came out of nowhere because Yizhi, at least, seemed interested from their meeting, and they had some cute moments like
Overall though, this is a good book and I'd recommend it to people looking for some diversity in their books and magical universes. This book also features a thruple and a mech-like battle universe.