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gardens_and_dragons 's review for:
Heavenly Tyrant
by Xiran Jay Zhao
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a disappointing sequel to *Iron Widow*. I actually spent time ranting to my partner about it and how frustrated I feel.
Most of this book is just speeches and telling, not showing, what happens with Qin Zheng now that he is back as emperor of Huxia- after the events of the last book when Zetian frees him. He’s terrible. He’s a tyrant. It’s a warning about what happens when men do terrible things in the name of the "greater good." There’s some sexual content that is coercive and felt like it could have been handled better as subject matter.
The only truly interesting stuff in this SFF novel happens in the last 100 pages. The rest feels like poorly written leftist monologues pasted over a weak semblance of a plot that completely undermines the spirit of what the main characters worked toward in the first book. I say this as someone who is fairly liberal, but there’s a difference between portraying these beliefs meaningfully and cramming half-page Tumblr-style rants into the mouths of side characters.
Zetian spends the whole book suffering. Again. Great. We don’t get to see her do much of what she excels at—she’s literally forced to play a role for propaganda.
I’m honestly shocked this made it through an editor’s hands and got approved, especially with the run-on monologues, poor pacing, extra characters, and more.
Most of this book is just speeches and telling, not showing, what happens with Qin Zheng now that he is back as emperor of Huxia- after the events of the last book when Zetian frees him. He’s terrible. He’s a tyrant. It’s a warning about what happens when men do terrible things in the name of the "greater good." There’s some sexual content that is coercive and felt like it could have been handled better as subject matter.
The only truly interesting stuff in this SFF novel happens in the last 100 pages. The rest feels like poorly written leftist monologues pasted over a weak semblance of a plot that completely undermines the spirit of what the main characters worked toward in the first book. I say this as someone who is fairly liberal, but there’s a difference between portraying these beliefs meaningfully and cramming half-page Tumblr-style rants into the mouths of side characters.
Zetian spends the whole book suffering. Again. Great. We don’t get to see her do much of what she excels at—she’s literally forced to play a role for propaganda.
I’m honestly shocked this made it through an editor’s hands and got approved, especially with the run-on monologues, poor pacing, extra characters, and more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Pregnancy
Minor: Homophobia, Suicide