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A review by softrosemint
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
3.5
i believe my experience was significantly improved by blocking the author on twitter because i found them sort of cringey. i am saying this, since most complaints of the book on here seem to stem from the marketing setting up unrealistic expectations. personally, all i knew was that it was going to be a mecha book with a headstrong female protagonist and involving a polyamorous relationship. (at which point xiran jay zhao started memeing and i blocked them; friends then recommended the book to be / put it on my 12 months challenge. now we are here).
the book was pretty on par with my expectations. a perfectly serviceable ya fantasy / sci-fi. it felt cool, i was entertained, i had fun. could it have had more nuance and elegance and more polish? yes. could it have been developed more to truly flesh out the plot and the characters? also yes. was it a pinnacle of feminist literature? no. but i had no expectation for it to be any of those things.
let me be clear - zetian is girlbossing it up almost like it is 2012, there are several instances that warrant a good eye roll. but. i do not think the book is in any way harmful to feminist ideas; mostly, i just think it presents a very simplified view on them.
or maybe rong fu was really killing it with the narration!
(i am sorry if all of this sounds like a backhanded compliment but it is my honest thoughts and opinions.)
(the ending was a Choice though. but i guess imagine if it had not been included and we went into the sequel and got this served on like, page 2.)
the book was pretty on par with my expectations. a perfectly serviceable ya fantasy / sci-fi. it felt cool, i was entertained, i had fun. could it have had more nuance and elegance and more polish? yes. could it have been developed more to truly flesh out the plot and the characters? also yes. was it a pinnacle of feminist literature? no. but i had no expectation for it to be any of those things.
let me be clear - zetian is girlbossing it up almost like it is 2012, there are several instances that warrant a good eye roll. but. i do not think the book is in any way harmful to feminist ideas; mostly, i just think it presents a very simplified view on them.
or maybe rong fu was really killing it with the narration!
(i am sorry if all of this sounds like a backhanded compliment but it is my honest thoughts and opinions.)
(the ending was a Choice though. but i guess imagine if it had not been included and we went into the sequel and got this served on like, page 2.)