Author: Xiran Jay Zhao
Publication Date: 21 September 2021
Publisher: Penguin Teen
Page Count: 400
Dates Read: Jan 23 – 25
Reading Method: Physical – Illumicrate Backlog
Review
If have been anywhere around the book world lately – I am SURE you have seen Iron Widow floating about, being adored by the masses. And of course, Illumicrate made an absolutely stunning edition that I was lucky enough to get my hands on! Since this book seems to be taking bookstagram by storm, I decided to put it high on the list of my subscription box backlog to see what all the fuss was about.
My favorite aspect of the book is just how addicting Iron Widow is. This fast-paced, action packed story is impossible to put down. Every chapter ends with a punch, and I found myself staying up way later than I should have because I just HAD TO KNOW what was going to happen next. It’s also filled with great quotes and the writing is engaging.
I also really enjoyed the polyamory rep. It was so well done, and I loved all three of the character’s relationship progression. One of my favorite quotes sums it up pretty well:
“You’re not something to be kept or taken, and love isn’t some scarce resource to battle over. Love can be infinite, as much as your heart can open.”
Iron Widow, Xiran Jay Zhao
I can’t think of a single book that I read growing up that explored a polyamorous relationship, and I’m glad to see it becoming more common in books to experience different types of relationships.
Though I literally flew through the story, there were some parts I wasn’t crazy about. I think my main issue is with the main character, Zetian. Zetian comes up through the ranks of the pilots so quickly and she’s on a mission to make the men of the world pay for the atrocities they force upon the women. She continually talks about how horribly women are treated and how she wants to bring about change to the way women are treated, yet she treats women like absolute garbage throughout the entire story. I had a hard time buying into her feminist mindset when she treats every woman she meets as a target. Zetian hates everyone without discrimination, which would be fine with me, but it’s presented as though she’s looking out for the girls of the world, which I just couldn’t find the evidence to support.
I also really struggled with her thought processes. She is so wishy washy. One sentence she will be offended by something (rightfully so), and the next sentence she has completely flipped it around and moved on. As a reader trying to understand a character, I really would have appreciated sitting in the emotions for a minute and working through her thought process of how she gets from point A to point B. Let her be upset for a minute without immediately flipping a switch to a different mindset. There were several instances of this throughout the story. Looking back I had SO many notes saying “YES, but also NO.”
Though I didn’t love certain aspects of Zetian’s character, I did admire her strength, passion, and total badassery (thats a word, right?). I like that she isn’t afraid to stand up for what she thinks is right. There are several other notable characters in Iron Widow. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Yizhi and Li Shimin. Of the two, Li Shimin completely stole my heart, but I do have a soft spot for sweet Yizhi. Both of them are strong characters on their own, but the three of them together are absolutely unstoppable.
The concept of the qi was interesting, but I’m really hoping we get a little more history of the world Zetian lives in and how everything came to be the way it is now. I wish I understood it all a little better. The politics, the qi, the societal structures, the history… hopefully we will get to see that a bit more in the next book. The ending of this one was a little all over the place and Zetian’s character changes so much in such a short span. I was flipping through the last few pages almost faster than I could read them. I am definitely looking forward to the next book and hoping that some of the issues I’ve had with Iron Widow are resolved or improved upon.
About the Book
The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn’t matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.
When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it’s to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister’s death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed.
About the Author
Xiran Jay Zhao is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Iron Widow series and Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor. A first-gen Hui Chinese immigrant from small-town China to Vancouver, Canada, they were raised by the Internet and made the inexplicable decision to leave their biochem degree in the dust to write books and make educational content instead. You can find them on Twitter for memes, Instagram for cosplays and fancy outfits, TikTok for fun short videos, and YouTube for long videos about Chinese history and culture.
