hardcover, 384 pages

English language

Published Sept. 20, 2021 by Penguin Teen.

ISBN:
978-0-7352-6993-4
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4 stars (44 reviews)

Science fiction and East Asian myth combine in this dazzling retelling of the rise of Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history

The boys of Huaxia dream of the celebrity status that comes with piloting Chrysalises - giant transforming robots that battle the aliens beyond the Great Wall. Their female co-pilots are expected to serve as concubines and sacrifice their lives.

When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, her plan is to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister's death. But on miraculously emerging from the cockpit unscathed after her first battle, the Iron Widow sets her sights on bigger things. The time has come to take on the entire patriarchal military system.

11 editions

Review of 'Iron Widow' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

I didn't know what to expect when I bought this book, based on Zhao's great video essays. It catched me right away with the complex, fleshed out characters. The final twist was logical, but I still didn't see it coming - also the layers of societal critique she waved in so effortlessly

Everything All At Once

3 stars

I like Xiran Jay Zhao. They're a great content creator and their Twitter is something to behold. So it was only a matter of time until I got to Iron Widow. That time was this week when I had a 5 hour bus journey in front of me and needed something to entertain me.

It was certainly a quick read for my standards. But then, I always seem to eat through YA literature as opposed to everything else I read, even if I go out of it with a sense of dissatisfaction. Which is not really something I felt here, even though the book has left me wanting in the worst possible way. The characters are... fine. Wu Zetian is the main character and thus the most fleshed out. The two love interests (it's an actual love triangle!) are somewhat shallow and everyone else is either window dressing or someone …

Iron Widow Is Fine

3 stars

Content warning Spoilers beneath a break at the bottom!

Review of 'Iron Widow' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

The trouble with reviewing a book you really like is toning down the firehose of feelings into a readable piece that isn't just a bunch of heart emojis and squeeing. I'll give it a go however for the sake of the Iron Widow because I really enjoyed this book for very specific reasons.

The Rage - This is by far the best thing about the story. Women just don't get to be ANGRY in stories for very long and certainly not to their benefit. The main character of the Iron Widow is furious from the moment we meet her with damned good reason and instead of tripping her up it fuels her rise to greatness. God its so refreshing.
Even better - that reason is not because someone raped her. Yes, world, women can be angry about a number of things just like real people.

The Battle Scenes - Having …

Solid adventure, some thought provoking aspects

4 stars

I found my self making time to listen to this audiobook by doing things like taking the dog for extra walks. So that in itself is a pretty good review.

The protagonist is an interesting character, who is quite relatable. I'm not sure I would make some of the choices she does, but I haven't lived her life either.

From a genre point of view, it was (for me) closer to fantasy than "hard" science fiction. That might depend on how familar one was with traditional Chinese Chi theory. I'm not even familiar enough to say how close the book is to tradition.

Some of the twists are not quite as surprising as the author might have intended. It is very much set up for a sequel, which I understand the author needs to make some more money to write. So I hope my USD13 helps (or whatever small share …

Review of 'Iron Widow' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

Zeitan is intent on getting revenge on the Chrysalis pilot that killed her sister. After succeeding, her list of people and groups to get revenge on slowly grows.

Zeitan falls in love?… I’m not sure if love is actually present, but as presented on the page, a love triangle forms between her, her pilot, and her friend. That is, she falls for each of them, they fall for each other, and each of them fall for her. It's hard to tell that anything developed, because I feel there is very little weight to any particular decision or action for the characters. I didn't feel that decisions, when choices were presented, came with serious, character (or world) altering repercussions. The world is superficial. The characters are flimsy and shallow. There is little substance, little depth to be had. The book seems more of a vehicle for the author’s profound thoughts, dropped …

Review of 'Iron Widow' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Zetian is just not like other girls but in a good way, it's hard to remember another character that was anything like her, Yizhi and Shimin were also a good surprise and I would have liked even more scenes between all of them. The writing was simple but fluid and the plot with all the sci fi elements was great, it was not too much or too weak, this book was easy to fly through and finished with a bang and so of course i'm anticipating the next book with impatience already lol

UNLIKEABLE CHARACTER AHEAD WOO WOO (and) Ignore the Comp title, but read this book

5 stars

Content warning CW: Abuse of all kinds, death, misogyny, footbinding

Review of 'Iron Widow' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

This is genuinely my favorite book ever. When I started it I’d been in a reading slump for a while, and this book got me out of it. It was so well written and has such good character development. Character development is one of the most important things, and you nailed it. Thank you so much for writing such an amazing book and I can’t wait for the sequel. You’re an amazing author!

Review of 'Iron Widow' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

If you're even the least bit curious about this book after reading the premise you probably owe it to yourself to read it. A doozy mech sci-fi, historical retelling(?), YA romance book weaved together by the power of spite and feminism. As a big fan of the mecha genre I really appreciate how obviously familiar and comfortable the author is with it's themes of bodies, the instrumentalization of young pilots and exertion of imperial power.

Review of 'Iron Widow' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

When her sister dies in the war efforts, Xetian decides to take her revenge on the pilot who killed her.

This story punched me in the gut with al the wrongs in the world (the author's fictional world and by extension our own) but it also wrapped me up in the warm fuzzies with how wonderful people can be. And then it punched me again.

Huh. This book is an abusive partner. Still, I'm not going to break up with it.

An unapologetic sci-fi tale that pulls no punches and will leave readers fired up and ready to overthrow the patriarchy.

Review of 'Iron Widow' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

i couldn't wait till i was back at dorms where my laptop is but. Aaaaaa of course it was [redacted for spoiler reasons] and i know this is possibly not for everyone's fancy, i believe no book is if we are talking about Everyone, but it was for Me. enjoyed it v much. i now realise why i feel like i have to justify my enjoyment here but that's between me and my therapist. can't wait to draw fanart. like the book was marketed as, this review is also a scream and is between me and god.

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