Iron Widow

Overall feelings: the ideas were fun, the middle felt like it dragged on, and the politics often felt heavy handed

The part of this book that I enjoyed the most and felt like was the strongest was all of the interpersonal dynamics. The first book ends with waking up the legendary emperor Qin Zheng, who in this book takes control immediately. The triangle dynamics of Zetian, Shimin, and Yizhi from the first book are broken up, with Shimin hostaged, Yizhi becoming Qin Zheng's advisor, and Zetian becoming Qing Zheng's wife. There's a lot of good tension between the fact that Qin Zheng is an authoritarian tyrant that rules with violence, but also establishes some policies that try to address inequalities from the previous regime. Zetian loathes his controlling nature, but also finds that he listens and can be extremely reasonable when given policy advice. And, all in the background, the gods are manipulating everybody and everybody is trying to deceive each other and the gods. It adds up to a nuanced dynamic that was really intriguing to me.

Another thing I liked is that the ending of this book (like the ending of the first) is a great escalation. The first book ended with "oh wow, you're just going to reveal for free that [major spoiler]". The ending to this book likewise breaks up established dynamics, creates additional tensions, and remixes and stirs up interpersonal conflicts.

That said, I do think that it just took a while to get to this ending. The politics felt didactic and heavy handed to me, and the overall plot was much slower than the first book.

“I mourn the people we could have been if a different world had shaped us.”

A fantastic sequel, as well as a masterclass in how to continue raising the stakes in the middle of a series while not taking anything away from what drew people to it in the first place. While Iron Widow was a clear reimagining of the anime Darling in the Franxx, Heavenly Tyrant shows that the worldbuilding established in the first volume leaves more than enough room for the series to stand on its own terms as a fantasy sci-fi space opera in its own right.

This volume also addressed the only real complaint I had for the last book. To pull a line from that review - 'The book is already hundreds of pages - some extra space to properly flesh out scenes wouldn't be that much more to ask, would it?' That wish came true in this book. While Heavenly Tyrant is a bit longer - Iron Widow was 400 pages, and the sequel is over 500 - there’s not a single wasted moment. There’s no pulling back from action scenes or conversations this time around. It feels as if the author has gotten the same boost of confidence as Zetian does in this volume, and it’s a treat to read because of it. Everything flows to the grand cliffhanger of this volume, and every scene serves its purpose in redefining character relationships, recontextualizing parts of the worldbuilding that previously came across as added flavor instead of deep foreshadowing, and raising the tension as Zetian realizes that she’s getting everything that she’d ever dared to hope for - but the fight is far from over.

I’m also in awe with how the relationship between Zetian and Qin Zheng is portrayed. It’s a truly toxic relationship with the blurriest of lines, and I’m glad that the good Qin Zheng does over the course of the novel is never used as a way to excuse the terrible things that he is responsible for. Instead, this deepens the portrayal of him as a complicated and divisive individual, the exact person that their world needs to rebuild, and yet simultaneously the worst kind of ruler who lives up to the name of this book. And Zetian is given the same treatment, even though she’s the perspective character for this series. No one is above reproach, and this book is a great exploration of the phrase ‘absolute power corrupts absolutely.’ And while Qin Zheng has clear and obvious feelings for Zetian by the end of this book, this is not a romance. The way that they each use each other for their own purposes while an undercurrent of animosity flows between them, only held back by their shared agenda, provides some of the most compelling parts of this volume. By the end, no one would blame Zetian for continuing to go along with him in service of her own goals - but the catharsis I felt when she didn’t is unparalleled. “Now your fantasy ends” indeed.

There’s moments here and there where I’m pretty sure I recognize the anime tropes that the author is pulling from - the mention of the red sea alone was enough to turn me into the Leonardo Di’Caprio pointing meme - but Heavenly Tyrant soars past all of that to turn into an incredible narrative in its own right. I loved every moment of this one, and I can hardly wait for the next.

Place your bets now - what will Zetian blow up next time? A moon? A solar system? My money is on universe-sized robots throwing around galaxies like shuriken. IYKYK.