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As someone raised as a man, I was hesitant seeing the rage and contempt building up in our protagonist, Wu Zetian. I knew her cause was righteous and her motives made logical sense, but I think I feared her early in the book. She did announce "I am your nightmare," in the first act, so she was trying to make me afraid, like all the spectators of her battle. I was scoffing at her feminism, but only briefly. Almost all of the horrors visited upon women in Zhao's Huaxia happen to this day across the world. Yes, foot-binding is nearly extinct, but women are still sold into marriage and killed by their partners every day.

As I saw more of the oppression and style of partiarchy that Zetian endured, my rage flared with hers. My guilt and sorrow also flared up with Shimin's. Shimin, a man who had killed countless girls but mourned them each time. He is a cog of the Huaxia patriarchy, even if an unwilling one. I related to that as a nonbinary person who was raised as a man. I look like a man, and that brings benefits to me in our world. It's deeply frustrating to receive benefits you are so firmly opposed to, and to understand who does NOT get those benefits.

9.5/10, an amazing book. I had to evaluate myself and my perceptions throughout, challenging assumptions and allowing me imagine a greater, better, world.

If you enjoyed either of the previous books, you should read this one too. It has slightly less of the confusing start that Harrow the Ninth had, but there are still significant questions raised in early chapters. The narrative follows everyday life in a city of resistance to the necromancers, giving us important perspective and adding much needed nuance to the series.

One of my favorite aspects of this book is the world-building around the development of necromancy. The Emperor Undying was a simple geneticist trying to help save Earth from the ravages of anthropogenic climate change when he stumbled upon the secrets to death itself. This is also the first book that makes clear that the Necrolord Prime is Māori, a detail that isn't too relevant to the plot but adds lovely details to this cryptic world.

This book has the strongest cliffhanger of all so far, and I'm ecstatic to read Alecto the Ninth when it releases.