Iron Widow: The TikTok sensation (Iron Widow, #1)

by Xiran Jay Zhao

Instant New York Times No.1 Bestseller. A YA Pacific Rim meets the Handmaid’s Tale retelling of the rise of Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history.

I have no faith in love. Love cannot save me. I choose vengeance.

The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises – giant transforming robots that battle aliens beyond the Great Wall. It doesn’t matter that their female co-pilots are expected to serve as concubines and often die from the mental strain.

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 after miraculously surviving her first battle, Zetian sets her sights on a mightier goal. The time has come to stop more girls from being sacrificed.

‘This is the historical-inspired, futuristic sci-fi mash-up of my wildest dreams.’ Chloe Gong

‘Raging against the patriarchy in spectacular style.’ Observer, best books of the year

‘Zetian is unstoppable, and I dare you not to cheer her on.’ Elizabeth Lim, author of Spin the Dawn

A New York Times bestseller, Oct 10 2021

• ISBN10: 0861542096
• ISBN13: 9780861542093
• Publish Date: 7 October 2021 (first published 21 September 2021)
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 18 August 2023
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Rock the Boat
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[booksandcats]

Really good, actually, I liked the twist of a love triangle, I loved the fantasy world built in here, honestly, the only reason it just got 4 stars is that it is a bit too YA for me, wich is fine, that's a perfectly fine genre, I'm just really not in the mood for it, which sucks because I think at another point of my life, this might be a 5 star read. So, extremely good YA book, not my taste just now, but very unique.

[Ashley]

I didn't love this like I hoped I would. It was pretty good, but a little… hollow?

The main character objectively said great, empowering, feminist things, but it kind of felt like she was just spewing lines from some sort of “inspirational feminist quotes” book. These “quotable” lines just came out of nowhere, and frequently. I was struggling between “great thinking” and “this is cheesy”. I like the badass feminist woman taking down the patriarchy, but it was almost a little too in-your-face?

The book itself also didn't dive very deep into the world building. It covered that up with constant action, which was interesting, but made it hard to actually follow and understand the world and its politics. We just skimmed the surface of everything.

[nannah]

(3.5?)

I’m honestly not sure how I feel about this book. It was definitely my most eagerly-anticipated read of the year, because I love Xiran Jay Zhao’s videos. In particular I’m a big fan of their organized and well-researched videos about Chinese history. And when I knew their debut, Iron Widow, would star the only female Chinese Emperor (Wu Zetian), I made sure to check out the other book about her on my to-read list first as a little intro to who she was in real life (she was very messy … but very interesting, too). Unfortunately, though there are elements that I absolutely love, I think the book suffers from an overly basic writing style that might be from a lack of experience. The good thing about that, though, is that Xiran Jay Zhao will get better from here.

Content Warnings:
- domestic abuse
- rape
- torture (shown on page)
- alcohol addiction
- sexism & misogyny & femicide
- suicidal ideation

Representation:
- the main protagonist is disabled and uses a wheelchair
- every character is Chinese (in a futuristic setting)
- the three main protagonists are bi and poly)

Huaxia, desperately trying not to lose more ground to invading aliens called Hunduns, created transforming mechas (Chrysalises) to fight back that use a yin/yang two-pilot system: one boy, one girl. But most often, girls (called concubine pilots) die from the mental strain. When her older sister dies in battle, 18yo Wu Zetian suspects foul play and offers herself up to be a concubine pilot. She kills the pilot responsible for her sister’s death through the mental link in the Chrysalis, surprising everyone, and is bestowed the title, Iron Widow. Paired now with the most feared pilot, Li Shimin, she needs to keep living through battles if she wants to find out why girls keep dying -- and to stop it from happening at all.

Okay, I’m going to talk about what I liked first and give credit to where credit is due. Refreshing the tired (and also extremely annoying) love triangle concept to make a polyamorous relationship between all three characters is everything I ever wanted. I think they all work together and balance each other out well; they’re truly a Balanced Match. It’s also perhaps the subtlest message here.

What world building there is is fantastic, too. I noticed it most near the ending, but it’s what made me stay up early into the morning to finish reading. We finally explore outside of Huaxia, and the world really enchanted me -- honestly, it gave me Princess Mononoke vibes. I wish I could explain, but then I’d have to hide this entire review for being spoilery.

The novel is also just ... cool. The transforming Chrysalises and the action scenes and just how unabashedly badass the whole book’s energy is left me exhilarated and wanting to smash the patriarchy! The cover is spot on, probably one of the few times a cover perfectly captures the feeling of what’s going on inside the book.

There’s a lot I don’t like, too.

Much of it comes back to the writing style, which is pretty rudimentary and relies way too much on telling (rather than striking any sort of balance with showing). Sometimes it gets in the way of the storytelling. The dialogue can get … painful to read, and Wu Zetian’s one liners and quips are everywhere. The more of these lines she had, the less their impact.

This book is also not subtle. At all. I think the constant in-you-face messages (even if I agree with everything said), dialogue, and explanations of everyone’s actions wore me out. Sometimes I just want to be able to draw my own conclusions from a character’s action or interpret someone’s dialogue my own way instead of the author telling me, “Ah, Zetian now understands by that glance that if she doesn’t do what he wants, she has no doubt he’ll turn against her instead …” etc.

Coming back to the writing style, a lot of the parts meant to be humorous had me physically cringing -- especially “You can’t shoot me, I’m rich!” scene and the “triangle is the strongest shape” scenes, especially the last, where Zetian physically makes a triangle with her fingers and looks through it, referencing their polyamorous relationship when they finally all get together. And in the same scene, her repeated “finally!” at that moment, when she had only just realized maybe Li Shimin thought about boys. I don’t think as much thought was given to how scenes would connect or feel with regards to timing when reading as was to the scenes themselves.

Zetian herself is also less developed and nuanced than I hoped she’d be. There are moments where she shines, like where she realizes she needs to try harder to understand other women’s situations, but she doesn’t have a whole lot of dimension outside them. I think the focus is on making her seem cool and badass more than anything -- which, in a book like this, I can see why that would be a priority. I’ll give that some credit, too.

I’m trying not to be too negative, because I didn't at all hate it! But I do also have to mention Zetian’s relationship with the other female characters, Qieluo and Xiuying. Unfortunately, in a book where Wu Zetian is meant to fight back against misogyny, she finds no friends in the women around her. They’re rude to each other, they fight over men, and ultimately, Zetian only makes allies and friends with men (the book mentions this once: “Can I really call myself a strong girl if I’m relying on two boys?” but it kind of feels like the author is writing themself out of the problem). The text mentions Zetian can’t be the only woman who feels the same way she does about living in a society as misogynistic as hers, but then does nothing with it. At the end, Wu Zetian says her weakness is someone holding girls hostage, but seconds earlier she had just destroyed part of an entire city … who does she think lives there?

The whole book sped at a breakneck pace, so if you like fast-paced books, this is the one for you. The last fourth was my favorite, and I kept reading till about 3am. The Hunduns until then were just kind of mindless attacking things, and then -- then it all comes together. And then there’s choices I just don’t understand, so I’m definitely going to have to pick up the sequel! I really look forward to seeing how Xiran Jay Zhao grows from here.

[empressbrooke]

I think this one was more of a 3.5 stars for me, but rounding up for the bits I really liked. It spun its wheels at times due to lacking a strong plot driving everything forward until the very end, but I also thought the end was intriguing and would pick up book #2.

[Quirky Cat]

The Iron Widow is the first novel in a series of the same name, written by Xiran Jay Zhao. This is one of those books that has been getting a lot of ink – and with good reason. I'm so happy to see it making so many different lists, and I hope that many readers get a chance to read it!

Huaxia depends on Chrysalises – giant transforming robots – to protect the Great Wall and the people within. Each mecha requires two pilots, a boy to take command and a girl to help take the strain. It is often the girls who pay the price.

Zetian knows this all too well. What started as a quest for revenge quickly turned into something else as power sweeps through her world. Now Zetian has had a taste for it, and she's never going to let go.

“He should be the Iron King, and I should be the Iron Queen. Yet Iron Demon and Iron Widow is all they'll let us be.”

Holy cow. If I could choose one a handful of books to read over and over again, you better believe that Iron Widow would make the list. This delightfully complex novel has so much to offer, and I'm just captivated by it all.

To say that I was blown away by Iron Widow would be the understatement of the century. Zetian is so very much my hero, as is Xiran Jay Zhao for creating this novel. It simultaneously tackles patriarchy, revenge plots, and a quest for power. And it does so with style.

Did I mention that there are giant mecha battling alien mecha? That's a thing I didn't know I needed in a setting such as this. It reminded me of a better thought-out version of Pacific Rim. I mean no offense to fans of the movie – as I myself am one. is just that good.

Honestly, the marketing pitch for Iron Widow is freaking amazing: "Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid's Tale in a polyamorous reimagining of China's only female emperor." Um. Yes, please! I saw that description and knew that this book was one worth reading. I wasn't disappointed, let me tell you that much!

Thanks to Penguin Teen and #NetGalley for making this book available for review. All opinions expressed are my own.

For more reviews check out Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks