Reviews tagging 'Colonisation'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

144 reviews

ezriamongthestars's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Ableism and Homophobia

lindseyhall44's review against another edition

challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I’m not exactly sure how I feel about Iron Widow, so this review is subject to change. 

What I enjoyed:
-the ending was absolutely phenomenal, and it made me interested in continuing the series, despite my earlier hesitations 
-the combination of history(loose) in a sci-fi landscape 
-the polyamorous relationship( though I hope it’s expanded more in future books

What I felt was lacking 
- the character walks the fine line between powerful and difficult, which I thought was crossed a few times
-the plot felt a bit convulsed at times, with many things going on
-there was a bit of a lull in the middle before the final battle

All In all I do think this would appeal to fantasy lovers, and I would recommend picking it up if you are interested!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

mantnam's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

The main character  is relateably imperfect, headstrong, and angry about the horrendous injustices of her society. Anyone who likes Evangelion or Gundam should give this a try. I never got into wither show but I thought this book was great.

The book was inspired by a lot of real Chinese history and I loved feeling like I was learning while I read this amazing story. It inspired me to learn some more about real history in that region.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Murder, and War

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Racism, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

blkbltchic's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I've been wanting to read this for a very long time. I really enjoy a completed love triangle no matter how brief the moment is. Based on the epilogue I'm wondering if there will be a sequel I haven't been keeping up in that regard. I loved all of the real world cultural details that were interwoven into this fantastical sci-fi story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, Alcohol, Colonisation, and War

Minor: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Classism

ratchetang's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Can be confusing if you have little knowledge of chinese culture and mythology or mecha genres. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, and Alcohol

Moderate: Confinement, Genocide, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Grief, Colonisation, and Dysphoria

Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

leafhead's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Alcohol, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death, Domestic abuse, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and War

pengintoppa's review against another edition

adventurous tense

4.5

worldbuilding is interesting, i liked the 3 main characters. it was cool to read scifi set in china by a chinese author. some of the messaging felt a little heavy-handed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Torture, Trafficking, and Colonisation

recurring mention/description of the long-term crippling effects of footbinding. the racism/xenophobia is directed at non-han chinese ethnic groups. sexism/misogyny is a lot of the driving force of most of the plot.

cfitz13's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Minor: Rape and Alcohol

cnaccarato's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

gaymoonreader's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent

Minor: Terminal illness