Reviews tagging 'Dysphoria'

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

12 reviews

adhdru's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective 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

5.0

“You’ve been living a dream long enough!
Welcome to your nightmare.”

I don’t even know where to start because I love so many things in this book. But let’s start with a quick summary of…

What this book is:

🐉The first of a sci-fi series “featuring giant mechas inspired by Chinese myth creatures”

🙆🏻A book with morally grey characters (who you will adore) ~~and contemptible ones that you’ll want to tear apart~~

🧡The evolution of the overused love triangle trope into its ultimate form: ✨polyamory✨

✊A magnificent delivery of very relevant social commentary —including misogyny, gender roles, [lack of] sustainability, racism, corruption, etcetera

What this book isn’t:

🙅Historically accurate —if you wanna learn about Wu Zetian’s life, this is a (total) reimagining of her life in an astronomically different setting!

📖A light, breezy read —there are some potentially triggering ones, as well as general fucked-up stuff happening

👓Your typical YA read —it’s a million times better and you should get reading asap

With that out of the way, let’s us dive into... my review

[Warning, cursing will ensue]

I’m not usually a big fan of mecha and I don’t read sci-fi very often, but I loved this setting so much. I was super into the (very misogynistic) mecha system though, which is powered by qi and spirit energy and the chrysalises (the robots) are creatures from Chinese folklore

all it needs is to have the pilots in balanced seats

Zetian, the main character and reimagining of the only female emperor of China, is fucking awesome. She has all I love in a person and as I was conflicted deciding whether I wanted to date her or be her, I decided that I want both —minus the lottus feet, that’s definitely something that should stay buried in the past (and fiction)!

The love interests Shimin and Yizhi, or as she describes them murder boy and sweet boy are not only decent and the opposite of a misogynist, they are also fucking awesome. They will make you soft, sad, mad and proud. They will also make you want to protect them at all costs.

What I probably loved the most though, is how this felt so cathartic in a way. Their world is horrible but, honestly, so is ours… Reading Zetian acknowledge and rage about all the injustice and broken systems infuriated me but also in a way made me feel validated. I often feel (or I’m made to feel) as though I just care too much, as though I spend so much energy on lost causes, speaking out about what’s wrong with the world and trying to act consciously to improve it. The fact that I cared about many themes and not just one has often given me the label of ‘intense’ and finding a character that is as ‘intense’ in that sense as me was so exciting and comforting.

Fuck the police and the patriarchy

As mentioned previously, this book has a lot of social commentary, more than I’ve ever read in fiction. It was all brilliantly incorporated in a way that felt natural and makes you rage too —if you’re like me, you’ll be angry a lot (I have a lot of orange book tabs to prove it)— but doesn’t in any way take away from the narrative or distract you of what’s going on.

“There will be no redemption. It is not me who is wrong. It's everyone else.”

There’s criticism about societal rules and expectations based on gender, particularly when it comes to women, blatant racism (disguised in high morals), injustice towards the poor/uneducated, corruption in the government, military and media; the justice system, and just so much more.

"There's no such thing as karma," I say, enunciating every siyllable like I want to crush them with my teeth. "Or, if it dies exist, it sure does not give a shit about people like me. Some of us were born to be used and discarded. We can't afford to simply go along with the flow of life, because nothing in this world has been created, built, or set up in our favor."

I truly enjoyed reading all these parallels to today’s world through a character that is actually aware of the irony and the wrongness of it all. And even when she exploits certain aspects of it, you can’t help but root for her.

"Humans...scourge of the universe..."

Highest level of badassery

This book is action-packed, and it just doesn’t get boring. But besides these scenes, what makes this so awesome is that Wu Zetian is an unapologetic bad bitch —and the love of my life. She is ruthless (see exhibits A and B for a couple of examples), brilliant, defiant, rebellious and will not hold herself back. She is witty and daring, takes no one’s shit, literally murders assholes, and says goodbye to gender roles, heteronormativity and monogamy —I’m stopping here cause if I were to list everything, I’d reach the max. character count.

She also single-handedly pilots the second biggest chrysalis into a Hero form and then goes on to co-pilot the highest class of chrysalis in existence, so there’s that. ☺️

Exhibit A (pg. 38):

To Yizhi: “Don’t think I’ve overlooked that you came to my house and almost foiled my plan, despite knowing how important it is to me. If you tip off the army in even the slightest way, I will kill myself when they lock me up, and then I will haunt you.”

Exhibit B (pg. 104):

To Shimin: “Ripples of visible heat lift his long hair above his shoulders, exposing his neck, splashed with horrid scars. 'It’s all wrong.’
‘Can't you fix it?’
‘I don't know how.’
Anger roils through my stupor. This conversation is pointless.
Only one can live.
‘I can't fix anything,’ he goes on. ‘I only know how to destroy.’
‘Then die.’
I stomp forth and shove him over the edge.”

Screw jealousy

I cannot emphasise enough how refreshing it is to read a love triangle resolved the right way: by making them all fall for each other. A healthy relationship where gender is irrelevant, there’s no toxic jealousy, they all work as a team and that doesn’t pressure anyone into having sex and consent is valued.

"Cheating is deception. He and I have talked about this. He's secure enough to know it's not a competition. That any feelings I have for you don't cancel the ones I have for him. He's okay with however close you and I get."

So many monogamous relationships could learn from them —both in fiction and reality.

"No, don't worry. I don't consider my instincts logical. so I don't want to be defined by them."

Before the poly becomes canon he also explains why he doesn't mind Zetian (potentially) being with Shimin in such a wonderful way:

"Where does jealousy come from, if not an insecurity that I'll lose you because of him? But that's not how it works, no matter how many people believe it so. You're not something to be kept or taken, and love isn't some scarce resource to battle over. Love can be infinite, as much as your heart can open."

I'll wrap up this kilometric review with one of my favourite quotes cause it has some of my favourite things grey morality, defiance, a fuck you to gender roles and the hierarchy, and perhaps the most important of all: food.

“Perks of refusing to play by the rules: you don’t have to choose between the boy who’d torture a man to death with you and the boy who welcomes you back with pastries.”

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Content Warnings

coffeedragon's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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

This book is AMAZING and I recommend everyone read it to get their fill of female RAGE and DESTRUCTION. This book touches on topics of gender, sexuality, Chinese traditions and customs, beauty standards, oppression of women, and so much more. All in a world of giant Mechas inspired by mythology. It's such a wild and fun read but also tense and challenging

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