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A review by corsetedfeminist
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I’ve heard so many people talk about how wonderful this book is, but I went into it basically blind, and I’m glad I did.
It’s everything you know and love about Mulan, but if she was a bit more power hungry and firmly morally grey.
I want to take a moment first to celebrate the worldbuilding here. I struggle sometimes with sci-fi type books, but this story was a delight and didn’t get too bogged down in the details of how various technology worked beyond what was needed for the plot, when it was needed. The whole chrysalis concept and technology are explained extremely well. Added to this is a solid dose of Chinese culture and history that was beautifully woven into fantasy/sci-fi parts of the story. The ongoing discussion of the practice of foot binding, including our main character’s disabling pain, brought a raw physicality to the discussion of sexism in the story that broke me.
Now we go to our main character, Zetian. She is fire, and vengance, and spirit, and a deep yearning for power and revenge that I immediately adored. I’m going to tattoo “I am your nightmare” to the inside of my eyelids. But we also catch glimpses of her soft side, and I loved that as well.
And then we have her boys. Yizhi and Shimin are each delightful in very different ways. I loved the contrast of Yizhi’s softness balanced with cunning and Shimin’s roughness balanced with a poet’s heart. I was glad that on of the few things I knew going in was that the romance in the book is poly, because I enjoyed watching all three fall in love together without having to worry about her picking one.(With that being said, spoiler: If Shimin is irreversibly dead, we riot. I need him to be okay by the end of the next book.)
In short, I really enjoyed this book, and I’m looking forward to the sequel. The discussions of patriarchy and defeating the expectations people put on us are expertly handled, the plot is perfect and riveting, and the romance is tender despite it all.
It’s everything you know and love about Mulan, but if she was a bit more power hungry and firmly morally grey.
I want to take a moment first to celebrate the worldbuilding here. I struggle sometimes with sci-fi type books, but this story was a delight and didn’t get too bogged down in the details of how various technology worked beyond what was needed for the plot, when it was needed. The whole chrysalis concept and technology are explained extremely well. Added to this is a solid dose of Chinese culture and history that was beautifully woven into fantasy/sci-fi parts of the story. The ongoing discussion of the practice of foot binding, including our main character’s disabling pain, brought a raw physicality to the discussion of sexism in the story that broke me.
Now we go to our main character, Zetian. She is fire, and vengance, and spirit, and a deep yearning for power and revenge that I immediately adored. I’m going to tattoo “I am your nightmare” to the inside of my eyelids. But we also catch glimpses of her soft side, and I loved that as well.
And then we have her boys. Yizhi and Shimin are each delightful in very different ways. I loved the contrast of Yizhi’s softness balanced with cunning and Shimin’s roughness balanced with a poet’s heart. I was glad that on of the few things I knew going in was that the romance in the book is poly, because I enjoyed watching all three fall in love together without having to worry about her picking one.
In short, I really enjoyed this book, and I’m looking forward to the sequel. The discussions of patriarchy and defeating the expectations people put on us are expertly handled, the plot is perfect and riveting, and the romance is tender despite it all.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail