A review by lepasseportlitteraire
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This is the first book of what will be a series, and damn am I disappointed!

I am disappointed because I bought this and started reading it immediately, and I DID NOT KNOW IT WAS A SERIES, NOW I READ IT AND LOVED IT AND I HAVE TO WAIT UNTIL 2024 TO READ THE SEQUEL.

Hum, sorry.

In this Chinese-inspired fantasy novel set in Huaxia, young boys and girls are in charge of protecting the Great Wall and the remaining human population from an alien invader species. However, while the boys are the ones in charge of piloting the Chrysalises (human-energy driven robots), the girls are merely an instrument for the boys, and they almost every time die But not Zetian. Zetian will not only attempt to revenge her sister's death, but when she will get paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most discussed pilot in Huaxia, she will unveil some history-changing details about this flawed system. 

Iron Widow is an explosive mixture of futuristic-science-fiction-dystopian fantasy, with references to Chinese history and mythology, with a great capacity of reimagining literary and real-life clichés such as love triangles. This book not only has everything you could ask for from a fantasy book, but it is also a monument to the shattering of gender codes. And at the center of it all you have a vengeance-driven plot with unapologetic feminine rage and grey characters that I cannot wait to see developing, personally hope they will develop into full villains.

This book has been everywhere, but if you were still on the fence on whether to read it or not, take this as your sign to do so!