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A review by miss617
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
2.0
This book is... Kind of a mess.
Initially, I was really into it, but I quickly started to lose interest. It reads a bit too juvenile for YA in some places, especially in some of the dialogue (Sima Yi in particular comes to mind, but Zetian's dialogue is also pretty bad at times).
Zetian goes from simply wanting to avenge her sister to "let the bodies hit the floor" in 0.2 seconds flat (oh, but Sima Yi was right about her being unhinged!) And we're supposed to believe it's solely because she realizes the system is broken, which apparently none of the other pilots have done in two centuries? I could buy that if she showed any bit of remorse or hesitation, but she never does.
A big criticism I often have with YA books is never really explaining why the MC is the chosen one/cycle breaker. Maybe Zetian is the only female pilot who went into it with vengeance in mind, but would the cycle have continued if her sister had lived? Similarly, for all of her talk of wanting to save girls (which she really only does at the end), Zetian really only attempts to get the other female pilots on her side once. And that's before she learns the truth. It really feels like the only woman Zetian cares about herself. She shows *some* concern for her mother and grandmother, but look how that turns out at the end...
This book really has potential, but it ended up being a huge letdown for me. I felt there was too much telling and not enough showing, and not enough world-building. The side characters have very little development (we *almost* get it with Li Shimin, but it just barely scratches the surface). At this point, I am unsure if I want to read the sequel.
Initially, I was really into it, but I quickly started to lose interest. It reads a bit too juvenile for YA in some places, especially in some of the dialogue (Sima Yi in particular comes to mind, but Zetian's dialogue is also pretty bad at times).
Zetian goes from simply wanting to avenge her sister to "let the bodies hit the floor" in 0.2 seconds flat (oh, but Sima Yi was right about her being unhinged!) And we're supposed to believe it's solely because she realizes the system is broken, which apparently none of the other pilots have done in two centuries? I could buy that if she showed any bit of remorse or hesitation, but she never does.
A big criticism I often have with YA books is never really explaining why the MC is the chosen one/cycle breaker. Maybe Zetian is the only female pilot who went into it with vengeance in mind, but would the cycle have continued if her sister had lived? Similarly, for all of her talk of wanting to save girls (which she really only does at the end), Zetian really only attempts to get the other female pilots on her side once. And that's before she learns the truth. It really feels like the only woman Zetian cares about herself. She shows *some* concern for her mother and grandmother, but look how that turns out at the end...
This book really has potential, but it ended up being a huge letdown for me. I felt there was too much telling and not enough showing, and not enough world-building. The side characters have very little development (we *almost* get it with Li Shimin, but it just barely scratches the surface). At this point, I am unsure if I want to read the sequel.