A review by ellstar
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I ripped through this book in a weekend and while I don't regret any minute of it, I do feel like it's a lot of tell, not show. There are quite a few examples of expository characters in this novel and while I really enjoyed the description in the battle scenes it felt like certain key twists & secret information were just dropped out of nowhere to keep the plot progressing.
<Spoiler> Don't get me wrong, the World building is great and the characters are interesting and each offer a unique perspective on this world, but the motivation at the start of Zetian's journey is for revenge for a sister we literally learn nothing about. I was wondering if there was going to be some sort of twist in the third act or some sort of reveal at the end which would explain why we literally know NOTHING about this big sister that Zetian is so desperate to sacrifice her life for, but as we learn about the family trauma she suffered from, her sister never is part of these stories. We don't see her sister either soothing her after her feet are crushed, or distracting her while her mother or grandmother are being beaten, or even offering any real advice or anecdotes to explain why she is so important to Zetian. It feels like a really big miss for me, and this also happens with Shimin's story as well, with both his friend whom he killed for (I can't even remember if she had a name) & Wende. For a book that is about trying to detach women from the shackles of a patriarchal society that devalues them, I was a bit disappointed that we didn't get to flesh out these characters a little bit more considering the impact they had on our leads. It felt a bit shallow and even her interactions with the other female pilots seemed shallow and I can't imagine that we're supposed to believe that this entire world has no good female characters? </Spoiler>
I'm hoping that this was just pieces that were removed during the editing process because I know this book could've been a lot longer, & fortunately this is something that can be improved on, so I look forward to the follow-up novels in this series.
<Spoiler> Don't get me wrong, the World building is great and the characters are interesting and each offer a unique perspective on this world, but the motivation at the start of Zetian's journey is for revenge for a sister we literally learn nothing about. I was wondering if there was going to be some sort of twist in the third act or some sort of reveal at the end which would explain why we literally know NOTHING about this big sister that Zetian is so desperate to sacrifice her life for, but as we learn about the family trauma she suffered from, her sister never is part of these stories. We don't see her sister either soothing her after her feet are crushed, or distracting her while her mother or grandmother are being beaten, or even offering any real advice or anecdotes to explain why she is so important to Zetian. It feels like a really big miss for me, and this also happens with Shimin's story as well, with both his friend whom he killed for (I can't even remember if she had a name) & Wende. For a book that is about trying to detach women from the shackles of a patriarchal society that devalues them, I was a bit disappointed that we didn't get to flesh out these characters a little bit more considering the impact they had on our leads. It felt a bit shallow and even her interactions with the other female pilots seemed shallow and I can't imagine that we're supposed to believe that this entire world has no good female characters? </Spoiler>
I'm hoping that this was just pieces that were removed during the editing process because I know this book could've been a lot longer, & fortunately this is something that can be improved on, so I look forward to the follow-up novels in this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Murder, Torture, Addiction, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Pregnancy