A review by lostcadence
Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao

4.0

Iron Widow, a science fantasy novel set in a future past fictional folkloric China (think Great Wall and Zhuge Liang mixed with Mechas that works via Wuxia style processes), is a thrilling revenge fantasy about a woman willing to risk it all to destroy the patriarchy. There are definitely some pacing issues (at times too fast yet still lagging in the middle), and the tone is not always consistent (i.e., sometimes characters speak in a modern Western tone, sometimes in a tropey translated Wuxia style tone). The characters have a fairly singular focus, but they live in a world with many systemic barriers that their singular focus crashes up against often. I liked this book a lot, though some of the Wuxia tropes may feel out of place for folks not familiar with the genre. The prose is fine but not amazing.