Iron Widow
By Xiran Jay Zhao
Wow.
Iron Widow is the best book I’ve read this year by far.
After finishing this book, I felt exhilarated. After reading about the battles between the Humans and the Hunduns, I felt like I had been in a chaotic battle myself. The book pulled me in and fully immersed me in the human’s part of the world near The Great Wall.
Author Xiran Jay Zhao wanted to combine The Handmaid’s Tale with Chinese legends. Mission surpassed. I highlighted so many sentences in this book that addressed the position of women in society through narrator Wu Zetian’s experiences.
Zetian is sold off to the army so that her qi could be used to power their battle robots. Young males are the pilots, and girls are the concubines whose qi is used in battle until the girls’ energy and life force is completely absorbed by their pilots. Zetian’s initial goal is to kill the pilot who murdered her sister, but the aftermath of her first battle takes the story into unexpected and exciting directions as the war between humans and Hunduns continues.
Xiran Jay Zhao introduces characters that leave a reader guessing about their plans and motivations. After each cursory introduction, she beautifully fleshes out the characters into three-dimensional people. It is not easy to label a character good or bad, because their circumstances and choices show different sides of them. The characters are human, not cardboard cutouts.
I went through a period of time where I’d read ahead in books. DO NOT READ AHEAD in Iron Widow. There’s so much to savor along the way, and after reading a chaotic story that appears to be resolved comes a jaw-dropping ending that is worth the wait.
Science fiction fans, fantasy fans, Asian literature fans, LGBT fans, and Young Adult book fans are just a few of those who would enjoy Iron Widow.
If you’re wondering what I’m doing, it’s simple – I’m waiting for book two to be published!
Iron Widow is the best book I’ve read this year by far. Share on XThank you, NetGalley and Penguin Teen for providing me an Advanced Reader Copy of this wonderful book.
