Plot: The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn’t matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.
When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it’s to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister’s death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.
To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed.
Publisher: OneWorld Publications | Date: 2021 | Genre: Science Fiction
I received Iron Widow from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Iron Widow Review
Ah, how to review The Iron Widow? Such conflicting thoughts and emotions from start to finish! Putting it into words will be hard, but here we go.
For sure, the world-building was intriguing and seeped with the history the entire book is based on. At the same time, I don’t feel we really got to know anything about it. The Chrysalis’, the Hundruns, even the way the spirit levels are tested and the concubines chosen… it’s all a blur as to how any of this works. I couldn’t picture the different levels of Chrysalis apart from size. I reckon everyone imagines them very differently (certainly no bad thing!).
Despite the entire book being one long war, the pacing felt slow. Long stretches appear to have a small amount happening, other than Zetian’s internal monologue about her vengeance, the corruption of the system, and falling in love with two boys. Exploring the power of media and romance took up a vast amount of page space.
Which leads me onto the characters themselves. Zetian is powerful, headstrong, and determined to make a difference. She’s also unlikeable. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve read plenty of books where the main character is not what you’d call a protagonist, but there’s always been something about them that makes you like them despite them being pretty messed up. There’s not with Zetian.
She’s driven by revenge and wanting to change the corrupt system. Her desire to protect women and stop their deaths is great motivation and you should root for her. But she also kills indiscriminately – not just those in positions of power, but innocents. People are destroyed just for being in her way, innocent of anything other than being in the wrong place at the wrong time, and it undermines her message. She wants to protect women: she’s also killing women who have done nothing wrong other than be controlled by the men in their lives.
Finding a reason to connect with her is hard. She’s sent on this mission out of revenge for her sister’s death, but we know nothing about her sister, not even how close their relationship was. She also seems to forget about her sister once her revenge is playing out. Admittedly, it becomes about the bigger picture, but something was missing.
I groaned when I realised a love triangle was occurring. But then I took it back. This is the best version of one I’ve ever read. It’s a proper triangle: all feeling for each other; all happy to have two people to share their hearts with. This type of relationship isn’t often portrayed and it was done well.
I’ve got so many complicated thoughts about this book. There’re powerful messages within and the ideals are there. But it’s missing a connection to make it resonate with the reader. I don’t dislike it – I admire what the author has done, twisting a historical retelling into science fiction – but I wanted something more.
Like I said, a hard book to review.
Have you read this one? What did you think?
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A Rambling Reviewer 