Book Review: “The Iron Widow” by Xiran Jay Zhao
Iron Widow
Xiran Jay Zhao
This is it. This book, read at the start of September, after reading over sixty other books this year, is currently my top book of 2021, and it’s going to be incredibly difficult to find a better book. This is author Xiran Jay Zhao’s debut novel, and I am so very excited to see what she comes out with next.
Huaxia is a world with very strict gender roles. Boys become men who work and feed the family, while girls become wives and must take care of the men. But beyond the wall are mecha aliens, and some boys become pilots, while some girls become concubine-pilots. The pilots are lavished with gifts and given a celebrity lifestyle. For the girls, there are some benefits to this, though few will get the opportunity to enjoy them, as the concubine-pilots all too often end up killed through the mental strain.
After her sister’s death, Zetian offers herself up to become a concubine-pilot, determined to get paired with the pilot who killed her sister. And she is, but even she is surprised when she kills him not with a physical weapon, but through the psychic link shared between pilots. She is paired with the strongest pilot in Huaxia: Li Shimin, a man kept muzzled, a man who is dangerous and violent, at least as far as most people know.
This is a world where the gender roles are rigid and enforced, in any way possible. Taking inspiration from Chinese folklore, legend, and history, Zhao has crafted a wonderfully unique, dark world, and given us a heroine who really will stop at nothing to see it burned the hell down. In the hands of a less skilled writer, Zetian could perhaps come off as a bit annoying, but Zhao handles her so well, giving us a young woman too young to be in the situations she’s in, but who is determined not to change things only for herself, but for others who might suffer, too.
As she uncovers more about what the leaders actually do, what the girls and young women are put through, and how anyone ‘outside the norm’ is handled, her rage grows. As the Iron Widow, she is feared, but when she comes across other concubine-pilots, it becomes clear she’s in just a little over her head. Not that any of it stops Zetian.
Now, let’s talk about the love triangle. And what a freaking love triangle! Seriously! The author has been pretty open about it, so it’s not a spoiler to reveal the three end up in a poly relationship, which really strengthens what they can do and the power they hold. It’s really refreshing to read, and their relationship serves to demonstrate Zetian’s own agency. Society does not allow her freedom or choices, but the two men in her life do, and it’s really important to her whole story. She makes a decision early on she won’t chose between them, and neither of them make her. Further to that, later on, it becomes apparent the two have feelings for each other, as well.
This book is a shining example of why I get so annoyed to see people ‘trash’ YA Fantasy on social media, basing their assumptions on the genre and age range on books published when I was a teenager. But Iron Widow is dark, gripping, angry, and powerful. It combines various elements of speculative fiction to create something unique, and it gives me such joy that teens today have books like these to read. But whatever your age, if you like dark fiction that tackles dark themes yet is still entertaining, you definitely want to check this out! And while you’re at it, go check out the author website for a Bonus Summary for Weeb Eyes.
Grade: A+++
Review by Elle Turpitt
Twitter & Instagram: @elleturpitt
I received this ebook from publishers Rock the Boat via NetGalley for review consideration.
