Iron Widow: Volume 1

Xiran Jay Zhao

Sep 2021 · Iron Widow Book 1 · Sold by Penguin

About this ebook

An instant #1 New York Times bestseller!

Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid's Tale in this blend of Chinese history and mecha science fiction for YA readers.

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.

Ratings and reviews

Are you kidding me? This book is reviewed well by so many readers but the book is not good. The world building is not great doesn't explain much. The dream realm/mecha scenes are bad and its the only way the author will advance the plot. The way the mc is powerless throughout the book hold for the scenes that are in the robot is not great. The dialog of the characters is jarring to say the least what kind of human in the world says "im rich dont shoot me ". The book is just a skip for me very disappointed and surprised with how much I disliked a book I expected to enjoy.

Not sure why it's rated so high. World building starts out interesting and then just becomes a device to advance the Mc. Speaking of main character, thought the story they become more and more unlikable, culminating at the end when they are pretty much the villain. This is brushing over the part where they just randomly grow exponentially in power, just because? Because they needed to be stronger. I guess they just had to believe. At least it was a light read...

If a rapid descent into chaos and the protagonist becoming the villain with a scattered motive is your jam this book is for you. Zetian has that steadfast black and white view of the world that is the pinnacle of being 18 years old. Her lust for power and vengeance colors every decision without thinking of the long term solutions nor the root of the problem but it’s okay because she’s in a throuple-oh wait.

About the author

XIRAN JAY ZHAO is a first-gen immigrant from small-town China who was raised by the Internet​. A recent graduate of Vancouver’s Simon Fraser University, they wrote science fiction and fantasy while they probably should have been studying more about biochemical pathways. You can find them on Twitter for memes, Instagram for cosplays and fancy outfits, and YouTube for long videos about Chinese history and culture. Iron Widow is their first novel.