Iron Widow

This book has the most badass female protagonist of all young adult novels I’ve read!

Talking about a resolute heroine set on overhauling an entire misogynistic system. She’s not restrained by what society deems as appropriate or moral, and despite their constant attempts to oppress her, she grows even more determined to break free. 

The book blends mecha-science and fantasy perfectly. It has Pacific Rim vibes, but they are based in a Chinese composite of history and culture, while also rooted in traditional Chinese Qi magic.

The book starts off with a tense battle and doesn’t let up from there. The writing style is punchy, the sentences short and simmering with an anger that carries throughout the novel.

The story focuses on Zetian, a young girl in a world where the highest honor for women is to be sacrificed during battle in order to power the mecha used by humans in war against the Hunduns.

I was drawn to Zetian’s anger, her inability to let go of her pain when her sister is murdered, and the way she refuses to be silenced or submissive when the… show more.

I was so thrilled to find out there was another sci-fi retelling of a female ruler! Iron Widow puts Empress Wu at the helm of a giant mecha based on creatures inspired by Chinese myth.

You’ll find figures from history and lots of Easter eggs within the book, and this is such a fresh and exciting take on this setting. As a bonus, if you’re frustrated with the abundance of love triangles in YA, I think you’ll be really interested in what Xiran does with the trope in this book.

Huaxia is protected by the military celebrity pilots of Chrysalises, gigantic mech suits powered by xi. The pilot program is strictly male, but each pilot requires a xi battery to accompany them–also known as a concubine. The girls who enter the Chrysalis cockpits never come out alive. Zetian knows this when she volunteers, but she doesn’t care. The point isn’t to come out alive. It’s to kill the pilot who killed her sister. Anything else is a bonus. 

While normally Kaiju/Gundam Y.A. stories aren’t my jam, you are missing out if you don’t pick up Iron Widow. Huaxia is a… show more.

China only ever had one empress regnant: Wu Zetian, who reigned from 690 to 705CE. Iron Widow recasts Zetian as a mech pilot, battling misogyny from the cockpit of a giant, transforming robot.

Iron Widow is a YA science fantasy with an FMM poly triad. It’s joyously high-energy, and at points, you have to turn off your sense of disbelief and just go with it, because it’s YA. Historians treated Zetian more harshly than her male counterparts; I’m grateful for this homage that literally puts her in the pilot’s seat of her own story.

Set in an imagined, futuristic version of ancient China full of aliens and magic giant mecha with a protagonist based on China’s first and only female emperor, this book takes its bonkers premise and blasts off. Wu Zetian will stop at nothing to raze the system that sold and killed her sister. This story is furious about misogyny, capitalism, and exploitation, but it’s tender, too. Zetian slowly letting her guard down with her best friend from back home and her assigned co-pilot—and then all three of them letting their guard down with each other—is the best part.

Wu Zetian is a figure I’ve always admired in Chinese history. To see her come to life in this stunning science fantasy novel feels like a dream. I loved how the author took prominent creatures from Chinese mythology and turned them into mechas. The mechas were described so vividly as if Xiran had been in one of their creations! It also felt empowering to read about a character who was angry at the difficult situation they’re placed in as opposed to broken bird MCs, who tend to struggle with figuring out methods of resolution. Her resilience is something that has… show more.

Unapologetically furious, vicious, and brilliant, Iron Widow adapts the history and folk tales surrounding Wu Zetian, the first empress regnant of China, into a science fiction tale of giant robots, oppressive societies, and rebellion, featuring a team of heroes that fight back against everything their world throws at them. Appropriate for adults or younger readers, it caught my imagination and refuses to let go, and I can’t wait for the sequel. 

I seem to have a thing for morally gray characters, especially women, in fantasy and sci-fi. Iron Widow combines Chinese mythology with giant mech technology in a powerful combination that makes you want to finish the book as quickly as possible so you can know how it ends. Fans of Pacific Rim will enjoy this book because it has giant monsters and form-changing mechs in a life and death war. 

It is so rare to find a book where the main character is truly willing to die for what they believe in—and prove it several times over in only the first few chapters. Zetian is a girl who lives in a savagely unfair world for women, and she takes that savagery and wields it right back in the best way possible. She’s someone you can root for from page one, who sees an ugly world for what it is and isn’t it afraid to attack it right back. If these lines aren’t enough to sell you, I don’t know what… show more.