Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Heavenly Tyrant

This book was much slower than Iron Widow, not to say that I didn’t enjoy it, it felt like a very natural sequence of events coming after the events ending the last book.

Content Warnings

bookishmrsnelson's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

To say this series is strange would be an understatement. Sci-fi metal monsters interwoven with Chinese mythology, full of political discussion and a LOT of violence. It’s an interesting read, but it was pretty disturbing at times.

Content Warnings

nowandgwen's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous tense

Strong character development? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

zombiezami's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny reflective tense slow-paced

3.75

Overall, I liked this. The beginning and end were the best organized, in my opinion. The middle really dragged. It’s not that I don’t like communist theory, not to mention communist theory inserted into fiction. I do! But tbh I’m here for the giant robot fights.

The political range in the first book is a lot more simplistic. I get the sense that, for this book, the author had to include a lot of detail for people to understand, but it just didn’t feel like organic conversation a lot of the time. And it just went on for so long, I was like, ok we get it already!! I think a lot of the detail of the middle of the book could have been cut and it would still make sense.

Even so, I am enchanted by the world building in both this book and its predecessor. I like how the characters are evil, petty, anxious, vengeful, … just very colorful and memorable. I look forward to the third book!

Content Warnings

maricasement's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark informative inspiring tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Xiran Jay Zhao further explores the world of Huaxia in this sequel to Iron Widow, fleshing out not only the characters and their motivations but the revolution they are inciting.
The story of Heavenly Tyrant follows immediately after the end of Iron Widow, as the characters deal with the consequences of their actions.

Wu Zetian has to not only manage being the Empress but also Li Shimin's kidnapping, the distance she has to keep from Yizhi, new relationships and the realisation about the Hunduns. All this while she tries to stick to her convictions and survive among so many people who want to do her harm.

The book spends more time describing the characters' activities and their conversations than the first one. This was a good choice as so much happens in such a short time in Iron Widow that you are left reeling and rather overwhelmed, even after a second read-through. Spending more time with the characters in moments of less action also allowed for more nuance when expressing their ideals and different points of view.

It was important to have time to dwell on the explorations of the practical consequences of the policies Qin Zheng and Wu Zetian implement, of the terror, anger and fear involved in a revolution, and of how hurt and oppressed people deal with that in different ways.

Xiran Jay Zhao is able to explore complex themes in a nuanced and multifaceted way and I can't wait to read more of their work.

And of course what is going to happen next to the Iron Triangle and the toxic waste Darth Vader...

Content Warnings

abitbetterbooks's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I am… having complicated feelings about this book.

I absolutely loved Iron Widow, and I think following a book like that with a second book for a trilogy is going to be a tall order no matter what. I will admit that I didn’t do a reread of IW before starting Heavenly Tyrant and probably did myself a disservice, since I spent a lot of time near the beginning being very confused about what was going on, and trying to figure out who everyone was.

Overarching thematic spoilers ahead.

I loved being back in the world of Huaxia, and getting back in Zetian’s head was as exciting as I could have expected. I was also surprised by how much growth she exhibited throughout the novel; IW is very much an “I support women’s rights and women’s wrongs” vibe, but HT showed Zetian developing not only as a person but also as a leader. I really loved watching her figure out what having a legacy meant to her, and wrestling with those complicated ethics that come along with violence, revolution, class warfare, and women’s equality.

I would say one of my favourite elements of this book was Zetian’s arc in realizing how small her vision was in terms of women piloting chrysalises; in actuality, the majority of women and girls in Huaxia would not benefit materially from these changes in military policy. Her recognizing that she needed to make moves to improve conditions for all women, even those who would make different choices from her, felt so rewarding and well-earned, especially through watching her struggle through her lessons with Wan’er and learn so much about history and politics.

I also loved Xiran Jay Zhao’s absolutely scathing take on the Enlightened Leftist Man. Qin Zheng was a total treat of a character; impeccably written and a fascinatingly sympathetic monster. There were moments where you feel yourself rooting for him— he’s a revolutionary! He’s a hero! He’s got great ideas about economics and social programs! He wants equality for women! He is allegedly very attractive! And yet… despite all of that, he is still a horrible fucking human.

I could see so many parallels between him and soooo many “radical” “activist” “feminist” men in our modern day that it was truly chilling at times. Because then when you look at him past the policies, past the power and the skills and bravado, he is literally just Some Guy who is actually a giant hypocrite. He thinks he’s a good person because he ~respects women~ and wouldn’t ever take advantage of Zetian or force himself on her sexually.

And yet he is totally okay with violating her bodily autonomy in about 50 other ways!

I could talk about Qin Zheng for days and I will always respect the fuck out of XJZ for pulling off this character in such a nuanced way.

On the other hand… there was a lot of this book that I didn’t particularly enjoy or understand where it was taking us. The last 10-15% of the novel had me going ummm… how are we going to come back from this??? It felt like the scope of the story got way out of hand and I’m honestly perplexed at how things could possibly be wrapped up in only one more book! These stakes are absurd!

There were some good twists and there were a few moments where I actually gasped out loud, but other elements felt quite obvious (like, I saw this coming since the last book obvious), so those reveals felt like they took way too long. In general, the pacing of the story felt a bit off and so it felt both way too long but also left me wanting more at the end.

All in all, definitely worth reading if you liked Iron Widow, because it’s a wild ride and packs in excellent character work alongside political commentary (perhaps a little too on the nose for our current state of affairs😅), cool action scenes, and a whole lot of double (and triple??) crossing. I’m still very much looking forward to the next book despite having some issues with this one!

Content Warnings

creationwing's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I have never read a book all in one sitting like this.

Content Warnings

archaena's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book follows Zetian's revolutionary governance after awakening the dragon emperor at the end of Iron Widow and her mission to rescue Shimin from his imprisonment by the gods. I hurried to reread Iron Widow before reading this (which is why my review is coming out after the book, sorry :/ ), but I'm not sure that's strictly necessary, since Heavenly Tyrant follows an almost completely different set of characters, setting, and conflict than the first book. That said, you would be very lost coming in without having read the first book at all, as knowledge of the worldbuilding and Zetian's character are definitely necessary. You just don't need to be intimately familiar with every detail of the first book.

It's hard to give a good review of the book without spoilers, since the book is extremely eventful. Essentially, the situation is that, having overthrown the government of Huaxia with the help of the ancient emperor Qin Zheng in the first book, the two of them must now begin to rule the country, despite Zetian not having any political education and Qin Zheng being a brutal warlord. Also Shimin was taken hostage by the beings calling themselves "gods" who live in a spaceship orbiting the planet so Zetian wants to get him back and take down the gods. There is a great deal of revolutionary socialist politics, feminist coalition-building, bloodthirsty scheming, and mech piloting to learn and execute in very little time.

I would be deeply surprised if this book did not end up on some banned books, if not for its communist revolution and propaganda, then for its violence, sexuality (several very steamy scenes, but all the explicit stuff is fade-to-black), or toxic relationships. To me, all these aspects are to the good and handled in a very self-aware manner, but this book won't be for everyone. As with the first book, I loved the characters, world-building, and fast-pace of the book (especially considering its length). The central themes of the book surround the questions of when violence and coercion are justified and what their consequences are, which is a great topic for the YA and New Adult age range to grapple with. I cannot wait for the third (and final?) book of the series!

Thank you to Tundra and Netgalley for providing a free Advanced Readers Copy of this book for review.

Content Warnings

More...