Book Review: Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
Huaxia is a future society that has modeled itself somewhat on medieval China, for both good and ill. As far as Zetian is concerned, it’s definitely for ill. The way Huaxia society is set up seems to be designed to oppress women and crush their wills. From the day her feet were crushed and bound to make unable to do more than totter on her legs, she’s nursed a growing grudge and hidden rage against her male relatives for treating her like dirt and her female relatives for enabling and aiding them. Her one small overt rebellion was not conforming to their beauty standards.
Her one pleasure has been secret meetings with a rich boy from the city, Yizhi. It’s not been so much a romance (they know better) as a way for them to have actual conversations and learn from each other. But now Zetian’s older sister Ruyi has died, and not even in the honorable sacrifice she was promised.
Huaxia is under frequent attack by the Hundun, metal creatures from space that wiped out the previous civilization. Using knowledge that legend says was handed down from the gods, humans learned how to turn their shells into Chrysalises, basically transforming giant mecha. For reasons that are classified information, a Chrysalis must be piloted by both a male and female operator, using their qi and elemental properties together to power the spirit metal up. Almost always, the male pilot ends up devouring the female pilot’s qi and killing her, if not in the first battle, then quickly. Thus there’s always a need to recruit new sacrificial maidens.
The deal is sweetened by the rare Iron Princesses, who become an equal partner in a stable match. That’s the goal dangled in front of so many girls who live in poverty and oppression. The financial rewards for the family are also considerable, so it’s not surprising that Ruyi jumped at the chance.
But Ruyi didn’t die in battle, she just died. Zetian is convinced that her partner, Yang Guang, master of the Nine-Tailed Fox, murdered her. So she consents to a makeover, allowing her to be conventionally attractive, and applies to be enlisted. Her plan is to get matched up with Yang Guang, murder him for revenge, and then–well, there’s probably not an “and then” in her society.
Zetian’s plan goes a bit off the rails when before she can get a chance to shank Yang Guang, she has to go into battle with him, and her enormous spiritual pressure allows her to devour his qi instead. This makes her one of the extremely rare Iron Widows, who can reverse the usual gender roles of the Chrysalis pilots. Now the strategists have to find a way to tame her power to be useful, while Zetian attempts to keep herself and the few people she grows to care for alive.
This science fiction novel was one of the big hits of 2021, and it’s easy to see why. Exciting writing, nifty concepts, flawed but interesting characters, and some trendy themes make it an excellent package.
While the society of Huaxia is based on China, it’s not directly any specific period, mixing together famous names and legends from different time periods, along with the mishmash of technology that’s not being used as effectively or consistently as it could be. It also seems to have gone double down on the misogyny, stunting cultural growth.
One of the main subthemes of the book is that gender roles, and gender itself, are not as rigid and clear a divide as the Sages would like to proclaim. A blatant symbol of this early on is the butterfly with unusual coloration that would make it both male and female at the same time.
Another one is that patriarchy poisons everything. Zetian soon learns that her new partner, Li Shimin, pilot of the Vermillion Bird, has also endured much horror from the system. Yizhi’s damage is more subtle but it’s there, and even the little bit we see of Yang Guang’s backstory indicates he’s not that way by accident. The rot runs deep, and it may be time to burn everything down.
It should be noted that while Zetian may be the protagonist, she’s more anti-hero than hero. She was, after all, willing to sacrifice the rest of her family with no regrets to achieve one revenge killing. It takes her a lot of effort to learn to trust a very few people, and even in that group, she is betrayed. She also cops an attitude about other women who seem to accept the system.
There’s some exploration of sexuality, and the “love triangle” subplot doesn’t resolve nearly the same way as other dystopian books.
It’s also clear through the book that Zetian and the other members of her society have been fed a lot of lies. Her focus on the ones that affect her personally means she’s blindsided by one reveal that should be fairly obvious to the reader from early on, and forms the basis of a sequel hook.
Content note: Sexism, child abuse, domestic abuse, emotional abuse, outright torture, alcoholism, sexual assault is often referenced but not done onscreen, thoughts of suicide, ethnic prejudice. While strong-minded teenagers may be able to handle it, this is really a book for adults.
Recommended to fans of Chinese fantasy/SF and kickass anti-heroines.
