Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao
Review by Anar M., Youth Reviewer
“Iron Widow” by Xiran Jay Zhao is described on the front cover as “a primal scream of a book”. I think that’s accurate.
“Iron Widow” is feminist, occasionally brutal, and always passionate. The book is dystopian: society is protected from encroaching aliens (known as Hunduns) by men who pilot giant machines using their qi (life force or willpower). The catch is that the pilots need the additional qi of a girl, known as a concubine-pilot, who often dies as the pilot’s mind overcomes hers. Occasionally a Balanced Match occurs, where the girl can match the boy’s qi strength and they can pilot together without either dying, but this is rare; still, girls volunteer as concubine-pilots in the hope of achieving a Balanced Match — or because of the high pay their families receive for their sacrifice.?
The main character, Wu Zetian, was inspired by an actual historical figure of the same name — China’s only female Empress. (The rest of the worldbuilding in Iron Widow is also based on Chinese culture and mythology, including the concept of qi.) After Zetian’s sister is killed by a pilot, she volunteers as that pilot’s concubine-pilot in the hopes of killing him, and she succeeds — by overpowering his qi rather than the other way around.?
This is not a story about the futility of revenge or the necessity of forgiveness. Zetian has no regrets about the murder of a murderer; she wants to change the world for the sake of all the girls their society oppresses, and she does not flinch at the extremity of what she must do to achieve this goal. While the importance of forgiveness and mercy should never be discounted, there is a trend of having female leads be gentler and kinder than their male counterparts. Zetian shatters that stereotype, and I found her ferocity refreshing despite its brutality: she kills her family, who had no regrets about sacrificing her and her sister, rather than have them used against her; she will do what it takes to obtain the information she needs, even when that involves stepping beyond the bounds of traditional morality.?
Zhao’s book is rife with plot twists, especially toward the end; their writing is fast-paced and fascinating. I also enjoyed the romantic subplot: at first, it seems like Zetian will be forced to choose between dating a childhood friend and a high-qi pilot with a traumatic past who may be her Balanced Match, but in a surprising and unusual twist, the love triangle turns into a polyamorous relationship between the three of them.?
While it might not be to everyone’s tastes, “Iron Widow” is refreshingly innovative and far more ruthless than nearly any other book I’ve read. I loved it.
Find “Iron Widow” at the Kitchener Public Library!