I've just finished the much awaited sequel to Iron Widow, Heavenly Tyrant, and honestly my head is still spinning.
This book has gotten quite a lot of mixed reviews. Readers think it is too political. Readers dislike Zhao's writing style. Readers dislike the power dynamics displayed in the book. Readers believed it too long. Readers are concerned it is too sexual for YA readers. Other readers think it didn't have enough sexy times. Some readers loved the female rage, and others, felt it was contrived. Reader's felt the portrayal of some things was not realistic, and others thought it was TOO realistic.
I find myself in the middle of the road. I liked it, but did not exactly... love it.
I like Zhao- as a personality. I've never met them so I can't say I like them personally, but I do like that she is bold, and not afraid to upset the apple cart in publishing and in life. I really always want to support this, and so maybe I have a bit of a rose tint to my glasses as I read her books. The prose can be a bit jarring, but... I have read much much much worse.
In summary this is the second book in a series in which our main character Zetian has come into power in Huaxia. She has to share this power, however, with an Emperor man who is, oh only about 200 years older than her. He likes her a lot, except when he doesn't. He's interesting, and maddening in equal measure. Zetian learns fast about the difficulties of maintaining power and order, and that even when intentions are noble and pure, the execution of these intentions can be... messy. Zhao draws on history using several notable challenges within revolutions and rebellions across the ages- to illustrate the difficulty in moving forward for a more just world. I was struck at the many examples that wove their way into the book, and I was a little bit sad, as I saw multiple reviews- which indicated that most of the readers had no idea these were most definitely examples from already past revolutionary governments. Does that matter? Well no, but at the same time, I'd like (especially YA readers) to realize that these wild edicts aren't just fantasy but mostly things that actually occurred over the history of humanity. Just so no one gets an idea that "it would only happen in a book". I asked a few people if they were familiar with some policies discussed in the book that I for certain identified with other prior governments around the globe, and many adults were like - No way did that happen... when it so clearly "yes way" did happen. At the end, we are left on a bit of a gentle Cliff Hanger wondering what may become of Zetian and her merry band of people.
This was a chonker and I was very very glad to get to the last page. Zetian is kind of ... not the most likeable character at all and the story line felt all over the place to me, but to the author's credit, it does come together nicely there at the end. This book overall wasn't bad. It just wasn't stunning either. What was good about this book? This is A PERFECT BOOK for discussion of Politics, body autonomy, feminism, independence, power, and justice. It emphasizes all the way through that these concepts are fluid, environment dependent and not at all black and white. I liked the messiness of it, no one character was all good or all bad, which kept me on my toes a bit, and of course reflects our world so well.
Will I go in for book 3? Probably.
Will I prioritize it above other reads? Probably not.
Have you read Iron Widow or Heavenly Tyrant? What were your thoughts? Was it a 5 star for you or a half a star? Let me know in the comments!
STATS
First Published 2024
Pages: 544
Available as an Audio Book : YES
Trigger Warnings: Surgery, pregnancy, miscarriage, war violence, Executions, family death, loss of partner, body horror, abuse, child abuse, assault, mention of pornography, suicide,
(this is not a full list, read responsibly)
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