Iron Widow

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Iron Widow

By: Xiran Jay Zhao

Narrated by: Rong Fu

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Pacific Rim meets The Handmaid's Tale in this blend of Chinese history and mecha science fiction for YA listeners.

The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn't matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.

When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it's to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister's death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected - she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.

To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way - and stop more girls from being sacrificed.

Xiran Jay ZhaoRong FuOneworld AudioIron Widow

Asian Creators

Fiction

LGBTQIA+ Creators

Literature & Fiction

Multicultural

Science Fiction

Science Fiction & Fantasy

Women's Voices

Aviation

Asian Creators Fiction LGBTQIA+ Creators Literature & Fiction Multicultural Science Fiction Science Fiction & Fantasy Women's Voices Aviation

Continue the series

Heavenly Tyrant (Iron Widow, Book 2)

By: Xiran Jay Zhao

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First up, I absolutely loved the narration of this audiobook - 1st class and will look for other books she’s narrated.
As for the story, I was interested initially as it was an Asian author writing a female led fantasy set in a version of China.
It started off strong and has some really important messages within the book, but the plot falls a bit flat at times and I really struggled to support the main character ironically.
Overall worth a listen but it’s not one I would rush to recommend