I still think about this book sometimes and I’m all for the female rage lol. There are parts of this book I love and then parts that don’t feel flushed out at all. But I hope we get more back story and explanation in the sequel. It honestly would be really cool if she ended up being the biggest villain.
100% agree, especially about the villain aspect. What I find most interesting about this book is that it really raises a question about what YA is and who it's for. If YA is supposed to be a stepping stone from teenage to adult books, how does torture, unremorseful slaughter, and (I believe?) attempted rape fit into that? YA does deal with some pretty tough content at times (which is good), but I'm curious whether having a protagonist who unremorsefully tortures a man to death is something we want 14-17-year-olds to identify with? I believe YA is tended to ease teenagers into learning about topics like death, sexuality, and even things like oppression (e.g. hunger games), so I think this book should have been marketed as New Adult.
I hear you, but my feeling is ...Nah, most of us had to know about all that as 11-17 year olds and it's everywhere. This book honestly helped me with processing the topics and not feeling like they held as much power over me if you hear me? I would have preferred them releasing Xiran Jay Zhao's original book because they wrote it for older ages and had more detailed scenes, apparently it was because the publisher wanted it in YA so quite a bit was edited out from my understanding.
definitely loved the visuals this book has in some of its set pieces. I do think some of the motivating events in the books are a tad lacking. That being said i'm also a big sucker for Mechas and anything slightly related to Evangelion type piloting. fantastic world especially for a new writer looking forward to book 2.
I... Think it is though? At the very least a very morally grey ethically ambiguous character. Like, she has her boundaries, but as do many hitmen and the occasional CEOs. But she is supposed to be a reimagined origin story of Wu Zetian, who had two rivals executed by having their limbs cut off then they are drowned in vats of wine. There's a lot more context than that of course, and yes she was a phenomenal ruler from an economic and quality of life for the people stand point, but vicious to get and maintain her position. So while i think we're supposed to relate to her in certain moments it's supposed to be too far for us in others.
Fantastic review. What you said about the love triangle really got my attention; sounds refreshing and that it's not the typical messy romantic situation between characters. Off topic: how goes the Dark Tower read-through you mentioned some time ago??
Hey, just came here after finishing the book a few days ago. I found your review insightful, but I disagree with many things you said. At least for me it’s quite clear, that book is not about becoming a hero, but about thinking out of the box and looking at political systems / power dynamics with skepticism and always questioning the why. It’s about social injustice that has very deep roots due to indoctrination. It’s about criticizing actual real world politics. It’s about what it feels like to be caught up helplessly in systems that are designed to break you down and serve others. It’s about gender and it’s many different nuances and how prejudices against people with a certain AGAB (Assigned Gender At Birth) can influence the lives of great parts of the population. It’s fantasy, it’s sci-fi, it’s a gender-nonconforming take on a society that is purely led by capitalism, reputation and gaining (and keeping) power. It’s about horrors of war and how propaganda works. Being non-binary myself, like the author, I related to certain aspects of being pushed into gender roles. My expectations got flipped pretty often and mostly in the best ways. Some actions done by the protagonist weren’t the „right thing to do“ or didn’t have the moral high ground. But that’s not what Zetian‘s journey is about. It’s about rebelling and making people in power unhappy and returning the cruelty to those who dealt it in the first place. Very few characters in this book are „good“ people. That’s not the point of the book, but that violence will be used by this wo are oppressed in a fight for equality. I’m very excited for the 2nd book in the series and how Zetian will do in her new position, as well as to hear more about Huaxia‘s backstory!
Very solidly in the same boat. I listened to the audiobook a few times during part of my deconstruction journey from leaving a very intense patriarchal cult I was born into. There was a lot of healing for me in the processing of gender and sexual expectations, and that lead character's best allies were who they were.
I still think about this book sometimes and I’m all for the female rage lol. There are parts of this book I love and then parts that don’t feel flushed out at all. But I hope we get more back story and explanation in the sequel. It honestly would be really cool if she ended up being the biggest villain.
100% agree, especially about the villain aspect.
What I find most interesting about this book is that it really raises a question about what YA is and who it's for. If YA is supposed to be a stepping stone from teenage to adult books, how does torture, unremorseful slaughter, and (I believe?) attempted rape fit into that? YA does deal with some pretty tough content at times (which is good), but I'm curious whether having a protagonist who unremorsefully tortures a man to death is something we want 14-17-year-olds to identify with? I believe YA is tended to ease teenagers into learning about topics like death, sexuality, and even things like oppression (e.g. hunger games), so I think this book should have been marketed as New Adult.
I hear you, but my feeling is ...Nah, most of us had to know about all that as 11-17 year olds and it's everywhere. This book honestly helped me with processing the topics and not feeling like they held as much power over me if you hear me?
I would have preferred them releasing Xiran Jay Zhao's original book because they wrote it for older ages and had more detailed scenes, apparently it was because the publisher wanted it in YA so quite a bit was edited out from my understanding.
I wanna pay attention to the review but you just look so handsome with your beard and jellyfish shirt dude 😅
Well you just made my whole day! ❤️
definitely loved the visuals this book has in some of its set pieces. I do think some of the motivating events in the books are a tad lacking. That being said i'm also a big sucker for Mechas and anything slightly related to Evangelion type piloting. fantastic world especially for a new writer looking forward to book 2.
I... Think it is though?
At the very least a very morally grey ethically ambiguous character. Like, she has her boundaries, but as do many hitmen and the occasional CEOs. But she is supposed to be a reimagined origin story of Wu Zetian, who had two rivals executed by having their limbs cut off then they are drowned in vats of wine. There's a lot more context than that of course, and yes she was a phenomenal ruler from an economic and quality of life for the people stand point, but vicious to get and maintain her position. So while i think we're supposed to relate to her in certain moments it's supposed to be too far for us in others.
Fantastic review. What you said about the love triangle really got my attention; sounds refreshing and that it's not the typical messy romantic situation between characters. Off topic: how goes the Dark Tower read-through you mentioned some time ago??
This is an upcoming read for the SFF book club in, so I'm glad to hear your thoughts on it.
I have to admit, this sounds really good.
💜💜💜
Hey, just came here after finishing the book a few days ago.
I found your review insightful, but I disagree with many things you said. At least for me it’s quite clear, that book is not about becoming a hero, but about thinking out of the box and looking at political systems / power dynamics with skepticism and always questioning the why. It’s about social injustice that has very deep roots due to indoctrination. It’s about criticizing actual real world politics. It’s about what it feels like to be caught up helplessly in systems that are designed to break you down and serve others. It’s about gender and it’s many different nuances and how prejudices against people with a certain AGAB (Assigned Gender At Birth) can influence the lives of great parts of the population.
It’s fantasy, it’s sci-fi, it’s a gender-nonconforming take on a society that is purely led by capitalism, reputation and gaining (and keeping) power. It’s about horrors of war and how propaganda works.
Being non-binary myself, like the author, I related to certain aspects of being pushed into gender roles.
My expectations got flipped pretty often and mostly in the best ways. Some actions done by the protagonist weren’t the „right thing to do“ or didn’t have the moral high ground. But that’s not what Zetian‘s journey is about. It’s about rebelling and making people in power unhappy and returning the cruelty to those who dealt it in the first place. Very few characters in this book are „good“ people.
That’s not the point of the book, but that violence will be used by this wo are oppressed in a fight for equality.
I’m very excited for the 2nd book in the series and how Zetian will do in her new position, as well as to hear more about Huaxia‘s backstory!
Very solidly in the same boat.
I listened to the audiobook a few times during part of my deconstruction journey from leaving a very intense patriarchal cult I was born into. There was a lot of healing for me in the processing of gender and sexual expectations, and that lead character's best allies were who they were.
𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘮 👍
I didn't enjoy this book. It was not well-developed, lacked nuance and creativity, and was more harmful than good for feminism.