Wow, just wow.

I wish this book was translated in every languages so that women, queer people, disabled people and other marginalized folx could read it and channel their inner Zetian. I bought it in ebook format, and I'm highly considering getting a physical copy as well, because OH MY GOD yes.

Already from the get go, after reading the first few chapters, I was pretty sure this was going to be a favorite of mine. Wu Zetian is a badass character, even though she's trapped in many ways (gender, disabled body, family, etc.). Her will to accomplish her goal is stronger than all that. And this will, this goal is not exactly a "noble" one, yet I love all the more for it. Because vengeance, even though it's a futile goal that usually doesn't bring the satisfaction you think it will, is something I love seeing impersonnated through character we don't see invest it all that much.

It's not exactly an issue saying she succeded in this first goal she gave herself as it's already implied in the synopsis. That's only the start of her battle as the Iron Widow, the female pilot who, agaisnt all odds, survived in a setting that was designed to make her fail and die.

The fact that the book also doesn't make the character choose between love interest and set a polyamourous couple in a society that seems very rigid on gender role, for starters, but also on other "proper ways" of being, acting and interacting is a breath of fresh air. You really feel like not only the characters fighting against the odds, rebelling as best as they can within the limit that are set for them, but also rebelling in private as well, but without having to be combative about it. The way love and found family is set in this very "angry" story is, in my opinion, exactly right since it's centered around care, as in wanting to protect the people you love, and around desire. But you see how desire is both put through the urgency of the very volatile predicament the characters are in yet it is also a desire that doesn't always answer to this urgency, a desire that is earned through emotional obstacles. Even though rape and murder is always in the background, the relationship between the main trio is deeply rooted in respect and consent.

I'm not a big scifi fan, nor am I into mecha, at all. That being said, this story isn't just a mecha scifi, it's much much more than that. In fact, one could argue that the scifi element and the mecha element are not as central as you would think. They are here to help the narrative set the context of how society works in this world. It's the perfect metaphor for what the book is trying to say, in more ways than one. Towards the end, Zetian thinks: "This body of mine is not big enough to contain the scale of emotion coursing through me. How could I feel a rage like this, and not be able to tear the sky open and scorch the earth?"

There's so many quotes in this book I found myself highlighting, and that's a big thing for me as the last time it happened to me, this need to anotated a book I was reading for my own pleasure was more than 10 years ago. To me, that means that Xiran Jay Zhao, through Wu Zetian, is saying stuff I wish I could say myself but never find the proper way to express them. And sometimes, it's things I would want to shout to the world while spitting in its face.

The only thing that could have make me kick 0.5 or 1 star off would have been the ending. But nope, this book doesn't disappoint. If the ending was a movie, Michale Bay would be its directof. It is soooo satisfaying, yet not exactly complaisant as it's not smooth sailing in now way, shape or form. And the epilogue killed me dead. I saw a very faint part of it coming, but not to that extent!

All in all, what I want to say is : Iron Widow, you had me at "I choose vengeance".