Heavenly Tyrant coming December 24th, 2024 from Tundra Books; 400 pages
Content Warning: Mature language, violence, abuse, body horror, mass murder, discussions of reproductive coercion, references to miscarriage, allusions to childhood sexual abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, mention of pornography, and suicide
About the Author: “Xiran Jay Zhao is the #1 New-York-Times-bestselling author of the Iron Widow series and Zachary Ying and the Dragon Emperor. Their books have been a finalist or winner of many awards, including the Nebula, British Science Fiction Association, Locus, and Astounding awards. A first-gen immigrant from small-town China to Vancouver, Canada, they were raised by the Internet and made the inexplicable decision to leave their biochem degree in the dust to write books and make educational content instead. You can find them @xiranjayzhao on Twitter for memes, on Instagram and TikTok for chaotic skits, and on YouTube for long videos about Chinese history and culture” (Bio from author’s website).
Find Xiran Jay Zhao on the following platforms:
“How cursed, this cycle, and for what?
A world built from lies. A reality that isn’t real.
An impasse I can only break by growing strong enough to kill gods.”
After making a series of extreme and irreversible decisions during a whirlwind of world-shattering revelations and grief, Wu Zetian finds herself in the position of power that she has long desired. However, her seat of power proves more precarious than she’d like to admit, and she’s forced to share it with a cunning, frighteningly formidable male pilot of legend whom she cannot fully trust. Together, the pair must work on a knife-edge to succeed with the revolution she began and take down the system—and the gods—that have failed and exploited the people of Huaxia for thousands of years. As they do so, Zetian, at a disadvantage for being marked the “evil vixen” target of anti-revolutionaries, must also once again make her own bid for independent power and security; all while attempting to steal her half-dead lover back from the corrupt divinities that are trying to threaten her into submission.
Having eagerly awaited Heavenly Tyrant, the sequel to Iron Widow, for nearly three years, I was thrilled to jump back into the action the first book of the Iron Widow series left off with. However, I found that action to be somewhat sporadic, held back by slow pacing and what often felt like a meandering plotline. While the book understandably spent a considerable amount of time reestablishing the landscape of Huaxia following Zetian’s radical, desperate decisions at the end of Iron Widow, and then on consequent political conflicts, there were a number of extended scenes that felt unnecessary. Rather than adding significant value to the story, they hindered the tight pacing I loved so much in the first book, and obscured certain plot points and character arcs. That being said, this slow pace did allow for new characters and relationships to be developed, which I particularly enjoyed when it meant adding in more female characters such as Wan’er and Taiping. Older relationships, like that between Zetian and Qieluo, were also able to grow, and I appreciated characters getting a chance to address old wounds and wedges. Stronger themes developed alongside them, new perspectives and situations adding some much-needed nuance (including that of intersectionality). Zhao’s worldbuilding also got to shine in Heavenly Tyrant, expanding on both other civilizations and the qì system. Their humor did not dull in-between novels, either. Overall, though not perfect, Heavenly Tyrant left me wanting more, which Zhao will undoubtedly provide in future installments.
Heavenly Tyrant releases on December 24th, 2024.
Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and Tundra Books for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change before final publication.
Melia Gemrose, Pine Reads Review Co-Assistant Director and Lead Editor