Heavenly Tyrant (Iron Widow, Book 2) Iron Widow

"You can only be the revolution. It is in your spirit, or it is nowhere.”

Bewertet: Buch (Taschenbuch)

Incredible sequel. Wu Zetian gained through the undoubtedly cruel ending more enemies than sympathizers. Trying to navigate the civil war as newly crowned empress, she has to face the ideals of a revolution: where do you take society? Where do you take your vengeance - to the emperor on your side? And what if the gods want to stop you? I had the best time with this one and can't wait for the grand finale.

transitioning from a raging symbol to a political figurehead

Bewertet: Buch (Gebundene Ausgabe)

Where the previous volume "Iron Widow" was still a kind of selfishly-driven feminism, "Heavenly Tyrant" crashes head-first into a more all-encompassing communist approach to feminism as Zetian realizes that feminist changes must extend beyond herself for a lasting impact in society. After suffering a devastating loss and making drastic decisions, she must now balance dangerous politics with her new quest for vengeance, while slowly building her own power base. The sequel is a realistic continuation of where the first book left off, but I found myself missing the relationship between Zetian, Shimin, and Yizhi, as well as the more focused, contained narrative of the first book. Heavenly Tyrant is definitely more politically-driven and less action-packed, but I appreciated the way it stays true to the messy, chaotic nature of the story—everything seems to constantly spiral out of control. I think the distinction the book makes between intentions and ideas versus actual application and results is both important and realistic.