DNF @ 40%. Chapter 18.

I really enjoyed Iron Widow and Wu Zetian’s absolute path of destruction. I wanted to see the consequences of what had happened. But nope. It’s like we restarted. We start Heavenly Tyrant with Shimin poofed out of existence and Yizhi turning into a convenient plot device, oops new side character.

Then there’s the politics. After the third political manifesto speech, I just didn’t want to pick up the book again. I get what you’re going for but I don’t want to hear it again and again and then AGAIN.

Lastly, the romance. We had a good thing going with Yizhi and Shimin. Why did the author throw them out and put Zetian and our frozen emperor, Qin Zheng, together? Leave them as is. Why does there have to be romance at all. Keep them as mentor and student. The power dynamic is way off and was beginning to feel icky.

I won’t be picking up the sequel. I was disappointed considering how much I loved the first. I’d re-read Iron Widow but not this again.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Zhao's Heavenly Tyrant manages to largely balance a much more thorough exploration of the costs of political victory and the work and compromises involved in imposing one's values on a nation with Zetian's personal growth challenges. While the tone can tip too far into educational, disrupting the pace of the story, they've crafted compelling characters and a fascinating world that will keep readers engaged.

Heavenly Tyrant is a worthy sequel to Iron Widow, and I’d definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoyed the first book. The author really leans into the chaos and complexity of what happens after the revolution, and it’s messy in all the best ways. Zhao goes bigger and deeper here, exploring complex themes around power, control and revolution. Zetian’s journey continues to be intense and emotionally layered, and the story leans into its moral gray areas.

While I would recommend this book and found it to be a strong sequel, I do think the author has big ideas that they sometimes struggle to execute. The story digs a lot deeper than the original, but at times it can run away with itself, which causes pacing issues. Zhao will continue to be an author I watch, as I feel they are constantly pushing boundaries and refining their craft as a writer.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to read this book early.

A huge fan of the first book in the duology, I was so excited to see what kind of mayhem Zitian would cause. Exciting, action-packed with its signature polyamorous love triangle, this sequel was all I wanted it to be and more.

I’m so excited to see what Zhao does next.

Perhaps it gets a little too in the weeds on political systems, but overall, this is an excellent follow up to the first book.

The second book in the series and one that has me begging for the next one already! I loved the first book so much and this was such a fun way back into the world. I feel like I could devour this series over and over and never get tired. I was so engrossed in the story and the relationship between the characters! I highly HIGHLY recommend this series to anyone who loves an action packed, brutal and amazing read that just gripes you by the throat and never lets up!

I have a reluctant reader who is devouring this series. They were really happy when I was able to purchase and provide this title to them so they could keep reading. If you enjoyed the first one, the second doesn't disappoint, and has even more twists and turns.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

I loved this story so much and I am beyond happy that there are going to be more books with these characters.

Heavenly Tyrant is the second installment in the Iron Widow series. After the events of book one, Zetian finds herself in a position of power in Huaxia. As she works towards creating a fair and equal nation, Zetian must also navigate what her new power means, who she can trust, and what she must do to change things.

As someone who does not have very much patience for books over 350 pages anymore, I have to say that I was engrossed in this book. I have not read a sci-fi/fantasy series this compelling in a LONG time. I love everything about this story, the sci-fi/fantasy elements, the morally grey characters, the complicated relationships, the politics! I also love that you never truly know what Zetian is going to do next. She is such a complicated and stubborn character. If any of these things intrigue you, I would recommend picking this series up asap.

I am looking forward to Iron Widow #3, which I have not been able to find very much information on. This book definitely ends with a cliffhanger, but with everything that happens in Heavenly Tyrant, I think it was a good place to stop and start setting up for the next book in the series.

Thank you to Netgalley and the Publisher for this Advanced Readers Copy of Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao!

Really good follow up to the first book. I really loved the dynamic between the main character and the newbie (I miss the og boys rip they’re barely there for this one). It was much denser and political compared to the first entry with less action but the characters really shined in this. Qin Zheng was a fun and interesting edition to the cast. I did miss the two love interests as they were mostly background characters (one barely appears) but the story was focused on the main character so I get it.

Excellent follow up on the first novel! The pace never stops qnd the ending was incredible. The characters while known to us in the first book reveal more depth in this book.

Amazing selection of folklore and history based sci-fi, definitely something everyone needs to read.

I have to say, even though this book was very much not the same as Iron Widow, I don't altogether think that's a bad thing. I enjoyed a lot of it, but... There are a few things here that I'm still unpacking, and I'm not sure how I feel about a lot of this book. There's definitely a lot of heavy undertone here, to the point that it almost doesn't become undertone anymore, and I won't say I disliked it, but it was definitely a difficult book for me to get through. Zetian continues to be a very interesting character for me, and even though I was fully expecting a duology here I won't be disappointed for a third!

The sequel to Iron Widow, this time focusing more on the politics of the world and social commentary on the classes that parallels current issues . The relationships went a slightly different direction from the first book, but it seems it will change again in the next book. Overall, a solid follow up, if not a bit long-winded at times. Looking forward to the final book bringing everything together.

While this went a direction I was not expecting it, I still absolutely loved the journey. I found it interesting to see the actual struggle of revolutionizing a society. I do wish the space bit came a little sooner since it is clear that is where we were going from book one, but the wait made it intense and fascinating. I throughly enjoy how relentless and strong the main female character is.

Thank you to the Publishers and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book!!

Oh.... oh my god. I thought things couldnt get better after Iron Widow but I was so wrong. These books stand for womens wrongs in both the best and worst ways. Zetian holds on to their beliefs and moral code soundly for the entire book, despite the fact that it is not the.... best moral code. I truly love their thought process, and why they do and think some of the things they do.

Qin Zheng, where do I start with you? He is definitely the type of character that does bad things with good intentions. He is violent, headstrong, and mostly an asshole, but he truly brought about good for the land... Though I'm very curious what will happen with Zetian gone now

Yizhi.... oh honey. Thats all. IYKYK

This is also such an important read at the moment. So many times during this book I had to stop and make sure I wasnt reading a current day memoir. The commentary on women being second class, on the working class not getting to benefit from the fruits of their labor, its all so true, and thank you Xiran for making sure to include those specific commentaries

Im REELING from the ending of this book and would really really like book 3 faster than we got book 2 (i know there was so much drama involving that). Im so curious how fast the morals ship will sink coming up, and more of what is going to happen to my babies!

Heavenly Tyrant is an exercise of be careful what you wish for. It's a sequel that examines what you have to do to maintain power and control. We can have these ideas of what a better future will be like, but how do we achieve that? What innocent casualties and collateral damage do we have to accept? This has to be my favorite theme of Heavenly Tyrant. I enjoyed how Zetian explores the cost of rebellion, of revolution, of change. While this was a theme that I think could have had a few more explicit conversations, it was my favorite element by far! However, some of the decisions made in Heavenly Tyrant puzzled me. While I can't get into it because of spoilers, I was surprised by some of the interactions and character choices. I'm not sure I'd go so far to say that they felt a tad too convenient, but the timing of some of them certainly gave me pause.

- sleeping for two centuries sounds pretty good right about now tbh
- Okay this is clearly a direct continuation but I feel like these gods have come out of nowhere?
- Like I know they were mentioned in IW but they were passive characters but now they’re talking to Zetian & it just seems very sudden
- I’m curious to see where Qieluo’s arc goes
- So far I am wildly unimpressed by Qin Zheng
- I stand by this statement
- Nothing says fun like having your spine ripped out & nightmares of your zombie friends & family
- I miss Shimin 😭
- Who wouldn’t want to get married after being called mentally childish & physically repulsive by their groom to be
- Oh this is going to be a fun battle of wills
- Maybe I am now slightly more impressed with Qin Zheng
- His ideas seem mostly practical? Stay tuned I guess
- Qieluo is getting more tolerable & I’m glad Zetian has someone in her corner
- I see we’re moving to communism
- I’m sure there will be no problems with this whatsoever
- The politics in this story are fascinating
- Holy shit Qin Zheng did not come to play
- Ngl I would love to be able to freeze people’s extremities & then snap them off
- It sounds like a useful skill 🤷🏻‍♀️
- Someone needs to tell this man how to talk to women because he is absolutely terrible at it
- Honestly I don’t know how to feel about Qin Zheng? Which is good, I do love a grey character
- « Excuse me I need to go reform the education system » is a great exit line tbh
- I get the defence mechanisms that Zetian has in place & she has them for good reason, but jeez girl one friend would be nice
- Qin Zheng is so casual about everything it kills me
- Oh I just had a minor stroke nbd like sir these are important things to tell your betrothed
- « I’m afraid of the truth dying with me »
- Ughh I hate all of this bring me back Shimin
- Huh
- Wasn’t expecting that
- Gao Qiu deserved a much slower death
- « Venerated gods » oh shut the fuck up Sima Yi you spineless walnut
- Here’s a writing complaint « I go cold below the neck » is overused & it also doesn’t make a lot of sense?
- For someone who wants to live & wreak havoc on the world, Zetian is doing a terrible job convincing Qin Zheng to keep her alive
- I am all for sass, I am, but there is a time & place
- For example, not when someone is trying to restrain themselves from murdering you
- These gods need to mind their goddamn business
- Susurration is an excellent word
- Oooo I like how we got to the hammer & sickle
- Damn talk about art imitating life (friendly reminder that all reading is political)
- Here for the communism
- However there is no way this ends well
- *gestures vaguely at history*
- I stg if this fucker dies I’m leaving
- Okay phew not dead
- He can still do the revolution thing from quarantine, no?
- The thought of Qin Zheng having to be quarantined for the rest of his life is thoroughly entertaining 
- He’s SO MAD 
- I just want Shimin to come back 
- Oh great we’ve added in physics 
- Now I’m just confused 
- Nothing forms friendships like plotting to take on primordial, celestial beings, I guess?
- I love when authors use the word willy-nilly 
- It’s just fun 
- Now that I think about it, I don’t think I actually understand what an Iron Widow is? 
- Which is 100% a me problem 
- Existential crises seem bad enough in real life, never mind in a dream link with someone else 
- Like no thank u
- Of course there’s a rebel leader 
- Ughh Zhuge Liang is such a schmuck 
- Temptress Wu is a pretty baller sobriquet tho 
- Oh Zhuge is Trump
- Oops just remembered XJZ is Canadian so probably Poilievre 
- I like how Qin Zheng gets weirdly British when he gets upset? 
- Zetian does get some credit for at least being self-aware
- “Even if we can’t kill them all, we need to scare them a little” is a mood
- Ruh roh 
- Even though this is a proto-Chinese world, I’m really enjoying the parallels to current society 
- Investing is just the fancy white people version of gambling
- Damn Qin Zheng is putting the housing crisis on blast & as a Canadian millennial I am here for it 
- Hmm okay I was feeling it up until the public violence thing 
- I really need to listen to Dan Carlin’s Painfotainment podcast 
- I appreciate the use of witness’ instead of witness’s the first version is so much more visually appealing 
- Zetian raises a good point about Qin Zheng being all for smashing tradition until it comes to him being able to treat her like property… 
- This mother of the realm nonsense is getting real old real fast 
- Oooo we’ve been upgraded from Temptress to Harlot 
- Can’t imagine this is going to go over real smooth with Qin Zheng considering how he lost his shit when Liu Que called Zetian a harlot 
- While I’m not particulary pro-tranqing belligerent politicians, I find I’m not exactly against it either 
- Imagine if we could just tranq people who have lost their minds (jk this is v subjective & it would be a v bad time for a lot of people. But a girl can dream)
- I want to be like Zetian when I grow up
- Oh yeahh just casually castrate a guy so he can be a spare pilot nbd
- Oop found the lesbians
- Okay the language got very modern all of a sudden? Which is a weird shift in tone
- Aaaaand now we’re leading a protest march?
- Sima Yi needs to talk a long walk off a short pier
- His other option is for me to shove him out a window that’s very far off the ground
- I like Renjie already
- “Why is he imposing this expectation on me?”
- GEE I DON’T KNOW MAYBE BECAUSE YOU’RE THE FUCKING EMPRESS
- Never a bad time to confront the gender binary
- I think a big problem about this book is that I’m still not sure I know what an Iron Widow actually is?
- Qin Zheng is annoyingly astute for a dude who’s been basically dead for two centuries
- I’m starting to think that this book is a massive metaphor for how those who are left-wing have a tendency to eat themselves from within
- “The world has changed and you must change with it”
- If only people actually understood this…
- These strategists are useless
- Well I don’t think that was quite what Zetian meant but here we are
- The colloquialism thing is very entertaining
- “No one hates laborists more than other laborists” okay so I was right about this being partially an indictment of the left’s self-hatred
- This is giving shades of Animal Farm
- Big Sister knows what’s up
- Gahh I miss Shimin
- Nothing accomplishes things quite like being a fake lesbian
- That’s gotta be one of my favourite kiss reactions of all time
- Ruh roh
- Okay this is just a straight up violation of bodily autonomy & I HATE IT
- Yizhi my guy what the fuck happened to you
- The gods in this story are very nebulous? Like they’re not consistently in the story; it feels more like they’re trotted out every so often so we can blame things on them
- It is oddly comforting that not even 200 year old dudes are immune to dick jokes
- At least some things transcend time
- Qin Zheng’s brain is a wild place — this guy is always scheming
- Honestly this book is a great tutorial in leftist political theory
- & people say you don’t learn anything from fiction
- I also have a feeling this is way less dry than the Communist Manifesto
- Aaaaand we found the angry people
- Oop & now we’re beheading them?
- I’m not upset it’s just a bit of a jump you know
- Phoenix Ladies is a pretty baller group name
- This book is just fucking wild
- Now we’re trading sex for freedom? I think?
- Awhh man I liked Renjie!
- I too yearn to make people feel unsettled
- Damn okay things are happening
- What on earth is going on with Yizhi???? Like my guy what are you doing
- “Monthly, at most”
- This fucking guy
- Big fan of the amount of gayness in this book tbh
- Qin Zheng is an excellent schemer
- Zetian just fuck the guy come on we don’t have time for this
- Oop found the praise kink
- Listen I’m not here to yuck yums but these two do sex very strangely
- And we’re back to the gods
- Okay we’ve made it to the Heavenly Court & everything is upside down
- I am so deeply confused
- Did fish always give off spirit signatures? I feel like that’s new
- So the gods are just human egomaniacs
- Probably should have seen that coming
- *taps heel impatiently while Qin Zheng & Yizhi get into a pissing contest over Zetian*
- IS SHIMIN BACK PLS
- Oh dear I think they Bucky-ed him
- Motherfucker AAAAAAHHHHH
- Okay now I’m just straight up confused
- Why did we stab Qin Zheng?
- Honestly I’m not sure what I just read but I think I mostly had a good time?