Outstanding character work, bringing the fierce Zetian to further depths of character (and self-destruction). Loved the full commitment to bridging the histfic/scifi genres as the book spun into its final act. I personally found the long swaths of political experimentation and discussion interesting, especially intertwined as they were with the relationship dynamics for Zetian, but for some readers they may be exhausting. Overall, one of the best conclusions to a duology I've read in recent years.

The people who are angry about Xiran Jay Zhao being "too political" are going to hate this lmao. While necessarily quite a bit slower than Iron Widow, I still had a fantastic time reading this. There were so many passages I highlighted to come back to. And of course, I'm very excited for the next one.

I was a big fan of Iron Widow but this sequel might be one of the worst sequels I've ever read. Clocking in at over 500 pages it is a slog to get through. It is just Zhao infodumping about history with bad writing and inconsistent characterization.