by Xiran Jay Zhao
Overall: Books like this make me ask myself why I read less science fiction than I used to in my teens and early 20s. I love the unbridled imagination of sci-fi and its ability to take real-world problems and approach them in a different way. Zhao takes elements of traditional Chinese culture, mythology, and history, and reworks them into the world of Huaxia, where a human army uses giant robots called Chrysalises to fight against machine life forms. The main character, Zetian, is an eighteen-year-old living in a rural village who’s determined to avenge the death of her older sister. Young girls are regularly forced by their families to join the military as “concubine-pilots,” serving as energy sources powering the machines for the male pilots in battle and as sexual slaves to them off the battlefield. Zetian’s sister died serving as one of these concubine-pilots, and she can only get close enough to the man responsible by becoming one herself. But once Zetian makes it into battle, the story takes a turn, and Zetian must figure out how to live in a world that doesn’t value women’s lives … and maybe even change it.
Likes: Zetian’s voice is compelling, and the action sequences propel the plot forward at a breakneck speed. At the end of this book, which I listened to on audio, I could not make myself get out of the car in my driveway during the book’s climax. I enjoyed the romantic subplot, which involves a fresh take the love triangle (and romance is rarely my favorite part!). The world-building is amazing, and the book ends with a satisfying conclusion but also a hook that made me excited to read the sequel, Heavenly Tyrant, when it comes out.
Dislikes: there’s one scene that went too far for me in its depiction of torture and murder. Zetian’s actions felt very relatable to me up until that point; I questioned whether she would descend to this level of callousness and brutality.
FYI: A lot of profanity, violence, graphic sexual situations, torture, murder. Alcohol abuse and dependency. Misogyny, gender discrimination, and sexual slavery. Although this is billed as YA, I think it’s in the far upper range of that category.
Liz Helfrich 