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2024 Astounding Award for Best New Writer
2022 Andre Norton Award (nominee)
2022 Astounding Award for Best New Writer (nominee)
2022 Dragon Award for Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel (nominee)
2022 Locus Award for Best First Novel (nominee)
2022 Locus Award for Best Young Adult Novel (nominee)
2022 Lodestar Award for Best Young Adult Book (nominee)
2021 BSFA Award for Best Fiction for Young Readers
Instant New York Times No.1 Bestseller. A YA Pacific Rim meets the Handmaids Tale retelling of the rise of Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history.
I have no faith in love. Love cannot save me. I choose vengeance.
The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises giant transforming robots that battle aliens beyond the Great Wall. It doesnt matter that their female co-pilots are expected to serve as concubines and often die from the mental strain.
When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, her plan is to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sisters death. But after miraculously surviving her first battle, Zetian sets her sights on a mightier goal. The time has come to stop more girls from being sacrificed.
This is the historical-inspired, futuristic sci-fi mash-up of my wildest dreams. Chloe Gong
Raging against the patriarchy in spectacular style. Observer, best books of the year
Zetian is unstoppable, and I dare you not to cheer her on. Elizabeth Lim, author of Spin the Dawn
A New York Times bestseller, Oct 10 2021
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
I have no faith in love. Love cannot save me. I choose vengeance.
The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises giant transforming robots that battle aliens beyond the Great Wall. It doesnt matter that their female co-pilots are expected to serve as concubines and often die from the mental strain.
When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, her plan is to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sisters death. But after miraculously surviving her first battle, Zetian sets her sights on a mightier goal. The time has come to stop more girls from being sacrificed.
This is the historical-inspired, futuristic sci-fi mash-up of my wildest dreams. Chloe Gong
Raging against the patriarchy in spectacular style. Observer, best books of the year
Zetian is unstoppable, and I dare you not to cheer her on. Elizabeth Lim, author of Spin the Dawn
A New York Times bestseller, Oct 10 2021
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy
Praise for this book
"A bold and brash story that will grab you by the throat from page one. Zhao expertly weaves a story that polishes off classic sci-fi themes and re-imagines them in a lush futuristic world inspired by Ancient China. With an unapologetic heroine who pushes so far beyond the boundaries of expectations, the reader will go on a journey of twists and turns that will make them gasp with each page turn. Thrilling, heart-wrenching and epic!" - Kat Cho
"Like its ferocious heroine, Iron Widow is brutal, bloodthirsty and full of rage. Zetian’s fight to shatter patriarchal definitions of power makes for a truly thrilling read." - Julie C Dao
"Absolutely epic. This is the historical-inspired, futuristic sci-fi mash-up of my wildest dreams. Iron Widow charges headfirst into a world of giant mechas and uncompromising characters. The brutal beauty of Xiran Jay Zhao’s writing kept me glued to the page from start to finish." - Chloe Gong
"A primal scream of a book, Iron Widow delivers on all that fury and more, combining meticulous pacing and brilliant world building to make a truly epic read." - E K Johnston
"In Iron Widow, Zhao crafts a thrilling, brutal tale with jaw-dropping action and a fierce and unyielding heroine. Zetian is unstoppable, and I dare you not to cheer her on." - Elizabeth Lim
"Zetian is the take-no-prisoners heroine you’ll love to cheer on as she crushes everyone who tries to bring her down." - Rebecca Schaeffer
"Like its ferocious heroine, Iron Widow is brutal, bloodthirsty and full of rage. Zetian’s fight to shatter patriarchal definitions of power makes for a truly thrilling read." - Julie C Dao
"Absolutely epic. This is the historical-inspired, futuristic sci-fi mash-up of my wildest dreams. Iron Widow charges headfirst into a world of giant mechas and uncompromising characters. The brutal beauty of Xiran Jay Zhao’s writing kept me glued to the page from start to finish." - Chloe Gong
"A primal scream of a book, Iron Widow delivers on all that fury and more, combining meticulous pacing and brilliant world building to make a truly epic read." - E K Johnston
"In Iron Widow, Zhao crafts a thrilling, brutal tale with jaw-dropping action and a fierce and unyielding heroine. Zetian is unstoppable, and I dare you not to cheer her on." - Elizabeth Lim
"Zetian is the take-no-prisoners heroine you’ll love to cheer on as she crushes everyone who tries to bring her down." - Rebecca Schaeffer
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