Iron Widow
2021 • 394 pages

Ratings260

Average rating4

15

The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn’t matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.

When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it’s to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister’s death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.

To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia​. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed.


Become a Librarian

Series

Featured Series

2 primary books

#1 in Iron Widow

Iron Widow is a 2-book series with 2 primary works first released in 2021 with contributions by Xiran Jay Zhao.

#1
Iron Widow
#2
Heavenly Tyrant

Reviews

Popular Reviews

Reviews with the most likes.

March 3, 2024

This book was phenomenal! I couldn't put it down it was amazing!

May 21, 2022
August 13, 2021

Top Prompts

Featured Prompt

79 books

#30 in What are your favorite science fiction books of all time?

Science fiction as a genre includes a wide range of topics. From imaginative and futuristic concepts to space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, extraterrestrial life and more. What stan...

#1
The Martian
#2
Dune
#3
Hyperion
Ender's Game
The Murderbot Diaries #1-4: : All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy
Dark Matter
Project Hail Mary
Neuromancer
The Left Hand of Darkness
Leviathan Wakes
The Dark Forest
Wool

Featured Prompt

3,356 books

#489 in What are your favorite books of all time?

When you think back on every book you've ever read, what are some of your favorites? These can be from any time of your life – books that resonated with you as a kid, ones that shaped your personal...

#1
The Lord of the Rings
#2
Dune
#3
1984
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
The Way of Kings
Pride and Prejudice
Mistborn: The Final Empire
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
The Hobbit
The Martian
The Hunger Games
Project Hail Mary