Iron Widow: Instant New York Times No.1 Bestseller

Author(s): Xiran Jay Zhao

YA Fiction | Young Adult | Sci-FI & Fantasy

I have no faith in love. Love cannot save me. I choose vengeance. The boys of Huaxia dream of the celebrity status that comes with piloting Chrysalises giant transforming robots that battle the aliens beyond the Great Wall. Their female co-pilots are expected to serve as concubines and sacrifice their lives. When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, her plan is to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister's death. But on miraculously emerging from the cockpit unscathed after her first battle, she is declared an Iron Widow the most feared pilot of all. Now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she sets her sights on bigger things. The time has come to stop more girls from being sacrificed. 'Absolutely epic. This is the historical-inspired, futuristic sci-fi mash-up of my wildest dreams.' Chloe Gong 'Think The Handmaid's Tale meets Pacific Rim and buckle up.' Shelley Parker-Chan 'Like its ferocious heroine, Iron Widow is brutal, bloodthirsty and full of rage.'  Julie C. Dao


Product Information

Science fiction and East Asian myth combine in this dazzling retelling of the rise of Wu Zetian, the only female emperor in Chinese history.

Xiran Jay Zhao (they/ them) is a first-generation immigrant to Canada from small-town China (which, for China, means a town of 4 million people). A recent graduate from Vancouver's Simon Fraser University, they wrote sci-fi and fantasy books while they probably should've been studying more biochemical pathways. You can find them on Twitter @XiranJayZhao for daily shitposts, Instagram as xiranjayzhao for cosplays and very extra outfits and YouTube as Xiran Jay Zhao for videos about Chinese history and culture. Iron Widow is their first novel.

General Fields

  • : 9780861542116
  • : Bloomsbury
  • : Oneworld
  • : 01 November 2022
  • : books

Special Fields

  • : Xiran Jay Zhao
  • : Paperback
  • : English
  • : 813.6