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A review by laralarks
Heavenly Tyrant by Xiran Jay Zhao
medium-paced
4.0
It’s probably going to take a while for me to fully organize my thoughts on this book but here’s a first pass: Xiran knows what they’re doing. There’s so much here that works, that is spectacular. The character work is particularly commendable. Zetian’s justification machine whirrs on as she gains more power and distances herself from the direct consequences and daily turnings of violent revolution. She’s a truly believable teen empress here, both full of rage and flaws that limit her effectiveness amidst a system that, while attempting to liberate the working class, has forgotten that women are a part of it. The action sequences are, once again, stellar at every turn. I loved the zooming out into the greater world of Huaxia and the universe beyond, and while our girl has a country to liberate a part of me certainly wouldn’t be mad about getting more time in space later!
Speaking of, THERE IS A BOOK THREE?! where and when, because I’m concerned and excited in equal measure.
Now for why I’m not making this a 5 star read for me:
I think some of the book’s impact was lost in its somewhat bloated middle. The pacing and plot progression of the first and last acts had me in a chokehold, but there was some pacing trouble and meandering between them that I think could have used an editor’s touch. From what I understand there was some breakdown in the author/editor working relationship, and I hate to say the book did suffer from it. Books aren’t the sole brain children of one person, but are scaffolded by an army, and I do feel that loss here. I understand the zoom out that was necessary to show the far-reaching repercussions of seizing power via essentially a military coup, but some of it felt…kind of like it was copy and pasted out of a zoomed out timeline of the rise and fall of other authoritarian regimes. Especially since the counter-revolutionary movement felt so fangless and ultimately like, non-essential compared to the false gods and hunduns.
I support this series and this author and will continue to do so. Will recommend!
Speaking of, THERE IS A BOOK THREE?! where and when, because I’m concerned and excited in equal measure.
Now for why I’m not making this a 5 star read for me:
I think some of the book’s impact was lost in its somewhat bloated middle. The pacing and plot progression of the first and last acts had me in a chokehold, but there was some pacing trouble and meandering between them that I think could have used an editor’s touch. From what I understand there was some breakdown in the author/editor working relationship, and I hate to say the book did suffer from it. Books aren’t the sole brain children of one person, but are scaffolded by an army, and I do feel that loss here. I understand the zoom out that was necessary to show the far-reaching repercussions of seizing power via essentially a military coup, but some of it felt…kind of like it was copy and pasted out of a zoomed out timeline of the rise and fall of other authoritarian regimes. Especially since the counter-revolutionary movement felt so fangless and ultimately like, non-essential compared to the false gods and hunduns.
I support this series and this author and will continue to do so. Will recommend!