Iron Widow

**Iron Widow** is the first book in the *Iron Widow* series by Xiran Jay Zhao, published by Penguin Teen in September 2021.

Iron Widow is a science fiction novel set in an alternate world, inspired by cultural elements from across Chinese history and featuring historical figures reimagined in vastly different circumstances. The book follows the life of Wu Zetian, the concubine-pilot of a Chrysalis.

A sequel to the novel has been confirmed titled Heavenly Tyrant and is said to be released on April 30th, 2024

## Synopsis

*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.*

## Chapters

* Prologue
* Part I: Way of the Fox
	+ Chapter One: A Butterfly that Better not be my Dead Sister
	+ Chapter Two: Like Water Hurled Out the Door
	+ Chapter Three: The Life you Want
	+ Chapter Four: Ready to Serve
	+ Chapter Five: Fatal Mistake
	+ Chapter Six: Let's Dance
	+ Chapter Seven: Into the Jungle
	+ Chapter Eight: Welcome to your Nightmare
	+ Chapter Nine : Strongest of them All
* Part II: Way of the Bird
	+ Chapter Ten: Iron Demon
	+ Chapter Eleven: Up the Sword Mountain, Down the Fire Sea
	+ Chapter Twelve: For the First Time
	+ Chapter Thirteen: Huaxia's Best Hope
	+ Chapter Fourteen: The Lies Boys Tell
	+ Chapter Fifteen: The Supposed Pinnacle of Female Existence
	+ Chapter Sixteen: The Crownless King, the Heartless Queen
	+ Chapter Seventeen: Utterly Relatable
	+ Chapter Eighteen: Some Other Girl I would Never Want to Be
	+ Chapter Nineteen: My Polar Star
	+ Chapter Twenty: Ten Thousand Reasons
	+ Chapter Twenty-One: Not Weird at All
	+ Chapter Twenty-Two: Mess
	+ Chapter Twenty-Three: Utter and Mutual Misery
	+ Chapter Twenty-Four: The Tigress
	+ Chapter Twenty-Five: Prey
	+ Chapter Twenty-Six: Despite all That
	+ Chapter Twenty-Seven: With a Bang
	+ Chapter Twenty-Eight: The Strongest Shape
* Part III: Way of the Snake
	+ Chapter Twenty-Nine: City of Everlasting Peace
	+ Chapter Thirty: The Deal
	+ Chapter Thirty-One: Bad Examples for the Children
	+ Chapter Thirty-Two: Despite their Best Efforts
	+ Chapter Thirty-Three: Unspeakable
	+ Chapter Thirty-Four: Ever-Growing hit List
	+ Chapter Thirty-Five: Special Level of Hell
	+ Chapter Thirty-Six: The Crown
	+ Chapter Thirty-Seven: Infinite
	+ Chapter Thirty-Eight: Forget her Not
	+ Chapter Thirty-Nine: That Kind of Guy, That Kind of Girl
* Part IV: Way of the Dragon
	+ Chapter Forty: Scourge of The Universe
	+ Chapter Forty-One: What he Lives For
	+ Chapter Forty-Two: One Wing and One Eye
	+ Chapter Forty-Three: Zero
	+ Chapter Forty-Four: The Emperor's Mausoleum
	+ Chapter Forty-Five: Who Am I?
	+ Chapter Forty-Six: Iron Widow
	+ Chapter Forty-Seven: Everything I Deserve
* Epilogue

## Content warnings

* Violence and abuse
* Suicide ideation
* Discussion and references to sexual assault
* Alcohol addiction
* Torture