Heavenly Tyrant Review: Fixed what was broken—and vice versa
PSA: Author Xiran Jay Zhao states this is not a YA novel. Please honor their word and spread the word to prospective readers!
While I had a few gripes with Iron Widow—particularly regarding its action, worldbuilding, and lead character arc—it still had a plethora of great elements. Heavenly Tyrant is a sequel I was excited to read, especially since I was intrigued that everyone was saying it was a drastic shift into the more political and statecraft-centric. I love a good exploration of politics, but was a little confused by how that made sense within this universe. So, did the novel surprise me with a sequel shift that felt earned, or did it just become a trainwreck? That's what I, Brighton Nelson, will be discussing in today's review. Thanks so much for watching, and I hope you enjoy your time on the site today!
Let's start with the positives. As somebody who hated Qi Zheng in the last novel because he felt like a late-game introduction turned deus ex machina, I found his existence made way more sense in this novel. Honestly, my favorite part of this novel was watching him and Zetian debate what's best for the country. Within the context of this book, he was my favorite character because, while he was still a perverted piece of filth in some ways, he was surprisingly admirable in others. For every time he suggested a fantastic reformation for the country, he did something heinous romantically with Zetian. For each time he was a pretentious prick, he came back around to help feed the nation. His character was more multi-faceted than expected.
I also loved a lot of the nation-building! Pivoting from the girl-boss taking down the system to a more nuanced take on ruling and rebuilding, it shifts Zetian into a different kind of power than before. It becomes a novel about the power of diplomacy instead of the power of mechas.
Another huge highlight is Zetian's active fight for feminism here. In the first novel, she talks a lot of talk, but feels more... selfish than feminist. This vibe came from the fact that every woman in the first book was portrayed more as a one-note villain than as a nuanced person. While Zetian is still unfortunately the only prominent and memorable female character, there are enough side characters and tangible support systems. Zetian is a much stronger character in this book, and she's a great catalyst for the unapologetic social commentary and the book's more morally gray nature. Instead of vague rhetoric and inaction, she utilizes her position of power to provide mass sanitary wear, a sort of Underground Railroad for abused women, and more. Yet it's still disappointing that Qi Zheng's efforts for women were more compelling—an unfortunate dichotomy.
However, while the novel's new integrations are fantastic, the elements that were great in the first book are either poorly executed or nigh on nonexistent. It's not often I read a sequel that fixes everything and breaks everything at the same time, leading to a book where the best and worst cancel each other out and create mediocrity.
First, all the best parts of the action and fast pace of Iron Widow have been extinguished. The first book already had some speed bumps with its action and worldbuilding, but this novel's quality was further diminished. The action still feels like it's taking place in a white space (à la Super Paper Mario's World of Nothing), and I can't picture it as clearly as I need to. Huaxia still feels subdued in its culture and worldbuilding, which is especially clear through the plotline of the Heavenly Court. The gods are excessively nebulous, and their usage in the story is severely questionable.
The last 20% or so, where they finally get back to mecha-battling, is laughably odd and goes far beyond the craziness of Iron Widow, throwing out the novel's interesting grounded vibe. Instead of a triumphant return to the original vibe, it goes so far into sci-fi and betrayal that it feels more like a tonal shift than the one between the first two books. While I can't say the twists didn't do a great job of shocking me, Yizhi and Zheng cause the novel to go so far away from the lovable Iron Triangle that the twists break promises of the biggest draw of the first book: a lovable trio rising up against tyranny and stopping the patriarchy with mammoth mechas.
I could forgive the slow bureaucratic start because I loved what it was building, but when the first 80% and last 20% were so different. I feel the book needed a length balance like a 66% to 33% split. The climax of the last book made Heavenly Tyrant a must-read—this rushed, jarring climax makes the next novel more of a moral obligation than something I'm truly excited for.
My final criticism is of the prose. I liked that it descended more into darkness and exhaustion, but it gets to a point where the book feels repetitive to a fault. Not intentionally repetitive like anaphora or motif, but cyclical. I wouldn't mind it lingering on interesting commentary, except that it steals page time from the climax and character development.
The Brighton's Bookshelf Verdict
Brighton's Bookshelf Score - 5/10
Letter Score - C
Heavenly Tyrant takes a huge swing and takes the sequel in a very different direction. While I loved all of the new additions and vibes, the best elements of the first book were much worse. This is a bizarre sequel that does so much right, but does so much wrong. And, I can't help but love it and Xiran Jay Zhao for doing something fresh and different with it, even if it didn't always work for me.
Interested in checking out some of my other fantasy and sci-fi novel reviews? Check them out below!
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