Uploaded June 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago

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Welcome back! Today we’re discussing the Iron Widow series by Xiran Jay Zhao. @XiranJayZhao

These two young adult(ish) books are a retelling of the real-life story of the sole Empress of China, Wu Zetien, who ruled in the 6th century.

But her story is now reimagined in an epic sci-fi setting, where people fire ki-blasts, and drive giant mecha-monsters, and fight hordes of aliens. But the real enemy is the patriarchy! Yeah, these books are f***ing amazing.

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00:00 Intro
02:28 Iron Widow - The Concept
03:51 Some Familiar Concepts
05:20 Worldbuilding Ancient/Future China
08:23 Excellent Character Writing
11:45 A Constantly Changing Plot
12:37 Feminist Literature
15:19 Heavenly Tyrant - A Shift
16:32 Is this really YA?
20:24 Bi-default
22:18 Content Warning
23:37 Is the Ending worth it?
24:07 How much should you try?