We love to see it: Independently published. Transmasc representation. Diverse cast. A dash of found family.
An apocalyptic infection in London forces seven misfit strangers and Karma, their loyal mastiff, to analyze their own secrets and make impossible choices. This story is incredibly character driven, focusing a lot on the individual inner turmoil as well as the social dynamics this leads to. While the characters are never fully out of danger, the author makes great use of each brief reprieve to dig into their inner lives. I got rather attached to them all, which made many points of the book particularly devastating. There’s plenty of danger, angst, and even a little bit of emotion healing and growth.
 

Brimming with queer history, Newson spins a gripping story about queer life in New york. An excellent debut. 

While there are some interesting ideas in this book, there isn't follow through. The fey are vicious, except they help a human they supposedly revile. Humans are servants less than animals, except there are fey royalty  flirting with a human who wasn't subjected to the normal treatment humans get. There is a deadly tradition of sending girls into the bog, but there is no external pressure to ensure they have to keep up this tradition. There are supposed undertones of revolution, but they are hollow. It was neither idealistic nor complex, but lukewarm.

I received an ALC through Libro.fm for this title.

I have been waiting since April 2022 with baited breath for this book, and was of course worried my expectations would be let down after so much anticipation. They were not. This was really damn good.

I think if it had been the same as iron widow, I would have been disappointed. But Heavenly Tyrant has very different tone and pacing. I loved it. It feels like growth. So you took your rage and smashed your oppressors, now what? How are you going to use power for good? It honestly mirrors my own journey of becoming aware of oppression, getting angry, and learning so much more of how the world works. Building a better world takes more thought and effort than angry me would have expected.

The relationships are INTENSE. I love how Zhao builds characters. The interpersonal dynamics had me always on the edge of my seat.

I also have to commend them on how

they ballooned out the world building. Often times when you start zoomed in and expand the camera, I find it frustrating. This I found believable and engaging.  Zooming out to space and having these two crazy intense people approach it with the same ferocity they've had for the whole book (which the space people find baffling) really sealed it for me.

Goodness gracious I can't wait for the next one. 

A note on the audio book: there are two narrators, giving each POV character their own voice. The main character narrator does a good job voicing various dialect changes in a way I enjoyed.