100 word review: Raven Stratagem, by Yoon Ha Lee

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Jun 132017
 

Oh my bloody god this book. This series. This writer.

Ninefox Gambit was my one book of 2016. The one I wanted to win all the awards. The one I was doubly-disappointed to be skipping a year with The Kitschies.

Twisty-turny maths-based alteration of reality meets big evil empire and mad geniuses. It gets weirder and, oddly, a bit easier to follow. Probably worth reading Ninefox Gambit again. I did. It’s worth it.

In three pages, Shuos Jedao and/or Kel Cheris turn up and capture a fleet. Then it gets better. Difficult  to talk about without spoilers. But trust me.

Out in June.

100 word review: Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee

 100 word reviews, books, reviews  1 Response »
Feb 022017
 

This is my favourite read from 2016, hands down. Lee has created the most inventive space opera universe… imaginable. The Hexarchate is an empire who can alter the laws of reality by enforcing belief on a population: altering the calendar. The Hexarchate is brutal, and its six factions don’t even trust each other. A calendrical crisis forces the Hexarchate to unearth a long-dead General, Shuos Jedao — frozen as a ghost after massacring his own army, as a last-ditch gambit to save a critical fortress. The story gets odder and, yet, most comforting. It’s a mind-blowing read – and contains kimchi.