Ninefox Gambit

The Machineries of Empire, #1

by Yoon Ha Lee

317 pages

English language

Published Oct. 29, 2016

ISBN:: 978-1-78108-449-6
OCLC Number:: 930446947

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(73 reviews)

Captain Kel Cheris of the hexarchate is disgraced for using unconventional methods in a battle against heretics. Kel Command gives her the opportunity to redeem herself by retaking the Fortress of Scattered Needles, a star fortress that has recently been captured by heretics. Cheris's career isn't the only thing at stake. If the fortress falls, the hexarchate itself might be next. Cheris's best hope is to ally with the undead tactician Shuos Jedao. The good news is that Jedao has never lost a battle, and he may be the only one who can figure out how to successfully besiege the fortress. The bad news is that Jedao went mad in his first life and massacred two armies, one of them his own. As the siege wears on, Cheris must decide how far she can trust Jedao--because she might be his next victim.

4 editions

joeyh reviewed Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee (The Machineries of Empire, #1)

Review of 'Ninefox Gambit' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

Reminded me of The Traitor Baru Cormorant in themes, but while I enjoyed that one greatly, I mostly wanted this one to be over except for a little bit at the end. So perhaps I'll enjoy the sequel more?

The math stuff didn't quite work for me. Seemed it could have gone in a more sapir-whorf direction and been about different mathematical systems influencing how people think, or perhaps that was really the case and I missed it? Instead it often felt like magic/numerology for its own sake.

(One explanation for the calinderical math stuff could be super far-future computer systems, but then there was a bit where the 67 snake crypto was seeded by "the irregular time between keystrokes" and a network time server, which while plausible for the crypto of some decrepit empire, makes it less sophisticated than current-day cryptosystems.)

Despite all that, I can't see rating it …

Leaf reviewed Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee (The Machineries of Empire, #1)

Review of 'Ninefox Gambit' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

In a universe where interstellar warfare is based on mathematical truths that are influenced by shifts in consensus reality, the vast colonial empire of the Hexarcate has great incentive to force assimilation of the cultures it absorbs. So one could question the logic of putting a mathematical genius from a nearly extinct minority in charge of the most brilliant and dangerous general of all time...

Old_Tim reviewed Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee (The Machineries of Empire, #1)

Review of 'Ninefox Gambit' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Fantastic. Complex, strange, unique. If you're someone who doesn't normally like MilSF, then give this one a try.

http://fedpeaches.blogspot.com/2016/07/what-banner-shall-we-use.html

Lord of Candy reviewed Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee (The Machineries of Empire, #1)

Review of 'Ninefox Gambit' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I don't think I've ever read such a work that I felt nearly overwhelmed by. It was like waking up in the ocean with a storm about you. Where am I? What happened? What's going on? How do I survive? Are all thoughts which flitted across my head. I took deliberate time reading; any little bit that might help me understand the puzzle I didn't want whizzing by me.

Then like a storm-break I had a clutching of understanding. It wasn't big, it wasn't sure, but it was some scrabble to work from.

This was an intense book both in technology and philosophy. Foreign lands with a lot of exotic things going on. At least being human or human-like lent itself to some baseline to work from. In the end though I enjoyed the challenge and like any rolling stone I eagerly picked up speed until.....

The end.. and.. no …