Raven Stratagem

Starred review from April 24, 2017
This stunning sequel to the Hugo- and Nebula-nominated Ninefox Gambit contains a satisfying mixture of interstellar battles, politics, intrigue, and arcane technology. The Hafn have invaded Hexarchate territory, and the Hexarchate military Kel Command have resorted to deploying a human weapon to take control of the response force. He is the resurrected General Shuos Jedao, and he has possessed the body of Kel infantry captain Ajewen Cheris. After subduing and releasing Lieutenant Colonel Brezan, who tries to resist him, Jedao goes rogue, still fighting the Hafn but also pursuing his own agenda. Brezan is promoted to the rank of high general and sent back to retake control of the fleet with the assassin Tseya, a member of the diplomatic Andan faction. In the background, Hexarch Shuos Mikodez maneuvers his faction’s intelligence-gathering forces; meanwhile, the leader of another faction has disappeared, and his replacement offers immortality to her peers. With multiple characters skilled in deception, Lee is able to keep readers guessing at Jedao’s goals until the end. He never explains the Hexarchate’s “calendrical technology,” but readers who don’t mind being dropped in the deep end will savor this brilliantly imagined tale. Agent: Jennifer Jackson, Donald Maass Literary.

May 15, 2017

After evading an assassination attempt, legendary general Shuos Jedao (occupying the body that once belonged to Capt. Kel Charis) has seized a battle Swarm. While he is willing to fight the enemy Hafn, his larger plans seem to be nothing short of the destruction of the hexarchate. This follow up to the Nebula- and Hugo-nominated Ninefox Gambit combines exciting space opera action with dazzling, imaginative worldbuilding.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 1, 2017

In this sequel to last year's Ninefox Gambit, Shuos Jedao is no easier to trust this time around. Now he has an entire fleet at his disposal and a mission to defeat the alien Hafn. Intrigue, space battles, and tension abound. The plot may have readers confused at first, but suddenly there is a shift and everything feels right, even though a lot goes wrong for the characters. VERDICT Lee keeps readers hooked; the worldbuilding is fascinating yet mysterious. Neither we, nor the intriguing protagonists, know whom to trust.

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 15, 2017

Gen. Shuos Jedao, a 400-plus-year-old master strategist and mass murderer, was anchored to Capt. Kel Charis in the Hugo- and Nebula Award-nominated Ninefox Gambit. As this sequel opens, Jedao has survived an assassination attempt and taken over another military Swarm. While he is willing to fight off the Hanf who have invaded local space, his goal seems to be the destruction of the hexarchate, the rigid social and political structure that he feels has grown corrupt. Meanwhile, the hexarchate leaders are scrambling to control the man they use as their ultimate weapon. Lee has leveraged the adage that any seemingly advanced science can look like magic to create truly bizarre technologies, starting with a society based so rigidly on a special calendar that any who stray from its rules are executed as heretics. While the parasitic arrangement between Charis and Jedao created interesting character developments in book one, it shifts here to an even more unreliable narrator dynamic. VERDICT While there is plenty of gripping space opera action, the real pleasure of this series is the inventive worldbuilding.--MM

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.