The Machineries of Empire - Review

Link to the author's (Y. Lee) personal website

Book 1: Ninefox Gambit

Book 2: Raven Strategem

Blurb: (From Book 1) 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.

Review: One of the only fantasy / sci-fi books I've read that I was unable to properly visualise. The opening series dove right into some pretty abstract concepts, and my brain just fell short at the time. Maybe this influenced my enjoyment of the series, because I didn't end up finishing it. Even with that though, this series ends up right on the cusp of recommend.

The story is decent, and the Cheris / Jedao combo is fun as hell to read. Those concepts that were difficult at the beginning end up being really cool, and I have to fully appreciate the imagination behind it. If you're looking for a gritty space-opera with some pretty hard sci-fi aspects, then this thing is right down that alley. It sadly ends up being labelled as a not recommended because I didn't enjoy it enough to finish it, but I think if I was in the right mood and decided to give it another go, then I could absolutely get into it.