---
product_id: 30393873
title: "Ninefox Gambit (The Machineries of Empire) Paperback – June 14, 2016"
brand: "yoon ha lee"
price: "VT2731"
currency: VUV
in_stock: false
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.vu/products/30393873-ninefox-gambit-the-machineries-of-empire-paperback-june-14-2016
store_origin: VU
region: Vanuatu
---

# Ninefox Gambit (The Machineries of Empire) Paperback – June 14, 2016

**Brand:** yoon ha lee
**Price:** VT2731
**Availability:** ❌ Out of Stock

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- **What is this?** Ninefox Gambit (The Machineries of Empire) Paperback – June 14, 2016 by yoon ha lee
- **How much does it cost?** VT2731 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Currently out of stock
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.vu](https://www.desertcart.vu/products/30393873-ninefox-gambit-the-machineries-of-empire-paperback-june-14-2016)

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## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    There is nothing worse than discovering a new (to you) author and discovering ...
  

*by J***Z on Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2017*

There is nothing worse than discovering a new (to you) author and discovering you're head over heels in love with that author's work. I can hear you saying "But wait, that's a good thing, right? More good new stories to read." Of course that's a good thing, but the more good fiction that's available to us from more sources, the more we're likely not to run into a clunker. There's nothing worse than picking something up and wanting to throw it against the wall. If we read material from authors that we like, we're likely to always have something we appreciate reading and spending precious time on. Now the other side of the room is stating "But wait a minute, if you stay only in your comfort zone, how will you find new authors and new types of fiction to read?"Hence, the annual Hugo finalist list. I'll be the first to admit that I don't read enough during the year to be able to nominate from a wide pool of stories. My life doesn't permit that. I do, however, plunge headfirst into the Hugo finalists list every year, and nearly every year recently someone has jumped up to blow me away, at least initially. In my personal experience, in recent years we have Ann Leckie (although the luster faded quickly for me), N.K. Jemisin, and Cixin Liu. Mind you, these are all from the Best Novel category. The issue could expand exponentially if I were able to read all the short fiction too.And thus we come to this year's entry into the "I gotta start reading all of this guy's stuff too" fray: Yoon Ha Lee. I remember reading a short story of his, "The Battle of Candle Arc", in one of the David Hartwell collections a few years ago. The events of that story are referred to in Yoon Ha Lee's first novel, NINEFOX GAMBIT. I should point out that to me he's a new writer. Lo and behold I've just discovered that he's had over 40 short stories published, many of which have ended up in the collection Conservation of Shadows (and of course, the next thing I know, I buy the ebook of that collection). The sequel to NINEFOX GAMBIT, RAVEN STRATAGEM, has just been published as I write this, and it's already on my shelf waiting to be read.Can you tell that I really liked NINEFOX GAMBIT?NINEFOX GAMBIT is space opera military science fiction. I haven't read a lot of military sf recently, but I am fond of space opera. There is certainly a lot of military sf being published these days. The story here is simple - on the surface. Captain Kel Cheris is disgraced because of her use of an unorthodox and unconventional battle tactic. She will be allowed to redeem herself and her career by taking back the Fortress of Scattered Needles from the heretics. Simple, straightforward, and to the point.That, however, is as simple as it gets. Yoon Ha Lee throws in so many new and interesting ideas that the reader needs to be alert and actually pay attention to the story. There is no skimming with NINEFOX GAMBIT. Yoon Ha Lee does not coddle his readers with this book. He assumes that the reader is intelligent and can pick up things along the way, but it can take a little bit of work. Not work like reading through a dense novel which contains dozens of characters to keep track of written in flowery language over several novels. No. This is a sort of puzzle kind of novel: the reader is constantly thinking "what do they mean by that?"; "how does that fit in with what happened over there?"; "what is really going on?"; and of course, the biggie, "what exactly is 'calendrical heresy' anyway?"Going back to an earlier part of this review for a moment, I mentioned that Cheris was disgraced for the use of an unconventional battle tactic. The Kel have something instilled into them called "formation instinct". All battles are conducted using various and sundry known formations that are appropriate for what is trying to be accomplished. She steps outside of those formations, and this sends her down the path of the story the novel tells. She has to win the right to lead the expedition to take back the Fortress of Scattered Needles in a sort of contest against other military leaders by proposing a plan that is better than all the rest. She proposes using the undead warrior Shuos Jedeo as the weapon. Jedeo has never lost a battle, but the problem is that during one battle Jedeo slaughtered two armies, one of which was his own. Now he is kept in an undead state and revived when the hexarcate (the system of government) needs him. Jedeo is "attached" to Cheris; they communicate mentally most of the time, but no one else can see him. The army that Cheris commands knows of Jedeo's presence and involvement, which makes things much more interesting as unusual tactical and strategic decisions are made.So, is the Fortress retaken? That would be telling, but it's really beside the point. What is appealing to me though is the abundance of new ideas that Yoon Ha Lee presents in the book. While the formation instinct is something new to me, and attaching an undead warrior to a live soldier to go into battle must have been done sometime in the long history of science fiction, my winner of "new, interesting, and complex idea of the year" is the calendrical heresy. The calendar is not just a way to tell the passing of time. It is a way of life, a belief system, a way to hold moral fabric together. And it can be a weapon. And no, I don't understand it all. At least not yet. But combine all those ideas with political intrigue and a well written, fast paced story, in my mind this is may be the best novel of the year, a year in which there have been so many terrific novels. I hope RAVEN STRATAGEM can continue the excellence that NINEFOX GAMBIT has displayed. That would be a terrific thing indeed.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ 4.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    strangeness dialed up to 11
  

*by W***Y on Reviewed in the United States on June 24, 2017*

Very inventive and pretty clever.  Fantasy in thin SF trappings, but well done.  I've read Ann Leckie, who gets compared to, but I thought I caught a whiff of Ian Banks with the weird weapons and ship names.  Amputation Gun = Lazy Gun?  Even the hint at a subplot with the AI servitors.Clever backstory: totalitarian/theocracy government with rigid caste systems.  Magic/science triggered by beliefs, ritual and maths.  Deep plot.  The few main characters are deftly handled and I just loved the rebel puppet master with a sweet tooth.  Well, very well, written - this ain't your average sketchy Mil SF with big guns, hackneyed "tactics" and predictable plot.  The author knows his words, likes to write and likes to surprise you.  Anti-thesis of a Honor Harrington novel, as another reviewer puts it?  Yes, and that's an excellent compliment in my book.But, overall it was just a bit too strange for my taste.  I was left disoriented and nonplussed by the constant storm of bizarre tech/activities/deaths/social structures.  The overall feel was more like they were playing war with decks of cards, if that makes any sense and the deaths mostly lacked emotional impact.  A bit more pacing in the weirdness would have done wonders.I liked it, but probably won't read further.  And, avoid like the plague if you're the type of reader who doesn't like to be dumped in the midst of a complex setup with little explanation and background.  This one does that in spades, on purpose.4.5 for writing and cleverness.  3 for enjoyment.

### ⭐⭐⭐ 3.0 out of 5 stars







  
  
    Not for me
  

*by S***N on Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2024*

The story was good and intriguing. However, the terminology of many odd words which threw me off more often than I can count. It wasn’t the only thing that made this book undesirable for me is the subplots…they become holes when the author doesn’t fill them before moving on to the main story. Like I said, this is just not for me.

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*Product available on Desertcart Vanuatu*
*Store origin: VU*
*Last updated: 2026-02-22*