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The Raven Stratagem
The Raven Stratagem
The Raven Stratagem
Audiobook13 hours

The Raven Stratagem

Written by Yoon Ha Lee

Narrated by Emily Woo Zeller

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

4/5

()

About this audiobook

Captain Kel Cheris is possessed by a long-dead traitor general. Together they must face the rivalries of the hexarchate and a potentially devastating invasion. When the hexarchate's gifted young captain Kel Cheris summoned the ghost of the long-dead General Shuos Jedao to help her put down a rebellion, she didn't reckon on his breaking free of centuries of imprisonment - and possessing her. Even worse, the enemy Hafn are invading, and Jedao takes over General Kel Khiruev's fleet, which was tasked with stopping them. Only one of Khiruev's subordinates, Lieutenant Colonel Kel Brezan, seems to be able to resist the influence of the brilliant but psychotic Jedao. Jedao claims to be interested in defending the hexarchate, but can Khiruev or Brezan trust him? For that matter, will the hexarchate's masters wipe out the entire fleet to destroy the rogue general?
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJun 13, 2017
ISBN9781501955884
The Raven Stratagem

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Reviews for The Raven Stratagem

Rating: 4.1959999184 out of 5 stars
4/5

250 ratings15 reviews

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  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Daaaahhhhm but this was good! Yoon Ha Lee deserves all the awards. This is what space opera was meant to be: intelligent, underhanded, ruthless, and above all, EXCITING.

    My SciFi people, it is Calendrical Heresy for you not to read these books. If you’re not buddy reading Revenant Gun with me on June 12 I’m turning you into the Vidona.

    ‘Nuff said.

    1 person found this helpful

  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    It was still very enjoyable, but the Cheris/Jedao sessions were probably my least favorite this time. Maybe it was Khiruev's POV, but I found most of it pretty boring. The space battles were cool, just that particular brand of philosophizing.

    Mikodez was great, awesome, amazing. He was definitely the best part of this book, absolutely made up for the lack of "Yours in calendrical heresy" notes.

    And it's not too surprising considering the author, but I love the way that everybody deals with gender here. It's so refreshing.

    I have no idea what's going to come next (Kujen?), but I'm looking forward to it!
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I was disappointed on how much description where in this book, I felt like more things could have been left untold to be more enjoyable, but by the end, for some crazy things to happen, you'd need to know the context, so I'm happy with what we got.

    Definitely amazing
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I spent a large chunk of this book missing Cheris even though I could tell that she was right there. Beyond that hard to review this book in particular given that I finished it and started the next straight away so they blur a bit together....
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Our story begins where Ninefox Gambit left off: The mad revenant, Shuos Jedao, has seized control of the body of Captain Kel Cheris, and gone on to seize command of General Khiruev's swarm, relying on formation instinct and the fact that Kel Command is far away. He quickly offloads everyone who can't be controlled by formation instinct--the non-Kel, and Lt. Colonel Kel Brezen, who is a crashhawk, one of the rare Kel in whom formation instinct didn't take.

    Jedao proceeds to do seemingly exactly what Kel Command would want him to do: defend the hexarchate against the Hafn invasion. Khiruev has, at least in theory, two problems. The first iw whether Jedao can really be trusted to defend the hexarchate as he seems to intend. The other is whether Kel Command can be trusted to let them do it, or will instead sacrifice the entire swarm to eliminate the problem of Shuos Jedao.

    Meanwhile, Lt. Col. Brezen finds his way back to Kel Command and is sent out on a new mission: Promoted to High General, and sent out with an agent of yet another faction, able to enthrall the opposite sex, with the goal of taking back the swarm from Jedao--but not till after he's defeated the Hafn, if that's really what he's doing.

    The question is, what is Jedao really up to?

    This isn't just a great follow-up to Ninefox Gambit. It's a better, stronger, and at the same time more accessible book.

    Highly recommended.

    I bought this audiobook.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    if anything this is better than the first book in this trilogy, Ninefox Gambit - looser, more character-driven, bigger payoff, though it can't fully claim the power of those big-picture mathematical metaphors when laid out for the first time. marvelous stuff, as good as Ann Leckie (high praise), claiming the same general territory as Iain Banks, and even occupying something in the neighbourhood of Ursula K LeGuin's point of view. highly recommended.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I don't know what to say about this book that won't give away the big turnabout that Lee unleashes in the process only to say that the composite of Shuos Jedao and Kel Cheris starts this book still fighting for the Hexarchte against an enemy that, in their own way, is worse than the Hexarchate and that much of the story is told through the eyes of several Kel officers who have to figure out just where they stand in relation to this whole situation.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    I'm a latecomer to the work of Yoon Ha Lee and didn't really know that "Raven Stratagem" is Machineries of Empire book 2. While I was reading I didn't even notice any gaps, I thought it was Mr. Lee's writing style that asked me to reach for understanding.As probably everyone but me knows, Yoon Ha Lee is a whiz of a writer who is up for a Nebula for "Revenant Gun" the third of the Machineries of Empire series. I liked Raven Stratagem and I have hunted up a copy of book 1 "Ninefox Gambit" (GREAT TITLE) and got a copy of "Revenant Gun" from NetGalley that I will read this week.You should read this series because the writing is of a high quality, the world building is super good, and the stories Mr. Lee tells are gripping.I received a review copy of "Raven Stratagem" by Yoon Ha Lee (Rebellion/Solaris) through NetGalley.com.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book starts immediately after the first one - Nine Fox Gambit- and it is awesome. In some ways, much better than the first book. Here we have Shuos Jedao took command of a Kel ship and due to Kel Command Instinct, there isn't anything the Kel can do about it. Than there is Cheris, the person who Jedao has attached himself to. Where does she sit in all this mess, and what is her game. At times, I had to refer to the first book, confirming what I know to be true, Yoon Ha Lee managed to keep me guessing til the very end. Than we have the Shuos Leader, who is playing his own game, and nobody knows exactly what.Of course, you should probably read the first book before coming to this one. Well written, an interesting science, and something that is completely new in the space opera world.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Raven Stratagem was a great follow up to Ninefox Gambit. It was definitely less confusing and the world was much easier to understand. There wasn't as much mathematics involved and there was more politics. We also were introduced to new characters and didn't get a POV from Jedao/Cheris. I really enjoyed the new POVs. There were fresh, and had a new perspective on what was happening in the hexarchate. We got to know them and be in their heads, and each voice was unique. I really enjoyed the plot of this second book. It jumps right in with the Hafn, and calendrical heresay. It was complex, yet easy to follow, and because the world was established in the first novel, there wasn't as much info dumping needed. We definitely got some more specifics and learned some new things because of the new perspectives though. Overall, I really enjoyed this. It was well written and I enjoyed the military/political side of it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    It's funny. I could blink and wave my hands and say 'yeah, great sequel. Pacing is a bit off, but it's entertaining. The Shuos amuse me'. Or I could take a deep breath and start talking about themes, but then I'd give in to the floods of feelings that would wash me away.As with Ninefox Gambit, Yoon Ha Lee has done something special, wrapped in layer upon layer of distraction. While there's plenty of meditation on the mechanisms of politics and control, this is an unabashed call to examine your choices and fight for your beliefs, whatever the cost - and to believe that the world can be better. If humanity chooses to make it so and stands firm in the face of overwhelming opposition. Full reviewI received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I was so excited to see this book on the shelves at the library. Ninefox Gambit was so challenging and and original and I'd grown to love Cheris and sympathize with Jedao, and was fully invested in seeing the hexarchate go down.

    Then volume two opened and Cheris was... gone? Subsumed by Jedao? I was so concerned I had to go back to Ninefox and reread most of the last several chapters, concerned I'd misunderstood or misremembered something. Not knowing how much (if any) of Cheris remained weakened my connection to Raven Strategem at first, but as I read I got more interested in Mikodez, and was swept along with the new story.

    I appreciated the additional glimpses into the history of this universe. I am hoping that the next volume with give more insight on Kujen, who remains somewhat mysterious.

    What's with me getting sucked into all the series lately?
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    This series is so bonkers and I love it so much. Two books in and I still feel like I'm not 100% sure what is happening about 40% of the time - but I am 150% along for the ride! Cannot wait to see how the author continues to blow my mind.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    In the Hexarchate, exotic weapons and powers work because of the calendar, which is maintained through careful manipulation including ritual torture and sacrifice. The mad general Jedao has returned to take over a fleet while the Hexarchs seek immortality and the alien Hafn invade, and that’s just the start. I like Lee’s worldbuilding the more I get of it, because there’s a lot to understand. This volume includes a lot of game-changers; I hope we find out what happens next.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Last year, I read and loved Ninefox Gambit, a stunning military space opera. This year, I had the pleasure of reading the sequel, Raven Stratagem, and may have loved it even more than the first book. I highly encourage you to read these books, but they need to be read in order. If you haven’t read Ninefox Gambit, you may want to skip the rest of this review, since I’ll be mentioning spoilers from the first book.General Kel Khiruev is leading a fleet to stop the advance of a neighboring enemy, the Hafn, when she loses control of her own fleet to Shuos Jedao. She and all of her officers are frozen, unable to resist due to programmed obedience to authority… except for Lieutenant Colonel Kel Brezan, who suddenly discovers he’s a crashhawk. Can either of them trust Jedao? And if not, is either capable of regaining control of the fleet?If you’re anything like me, one of the major reasons to read Raven Stratagem is to find out what the heck happened with Cheris/Jedao at the end of the last book. I’d been imagining the situation as similar to a fusion from Steven Universe — two characters mushed together to form someone new. As it turns out, this isn’t a question that gets answered immediately. Instead, it’s something you’re left wondering about for the entire book. Jedao appears to be the only one left, with nothing remaining of Cheris. But is this a truth, or just another trick?Since Raven Stratagem isn’t told from the point of view of either Cheris or Jedao, the reader is left wondering alongside the other characters. Raven Stratagem contains a number of different POV characters, but the three most prominent are Brezan, Khiruev, and Mikodez. Mikodez, the head of the Shuos, has a few POV sections in the first book, but gains more focus here. Khiruev and Brezan have been relying on formation instinct their entire lives as Kels. Now Khiruev struggles against it to resist Jedao, and Brezan is facing a new life as a crashhawk (someone immune to formation instinct). He’s also been jettisoned from the fleet by Jedao and is desperately attempting to warn the Hexarchate of what has happened.Speaking of the Hexarchate, we get a broader view of it here in Raven Stratagem. Lee expands the world building in so many interesting ways, and brings in outside cultures through the hostile interactions with the Hafn forces. I feel like he’s imagining science fiction in new ways. He can make the machinery of war and space travel appear beautiful, such as when he describes a spaceship looking as if it was made of lace. At the same time, his inventions can be disturbingly creepy, such as what our heroes discover when they break open the Hafn scouting ships.I also love how many queer characters there are in the cast. Actually, as far as I know, the entire cast is queer. There’s a number of trans characters, most notably Brezan. Mikodez is ace, which initially made me wary because I thought he could be playing into some tropes. However, I ended up being fine with it because I realized it’s more that Mikodez likes people to think he’s a heartless sociopath more than he actually is a heartless sociopath.The ending left me wondering if they’ll be more books. I think there can be, but this is more of a stopping point than the cliffhanger of Ninefox Gambit. Regardless, I really hope Lee chooses to write more. This series has been one of the best things to happen in science fiction, and I can’t recommend it enough.I received an ARC of Raven Stratagem in exchange for a free and honest review.Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.