YUn Li - Revenant Gun

Praise for Raven Stratagem

Lees ability to balance high science fiction conceptsworlds, cultures, and weaponswith a deep examination of charactertragic flaws, noble purpose, and societal ideasis nigh unprecedented in space opera.

The Barnes & Noble Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog

How do you follow-up a breathtaking, multiple award-nominated debut that combined world-changing technologies, interesting reality-altering mathematics and awesome characters? Raven Stratagem is as mind-blowing as its predecessor, but in a completely different way.

Kirkus Reviews

Without a doubt, Raven Stratagem is proof that Yoon Ha Lee sits next to Ann Leckie atop the podium for thoughtful, intricate, and completely human science fiction.

Tor.com

This stunning sequel to the Hugo- and Nebula-nominated Ninefox Gambit contains a satisfying mixture of interstellar battles, politics, intrigue, and arcane technology Readers who dont mind being dropped in the deep end will savor this brilliantly imagined tale.

Publishers Weekly Starred Review

Lee has leveraged the adage that any seemingly advanced science can look like magic to create truly bizarre technologies; while there is plenty of gripping space opera action, the real pleasure of this series is the inventive worldbuilding.

Library Journal Starred Review

Raven is a triumphant continuation of a vibrant new space opera. I expected intrigue and entertainment; I wasnt prepared for all the feelings. I cant wait to see where Yoon Ha Lee takes this rollercoaster next.

The Speculative Herald

If you like your universes with a dark sense of humour and a wonky moral compass, Lee may be the best thing to happen to Space Opera since Bankss untimely passing.Raven Stratagem is that rare thinga sequel that betters the original. The ruling order is on its way out, and something is going to replace it. It could be freedom. It could be chaos. It could be a disaster. What could be more timely?

Shoreline of Infinity

Last year, I read and loved a stunning military space opera. This year, I had the pleasure of reading the sequel, Raven Stratagem, and may have loved it even more. I really hope Lee chooses to write more. This series has been one of the best things to happen in science fiction, and I cant recommend it enough.

The Illustrated Page

The book works as a kind of puzzle [and] like the best puzzles, there is a certain inevitable logic to how the whole thing plays out, both against and with our expectations. I for one cant wait to see the final scenario.

Strange Horizons

Theres grand space battles here. Theres political manoeuvring at the heart of the Empire, and some genuinely crackling dialogue. Theres characters baring their souls in genuinely moving moments. It makes for an absolutely cracking read.

Sci-Fi and Fantasy Reviews

Praise for Ninefox Gambit

The story is dense, the pace intense, and the delicate East Asian flavoring of the math-rich setting might make it seem utterly alien to many readersyet metaphors for our own world abound. Readers willing to invest in a steep learning curve will be rewarded with a tight-woven, complicated but not convoluted, breathtakingly original space opera. And since this is only the first book of the Machineries of Empire trilogy, its the start of what looks to be a wild ride.

N. K. Jemisin, The New York Times

I love Yoons work! Ninefox Gambit is solidly and satisfyingly full of battles and political intrigue, in a beautifully built far-future that manages to be human and alien at the same time. It should be a treat for readers already familiar with Yoons excellent short fiction, and an extra treat for readers finding Yoons work for the first time.

Ann Leckie

Cheris and Jedao are fascinating, multi-faceted entities, filled with contradictions and idiosyncrasies; Lees prose is clever and opulently detailed; the worldbuilding is jaw-droppingly good. Like the many-eyed Shuos, the book appears to delight in its own game, a tangle of plots and subplots. It almost seems content to never be deciphered, but if you persist, youre in for a fantastic story. Lees novel is a brilliant way to begin a trilogy.

Ars Technica

Yoon Ha Lee recasts Korean legend in a densely rendered, high-tech future universe, with intricate worldbuilding.

The Guardian

Rather than aping the generic clipped-and-grim style so often employed by other, less talented writers, Lee leans in the other direction, finding a sumptuous beauty in physical moments and complexity in thought and motivation. Ninefox is a book with math in its heart, but also one which understands that even numbers can lie. That its what you see in the numbers that matters most. And that something maybe all things begun with the best, truest of intentions can go terribly wrong once the gears of reality begin to churn.

NPR

Beautiful, brutal and full of the kind of off-hand inventiveness that the best SF trades in, Ninefox Gambit is an effortlessly accomplished SF novel. Yoon Ha Lee has arrived in spectacular fashion.

Alastair Reynolds

Starship Troopers meets Apocalypse Nowand theyve put Kurtz in charge... Mind-blistering military space opera, but with a density of ideas and strangeness that recalls the works of Hannu Rajaniemi, even Cordwainer Smith. An unmissable debut.

Stephen Baxter

For those itching for dense worldbuilding, a riproaring plot, complex relationships, and military SF with a deep imagination, itll do just the trick. Lees already shown he has the chops for short fiction, and now Ninefox Gambit proves that hes a novelist to watch out for. This is military SF with blood, guts, math, and heart.

Tor.com

You know whats going on, right? Ninefox Gambit asks. Often, you have to say, Uh, yeah, of course, when the real answer is I have no idea, but I really, really care. And then you keep reading.

Strange Horizons

For sixteen years Yoon Ha Lee has been the shadow general of science fiction, the calculating tactician behind victory after victory. Now he launches his great manoeuvre. Origami elegant, fox-sly, defiantly and ferociously new, this book will burn your brain. Axiomatically brilliant. Heretically good.

Seth Dickinson

A high-octane ride through an endlessly inventive world, where calendars are weapons of war and dead soldiers can assist the living. Bold, fearlessly innovative and just a bit brutal, this is a book that deserves to be on every awards list.

Aliette de Bodard

Ambitious. Confusing. Enthralling. Brilliant. These are the words I will use to describe Yoon Ha Lees utterly immersive, utterly memorable novel. I had heard very high praise for Lees short fictionstill, even with those moderate expectations I had no idea what I was in for. I havent felt this blown away by a novels originality since Ancillary Justice. And, since Im being completely honest, Ninefox Gambit is actually more inventive, boundary-breaking, and ambitious than that.

The Book Smugglers

Cheris world feels genuinely alien, with thrillingly unfamiliar social structures and technologies, and the attention to detail is simply stunning. Just dont ever let your concentration slip, or theres a good chance that you will miss something wonderful.