Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee. Starting Mar 2. Let me know if you continue with the series and we'll make a folder for it.

I am in for this one!

sounds interesting but probably will not manage

Starting!

6% in. This is a strange world where math and religion and military seem as one.

27% in. Ok, starting to get into this. Took awhile to acclimate, about 80% there...

38% in. "That skullfucking idiot killed all her soldiers because she had to show off her special toy,” Jedao said savagely."
Creative cursing.

I will be starting today! Late! I think I took on too many BR's hahahaha~

62% in and the story has fully sucked me in.

Lena wrote: "62% in and the story has fully sucked me in."

I am just three chapters in and it has already piqued my interest more than some of my other current reads (I am looking at you Anathem - but that could just be the page count).

83% in. I thought I knew what was going on, that may be a stretch lol, but things have just taken a turn. I wish I could stay up all night...

Lena wrote: "83% in. I thought I knew what was going on, that may be a stretch lol, but things have just taken a turn. I wish I could stay up all night..."

I am only at 13% in. I am at work already, waiting for lunch break so I can get some reading done! Lol.

Good plan.

Lena wrote: "Good plan."

My ebook doesn't have a glossary ~_~ but I found this Hexarchate Faction Cheat Sheet from the author's website: http://www.yoonhalee.com/?p=836 because I was getting a bit muddled up with the factions! Haha... still early on in the book atm.

Nice! Thanks for sharing.

Lena wrote: "Nice! Thanks for sharing."

If you explore the site more there is also a faction sorting quiz and some fanart of Cheris & Jedao and a whole bucketload of shorter fiction! Like wowwwww~

Is this a sign?:

Recommendations
Because you shelved Children of Time:
Ninefox Gambit (The Machineries of Empire #1)
Ninefox Gambit (The Machineries of Empire #1)
by Yoon Ha Lee
3.89 avg. rating
The first installment of the trilogy, Ninefox Gambit, centers on disgraced captain Kel Cheris, who must recapture the formidable Fortress of Scattered Needles in order to red…

🤔 I think so.

Go for it Iain!! I am liking it so far! Also I am finding myself in the slow reader pool here. Lol.

Have fun with this book, IT IS AWESOME.
Also one of those show-don't-tell best examples.

I'm going to add this when I find the time...

Just finished!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Lena wrote: "Just finished!
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show..."

I finished yesterday! Wow I want to read the next one! And the third is out in June! I will be pre-ordering the ebook! Anyone going to read the second one? I think I will be going at it next month same time (too much going on now) - which will put the third book just nicely placed on release day.

I also did the faction sorting quiz: http://www.solarisbooks.com/post/2065

And I got Andan - whaaat...

Was interesting getting my head around the way math seemed to be enmeshed in everything... and calling (view spoiler)[democracy (hide spoiler)] a heresy was whoosh! Formation instinct though - wow. Kept wanting to go back and re-read too thinking "what did i miss? what did i miss?"

And there are so many shorter stories set in the hexarchate universe also - any plans to read them? I am probably going to go through them slowly before getting to Raven Stratagem.

I finally found time to start this... I dunno when I will have time for the short stories... my months are just too packed with other books at the moment... after this I have 3 new releases and 3 buddy reads the rest of this week...

Only read chapter 1 so far and this is very interwsting... even if I don't understand half of what they are doing with math and the weather yet...

Math religion sounds strict... if disproving a matjematical theorem is heretical... science/math is built on paradigm shifts as understanding grows...

My comments on heresy seem ill-founded, now that I'm 40% in... (view spoiler)[ the part where Jedow has Chariss hold her necklace then seems(?) to go into a psychotic break with multiple temporal personalities from throughout his life... (hide spoiler)]

Took me a little while to decipher what "Calindrical Rot" was on audio, but now I understand, but like many things in this book, I understand the words/theories more than the real world applications... (view spoiler)[ Like the Kaleidoscope Bomb... sounds cool... makes sense on paper, but how/why would it work in real life? (hide spoiler)]

Only thing I got so far about Calendar Heresy, is that I guess (view spoiler)[strict adherence is built into their technology as like a compliance threshold... (hide spoiler)]

The people that picked Chariss (view spoiler)[kind of remind me of the overseers from the Cube movies... (hide spoiler)]

Chariss's first meeting with Jedow kinda reminded me of (view spoiler)[ the opening scenes of the original Halo game when Master Chief is woken up and implanted with Cortana (hide spoiler)]

Lena wrote: "38% in. "That skullfucking idiot killed all her soldiers because she had to show off her special toy,” Jedao said savagely."
Creative cursing."

What did he say early on? Oh, for the love of the Fox and the Hound?

Sara J. wrote: "Lena wrote: "Nice! Thanks for sharing."

If you explore the site more there is also a faction sorting quiz and some fanart of Cheris & Jedao and a whole bucketload of shorter fiction! Like wowwwww~"

I took a look at the website... I don't think all the flash fiction is connected to the Machineries of Empire series... at least 5 are tho... according to the series page on here...

Edit: This page seems pretty official, and also links to your faction page and quiz: http://www.yoonhalee.com/?p=695

Did I just miss a detail listening to audio? (view spoiler)[ Were all the heretical communications directed at Leoj?... I just noticed that in the first communication after it was made clear that the Fortress of Scattered Needles is being held by the Heretical Leoj faction... (hide spoiler)]

I’m up for the next book next month. I want to know what happens!

Lena wrote: "I’m up for the next book next month. I want to know what happens!"

Yass! I'm in!

Iain wrote: "Did I just miss a detail listening to audio? [spoilers removed]"

It's (view spoiler)[spelled Liozh (Interesting - leoj was not how it sounded in my head.) - and yes held by heretics. I think I would've been one confused possum listening to this in audio book form. (hide spoiler)]

And that is the same link I was referring to when I mentioned the short stories/flash fiction (actually the default www.yoonhalee.com links to that also). Didn't think to include it!

Also (view spoiler)[Kaleidoscope Bomb - is one of many weird things in this book - I almost think it's partly reality altering in some ways - with all the maths involved it sort of makes sense - it's like bam this iteration equals this, and bam this iteration this! counter with this iteration - sparkle shower of reality altering dust rendered useless. Hmmm - I can see how some people call this fantasy in disguise now. Not a lot of hard science behind it is there. (hide spoiler)]

My spelling has gone out the window since I went full audio... I clicked on the menu at the top and it just showed me a ton of short stories, with little to tell me if they were connected or not... one of those links actually leads to a 3rd party forum, so there might still end up being tons of short stories... it sounds like they started out as an indie author and got picked up by a publishing house...

Iain wrote: "My spelling has gone out the window since I went full audio... I clicked on the menu at the top and it just showed me a ton of short stories, with little to tell me if they were connected or not......"

I found that out too when I went backwards on the older posts - seems quite prolific short story wise!

Looks like he spent 15 years writing short fiction and standalones, some of which are connected into the Hexarchate series renamed Machineries of Empire

Iain wrote: "Did I just miss a detail listening to audio? [spoilers removed]"

Yes when it starts with a list of animals to indicate the date in a kind of email format that’s the heretics Talking to each other.
Yours in Calendrical Heresy,
Lena

The only way I understood the tech was thinking about how our math is based on Base 10. We have ten fingers and this was our first way of counting so everything is based on that. So I believe it would be much harder to hack the software based on the advanced mathematics of a twelve fingered race.

Obviously the calendrical system is next level and somehow jacks into the people themselves and their rhythmic energies.

Or I could be completely wrong but that’s how I wrapped my head around it.

There's clearly some of your element to it, the way they were freaking out about the 5 ship squadron...

Oh dear god.

Starting, hoping i will be able to stick with it.

Sha wrote: "Oh dear god.

Starting, hoping i will be able to stick with it."

scary math talks?

I finally stopped wasting time on internet and started listening again... around 55-60%... I honestly don't know what to think about Jedao... (view spoiler)[ is he crazy or Machiavellian?... is he being framed/smeared?... I'm as confused as Cheris... (hide spoiler)]

Iain wrote: "Sha wrote: "Oh dear god.

Starting, hoping i will be able to stick with it."

scary math talks?"

Nah. Too much on plate

Ah...

@Lena: I just reached the 80% mark myself... see what you mean about things taking a turn... the mismatched gender pronouns add to the complexity... (view spoiler)[ with Cheris experiencing Jedao's memories as her/himself...

I haven't made it through all these memories yet, but does this make the heretics the good guys?... A lot of bad info is being revealed here... (hide spoiler)]

Iain wrote: "Ah...

@Lena: I just reached the 80% mark myself... see what you mean about things taking a turn... the mismatched gender pronouns add to the complexity ..."

Just chipping in... (view spoiler)["does this make the heretics the good guys" - I would say yes, it does - if by good guys you mean those that thought up democracy and allow for considerations of other POVs.

I too went a bit wonky with the gender pronouns there for bit.

This makes Cheris/Jedao a revolutionary I suppose. (hide spoiler)]

Yea... I finished the book a little while ago... (view spoiler)[Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely... and all that jazz...

I KNEW something would have to happen towards the end of the book to keep Cheris/Jedao together past the end of the book, unless this was going to be a setting rather than a connected story (like Culture by Iain M. Banks for example) (hide spoiler)]

I can't wait to read the next book next month either... glad I joined this...

Iain wrote: "Yea... I finished the book a little while ago... "

Yass. I can't wait to read it too - if I didn't have other books I would've jumped to the next one haha...

Is the second book added as a BR already or should we request?

Still needs requesting I think...

Iain wrote: "Still needs requesting I think..."

How is this done? The "Add this buddy read thread?" (haven't ever requested before)- who originally added this btw - Lena? Would anyone be interested to continue on to the third book? Or wait and see how the second book pans out first?

Second book is as good as the first one :D