Hexarchate Stories

Machineries of Empire

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Pub Date 25 Jun 2019 | Archive Date 02 Jul 2019
Rebellion, Solaris

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Description

From New York Times best-selling author Yoon Ha Lee! The essential short story collection set in the universe of the Hugo Award nominated Machineries of Empire series!

An ex-Kel art thief has to save the world from a galaxy-shattering prototype weapon...

A general outnumbered eight-to-one must outsmart his opponent...

A renegade returns from seclusion to bury an old comrade...

From the incredible imagination of Hugo- and Arthur C. Clarke-nominated author Yoon Ha Lee comes a collection of stories set in the world of the best-selling Ninefox Gambit. Showcasing Lee’s extraordinary imagination, this collection takes you to the very beginnings of the hexarchate’s history and reveals new never-before-seen stories.

From New York Times best-selling author Yoon Ha Lee! The essential short story collection set in the universe of the Hugo Award nominated Machineries of Empire series!

An ex-Kel art thief has to save...


Advance Praise

PRAISE FOR MACHINERIES OF EMPIRE SERIES: 

‘Breathtakingly original space opera.’
 N. K. Jemisin, New York Times

‘I love Yoon’s work! Full of battles and political intrigue, in a beautifully built far-future that manages to be human and alien at the same time.’
Ann Leckie

“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

“Stunning.”
 Publishers Weekly

“Triumphant.”
 The Speculative Herald


PRAISE FOR MACHINERIES OF EMPIRE SERIES: 

‘Breathtakingly original space opera.’
 N. K. Jemisin, New York Times

‘I love Yoon’s work! Full of battles and political intrigue, in a beautifully built...


Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9781781085646
PRICE $11.99 (USD)
PAGES 400

Average rating from 60 members


Featured Reviews

Hexarchate Stories is an anthology of stories written by Yoon Ha Lee in his "Machineries of Empire" (Ninefox Gambit, Raven Stratagem, Revenant Gun) universe. Most of the stories have been previously published, with the exception of three, with much of the previously published material being openly available on the web. Most of these stories are tiny snippets of life in the universe of Lee's trilogy, featuring generally one of his two most prominent characters - Jedao or Cheris, and will be of little interest to anyone who isn't already very invested in the trilogy. So if you're looking for an anthology full of stand-alone stories in this universe, you will be mostly disappointed.

There are five exceptions to this really, three of which were again already published and two of which are already award nominated (The Battle of Candle Arc and Extracurricular Activities), but the fourth is what fans of the trilogy will really be coming to this anthology for - a brand new novella named "Glass Cannon" that serves as a sequel to Revenant Gun. It's a blast and will have any big fans of the trilogy eager for more (which I don't think is coming anytime soon, so don't get too excited!)

Spoilers for the trilogy after the Jump, so if you're still waiting on reading the books, don't read further:

I'm not going to bother with a plot summary for this anthology as it wouldn't really make sense. Hexarchate Stories can basically be broken down into four categories of stories:

1. Snippets, often as short as one page, about a faction or another in this world. These are fine and usually amusing.

2. Snippets, usually just a few pages long, about short times of life in the various characters of this world, usually dealing with Jedao or Cheris or people around them. These range from cute stories about the time child Jedao was looking for his sister's cat only to find his brother's M-M porn and find attraction to one short almost full on pornographic snippet of an in-service Jedao visiting a sex worker who knows Jedao's tastes. Again, they're generally fine and often cute but they're not really short stories that stand on their own at all.

3. Novelettes that are stand-alone stories in this universe: The Chameleon's Gloves, Extracurricular Activities, The Battle of Candle Arc, and Gamer's End. I'd read all but The Chameleon's Gloves already (Candle Arc and Extracurricular activities are available for free online, the other two were first published in other anthologies, one of which I'd happened to have read).

These are all very good and if you haven't had a chance to read them, getting another chance here is all for the better. I have no idea how "Gamer's End" is supposed to work with the chronology, but honestly it doesn't matter for the story to work. The other three stories feature one that shows how the Kel worked before becoming merely a faction of the Heptarchate and two that feature prominent battles/adventures of Jedao's life that were referenced in the main trilogy.

4. Glass Cannon, the sequel novella to Revenant Gun. Quick little summary: Jedao2 breaks out of The Citadel of Eyes and seeks out Cheris in order to try and regain his full memories, and he and Cheris wind up again on the run after she agrees to help.

Obviously a lot more than that happens, with the novella (which takes up half of the anthologies page count) following up on one specific major plot thread from the last book - namely Jedao2's status as a mothlike-being and the sentience of the moths. It's generally a strong novella, although this version of Cheris, after two years of living at peace in the Mwennin community, is a lot more passive and manipulative or even brilliant than I was used to, which didn't make too much sense to me. Other than that flaw, the novella crescendos to a strong climax and ending that made me desperately want more - hell, it almost begs for a new trilogy. Pretty sure we won't be getting one of those though alas. Still Glass Cannon probably makes this anthology worth getting on its lonesome, at least for those who absolutely loved the trilogy. If you didn't of course, this won't change your mind.

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Warning, the following review will contain heavy spoilers for the main trilogy and readers are highly recommended to read the main trilogy before reading this review or the discussed collection.

For fans of Yoon Ha Lee's The Machineries of the Empire trilogy, this short story collection is a must read. Featuring snippets of flash fiction that give insight into the Hexarchate's inner workings, small fluff bits describing Jedao Cheris' childhoods, one memorable 1K word fic on Jedao's uniform kink, and two Jedao-centric novellas "The Battle of Candle Arc" and "Glass Cannon", Hexarchate Stories works as an excellent accompaniment to supplement to main trilogy.

About half of these stories center around Jedao and his life pre-Black Cradle. We get short snippets of this childhood living on a goose farm and more insight in into his mother, younger sister, and older brother. We also get several shorts of his life during the Shuos Academy (with not enough Ruo) and his early military career. These shorts do a fantastic job painting Jedao as a tragic figure who never really got to mature past the age of 17 before vowing revenge on the Hexarchate for Ruo's death. As a reader who was fascinated by Jedao and wished we got to see more of his life, these stories more than satisfied me.

We also get a fair bit of Cheris's childhood, making friends servitors on the beach and "teaching" them math, then joining the Kel Academy. It's nice to see more of her childhood and her backstory, something I thought we didn't get quite enough of in the main series. I was hoping Mikodez would ge a short or two (maybe possibly even featuring Istradez), but alas, I supposed I can't have everything I want.

Many of the shorts in this series have been published online or in print prior to this publication, like "Battle of Candle Arc" and "Extracurricular Activities" and I have a faint recollection of reading several of the flash fiction stories on the author's website way back when. However, the last short "Glass Cannon" is a completely new piece that acts as a direct continuation of the main trilogy. I don't want to spoil anything, but for anyone who thought there wasn't nearly enough Jedao/Cheris interaction at the end of Revenant Gun, you will love this short. It also likely sets up for a brand new conflict and, if I'm reading the ending right, an entirely new series!

Overall, I rate this collection a 5/5. Machines of the Empire fans will adore this collection and for those that haven't started, you're surely missing out!

Review will be posted to my blog on 14 June 2019

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Like nothing I've ever read before, very interesting and challenging. Highly recommended and I'll check out his other novels. The author has a very unique voice and the subject material although science fiction really makes the reader consider multiple viewpoints.

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Note: this review contains spoilers for the Machineries of Empire trilogy (Ninefox Gambit, Raven Strategem, Revenant Gun). Read no further if you haven't finished those, and don't start these stories until you have!

Almost five years on from publication, Ninefox Gambit remains my favorite science fiction book of the 2010s, and one of the most original in both premise and style. In this short story collection, Yoon Ha Lee continues to give us more of what he's best at--rich, technical prose that takes abstract concepts and seemingly dry ideas and turns them into moving, thoughtful stories. The short story format lets his talent for scenes shine; "How the Andan Court" and "Seven Views of the Liozh Entrance Exam" are basically nothing but, small vignettes full of striking visualizations. In more plotty terms, several of the stories give us some much-appreciated background on the infamous Shuos Jedao, filling out his past in ways that are both entirely consistent with the moments of vulnerability scattered through the main trilogy and yet still surprising in their intimacy. The flashbacks induced by Ninefox Gambit's carrion glass were an arresting finale to that book, and many of these stories have the same quality despite one major difference: none of them give us the first-personal intimacy of those moments. Choosing to show Jedao through the eyes of others, except in tiny flashes, is one of the stylistic choices I admired about the main trilogy, and it's executed strikingly well here. By refusing to let us see what's in his head until it's too late, Yoon Ha Lee is able to maintain the audience's suspense while ultimately still delivering the emotional insight we crave. "Silence" in particular does this to heartbreaking effect. We all know what Jedao will become, but it is heartbreaking to see it through the eyes of someone who didn't. "Gamer's End," for me the best story in the collection, also makes use of Jedao in much the same way as Ninefox Gambit did; as a terrifying foil to a more idealistic protagonist. Second-person allows the author to bring out the presence and physicality of his world, immersing the reader in the imagery and concepts-made-images that make his writing such a powerful experience.

I'm devoting a separate section to "Glass Cannon" because of its length and its role as a quasi-sequel, carrying on the main storyline. Its high points--the re-use of the carrion glass, and Cheris's struggle to accept the younger Jedao given what she knows of who he is in full--are comparable to the best of the main trilogy. Yoon Ha Lee leans into the viscerality of his world in a way he rarely does there, and while it sometimes feels gratuitous, it is mostly effective. However, the follow-up per se, and the decision to extend the world into moth-space, does not entirely work for me. This choice was one of the less satisfying parts of Revenant Gun for me; the issue of moth sentience tracked well with the rest of the trilogy, but making Jedao specifically a moth seemed a bit of a complication there that detracted from the already-complex character and issues he faced. Here, those challenges are exacerbated by the decision to remove Cheris from her satisfying return to a simpler life and to end on another cliffhanger. I won't complain about more work set in this universe, especially if it continues to show us the challenges of sacrifice and following one's mission in the way these stories have. However, I can't help but wonder if moving on to newer characters, as was done in most of the stories, rather than focusing on Jedao as a viewpoint character, would have better served the conclusiveness of the trilogy.

Overall takeaway: 4.5/5 for the short stories, 3/5 for Glass Cannon (4/5 if considering only the prose and self-contained story, but lowered somewhat by its role as a sequel to that which didn't need one). A wonderful experience for fans of Yoon Ha Lee, and a great example of what makes his work so captivating, but overshadowed by the completeness of the Machineries of Empire.

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