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Revenant Gun
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Revenant Gun by Yoon Ha Lee
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Rachel wrote: "Amazon reports that Revenant Gun has shipped! "
My copy arrived about 9pm last night (just after midnight US EDST.) I was reading Yoon Ha Lee's Extracurricular Activities at the time (adventures of Jedao when he was younger. Think of it as Midshipman Hornblower with exotic weapons :)
My copy arrived about 9pm last night (just after midnight US EDST.) I was reading Yoon Ha Lee's Extracurricular Activities at the time (adventures of Jedao when he was younger. Think of it as Midshipman Hornblower with exotic weapons :)
16% in and it is as excellent as ever.
Interesting.... 3 PoVs so far: Jedao, Brezan, and a new character, a servitor (serpentform) named Hemiola. Getting into it after vaguely remember who all these people are (were.)
9 years?
9 years?
I didn't have a chance to read much yesterday, so still just at 25%. So far Lee seems to be setting the pieces on the board for a Kujen/Jedao vs Cheris//Jedao, with Brezan fitting in someplace.
How are others progressing?
How are others progressing?
Trying for a chapter a night while also trying to finish Diamond Age. So only into ch. 3 but can start to see the pattern
I have 15 minutes left according to my Kindle. I really liked it so far but I have many questions.I liked that we still get lots of worldbuilding in the last book e.g. mothships, servitor's enclave and so on.
There is a reveal in a later chapter that I did not expect.
Silvana wrote: "I liked that we still get lots of worldbuilding in the last book e.g. mothships,..."
I liked the concept of "Suicide Calligraphers,” a sort of future-tech update to a rare, pacifist form of protest.
I liked the concept of "Suicide Calligraphers,” a sort of future-tech update to a rare, pacifist form of protest.
A little odd having two plot threads with a character called Jedao. Have to keep remembering which Jedao I'm reading about.
They were so different though. I finished already and found myself rather disappointed with the new Jedao. I wish we had more of the other Jedao instead. His POV would be so much more interesting.
Interesting reveal in Chapter 22. (view spoiler) I suppose more accurately it's an explanation of a previous reveal (view spoiler)
I went back last night, re-downloaded & re-read a chunk of Ninefox Gambit to check my impressions from early on. Ninefox Gambit's opening is a lot easier to read the 2nd time, when all the strange jargon actually makes sense (sort of.)
I went back last night, re-downloaded & re-read a chunk of Ninefox Gambit to check my impressions from early on. Ninefox Gambit's opening is a lot easier to read the 2nd time, when all the strange jargon actually makes sense (sort of.)
Just finished reading this book and overall I think I'm a little disappointed. The characters: Brezan isn't very interesting, and we don't get much information about the new government compared to the old one - they don't torture people, that's good, but how are they doing overall? At one point Danneth says he thinks there is no difference in the successor states, if he really believes that, I'd say the revolution has failed. Inesser: She's not a typical Kel, I like that. Would have liked to know a little more of her.
Mikodez: Still fascinating.
Hemiola: A great new character. Learning about the world, making choices, I enjoyed this storyline.
Kujen: HIs back story was tedious and unconvincing. I felt like the author was trying to give us some sympathy with him but it didn't work. His turn to the dark side seems even more sudden and inexplicable than Anakin's.
New Jedao: An interesting concept. Switch around the personality a little, reduce the superpowers. I was disappointed though that at the end he needed help to complete his plan; it would have been one thing for him to run into a problem through overlooking something or his opponent being clever. But a stupid error like this? It really seemed like something the author had pointlessly thrown in to add another fifty pages to the book.
Good points there. I'd love to have more Mikodez and Inneser too. Kujen was unconvincing at best. Not really a good villain.
Jumana wrote: "we don't get much information about the new government compared to the old one - they don't torture people, that's good, but how are they doing overall? At one point Danneth says he thinks there is no difference in the successor states, if he really believes that, I'd say the revolution has failed. ..."
We don't know a lot about the Compact other than it removes a lot of the abuses of the old hexarchate, using the calendar that Cheris devised in Raven Stratagem. In particular that removed Formation Instinct, so the Kel aren't brainwashed; the blood sacrifices of the Observances; and the execution of "heretics". It doesn't seem to have changed the society of factions (except the Vidona seem obsolete in a heresy-free calendar.)
I'm a Nerai myself, so I don't worry about such things. :)
Jumana wrote: "New Jedao: .... I was disappointed though that at the end he needed help to complete his plan; it would have been one thing for him to run into a problem through overlooking something or his opponent being clever. ..."
I was pretty sure as the plot unfolded that it was going to take a combo of New-Jedao & Cheris to complete the mission. In Ninefox Gambit it's established Cheris is a math prodigy, able to improvise new exotics on the fly as a Kel Captain, and that was one of the reasons she was selected to host Jedao, who couldn't balance his own checkbook (or peruse a blockchain, or whatever is the basis of Hexarchate Economics.) In a normal engagement, Jedao would leave the math to his subordinates (or, when in Cheris's head, to her), but since he's trying to sneak in treason under the radar, he had to do the math himself. I thought that worked well if a little too pat.
I think Kujen as arch-villain was an attempt to make Jedao a little less evil, but that leaves the problem of Kujen being pure evil instead. So, yeah.
We don't know a lot about the Compact other than it removes a lot of the abuses of the old hexarchate, using the calendar that Cheris devised in Raven Stratagem. In particular that removed Formation Instinct, so the Kel aren't brainwashed; the blood sacrifices of the Observances; and the execution of "heretics". It doesn't seem to have changed the society of factions (except the Vidona seem obsolete in a heresy-free calendar.)
I'm a Nerai myself, so I don't worry about such things. :)
Jumana wrote: "New Jedao: .... I was disappointed though that at the end he needed help to complete his plan; it would have been one thing for him to run into a problem through overlooking something or his opponent being clever. ..."
I was pretty sure as the plot unfolded that it was going to take a combo of New-Jedao & Cheris to complete the mission. In Ninefox Gambit it's established Cheris is a math prodigy, able to improvise new exotics on the fly as a Kel Captain, and that was one of the reasons she was selected to host Jedao, who couldn't balance his own checkbook (or peruse a blockchain, or whatever is the basis of Hexarchate Economics.) In a normal engagement, Jedao would leave the math to his subordinates (or, when in Cheris's head, to her), but since he's trying to sneak in treason under the radar, he had to do the math himself. I thought that worked well if a little too pat.
I think Kujen as arch-villain was an attempt to make Jedao a little less evil, but that leaves the problem of Kujen being pure evil instead. So, yeah.
Interesting. I never saw Jedao - old and new - as a villain. why do you think Kujen did not use (view spoiler)
Silvana wrote: "Interesting. I never saw Jedao - old and new - as a villain. "
Well, he's certainly considered crazy-evil by pretty much everyone he meets in the trilogy, and it's why he was dumped in the black cradle, a weapon to be broken out only in extremis.
Is there another explanation for his action at Hellspin Fortress? He slaughtered a million people, including his own troops (and personally executed his command staff with his sidearm.) The assignment was just to capture a few escaped rebel leaders. Maybe just homicidal maniac means he's not evil, just crazy?
In Ninefox Gambit, when Jedao was inside Cheris's head, I kept hearing him as Anthony Hopkin's Hannibal Lector voice from Silence of the Lambs. Cheris, Clarice, close enough :)
Well, he's certainly considered crazy-evil by pretty much everyone he meets in the trilogy, and it's why he was dumped in the black cradle, a weapon to be broken out only in extremis.
Is there another explanation for his action at Hellspin Fortress? He slaughtered a million people, including his own troops (and personally executed his command staff with his sidearm.) The assignment was just to capture a few escaped rebel leaders. Maybe just homicidal maniac means he's not evil, just crazy?
In Ninefox Gambit, when Jedao was inside Cheris's head, I kept hearing him as Anthony Hopkin's Hannibal Lector voice from Silence of the Lambs. Cheris, Clarice, close enough :)
Read 3/4ths of the book in one setting and when I was done I wished there was more. I think the more straightforward plot of this book served it well.
Brendan wrote: "Read 3/4ths of the book in one setting and when I was done I wished there was more. I think the more straightforward plot of this book served it well."
I think it's true of most multi-volume series that as they get to the end they start converging on a simpler narrative. At some point the author has to stop creating convolutions & complications and start wrapping up those loose ends.
I liked, as Silvana mentioned earlier, that Lee still had some worldbuilding exposition to hit us with, especially with regards to the moths and the servitors. I was curious enough how much foreshadowing Lee had provided that I went back to Ninefox Gambit again.
I think it's true of most multi-volume series that as they get to the end they start converging on a simpler narrative. At some point the author has to stop creating convolutions & complications and start wrapping up those loose ends.
I liked, as Silvana mentioned earlier, that Lee still had some worldbuilding exposition to hit us with, especially with regards to the moths and the servitors. I was curious enough how much foreshadowing Lee had provided that I went back to Ninefox Gambit again.
Some final books can be lost focus as an author desperately tries to tie up every loose end. I assume that's also why some books end up with 100 page epilogues. Lee left a fair number of loose ends dangling, and I appreciate that.
What's your final rating, Brendan? It seems that most of us gave it four stars.
I gave Revenant Gun a 5. I The other two books were four stars to me but this one really pulled me along to a greater extent (and made me want more books in this world)
Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy
Books mentioned in this topic
Ninefox Gambit (other topics)Raven Stratagem (other topics)
Extracurricular Activities (other topics)
Revenant Gun (other topics)
(2018. 3rd book of Machineries of Empire series)
All are welcome to join the conversation.
Spoilers are likely for prior books Ninefox Gambit & Raven Stratagem.