Yoon Ha Lee’s Machineries of Empire is hands-down my favourite space opera of recent years. The third book, Revenant Gun, was published this week, bringing the series to a close (or does it? There’s a promise of short stories to come, at least) and I’m delighted to be part of the supporting blog tour. To celebrate, I’m giving you my top ten reasons to join the Hexarchate…
The Gates are open and humanity is headed for the stars. When Belter refugees colonise Ilus first, they’re not prepared to make way for the official corporate mission that follows – the Rocinante is sent to keep the peace – with Miller determined to come along for the ride.
The Hexarchate is no more. Only two Hexarchs survive: slippery Shuos Mikodez, backing Cheris’s nascent democracy; and immortal Nirai Kujen, determined to resurrect the high calendar to maintain his grip on life. And even Protector-General Kel Inesser and her fleet don’t back him. Kujen isn’t worried: he has another incarnation of Shuos Jedao at his command…
Continue reading “Revenant Gun: the final battle for the Hexarchate’s soul”
In the outer reaches, the protomolecule has built a gate to… somewhere else. It’s the last place a haunted Jim Holden wants to go, but a determined young woman with a vendetta against him holds all the cards. Leaving human space may be the only way the Rocinante can escape her well-laid plans…
Time for another peek at the progress of the Subjective Chaos Kind of Awards panel! Is it April already? Cue not so much chaos as panic (at least for this reader), as that means we’re halfway through the process – at least in terms of time, if not in progress… So how are we getting on?
Continue reading “Subjective Chaos: halfway there (in theory, anyway)”
Rex just wants to be a Good Dog. But Rex is no ordinary dog. Rex is a Bioform, engineered to fit a specific set of requirements: obedience, loyalty, leading his pack, killing his Master’s enemies. But if Rex’s Master is not a Good Man, how can Rex be a Good Dog?
Continue reading “Dogs of War: should a Good Dog follow orders?”
Six months after Eros, the solar system still hovers in uneasy peace as it watches Venus to see what the protomolecule will do next. Can UN Deputy Undersecretary of Executive Administration Chrisjen Avasarala keep the nervy planets focused on the greater threat?
As Binti struggles to adjust to the zinariya, she is overwhelmed by visions of her family in mortal danger. With no sign of Okwu, she and Mwinyi rush back. Can the master harmonizer who sits at the nexus of so many cultures bring peace, or is her legacy to be only conflict?
Continue reading “Bite-sized Books: Binti – The Night Masquerade”
One day, it was a remote stretch of American coastline, wild and beautiful. The next, it began to change. Now Area X is threatening more densely inhabited areas, and the secretive government organisation known as the Southern Reach wish to send in a twelfth expedition to try and understand it. But only one person from the first eleven expeditions ever returned…
I’ve been promising for a while I’d put together an update on how the Subjective Chaos Kind of Judges are getting on with our self-inflicted and oh-so-delightful task of reading our take on the best of 2017. With the shortlists announced in January, we’ve had nearly two months now – and I’m unsurprised to say we’re nowhere near anything that looks like a decision on any front. Continue reading “Subjective Chaos: and we’re off (cue… chaos?)”
The last war ended in an atrocity. The Trouble Dog resigned her post afterwards, seeking redemption in salvage. Now she’s the closest craft to a civilian distress call, summoned to the carven worlds of the Gallery with a mess of former enemies aboard. Has anybody put the war behind them?
Continue reading “Embers of War: the start of an epic space opera”
There’s a secret being kept in the outer reaches of the Belt – a secret worth killing for. Soon a washed-up detective from Ceres and a ramshackle salvage crew will find themselves at the heart of a system-wide conspiracy that could shatter the uneasy peace between Earth, Mars and the Belt. If only they could stop asking awkward questions…
