In a book sprinkled with such evocative names, Raven ostensibly focuses more on the conflict between the Hexarchate and the alien Hafn, although the Hafn remain mostly as mysterious and unsympathetic as they were at beginning of the book. Where does this book succeed? Raven admirably continues the story begun in Ninefox, putting readers into a world of formation instinct, cindermoths, and space fortresses creating doctrinal orthodoxy in the surrounding space. (Of course, ending the scene would do the same thing.) Lee keeps the political and military plots simmering throughout, although surprisingly the most important event happens off-page, downplayed to a surprising degree.

Even as the multiple points of view dilute the book’s focus, they do keep the story humming along, allowing Lee to switch to a new character whenever the viewpoint character’s story has come to a lull. Raven advances the plot and continues the unusual concepts from the first book, so I imagine a contingent of voters really enjoyed Ninefox. As you might expect from a sequel, Raven isn’t as novel as Ninefox, with Raven mostly building on the concepts from its predecessor. Why was this book nominated? Raven Strategem is the sequel to Ninefox Gambit, which was nominated for the Hugo last year. The Hafn seem immune to the Hexarchate’s abilities, but Jedao feels certain he will defeat them … but then what’s the long-dead, long-tortured general going to do with his fleet if he defeats the Hafn? The Hexarchate, the government Jedao served and now protects despite its lack of desire to be protected by him, functions through consensus (enforced by torture, if necessary), and this rigidly imposed harmony allows the Hexarchate to generate exotic technologies through their tight-knit thought alone: long-range space weapons, invisible shields, and other abilities are available to the ruling castes. What is this book about? After surviving an assassination attempt at the end of the previous book (or did he?), Jedao - the consciousness of a long-dead, possibly insane general who never lost a battle - hijacks a military space fleet to defeat the invading alien Hafn. The fourth nominee for the Hugo award for best novel is Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee: