Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Machineries of Empire trilogy. I borrowed this on audiobook from the library.

Thoughts: My husband and I listened to this on audiobook. The quality of the narration is fine. We ended up stopping listening to this around the 30% mark. The world here is very confusing, and there is a ton of military strategy stuff going on that is very dry. It seemed to be getting a bit better at the point we stopped. However, we were listening to this while driving, and it was literally putting us both to sleep. We kept switching drivers when one person started to fall asleep while driving, but it wasn't helping because it was putting both of us to sleep. So, for the sake of driving safety, we just needed to stop this one and move on to a book that is more exciting and interesting.

This is flat out military science fiction. The world is an incredibly confusing one where military prowess is based off some sort of combination of mathematics and ritual. Neither my husband nor I really ever figured it out. I did enjoy the main character, and I thought that her having a madman riding around in her body as a ghost was kind of interesting. However, we didn't even get to that part until nearly 25% in to the story, and we were still perplexed by all the weird rituals and military tactics.

I am not a huge fan of military science fiction, but there have been some books in this genre that I do enjoy. This is definitely not one of them. I have found over the years if I am this confused about world-building, it really just isn't done that well. This is a book to read if you want to put a ton of time into trying to piece together how this world works. I am sure it has a rabid following where people analyze and analyze again all the intricacies of rituals and mathematics that go into these military maneuvers.

Yes, it is creative. No, I am not the kind of reader that wants to have to spend a ton of time figuring out a world. Some time, sure, but at 30% in to the book, I should have at least an inkling about what is going on. This was not the book for me (or my husband). I am not sure who it would be for; maybe die hard military sci-fi fans who really like a challenge as they are trying to figure out the world they've been thrown into.

Narration for this audiobook was fine, and I don't have any complaints about the narration quality.

My Summary (3/5): Overall, I was super excited to read this book (it was on a best sci-fi books list or something) and I ended up super disappointed in what I was reading. It's creative, and maybe some die-hard military sci-fans out there will put in the time to understand this complex world and love it. It was not for me since I am not a huge fan of military sci-fi and am not willing to put in the sort of effort (while driving and listening to an audiobook) to understand what the heck was going on here. ( )

This should've been great. It wasn't. I wish the author had just turned their great concepts over to a real writer. If not for some awesome ideas, I'd given this the bare minimum 1 star rating. ( )

‘Ninefox Gambit’ was recommended to me by a friend as, and I quote, ‘really weird sci-fi’. This got me thinking about what makes a novel weird. To me, this is a compelling and well-realised science fiction novel, but not an especially weird one. It reminded me of [b:Ancillary Justice|17333324|Ancillary Justice (Imperial Radch, #1)|Ann Leckie|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1397215917s/17333324.jpg|24064628] (elaborate military culture) and [b:The Quantum Thief|7562764|The Quantum Thief (Jean le Flambeur, #1)|Hannu Rajaniemi|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1327950631s/7562764.jpg|9886333] (esoteric technologies), although the calendrical element is appealingly original. The narrator, Cheris, is a captain in the army of the Hexarchate, a system of political control based on a calendar. The narrative is very straightforward: Cheris is given a mission and tries to complete it, with help from the ghost of a genocidal war criminal. The whole thing takes place in a carefully imagined military context, rich with clever linguistic world-building. Although the plot is exciting, it takes time to ask questions about the value of human life, non-human sentience, and political control. There are also sufficient little details to give the characters identities beyond merely being soldiers. I enjoyed the depiction of the Hexarchate, although I definitely wouldn’t want to live in it. I like such thoughtful twists on military sci-fi, with plenty of gruesome violence that makes a point rather than being gratuitous.

As to what I consider ‘weird sci-fi’: a) books that don’t remind me of anything I’ve read before, b) unusual and innovative use of structure and/or language, c) surrealism. In this case, the world-building was too systematic and tidy to be weird. That isn’t a criticism! In fact it’s very impressive and there are plenty of weird novels I’ve got a less out of because they made no goddamn sense. ‘Ninefox Gambit’ is an intelligent meditation on war and military politics, wrapped around an action plot not unlike The Raid in space. Given the nature of the ending, I imagine that this is the first in a series. I definitely want to read the next instalment. ( )

I couldn’t get through the first chapter. So much techno-babble that you had no idea what was going on. ( )

I like it! It's not an easy read. The beginning has the potential to set the reader adrift in terms of how much novel information immediately starts getting thrown around, but it all ultimately comes together for a very satisfying conclusion in the end. You'd better enjoy the ultraviolence of future war, because there is a lot of it! The characters, who are rock-solid in terms of motivation and compellingly tortured, feel like a bonus tagged on to the similarly solid central story focused on the nitty-gritty tactics and politics of battle. Perhaps the most compelling element of the book for me is its exploration of the relationship between the structure of government and the technology it uses/develops in order to uphold itself and justify its rule--very amenable to historical materialist readings! ( )