With half the story set amongst the Kel and circling around the question of Jedao’s intentions, this could have felt awfully similar to Ninefox. Ejected from the Hierarchy of Feasts as Jedao tightens his grip on the fleet, Brezan must try to make contact with Kel Command to apprise them of the situation – if he can persuade them to listen to a crashhawk.

When Jedao arrives, she can’t resist the urge to obey him even knowing Kel Command wants him dead.īy contrast, Lieutenant Colonel Kel Brezan has weak formation instinct, giving him the freedom to rebel – albeit at the cost of his career, as the Kel hate and fear a free-thinking ‘crashhawk’ almost as much as they do Jedao himself. Haunted by childhood memories of her mother executing her father for heresy, it’s only Kel formation instinct that suppresses her doubts about the Hexarchate. Ninefox Gambit was one of my favourite books last year, although not all reviewers shared my enthusiasm for its unapologetically oblique world-building and its obsession with the ethics of war. In Raven Stratagem, the core dilemma is much the same – can the ghost of the mass-murdering general be trusted? – but this time we see the action strictly through outside eyes.Įnter General Kel Khiruev, tormented by her enforced loyalties to both the Hexarchate and – unwillingly – to Jedao as her superior officer. Formation instinct compels the Kel to follow Jedao – but will he really defend the Hexarchate from the Hafn? Or will he betray them to their deaths? Or did she? Physical appearances aside, it appears to be Jedao who usurps command aboard the Hierarchy of Feasts.

Kel Cheris, half-possessed by the ghost of notorious General Shuos Jedao, survived an assassination attempt that wiped out her entire fleet.

This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thanks to Solaris for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Raven stratagem