When the hexarchate's gifted young captain Kel Cheris summoned the ghost of the long-dead General Shuos Jedao to help her put down a rebellion, she didn't reckon on his breaking free of centuries of imprisonment - and possessing her. Even worse, the enemy Hafn are invading, and Jedao takes over General Kel Khiruev's fleet, which was tasked with stopping them. Only one of Khiruev's subordinates, Lieutenant Colonel Kel Brezan, seems to be able to resist the influence of the brilliant but psychotic Jedao. Jedao claims to be interested in defending the hexarchate, but can Khiruev or Brezan trust him? For that matter, will the hexarchate's masters wipe out the entire fleet to destroy the rogue general?
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Complex mathematical calendrical warfare and far-future military tactics define the space opera world of the Machineries of Empire trilogy. Korean-American speculative fiction author Yoon Ha Lee gained wide recognition in science fiction and fantasy with his debut novel Ninefox Gambit, which established a universe grounded in high-concept geometry, political intrigue, and ritualistic technology. His body of work spans adult space opera, young adult mecha fiction such as Moonstorm, middle-grade fantasy, short fiction, tabletop roleplaying games, and comic scripts.
Born in Houston, Texas, in 1979 and educated at Seoul Foreign School, Lee completed a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics at Cornell University, followed by a Master of Arts in mathematics education from Stanford University, and pursued an MFA in media composition and orchestration at ThinkSpace Education. While in college, he sold his first short story, "The Hundredth Question," to The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Over his career, his short fiction has appeared in Clarkesworld Magazine, Lightspeed, Reactor (formerly Tor.com), and Audubon Magazine, as well as numerous year's best anthologies. Beyond prose, Lee wrote comic scripts for Marvel, including Doom's Division #1-5 and "Epée Is Truth" in The X-Men: The Wedding Special #1, and collaborated on serialized fiction projects including The Vela: The Complete Season 1. His hobbies include game design, visual art, and playful efforts at destroying the reader. He lives in Louisiana with his family and an extremely lazy cat.
Lee's academic training in mathematics deeply influences his worldbuilding and narrative structures, incorporating high-level concepts of geometry, calendrical systems, and abstract mechanics directly into space opera settings. His fiction regularly investigates themes of institutional authority, military duty, identity, and personal morality within rigid power structures. Beyond high-concept adult science fiction, Lee draws heavily on Korean mythology and folklore for works such as Dragon Pearl and its companion novel Tiger Honor. His work in game design, including tabletop roleplaying systems, reflects a narrative approach centered on strategic systems, intricate tactical dilemmas, and complex moral choices.
The Machineries of Empire
