Ninefox Gambit

Disgraced Captain Kel Cheris is offered one path back to respectability: retake the Fortress of Scattered Needles from heretics, using whatever means necessary. The means necessary turn out to include allying with the undead tactician Shuos Jedao — undefeated in battle, massacred his own army, and mad for reasons nobody quite agrees on. Yoon Ha Lee's debut novel deploys a physics-based magic system, a nonlinear narrative structure, and a fundamental distrust of the institutions it depicts.

Emily Woo Zeller narrates with the technical precision the novel's complex world-building demands — the calendar-based physics, the military hierarchy, and the growing uncertainty about Jedao's actual intentions all require a narrator who can hold the conceptual framework while keeping the character drama alive. Multiple major award winner and Goodreads Choice Award for Science Fiction. At just over 10 hours, Ninefox Gambit rewards patient, attentive listening.