I couldn't finish this one. It was just too much world building to take in 44 PAGES. Which is why I'm so glad that this turned out to be part of a larger series so now I can rate it on its substance rather than how overwhelmed I felt trying to understand everything. I didn't finish it. I'd have to read the series or at least the first book before I read his. BUT it was written delightfully and he characters had a range of depth that shone through even in the short 20 pages I read of them. It was subtly diverse and mentioned several polyamorous relationships and LGBTQ individuals. The main character is bi. I imagine the series will have a similar quality. ( )

Mini-review here: – https://ciaracatscifi.blogspot.com/2018/04/2018-hugo-awards-best-novelette-my.ht... ( )

This novelette was nominated for Hugo in 2018
The story is set in the same universe as [b:Ninefox Gambit|26118426|Ninefox Gambit (The Machineries of Empire #1)|Yoon Ha Lee|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1446557461s/26118426.jpg|46065520] novel, which was nominated for Hugo last year. I’ve read it and wasn’t impressed. While it can be read as a stand-alone, knowing the backstory definitely helps.
Shuos Jedao, spy/assassin of heptarchy (civilization obsessed with order and numerology) is sent on a mission to rescue his old friend from the outpost of another civilization, masked as a merchant. The story is easy to read and full of action and dialogue with a bit of gay romance. However, I cannot say I took anything permanent from it, maybe because I don’t like the very concept.
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Short story featuring Shuos Jedao before all that unpleasantness, back when he was merely an incredibly dangerous operative working in smaller-scale intelligence. Jedao leads a mission to rescue an old friend from a rival government and finds something different than he expected. ( )

UM this has made me so excited to get my hands on Ninefox Gambit! Yoon Ha Lee is an excellent storyteller and world-builder, and the intense liberal bent to these societies just makes it that much better, especially when it's presented as normal, not shocking, conventional, and socially desireable. The pacing was perfect, the espionage plot interesting and well-formed for a short story, and Jedao and Teshat are seriously a ton of fun. ( )