Bormgans
6/7/2018
While I don't really feel like it, I can't but start this review with an opinion on a minor event in the blogosphere some time ago. If you have no interest in a discussion of ethics in SF, and just want my opinion on Raven Stratagem, scroll down to the actual review at the very end. The first part of the text might also be of interest to those who haven't read any of Yoon Ha Lee's books, as the discussion is much, much wider than that.
About a year ago, 3 people in the so-called Arthur C. Clarke Shadow Jury posted reviews about Ninefox Gambit, the first book of The Machineries Of Empire.
Contrary to popular opinion - 9FG won the Locus for Best First Novel - those reviews were essentially negative, on what are essentially moral grounds.
These three individuals are not marginal voices in SF fandom. Before most activity on her blog stopped - as she overdosed on commercially-hyped SF - Megan AM of From Couch To Moon was one the most respected and influential online reviewers of SF. Nina Allan is a speculative author herself: her most recent novel The Rift won the BSFA and the Red Tentacle. Jonathan McCalmont was shortlisted twice for the BSFA for best non-fiction writer, and writes for Strange Horizons and Interzone.
For starters, here are four quotes that capture the essence of the argument, with links to the original texts. Clicking the links is worth your while, as the original pieces are extremely well written, that differ in their opinions on the book in crucial respects, and all have a number of valid, lucid insights. I have no intention to go into all arguments, and do not claim these quotes represent the texts in full. They do however show a convergence over at least one point of criticism, a point I do want to examine thoroughly.
(...)
Please read the full text on Weighing A Pig Doesn't Fatten It.
https://schicksalgemeinschaft.wordpress.com/2018/06/07/raven-stratagem-yoon-ha-lee-2017/