Raven Stratagem

Executive Summary: I struggled a bit to get into this one at the start, but once I finally got my bearing back I enjoyed it a lot more. ★★★½☆.Audiobook: This one is a hard series for audio in my opinion. Nothing against Emily Woo Zeller who I think does a fine job narrating, it's just that there is so much going on, I find myself wishing I could go back and reread parts, something I find very hard to do in audio. Your mileage may vary, but this is definitely not for people newer to audiobooks in my opinion.Full ReviewI'm not much of a hard sci-fi person. I'm not sure this really qualifies, as the mathematics that drive everything are never really explained that much, but it does seem to add a layer of complexity to the narrative that I find hard to follow at times. That said, I find it makes for some incredibly unique world building. I read [b:Ninefox Gambit 26118426 Ninefox Gambit (The Machineries of Empire #1) Yoon Ha Lee https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1446557461s/26118426.jpg 46065520] earlier this year, but apparently that was too long ago that I seemed to have forgotten most of the details. It took a long time for this book to jog my memory. In general I prefer character driven stories, and this one definitely fits that mold. I do find most of the characters if not unlikeable then certainly not that appealing. Jedao is certainly an interesting character, but I didn't care much about his motivations. I mostly just wanted to see what happened next.In most character-driven stories, I'm rooting for/against a character. In this book though, I'm indifferent. I liked Kel Cheris in the previous book, but little else. In this book I felt like I had nothing to root for really.Yet despite all of that, the world building seems to be enough to keep my interest. At least most of the times. There were definitely some subplots in this book I found less interesting. I also found myself a bit confused at times, and wishing I could reread a part. I'll definitely be picking up the next book. I want to see where this goes next. I might switch from audio however. Then again owning two books in audio and the third in another format would probably drive me crazy :)