Book Review: Hexarchate Stories
I don’t normally review short story collections, since it’s such a different world from novels, but I’m making an exception for Lee. I love Lee’s Machineries of Empire series with a passion. On top of that, it’s not very common to see an author with a full collection of short fiction set in their world (Jim Butcher is the only one I can think of quickly, and maybe Charlaine Harris), and I wanted to dive back into the Hexarchate one more time.
Hexarchate Stories is a brief collection of 21 stories set in or around the Hexarchate. It’s a great mix of microfiction, short stories, and even one novella at the end, set directly after Revenant Gun. Lee even helpfully includes a timeline of Heparchate/Hexarchate events, with the stories placed at the appropriate locations. In addition, Lee provides a short author’s note for each story, with insight into the story’s creation or the characters he’s focused on.
It’s pretty clear when a character has been living rent-free in somebody’s head for a long time, and Jedao has definitely been living in Lee’s. About half of the stories focus on Jedao at different points in his life before the events of the Machineries of Empire trilogy. Taken together, the stories add context and depth to a character who had become a boogeyman by the time of Ninefox Gambit. There, he’s a legend, but here, he’s allowed to be human. He gets to make mistakes, to spend time with his family, to have lovers and friends and success and tragedy.
The highlights from the Jedao stories are “Honesty,” a brief childhood piece written from Jedao’s sister’s POV and showing some formative events; “Extracurricular Activities,” a fun Shuos romp and the source of the quote below; “The Battle of Candle Arc,” which shows us the legend in the making, and “Gloves,” an R-rated short story which exposes Jedao’s psyche (and some other things).
Cheris is the focus of a few, as well. While she doesn’t come off living quite as rent-free as Jedao has, there is still powerful insight into her pre-Ninefox Gambit character — and her post-Revenant Gun character, as the novella rotates between Cheris and Jedao. “The Robot’s Math Lessons” is an adorable look at Cheris’ childhood love of math and early friendship with servitors, and “Glass Cannon” finally answers the question of whether Cheris will ever be rid of Jedao’s shadow and memories.
The rest of the stories wander about the Hexarchate, focusing either abstractly or upon other Machineries of Empire characters (e.g., Brezan). “Gamer’s End” was my favorite of these, a second-person (!) tale of a Shuos training game gone horribly awry.
As ever, Lee’s prose is beautiful and his stories sharp, witty, and immediately attention-grabbing. If anything, he may be better at short fiction; his ability to crisply and concisely evoke an image is an incredible strength.
I don’t necessarily recommend picking this collection up if you haven’t read Machineries of Empire. It doesn’t stand on its own; there’s too much worldbuilding missing, and the Hexarchate is confusing even in Ninefox Gambit. But if you’ve read the series, and you enjoyed it, then you’ll enjoy seeing more here.
Grade: 5/5 stars
Memorable Quote:
“In retrospect, a simple collision might have worked out better. Instead, Jedao dropped immediately into a fighting stance, and the sentinel’s eyes narrowed. Dammit, Jedao thought, exasperated with himself, and this is why my handlers preferred me doing the sniper bits rather than the infiltration bits. Since he’d blown the opportunity to bluff his way past the sentinel, he swept the man’s feet out from under him and knocked him out. After the man was unconscious, Jedao stashed him behind one of the statues, taking care so the spray from the fountains wouldn’t interfere too much with his breathing. He had the distinct impression that “dead body” was much worse from a ritual purity standpoint than “merely unconscious,” if he had to negotiate with someone later.”
