A review by speculativebecky
Clarkesworld Magazine, Issue 73 by Matthew Johnson, Neil Clarke, Genevieve Valentine, Jeremy L.C. Jones, Yoon Ha Lee, Theodora Goss, Daniel Abraham

4.0

This short story, a prequel in a way to Ninefox Gambit, felt lackluster in comparison to the novel. I am assuming a large portion of my lower level of satisfaction with this story is due to my struggles with the shorter story medium. I felt that the setting was explained more plainly, and woven less intricately into the flow of the story. I'm not sure if that had a lot to do with the fact that I'd already read the novel, which so totally blew me away. Lee's writing is still very enjoyable, but overall this story was just less than I'd expected.