Ninefox Gambit

Ninefox Gambit wasn't bad per se, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I had trouble understanding the intuitions behind “calendrical math”, even as someone working in a math-adjacent field. Math is by definition abstract and cannot in and of itself affect reality; it is an explanation of our physical world, but is not the physical world itself. So, I had a hard time connecting the notions of weaponizing math, “exotic” effects, formations, etc. These pieces of the world building felt incoherent. As a result, I really had trouble visualizing the scenes in my mind as I read. Setting those issues aside, the plot is chaotic at points, especially towards the end. The ending really had no grounding in rest of the story; it felt like an appendage. In sum, an interesting concept, but a not-so-great execution.