Having loved the first two in the series, I was very anxious to read this next installment of the Shadows of the Apt series. And a series it definately is, as there is not only no conclusion to the story here, but no immediate sign of one either, as Tchaikovsky weaves an ever more complex web of intrigue and world conflict.
By the time I had prised my copy off my wife, I had read a couple of fairly negative reviews of the book which reduced my expectations significantly, so I was actually very pleasantly suprised by it. Yes, it is not quite the masterpeice Dragonfly falling was and is a couple of hundred pages short of his previous offerings. But there is still an enormous amount to enjoy here. This includes a couple of exciting new charactors, one a female fighter pilot Ace, who is part of an exclusive little pilot club, with it's own code of honour. (Very Red Baron like)
Also as other reviewers have alluded to, there is another new wave of Kinden races. I think Tchaikovsky has with this brilliant idea sown a harvest so potentially rich he doesn't know quite where and what to put in next and is just starting to throw the goodies about like a spoilt kid coming out of a sweet shop. I would urge him not to get too carried away but curb the creativity till this story and already huge cast list conclude! Then perhaps write another series on the same world. There is just a risk readers could be swamped by all storylines and ideas coming at them.
Anyway back to the book. Our party of heroes are once again sent to the 4 corners of the world. Che and Nero to spy on the Wasps further expansions. Tisamon and Tynisa (and interestingly Thalric) are sent in search of the Darakon box and Sten continues to try and unite the Lowlands against the wasps. On the other side of the fence the 'slave' Mosquito Uctebri starts to flex his magical wings to bring a bit of internal trouble for the wasps and the Rekef continue their own private battle for power. It's action packed, clever, witty and within a fantasy framwork very original. I think lovers of Trad Fantasy will enjoy it as will fans of sci-fi and 'Steampunk'. Particularly those who enjoy Stephen Hunt.
