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Title: Salute the Dark
Title: Salute the Dark
Series:
Shadows of the Apt #4
Author:
Adrian Tchaikovsky
Rating:
5 of 5 Stars
Genre:
Fantasy
Pages:
326
Format:
Digital Edition
| Synopsis: |
The Empire is spread thin. Stenwold Maker knows this and sends out various people to other cities to stir up rebellion. If enough cities can rebel at the same time, the Wasp Empire's grasp might be broken.
Stenwold goes to the Commonwealth.
Salme continues the fight for the Ant Cities with his Irregulars. Che
sneaks off to yet another city while Acheaos, only partly recovered,
takes part in a Moth Ritual that kills him. Thalric ends up coming
back to the Empire, killing one of the three Rekef Generals and goes
back to Capitas in chains.
Tisamon, twisted by his Mantis honor,
leaves Felise and heads to Capitas, drawn by the power of the
Darakyon Box. Said Box is firmly under the control of Uctebri, a
Mosquito kinden. Uctebri is plotting against Emperor Alvdan II with
plans to replace him with his sister, who will be Uctebri's puppet.
Totho and Drephos, tasked with making
an example of the Bee City, set up the first chemical warfare test.
The creators of the gas kill themselves in remorse and Totho ends up
gassing the Wasp soldiers instead and running off with a damaged
Drephos.
Tisamon and Felise meet as Gladiators
in Capitas and attempt to assassinate the Emperor. Unbeknownst to
them, they were only a distraction for Uctebri and Seda to kill
Alvdan and use the Blood of an Emperor to gain access to the Darakyon
Box. Nothing goes according to plan though. Tisamon and Felise kill
Uctebri, destroy the Box and are killed in turn. Seda must convince the
Wasp populace to accept a Wasp Empress and recalls all the armies to
consolidate her power. This recall, along with the various
rebellions, allow many city states to survive as Free Cities.
Of the 4 Conspirators we are introduced
to in Book 1, Stenwold the beetle, Tisamon the mantis, Atrissa the
spider and Nero the fly, only Stenwold is still alive. And of his
apprentices, Che, Tynisia and Totho are the only ones still alive by
the end of the book. Many of his apprentices die heroic, noble
deaths, but die they do.
War grinds bones and hearts alike.
| My Thoughts: |
This was an excellent book. In the previous book I was saying how I wasn't enjoying this series as much upon this re-read. Well, this book definitely put paid to that idea.
The odd thing, this book is about
death. So many characters die. If you just told me the synopsis, I'd
probably roll over in despair. But HOW they die, the writing itself,
redeems their deaths from a hopeless struggle into something greater.
Tchaikovsky manages to show how horrible death is, how inevitable and
yet have his characters overcome it by their selflessness. Prince
Salme, leader of the Irregulars, is the prime example of this. I
can't put into words, but Tchaikovsky makes him a Hero, even while
killing him off.
The other wonderful thing is the
character development. Being a sensitive kind of fellow [he says
while being reminded that morning by a coworker about the time he
chased down and stomped a mouse to death with his combat boots, IN
CHURCH], character development has to be done just right. Not enough
and I complain about cardboard. Too much and I complain about
estrogen and make fun of “feelingz” and talk macho for a couple
of sentences. I'm pretty much the Goldilocks of the Male Book
Reviewer. It has to be Just Right or I piss and moan like a man baby.
In this regards, it is like Tchaikovsky had me as a model for
creating and growing his characters. It is Done Right. People change.
People question themselves. People don't change. People don't
question themselves. Sometimes people are stupid and other people are
genius.
My only complaint for the book is “Why
hasn't Stenwold Maker groomed another Spymaster to either take his
place or at least take some of the burden?” And yet that oversight
on Stenwold's part is what makes him, him. So even my complaint is
rooted in one of the best things of this series, the characters.
Last time I read this, I gave it 4
Stars. This time around, I appreciated the writing more and the whole
tone. I enjoyed it just as much and found it to hold up to a re-read
with no problems. There were a couple of instances when I was reading
that I thought to myself “This is astonishing”. I don't think
that about many books I read, not even the ones I really enjoy.
★★★★★
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