Book five of the Shadows of the Apt was a welcome return to the series post war with the Empire. In the previous books, the author would alternate writing styles that first focus on character development, and then a switch in focus on the war and politics. This book is a return of focus on some of the characters, but takes some time to catch the reader up on events that occur following the death of the wasp emperor and temporary ceasefire and expansion. Unfortunately, this made the initial chapters slow to read, but they got progressively better as the plot progressed. The plot brings select characters to the virtually unknown territory of Khanaphes. This was a great way for the author to introduce more of his world and to introduce new kinden. The title of the book perfectly suited the Egyptian-like locale and the Scarab / beetle kinden...even down to the character Amnon who could be a Goliath beetle from the Scarab family. It was a slow start, but as the storyline progressed, I found myself once again enjoying Tchaikovsky's characters and universe. Now on to book six... I've finally finished it! It took a while, partly because it's quite a big book, but mostly because my reading speed is lacking of recent days.However, I can honestly say it was worth the time I took getting it done (with a fairly long break about halfway through). The first part of the book took me a while to get into for two reasons. First, because it was something I had to take a little time with following the end of story arc in 'Salute The Dark', which precedes this, to catch up on where the new one was going. The answer: unexplored territory, with definite influence from Ancient Egypt. The second, and one of the reasons I took my time keeping up, was the more personal nature of the plot. It was very much Che's story, dealing with the fallout from her previous adventures. I was a little concerned she was going to die of angst in the first part, but the story was building into something, and certainly suitably intriguing to see what was coming next.It's well worth it. Her story is quite wonderful, and if you add to that Thalric's continuing development and another familiar face I'm very fond of getting a really cool shift of emphasis, there's plenty to go with here. Cue also old tensions which quickly escalate into quite the running adventure, which escalates again, and you start getting right back into this innovative and exciting world. There are new characters who are built in very well, more on the magic side, and plenty of exciting battle action as ever. I soon shook out of the worry about missing the old plot arc and got right on board with this one. I'm now very much looking forward to cracking on with Book Six, but I think I'm going to have a break of seasons before I do. Great work, Adrian!
What do You think about The Scarab Path (2010)?
Tchaikovski suddenly starts to scurry in a different direction! Forget about the war... for now.
—joy3084
