Dragonfly Falling by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Book 2 of 6 of Shadows of the Apt

Rating: 4.5 out of 5

Adrian Tchaikovsky offers us a profound thought: if weapon-makers were mandated that they should be the first ones to test the weapons they create on live subjects then maybe the arms race would slow down. But then again we are talking about mankind with all its faults, including, for some, a particular fascination for mass destruction.

This is just one of the themes presented in the second installation of The Shadows of the Apt series which started with Empire in Black and Gold. In Dragonfly Falling, Tchaikovsky amps up the level of action and offers and amazing story of battles. It includes two desperate city-sieges and a set-piece battle and they blow away everything in their path.

After the events of Empire…, the Wasp Empire continues on their mission to control the Lowlands and are two full armies are on the march. One is headed for the Ant city of Tark, while the other heads towards Kes, another Ant city. No one seems to be capable of stopping such a juggernaut as the Lowland cities are still disunited – the city of Collegium itself, where the main protagonist Stenwold Maker bases his activities against the Wasps, refuses to believe that the Empire is aiming towards the center of learning that is their city.

Meanwhile, the characters from the first book are separated from each other going through different missions: Totho and Salma head for Tark to spy on the Wasps; Tisamon has taken his daughter Tynisia to a dangerous quest towards his homeland, where half-Spider-kindens aren’t exactly welcome on the pain of death; Cheerwell and Achaeos are in Sarn, trying to convince the Ant-kinden there to send help to Collegium in fighting the Wasp army.

By now the reader is now used to the idea of human-insect hybrids that makes up the races of this particular world, and that these “kindens” are subdivided into those that understand technology and those that remain tuned to the old world of magic (if it did exist). The concept takes off in this book and soars to delirous heights. Fast flying machines battle the skies against giant flying insects, huge zepellins drop incendiary bombs on a city evoking images akin to World War I or II, automotive machines (tanks) plow through armies, and new weapons are invented that shoot projectiles capable of piercing through the sturdiest armor. Tchaikovksy paints an amazing world that blends quasi-medieval cultures with steampunkish technology and it paints quite well in his canvas.

And through it all, Tchaikovsky introduces more new kindens, and expands the world-building, making for a more interesting setting, giving special focus on the Ants - those disciplined, martial race of tough warriors who can communicate through their thoughts. And they are both the good guys and the bad guys.

Tchaikovsky writes a spectacular action and it succeeds in gripping the reader not only because of the great pace (that, daresay, would give Steven Erikson, the current master of epic fantasy battle scenes, a run for his money), but also for the insightful thoughts that the author drops into them. Example, in one scene he tackles the question of the arms race. Would man just keep on finding new and better ways to kill each other? Or would it somehow stop because

“the weapons would become…so terrible that if anyone used them… everyone would die.”

Sadly, Tchaikovsky also presents a possible answer in the next line:

“There is no weapon so terrible that mankind will not put to use. On that day that you describe, the end of war would come only after the end of everything else.”

Has the human race reached that point?

Moreover, Adrian Tchaikovsky did not leave behind what made the series interesting in the first place: character development. Each of the character grows. (One main character in this story would become something no one probably would expect.) Even the antagonists are quite fully developed. The author knows how to build rich fully-dimensioned characters and they help keep the reader in the story.

Of course, there are shortfalls. Despite the amazing races, places, gadgets, technologies or personalities that the story has, the world doesn’t have a rich history and background. It would have been great if readers knew, say, how the Commonweal came to be established; what the culture of its people is; what happened during their 12-year war with the Wasps. Or who founded the college city of Collegium. Or why the Ant-kindens want to kill each other. There is none of that. Or at least, they haven’t been revealed yet. And the world still comes up a little shallow, as it did in the first book; and pales when one thinks about the worlds of Tolkien, Erikson, Martin, or even just the city of Bas-Lag from Mielville.

Yet, this doesn’t take away the fact that the reader will walk away with one heck of an adrenaline-filled story. The amazing three battle scenes alone would be worth one’s while. New interesting characters are introduced, although at the expense of page-time for some of the existing ones. Ugly politics, nefarious schemes, dark forces and ominous portents, a great blend of technology and magic. One would be hard-pressed not to love this book.

Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Contemporary speculative fiction writers nowadays love to mix and match sub-genres. It illustrates a willingness to explore the limits of the possibilities open to them.

Take, for example the latest work of horror/sci-fi author, Cherie Priest, Boneshaker. It is alternate history - it takes place in Seattle, Washington, USA during the late 19th century at the time of when rumors of gold in the frozen Klondike brings prospectors to the area from all over the place, even as far as Russia. However, in this world's Seattle, the American Civil war hasn't yet ended and has been going on for decades now. It is steampunk (fast becoming a favorite of many new authors), where clockwork technology exists. And there are also zombies....

The story evolves when Russian prospectors commission a Seattle inventor named Leviticus Blue to create a machine that would make it possible to drill through the hard Alaskan ice. But when Blue tests his creation, things go awry which unleashes a wave of destruction on a major part of the city and caused many deaths. But that isn't the worst part. The machine inadvertently releases some sort of gas that was hidden deep beneath the city, which makes those who breath it turn into... zombies.

Turn the reader's attention to the widow of Leviticus Blue, now called Briar Wilkes, who now many years later tries to eke out a living on what is left of the Seattle outskirts trying, but not quite succeeding, to escape the past. She is with her son, Zeke, who was born just after the incident, whom she also tries to protect from the history of her family. The problem is that, Zeke does not want to distance himself from it and refuses to believe the bad name placed upon his family and himself. Frustrated, and exasperated at his mother for not telling him anything significant about the event, and interested in clearing his family's and his father's name, Zeke decides to find the truth by entering the inner city, now cut off by an encircling wall, entering the place where the Blight (the gas that was unleashed) runs rampant, entering a city full of "rotters"... yep, that's what they call the zombies.

This forces Briar to go after Zeke in hopes of ever seeing him alive again. She enters a city, surprisingly still full of people... who are still alive. Who earn a living by some means. A city now seemingly being ruled by some inventor who calls himself Dr. Minnericht, and very much resembles the man who was once Leviticus Blue. Needless to say, Briar must approach this man where her son will surely be drawn to, and somehow force herself to face the truth of the events that happened years ago with the rampage of the machine called the Boneshaker.

The idea of steampunk and zombies is quite appealing and Cherie Priest delivers quite well. The language and the style is light and an easy read. Her characters are fascinating - from the airship captains, the one-armed lady whose remaining limb is bionic, the armored tough guy and more. Although there is a feeling that some of these characters aren't developed enough in this story and the climax seems to happen a little bit too quickly. But the work is interesting, and more importantly, entertaining. And one couldn't go wrong with that. And being nominated for the Hugo and Nebula awards certainly shows that Ms. Priest did something right.

The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett

Rating: 4.5 out of 5


Night is death and the sun brings life. Literally. Such is the world in the debut novel of Peter V. Brett, The Warded Man (published as The Painted Man in the UK), the first of an unnamed series. At night, the demons (or corelings, as they are called) come and kill everybody in sight. Man's only hope are wards (arcane writings that stop demons). Therefore every house is warded, as is every city wall. But it is small comfort to the populace as wards may fail (writings may fade, or get covered by dirt or some other materials) and when the demons get through, those lucky enough die quickly. Only few men dare come out at night, these are the Messengers. They are those who dare the night, guarded by their wards out on the road between cities. They bring letters, news and trade goods from one place to another – they are the lifeline of cities in man's eternal battle with the Core (or Hell). But man is losing the fight against the demons. For reasons, wards may fail, men get killed (or “cored”) every night. Humanity's numbers are getting smaller.

The Warded Man is the story of three young children. One is Arlen, forever haunted by the memory of what he perceives as his father's betrayal. He runs away from his home, somehow manages to survive, and strives to become a Messenger, traveling from place to place, refusing to let the demons imprison him in one place.

Another is Leesha, stifled by the traditional role of girls in her society, chooses to learn to become a Gatherer (or a healer). And with that knowledge comes not only the healing arts, but some simple sciences in making materials and chemicals that could not only affect human biology but also harm corelings. She will learn that among the Gatherers' knowledge are hidden some of the long-forgotten science that once have been able to defeat demons and allow men to be safe at night.

The last child is Rojer, who would be orphaned by a coreling attack of his village. Fate will make him tread the path of a Jongleur (an entertainer), valued for the happiness they bring (however short) through their performances, allowing people for a moment to forget their dark troubles, and through their storytelling give a small sense of hope (however fleeting) that somehow things will change.

At a glance, readers may groan about another coming-of-age type of story. But Peter V. Brett has ably managed to pull it off through his well-rounded characters. His is a captivating tale, albeit a dark one. There are very few light moments in it. In fact, it is almost a story without hope, and there is quite a heavy atmosphere to it. However, many readers would surely be absorbed by the tale.

The author tackles many themes. One would be courage. What does it really mean to be really brave against what many would perceive as a hopeless situation where the penalty for a wrong move would be death. How much would people be willing to sacrifice in the face of certain death? For friends, for family, for love, if the only possible outcome is one's own destruction? Is heroism just another name for idiocy? Brett tackles this question as honestly as he possibly can. What does it mean to be truly free?

One other theme that is sprinkled all throughout the book is the question of Religion and Atheism / Science and Faith . This theme is taken up in the story and Brett approaches it from both sides and from all angles using all arguments used by all. This is a question unresolved by the end of the story and is going to be a central theme of the whole series and some people would certainly bristle whenever this subject comes up.

The Warded Man is certainly a very impressive debut work. The last time this reviewer felt compelled with a story as this one may have to go back and point to George R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones. It is dark, but it is a great read. And it places Peter V. Brett high among the tier of contemporary fantasy writers. Highly recommended.