Review Day: Salute the Dark by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Salute the Dark is the fourth book in Adrian Tchaikovsky's Shadows of the Apt series, It is a definite high point, offering a strong, exciting convergence of all of the threads introduced so far.

Although Uctebri the Mosquito-Kinden has finally claimed the feared Shadow Box, it comes at a time when the Wasp campaign may have stretched itself too thin, undermined by personal machinations of its Generals, growing alliances in the Lowlands, and unrest in several key border cities. Stenwold Maker and his allies scatter across the world to put their fingers in different parts of the proverbial dike, hoping that the combination of all their efforts will be enough to turn the tide. Meanwhile, the tortured Tisamon strikes his own path, never certain if his so-called destiny stems from a hidden influence tipping the scales of his guilt.

There are some unusual pacing decisions in this book, with some key events essentially happening off the page or in an abrupt paragraph while other battles and duels are stepped through in exhausting detail. This makes time pass in fits and starts, but the payoff of the steamrolling conclusion (the last third of the book) makes it all worthwhile. And, while the convergence of threads and the nullification of a main threat seems at first to be too neat, the final chapter organically introduces a brooding threat without feeling like a cliffhanger.

I enjoyed the development of all the main characters, but none so much as Thalric and his volatile relationship with the Wasp Empire. Besides characters, I also liked the deepening complexity of the Wasp Empire as more than a unified monolith, and the ongoing evolution of war technology underpinning the story. I was on the fence about the series after finishing Book 2, but Book 4 cemented my appreciation ? it's definitely worth reading the first four books even if you go no further.

Final Grade: B+