Spiderlight

Spiderlight takes a familiar concept, that of a quest to defeat a Dark Lord, and turns it into a surprise. The plot itself has its twists and turns, certainly. But, the emotional maturity of the book, the deep, emotional themes of alienation, identity, and purpose, are the real surprise here, although Tchaikovsky is such a wonderful writer that fans won’t be that surprised.

Yes, we have spiders again, and fans of Tchaikovsky will wonder if there is a repeat or relationship to his well-known Children of Time. Although the author still presents a special grasp of what it would be like to be a spider, this is an entirely new plot and characters. The women are also multi-dimensional, not something often seen by male fantasy writers. The book is very funny with some unforgettable lines. In the audio version, the author reads the book himself and does an excellent job. For readers who don’t typically read science fiction (Tchaikovsky’s perhaps more well-known genre), this is a wonderful entry into this writing as it is a fantasy. What a treat this book is.