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A review by pezski
Dragonfly Falling by Adrian Tchaikovsky
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
I'm very much enjoying the Shadows of the Apt series. While perhaps not quite as well written as Tchaikovsky's later work (there is the occasional clumsiness, and I did start rolling my eyes at the number of times swords went in "to the hilt") the plotting and characterisation is excellent - and the world-building, I love in particular that there is much of the world that is unknown to even the most knowledgeable and well-travelled person.
In this second volume, the Wasp empire encounters the Spiderlands, about whom they know nothing and seems more than a match for them. It felt perhaps like the Romans suddenly butting up to the Seleucid/Parthian empires, the first time they encountered another true world power, one which they would never conquer. The author gives us huge battles, intrigue, treachery, along with personal tragedy and often heart-breaking moments of personal conscience.
I was switching between the paperback and audiobook, and must say that Ben Allen's reading is amongst the best I've come across. He is clearly a classically trained actor, with a superb pacing and delivery, but the voicework is truly extraordinary - the decision to give particular accents to the various factions is perfect, and perfectly executed. So, the Beetles are solid Yorkshiremen, the Spiders upper-class American, right out of Gatsby, the Wasps cut-glass English received pronunciation, and the genius of making the Mantids Northern Irish is exceptional. The only "race" that seems to vary are the Ants, who live in discrete city-states mostly at war with each other - one lot are Lancastrian, another Brummie, the late-arriving Fire Ants a more down-home, working-class US accent. Within these, Allen has the skill to voice several different characters with a subtle variance that keeps the accent but distinguishes the character.
I'm reading this series with Beyond Reality group on Goodreads, and we're reading a volume each month, so will be jumping into part 3, Blood of the Mantis, in a couple of weeks.
In this second volume, the Wasp empire encounters the Spiderlands, about whom they know nothing and seems more than a match for them. It felt perhaps like the Romans suddenly butting up to the Seleucid/Parthian empires, the first time they encountered another true world power, one which they would never conquer. The author gives us huge battles, intrigue, treachery, along with personal tragedy and often heart-breaking moments of personal conscience.
I was switching between the paperback and audiobook, and must say that Ben Allen's reading is amongst the best I've come across. He is clearly a classically trained actor, with a superb pacing and delivery, but the voicework is truly extraordinary - the decision to give particular accents to the various factions is perfect, and perfectly executed. So, the Beetles are solid Yorkshiremen, the Spiders upper-class American, right out of Gatsby, the Wasps cut-glass English received pronunciation, and the genius of making the Mantids Northern Irish is exceptional. The only "race" that seems to vary are the Ants, who live in discrete city-states mostly at war with each other - one lot are Lancastrian, another Brummie, the late-arriving Fire Ants a more down-home, working-class US accent. Within these, Allen has the skill to voice several different characters with a subtle variance that keeps the accent but distinguishes the character.
I'm reading this series with Beyond Reality group on Goodreads, and we're reading a volume each month, so will be jumping into part 3, Blood of the Mantis, in a couple of weeks.