Tchaikovsky's third Shadows of the Apt novel (after 2010's Dragonfly Falling
) finds his steampunk-flavored sword and sorcery world, once dominated by the magic-wielding inapt, now threatened by the insatiable and technologically apt Wasp Empire. The empire, heretofore the beneficiary of the mutual distrust and disunity among Lowlanders, begins to falter as external threats bring the Lowlands together, diplomatic ruses go horribly awry, and the empire's habitual abuse of its subjects leads to internal discord. Its only hope now lies in a small wooden box that holds the promise of power but may deliver only nightmares. New readers may struggle to keep up as Tchaikovsky puts his large cast through its paces, introduces secretive assassins of a forgotten race, and heaps on plot twists with a generous hand. (May)
