Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for this ARC Audiobook.

I was delighted to get the opportunity to listen to Spiderlight as Adrian Tchaikovsky's Children of Time has been on my reading list for a while, but knowing the length of that series I haven't had the time to dive into it. Spiderlight is a standalone Fantasy tale from Tchaikovsky and I really enjoyed the depth of character's and world building that was accomplished in just one book. This is a great for people like me who like fantasy stories but don't always have the time to commit to large multi-book sci-fi & fantasy series. I enjoyed the humorous parts of the book, and the dialogue between character's was well written. The characters were diverse and intricate without the story becoming convoluted. Do not think that this book is all sunshine and rainbows though, as there is some very serious exploration of humanity and morality. Tchaikovsky narrating his own book was fantastic to listen to.

I didn't expect to get drawn into this adventure quest by Tchaikovsky, but he certainly has a way with imagination. The unequally yoked team that sets out to destroy a dark presence in the world to preserve the light was thoroughly engrossing and entertaining. I always find myself intrigued by fantasy narratives that play with established themes and characterisations like who is the hero and who the monster. This is done brilliantly here. The pacing kept me engaged and the dialogue helped me gain certain perspectives when it came to each member of the team. I love when it is through interaction between characters and conversations that I can truly get a feel for the world and personalities of those on the page.

Adrian Tchaikovsky is just SO GOOD.

“You set up a system of ‘us’ and ‘them’ and you wonder why it didn’t make people nice?”

This book tricked me, but in a very good way. You see, after the first few pages of Spiderlight I expected Dungeons and Dragons. After all, we have a questing party in the search of the Dark Lord that already came equipped with a mage, a cleric, a thief, a fighter and an archer, with the language that at first screams “sword and sorcery”. I was expecting a clever and probably sarcastic deconstruction of fantasy tropes, but what I got was something else, something deeper and darker and quietly angrier as the lighthearted(-ish) humor is slowly replaced with scary seriousness, and smiles and giggles slowly disappear.

Because damn, it went dark pretty quickly. Not fantasy-dark but human-dark. The petty awfulness that comes from “Us vs. Them” divide, that smug self-righteousness and superiority from belonging to the “right side”, the intolerance and despising of the “other”, the desire to elevate yourself by subjugating someone in your power. And even those who themselves experience the pain of prejudice by others can turn around and take it out on someone who’s in turn weaker and with even less power - that classic “kicking the puppy” example.

“It was just one more ready and convenient way to find them sufficiently alien as to be below her consideration.”

There’s quite a danger in someone feeling that they are on the “right” side, because with that comes the easy justification of superiority and the right to subjugate and exterminate those in the “wrong”.

“It was her task that had resulted in Nth being subjugated like this, he knew, and he was entirely certain that, when he had done what she needed him to do, she would have him destroyed. Despite the relative balance of power between them, she seemed to view him as some threat that must be wiped out the moment expedience allowed her to do so.”

Tchaikovsky shines at making you empathize with non-humans. Here he returns to spiders, but before you start feeling that deja-vu of Children of Time he introduces a different flavor of otherness and a whole other degree of relatability. And the result is all the feelings that you cannot escape - empathy and anger and heartbreak intertwining and weighing on you throughout the story and making it actually hurt. There was a particular scene in the book close to the end where I had to stop and take a few deep breaths just to help *me* get through the sheer impact of what was on page without wanting to punch the wall.

“That they had made him into this form, and were now sufficiently chagrined over it that they wished to hide him introduced him to another new word. ‘Hypocrite’.”

Do not dismiss this story after a few pages as just playing with familiar fantasy tropes, as I almost did, because their eventual deconstruction here is done in a way that can really resonate if you let it. There are dark depths here, and a ray of hope which really feels unsettlingly ambiguous once you think about it. By now I really learned to trust Mr. T to get everything right.

And also it’s a damn good story.

The audiobook narrated by Adrian Tchaikovsky himself cemented the 5 stars. There is nothing that man can’t do, and yet again he also proved himself a superb audiobook narrator. And the book is just as wonderful the second time around.

5 stars.

“It had been that moment in Ening’s Garth, in the tavern there, when she had been drunk and angry, and it had spoken for itself. She had looked into that scrambled visage, those eyes, those teeth, and found that, in her mind, it had made the curious transition from abomination to simple monster.”

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Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for providing me with an audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.

It started out kind of like a typical questing party, following a prophecy to be able to defeat the dark lord. You have your warrior, wizard, priestess, thief, and archer, all seeming like your typical character. But then, thrown into the mix is a spider turned mostly human by Penthos (the wizard with lots of power but quick socially awkward) and things get muddled pretty fast. I really liked Nth. Both when he was fully a spider and as he traversed with the group to guide them to the dark lord. There are funny bits (mostly with Nth and his strength and spider ways in a human body) but then it does get quite serious with the various members of the group and how they feel and deal with Nth as well as Nth's struggle to reconcile his spider self and newly made human side and how he will never be fully one thing or another again. I will admit I yelled at some of the characters (mostly Dion and Harathes and especially when they traveled to Armes' city where all the other clergy dwell) for their unwillingness to see things as more than black and white. So, yeah, there is prejudice and hate mixed in with the humor (I love how Nth takes care of the doomsayers that cross paths with!)

Besides Nth, I enjoyed the bits with Lief (reformed thief, mostly) because of how he treated Nth and the other party members going through crises of their own (like Cyrene dealing with how people treat female warriors in thinking they are easy). And Penthos who sometimes lives in a world different from everyone else in terms of what might be right or wrong just because it is possible to do with magic.

The ending had a twist I have seen before but it worked well and I liked it, despite how it was a bit sad. I do really like Nth's part in it cause he deserved it for all that he went through on the journey to the dark lord's lands.

This was an interesting world to visit and I did enjoy it. The author did a good job in writing it and in narrating the audiobook.

Not all writers have the skill to narrate their audiobooks, but Adrian Tchaikovsky has it in spades. This went beyond a mere reading that I had expected to a fantastic performance including different voices for dialogue of the characters. If it didn't take the author, whose writing I very much enjoy, away from his writing, I would love to hear him perform more of the audiobook narrations.
As far as the story itself, Spiderlight was an interesting adventure with a bit of drama and dry humor to light the way. A group of oddball characters decides that they are the group that an old prophesy foretold would defeat the Dark Lord, and they set off to do just that. First stop, get what they need from the Spider Queen, then on to a perilous journey with occasional farcical laughs for our band of offbeat champions until they arrive to their prophesized meeting...or did they? This story was a fun read right through the enjoyable and very fitting end. For anyone who enjoys a bit of sarcasm in their fantasy or is ready for a break from the very serious epic fantasies, just follow the spiders to this entertaining novella or better yet, the audiobook where the author will keep you entertained while you drive, exercise, or do chores.
I received advanced access to this audiobook thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, Macmillan Audio) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

Adrian Tchaikovsky is an incredibly versatile writer. For those who were introduced to him through his more serious, highly philosophical or scientific, works "Spiderlight" might be a bit jarring. For someone who has happily devoured a range of his books at this point it was a joy to read a story with the quirky levity that usually only comes in spurts in those heavier works. Read as rerelease now as an audiobook, this could be perfect timing as there is a surge in popularity of LitRPG which this is similar.

Yet what seems as a casual classic fantasy quest unfolds to have a much more poignant core. The exploration of humanity through an alien entity's eyes isn't a new concept, nor the corruption of men. However, there is something about the timing and the gray-area look at institutions as well as the way it calls out positive and negative actions and attitudes, placing them all in perspective, seems increasingly prevalent in today's society where there is so much othering, abuse of power, and misconceptions of history due to victors and propaganda.

It also has this sneaky way of slipping in issues and unconventional characters and topics. There is one character who defies the usual 'party romance' subplot actively calling out what it would be like to be a woman in a masculine hetero-normative space. The struggles they face to be seen for what they are and not what they're made of is an honest struggle for many of any gender in different circumstances. What really hit me, though, was the many questions this rises about consent when there is a character bound to obey commands.

There's also an undercurrent of self actualization. For the most part it's not massive life epiphanies. It's gradual and really only came to me on reflection. Though the conversations and conflicts of out transformed companion and how he now fits in no one world could also be a less veiled way of addressing those of multiple cultures.

While it deals with all these serious matters, it is undeniably strongly comedic. Each party member has a quirky in their own way personality. It brings for a lot of color into this rag tag adventure.

In the end, Spiderlight might not be mind-blowing-world-shattering but its a whole sack of fun stitched up with heart.

(3.5 Stars)

Normally I really like it when the author reads the audiobook... With that being said, I think the narration was just "okay". I think he did the male voices really good, and gave some of the more major characters their own unique accents, cadence, and tone. For the female voices, I think he was lacking a little. He does have a deep voice so it was probably difficult to perform female voices. He didn't do a bad job, it just wasn't as good as I hoped it would be. If there was something that could be improved, it would be to make sure vocal volume a little more even, some parts were spoken very softly.

As far as the book, I thought the concept was great, the character development was excellent, and the visualization of the world was well done. This was a fantasy adventure, or quest. The story was good, and I found myself thinking of several sub-plots I'd like to see expanded on. However, for me, I thought the ending was anti-climactic. Well, the "idea" of the ending was really good, but actual ending just felt a little flat. I can't say much more without giving away key story elements.

This author is really good, and has several books that I rate very highly. I would read more if this were a series, and I will definitely read more by this author.

Written and narrated superbly by the talented Adrian Tchaikovsky, this quest tale takes place on a world populated by humans and sentient spiders (see Children of Time), many generations after first contact. The humans are kept in line by a religion that describes anyone not human as “of the dark.” Yet, to fulfill their prophecy and slay the dark lord, they need a spider as their navigator (a la Lewis and Clark). The story is engaging as are the interactions between characters. There is character growth and all that good vs evil (light vs dark) stuff you’d expect from beings on a quest.
It’s not necessary to have read Children of Time to enjoy this, but I liked knowing the backstory of how the spiders communicate and their social hierarchy.
Another 5 star read, publication date: Oct 28, 2024.
My thanks to the author, publisher, producer, and #NetGalley for early access to the audiobook for review purposes.