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Salute the Dark

4 StarsWow. That was something. After a slower paced third book in the Shadows of the Apt series, Salute the Dark made up for lost time with a frantic flurry of action, resulting in a surprising ending that sets the stage for a whole new chapter in the story. At the end of Blood of the Mantis, the Wasp armies were marshaling their forces, preparing for another foray into the Lowlands. Meanwhile the Shadow Box had been lost, stolen away by the mosquito kinden Uctebri to further his own plans. Stenwold gathers his allies for the fight they know is coming, worried that even together they won’t be able to stand against the Wasp Empire. The action in this book is fast and furious, particularly in the last third. As in the previous books, the scope of the story continues to grow, with each new entry showing more of the vast and fascinating world the author has created. This time a glimpse is given into the Dragonfly Commonweal and the Bee city of Szar. Even more so than before, this increased scope meant that the narration jumped from character and location over and over as the conflict unfolded on several fronts. One of the side effects was that fewer characters were given a chance to shine in this book. Tisamon was given perhaps the most page time. Thalric also had several standout moments, cementing him as one of the most interesting characters in the series. One scene in particular was very memorable. In Salute the Dark we see the plot threads began in Blood of the Mantis come to fruition. The alliance with Sarn, Salma and his army of renegades, the sowing of discord in the Spider city of Solarno, the schemes of Uctebri and Princess Seda in the Wasp capital. All of these come to some kind of resolution, some of them in surprising ways. More so than any of the previous books, the events were bloody and brutal. People die, battles are won and lost, and everywhere the cost of war is steep. While I think Dragonfly Falling remains my favorite book so far in the series, Salute the Dark was another excellent book that left me very interested to see what happens next.

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