The Scarab Path by Adrian Tchaikovsky

The war with the Wasp Empire has ended in a bitter stalemate, and Collegium has nothing to show for it but wounded veterans. Cheerwell Maker finds herself crippled in ways no doctor can mend, haunted by ghosts of the past that she cannot appease, seeking for meaning in a city that no longer seems like home. The Empress Seda is regaining control over those imperial cities who refused to bow the knee to her, but she draws her power from something more sinister than mere armies and war machines. Only her consort, the former spymaster Thalric, knows the truth, and now the assassins are coming and he finds his life and his loyalties under threat yet again. Out past the desert of the Nem the ancient city of Khanaphes awaits them both, with a terrible secret entombed beneath its stones...

It took me a ridiculously long time to finish this book, not because it isn't engaging (it is, oh my goodness, it is!). I had devoured the first four books of the series, and the sheer emotional impact of them was starting to wear on me. I finally had to put the book down and take a breather, reading some fluffier things. When I came back to it, though, I fell right back in without missing a beat.

Finishing the book was very emotional, after spending so much time immersed in the universe. I had to go to the author's site RIGHT THEN and check through blog entries for reassurance. I found myself breathing ever so much more easily as soon as I found a post mentioning books six, seven, and eight. None of them are published yet, of course, but they're coming, and I'm satisfied with that for now.

This one was very exciting. Again, new characters, new settings, new races. An interesting drama, this one.

??I thought the first half of it dragged on a little. I wasn't too interested in what was going on with the Refek agents and their mobilization to have the Scorpions attack Khanaphes. The interactions between Thalric and Che are what interested me the most. Thoto was so annoying. I almost wish he was killed at some point. The mystery of the Masters in Khanaphes kept me engaged with the story, but in the end, I didn't get Ethmet, the First Minister. Was he really in touch with the Masters at all? He seemed just like a puppet, repeating old sayings. And why the Masters were dormant? And why after they woke up, found Che, let her go, and then went back to sleep? What was their goal? It seems like this mystery is the backdrop of what this series is really about.??