Spiderlight cover art

Spiderlight

A fantasy adventure where a dark lord waits and good may not triumph - from the multiple-award winner Adrian Tchaikovsky

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About this listen

Spiderlight is an exhilarating fantasy quest from Adrian Tchaikovsky, the author of Children of Time, Guns at Dawn and the Shadows of the Apt series.

The Church of Armes of the Light has battled the forces of Darkness for as long as anyone can remember. The great prophecy has foretold that a band of misfits, led by a high priestess will defeat the Dark Lord Darvezian, armed with their wits, the blessing of the Light and an artifact stolen from the merciless Spider Queen.

Their journey will be long, hard and fraught with danger. Allies will become enemies; enemies will become allies. And the Dark Lord will be waiting, always waiting . . .

Praise for Spiderlight

‘A joy from beginning to end." — Paul Cornell, author of Witches of Lychford and The Severed Streets

‘Sympathetic characters, real moral dilemmas, and emotional depth, all shot through with a sly humor that kept me grinning throughout’ — Django Wexler, author of How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying

 Action & Adventure Dark Fantasy Epic Fantasy Witty

Critic reviews

Spiderlight is a creepy-crawly treat from the master of non-human heroes, a joy from beginning to end (Paul Cornell, author of Witches of Lychford and The Severed Streets)
Tchaikovsky gives us sympathetic characters, real moral dilemmas, and emotional depth, all shot through with a sly humor that kept me grinning throughout (Django Wexler, author of How to Become the Dark Lord and Die Trying)
Spiderlight is a timeless adventure cranked up for the modern era of readers . . . Adrian Tchaikovsky has struck another literary goldmine that’s perfect for readers to dive into. Gripping and highly recommended (Jeremy Szal)
Spiderlight is a rip-roaring, old-fashioned heroic fantasy romp that also messes playfully with some of the genre’s more outdated conventions… a breathless rush that never outstays its welcome
Spiderlight will take you on a ride directly through straight fantasy and into the realms of the really fantastic . . . a brilliantly original novel
A must-read for all fans of fantasy. Very highly recommended
In a world of large epic fantasy series with mushy pacing and a lack of focus, Spiderlight is as sharp as a spider’s fang, as tight as its webbing and as multifaceted as its gaze
Tchaikovsky pokes gentle fun at some classic tropes and deftly uses others in a way that shows his deep love for and broad knowledge of the genre
A novel about the lies we tell ourselves about what it means to be good, a story about monsters, a story about learning to be better. (It also has a great sense of humour. And spiders.)
Spiderlight is a great fantasy read from one of the UK’s growing creators of world-class genre storytelling
All stars
Most relevant
At first I thought oh no have I aged out of fantasy, this seems too childish for me but then I started to see the humour and piss taking (with love) and could enjoy it more. The author reads it and he has a lovely reading voice but isn't great at a Scottish accent so shouldn't have bothered. It was mildly distracting at times but Cerene didn't have that many lines to ruin the reading overall. I'm so glad he didn't try an Irish accent. I wouldn't have been able to continue if he had.

Once I realised it's sardonic I liked it more

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The premise is clear from the beginning but done with the usual aplomb and thoroughly enjoyable, go spider-man😉

Tongue in cheek fun from Adrian

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I'm coming to think Adrian Tchaikovsky is either a number of linked individuals working under one name or a being who exists outside time. This is yet another damn fine novel, this time in the fantasy genre. As always the author isn't content to serve up a generic Dungeons and Dragons sword and sorcery fanfic "epic", although clearly he is familiar with the form. The story DOES involve both swords and sorcery and and first reads like a novelisation of a D&D adventure but it quickly becomes clear that there is more going on. As the story unfolds we find the characters wrestling with the subjective nature of good and evil whilst undertaking a quest which keeps turning into something other than tradition would dictate. I can't recommend this book highly enough!

P.S. If you've ever played D&D and found the Alignment System ridiculous, this book is for you!

Mr Tchaikovsky does it again!

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as usual Adrian never disappoints! I loved how the story was told from the the perspective of enth

an absolute gem

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The author has a fascination with Spiders I don’t. There’s not many books by AT that I don’t love but this one is one of them. I just couldn’t really get into it. None of the characters made me like them. But that’s me. Don’t let my personal feelings influence your possible enjoyment

The author has a fascination with Spiders

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