The Scarab Path

Shadows of the Apt, Book 5

By: Adrian Tchaikovsky

Narrated by: Ben Allen

Ancient powers are waking . . .

The Scarab Path is the fifth book in the critically acclaimed epic fantasy series Shadows of the Apt 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 broken in ways no doctor can mend, haunted by ghosts of the past. Meanwhile, the powerful Wasp Empress is regaining control over those imperial cities that refused to bow to her. But she draws her power from something more sinister than armies and war machines.

Only her consort, the former spymaster Thalric, knows the truth. As assassins seek to end him, he finds his life and his loyalties under threat once again. And in an ancient city beyond the desert, a terrible secret stirs beneath its stones.

The Scarab Path is followed by the sixth book in the Shadows of the Apt series, The Sea Watch.

The entire series is narrated by Ben Allen (Alien Clay). Listeners love the series in audio:

‘Fantastic narration that really got you to imagine this amazing world’

‘You get consumed into the world and its characters’

‘The characters are distinct with masterful accents’

‘The narration and sound design is jaw-dropping’

‘Ben Allen's narration was frankly phenomenal all the way through’

Critic reviews

Brimming with imagination

The Shadows of the Apt series is The Shadows of the Apt series is simply one of the best epic fantasy series out there

Super worldbuilding, great characters and extreme inventiveness

Epic fantasy at its best. Gripping, original and multi-layered storytelling from a writer bursting with lots of fascinating ideas

Full of sparking, speculative innovation (Stephen Baxter, author of the Xeelee Sequence, on The Doors of Eden)

Breathtaking scope and vision. Adrian Tchaikovsky is one of our finest writers (Gareth Powell, author of Embers of War, on Children of Ruin)

A joy from start to finish. Entertaining, smart, surprising and unexpectedly human (Patrick Ness, author of The Knife of Never Letting Go, on Children of Time)

Great book yet again

The Scarab Path is such a great book, but as the series grow - it’s becoming a little predictable- maybe because a lot of foreshadowing from previous books- over all it’s still a great book. I find myself deliberately taking the long way home on my drive just to finish a chapter. Anyway… great series - already have the next book loaded up

Love this series

For the most part I loved this book. It focused on a few characters, relatively speaking, and it was enjoyable to dig deeper into them. However I will say there were a couple characters I just wanted to slap so they would stop whining. But in the end, I could forgive them as at least one of them finally realized how to take control of their life and move on. I'm hoping in the next book, the other character will have done the same. I love this series and will miss it when I am done. I don't reread books anymore but maybe this series I might.

Fantastic!

I love this series! The narrator is amazing and storyline exciting. It is an incredible read.

Another World Well Done

Title says it all I think. Another fantastic addition of anotjer fantastic city. fantastic kindoms. Fantastic plots and secrets. Fantastic war.

Amazing, just like the whole series

I am so glad I have found this writer! From the CoT and CoR to this masterpiece of a series, his books are just SO good!
Please do keep on writing, Mr.Tchaikovsky 😊