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.