How did they come about, and what are their motivations?* What happened to Sky and Tesla? Were they ever found, was the technology recovered? How did Alice and the bees survive Sameal's cleansing fire? Sameal's worshipers are only referenced, but clearly important, so in what way is this rival faith developing, and if it's not, why not? How is Garrick's industrial and oil-dependent city surviving in a world that has regressed to mostly pre- and early- industrial conditions? And we still know next to nothing about the Empani – who appear to be an empath/morph race or hybrid. too many hints, not enough words in this short-ish installment. This is precisely the flaw of the story though. The redevelopment of an old religion is another pervasive theme, with two rival gods, and hints of opposing worship practices.

There are characters who sacrifice power for love, and those who risk everything for power. Spiderwork is potentially a complex story, with good characterizations, including a capricious god who has no compunction against making an example (killing) her loyal followers for their very human foibles. Rigel has a lot of plates spinning in the air. In a twist of reader irony, Spiderwork's being more than a simple love story, is what frustrates me the most about this novella (perhaps the series?) even though I loved it. There are bigger themes at work here – the breakdown of humanity and its rebuilding, with tyrants, political intrigue, city-states, manipulations, and the resurgence of old gods and ancient religion. The author of Spiderwork (In Flagrante Apocalypto #2) calls her series a romance, but I think that's doing it an injustice.

Spiderwork by L.K. Rigel