Last of the nine kinden who play a significant part in Empireare the Scorpions. Significant? Well perhaps their significance is their non-appearance. There are plenty of them, and they keep turning up and showing their nasty, toothy faces, and yet what impact do they make? The Scorpions care nothing for empires, for borders, morality, politics or any of that set of jack-straws that other kinden are constantly plucking at. However, because of this, those Scorpion-kinden who turn up in Empire are atypical, and renegades all, from the gangster Akta Barik to Rakka the escaped slave and, most especially, cunning old Hokiak. So, to set the record straight, here is David Mumford's depiction of the Scorpions, which I've saved to last because I think it's one of his very best, and here is a new story, which tells of the tribulations of a Wasp and three very different Scorpions.

Oh and, keen peoples that they are, Fantasy Book Critic has I think bagsied the first review of Dragonfly Falling here, in fact they've reviewed it twice just to maintain their lead, whilst the good folk of Geek Planet have a new interview here in which I mostly refuse to be baited into talking about Blood of the Mantis.