Lords of uncreation

Alien races and warring political factions scramble to defeat the planet-destroying entities called Architects in the epic but somewhat murky finale to Tchaikovsky's Final Architecture trilogy (after Eyes of the Void). When ancient and irascible Idris Telemmier, a genetically manipulated Intermediary who can mentally enter the interstellar byways of unspace, communicates with the Architects, he learns that they're just the puppets of a powerful Presence residing at the very center of the universe, one that threatens the extinction of all sentient life. Despite this looming catastrophe, however, the Architects' common enemies--the Parthenon, a society of women warriors; the gang lead by the unhinged Aklu the Unspeakable; and the dictatorial Uskaro noble family--can't put aside their petty power plays to form a unified front. This chaos creates the risk that the Eye, a newly discovered piece of alien tech that could destroy a breeding ground of Architects in the unspace, may fall into the wrong hands. An abundance of characters muddies the cataclysmic plot, distracting from the slow reveal of the Architects' motivations and next target. The story hits its stride, however, in the revelatory final confrontation between Idris and the Presence. Tchaikovsky sticks the landing, even if he wobbles a bit on the way there. Agent: Simon Kavanagh, Mic Cheetham Agency. (May)