The Worlds of Artem Kamenisty. S-T-I-K-S. The Bee Swarm. Book 3. Secrets of the Outsiders

This isn’t Sparta—it’s Styx. They won’t kill you for being a newbie, but they’ll count the steps with your forehead; they’ll make your fingers crunch under your boots, and your ribs will be beaten with a rifle butt. And as always, bad guys come in three types: psychotics and maniacs who will pour out picked-on profanity and, laughing, cut you into pieces while you’re still alive; double-faced traitors who call you a friend but stab you in the back; and clever, smart, calculating schemers who stage yet another gambit.