Empire in Black and Gold (Shadows of the Apt)

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This might be a debut, but apart from some small things, you will probably not really notice it. Tchaikovsky had some balls when he decided to start off with something like this. I'm finally diving into Tchaikovsky's epic fantasy series after liking so many of his books. If you've not yet tried Tchaikovsky, and you're a fan of science fiction try Children of Time and Dogs of War, and if you happen to be a fantasy fan, try the excellent Guns of the Dawn. All of the characters are layered and some are more grey tinted than others. Their struggles and doubts feel real in this epic war world. Everybody, including the antagonist, goes through emotional development - and since this is only book one I am eagerly looking forward to see what is in store for them. Just an absolutely fantastic first book in a series that deserves a fandom as dedicated as those of Malazan, Stormlight Archive, or Wheel of Time.

I am hooked and I want to see what my favourites are up to, what kind of fate lies in wait for them. What more can I wish for from a good Fantasy read? The opening action set piece and the climactic action set piece had me on the edge of my seat, and I found the action to be so well laid out and written that I could picture things so clearly. My experience with fantasy is that every good fantasy has a good setting. In A Song of Ice and Fire you get Westeros and the Known World, in the Old Kingdom trilogy you get Ancelstierre, Dragonlance has Krynn, Lewis has Naria, Tolkien Middle Earth, the list goes on. But meanwhile, in far-off corners, the Wasp Empire has been devouring city after city with its highly trained armies, its machines, its killing Art...And now its hunger for conquest and war has become insatiable.If you don't know yet, the Shadows of the Apt series as its main catch uses all kinds of insects for its races. There aren't big insects running around, if that is what it sounds like, think more of humanity having evolved to share skills and typologies with different types of insects.

What really sets apart this setting from other fantasy worlds however, is not so much the world itself, but the different races inhabiting the world. By that, I’m not talking about elves, dwarves, hobbits, trolls, orcs, etc. I’m instead referring to the simple, yet ingenious idea of insect-kinden. To break it down, insect-kinden are humans, who long ago adapted to the prehistoric insects that terrorized their world by adopting their traits. For instance, Ant-kinden operate as a hive-mind, Wasp-kinden can fly and use stingers, and Mantis-kinden are deadly warriors, blessed with prodigious speed, skill and such natural weapons as spines jutting from their arms. The technique by which the insect-kinden are able to accomplish such feats is simply known as meditation: I'm happy to say that "Shadows of the Apt" is the second epic Fantasy series after Sanderson's "Stormlight Archive" that convinces me on all levels. Only the ageing Stenwold Maker – spymaster, artificer and statesman – foresees the threat, as the empires’ armies march ever closer. So it falls upon his shoulders to open the eyes of the cities’ leaders. He sees that war will sweep through their lands, destroying everything in its path.

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I feel like this is so far a worldbuilding-focused story, with characters, that are likable and easy to grasp. You basically kill several birds with one stone, you make it easier for both yourself and the reader. But let me explain. CONTENT WARNING: discussion of rape, attempted rape, war, racial discrimination, lots and lots of talk about bugs, some body horror (not eyes) The book starts with a group of Collegium scholars witnessing the fall of the city of Myna to the Wasp Empire. Here we meet some of the most important characters such as Stenwold Maker (Beetle-Kinden) and Tisamon (Mantis-Kinden) as they are caught up in the madness of the fall. They fear their plans have been divulged to the Empire and seek the traitor. L'impero è delle Vespe: volano e lanciano raggi di energia dalla mano, come il pungiglione dell'insetto.

This year, I’ve set myself a couple of challenges. If you read my first post, you’ll know I spent all of last year reading books by David Weber. So for 2020, with it being a new year and a new decade and all that, I’ve challenged myself to read at least a book a month. Easy, right? It was a very fine book with an original idea and well executed too. Solid world building, even pacing and impeccable characterization, plenty of action as well. And so knowing he could do both science-fiction and fantasy, he seemed like the perfect crossover author to begin this year with.Terrible Worlds: Revolutions (Solaris, 2023), ISBN 978-1786188885. Collects three novellas: Ironclads, Firewalkers and Ogres. And, like I was saying before, there’s the featureless plains between the faraway cities, the Dryclaw Desert (ugh), the Great Barrier Ridge, Spiderlands and Tharn in the mountains. The landscape in the Lowlands is so boring, so featureless, we literally fly over it at one point. The city states of the Lowlands have lived in peace for decades, bastions of civilization, prosperity and sophistication, protected by treaties, trade and a belief in the reasonable nature of their neighbors. Story behind Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky – Entering the Shadows". Upcoming4.me. Archived from the original on 6 October 2014 . Retrieved 8 August 2014.