Empire in Black and Gold (Shadows of the Apt)

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And so knowing he could do both science-fiction and fantasy, he seemed like the perfect crossover author to begin this year with. There are several insect groups represented and I hope to see more in forthcoming books. Stenwold is a beetle who is an academic. Tisamon is his Mantis warrior friend. Tynisa is his foster Spider-daughter. Che is his beetle niece. Salma is a flamboyant Dragonfly swordsman. Tothe is a half-breed who is very good at mechanical devices. Achaeos is a Moth-seer and becomes an unwilling participant in their fight. Then there’s the main antagonist, Thalric, a captain of the invading Wasp Empire. These are all great characters and easy to route for. There is quite some tension in many of these "little" encounters, that the author pulls off really well. Great stuff, especially in the middle part.

But the one thing I’d say about Empire is that the cities are interesting, the world between isn’t. Adrian certainly has civilization building down to an art. I thought this was a fun, "different" take on sword and sorcery with bug people. All in all this was a fantastic debut and I'm very pleased that I am able to dive right into Dragonfly Falling and subsequent ones without waiting. Provided that I whittle down Mount TBR a bit between books. There is a wise man, a threat, a "party", a travel, betrayal, fights. Hmmh, sounds familiar. But there are no elves, dwarfs, hobbits or trolls. Instead we find steampunk elements and most unsual: insect-kinden.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: The stakes are immediately set, and with what follows after that, the author manages to boost all of the things he wants the reader to feel. I absolutely adored this first book of the Shadows of the Apt. I grew attached to just about every main or side character, and I was so intrigued by the creative worldbuilding and was left wanting so much more (not a bad place to be when there are 9 more books in the series!). I read this series years ago and am so pleased to see it out on audible. Ben Allen does a great job of distinguishing the different characters and maintaining their voices throughout.

One of the most distinctive things about this book was the world building. The races are completely different from anything I’ve seen before. I was a little hesitant when I read the cover blurb because I wasn’t sure how I would feel about what sounded like various races of bug people, but it was executed brilliantly. These people aren’t just human sized insects walking around. The different races, or kinden, have distinct characteristics and abilities, called their Art, that lend them specific talents. For instance the Wasp kinden can summon wings to fly and shoot fiery blast, or stings. Others can summon abilities like stealth, strength, or dexterity. The diversity of the kinden was really interesting, and I can’t wait to find out more about them. There is also a heavier technology presence than I was expecting, which I usually don’t love, but which I thought was handled well. I cannot even begin to explain how much I enjoy the Shadows of the Apt books. Their level of originality and the sheer epic-ness makes for some of the best fantasy entertainment out there’ I hadn't even known about this epic fantasy series, until a friend outside the USA mentioned it. The good thing about that is: all ten books in the series are out (though one or two are not published here yet), which means not having to wait, if the succeeding volumes entranced me as much as this first one did. If - for example - I tell you about a character named Rut Djawiar, an elder prophet of the Kshintu-people, a race of Fraktuars, I would then need to slowly introduce you into what each of these things mean. If there would be plots at play, that focus around changes in the culture of the Fraktuars, the society or whatever, there would be some type of legwork woven in.All the moving parts. New kinds of humans! Very distinct politics all over the place! Found family! Magic! The action is very well written and keeps coming, and the dialogue is great. I cannot comment on prose due to the fact that I'm still not 100% sure how to categorize it. The basic plotline is that Stenwold, a Beetle, has been preaching to everyone for 17 years of the imminent Wasp threat, but nobody has listened. The Wasps continue to move and mobilize, and he is laughed at. The cast has many likable characters and their development is also top-notch. On 23 January 2019, Tchaikovsky was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of the Arts by the University of Lincoln. [13] Career [ edit ] First nursing associates graduate among 1,000 students in Lincoln". The Lincolnite. 23 January 2019 . Retrieved 23 January 2019.

The idea of an all devouring race slowly conquering an entire world just appeals to me and the execution is pretty good. The standout sections are the political scheming and negotiations between the different insect/human races; dialogue is definitely the authors strongest writing skill. The downside to this book is the fighting/battle scenes; they’re such a drag. I found myself zoning out every time there was a scuffle. They seemed amateur compared to the rest of the book. Insect-kinden? There are several human races who long ago adapted to prehistoric insects. Examples: mantis-kinden are warriors, beetle-kinden like mechanics, wasp-kinden can fly and use stingers. Second is the technology, which I didn't have a problem with, but that needed some adjustment by myself. In the end, I only viewed it as a nice change of habits, to have some very high level of development in some of these races. Adrian, I can’t begin to express my gratitude for creating this masterpiece and I hope many will appreciate this work and all its glory! It has changed the way I want stories to be told forever and I have you to thank! This was my second go at this series and I'm glad I returned. The story of an empire rising to take over and conquer complacent rivals is an old one. The twist to give all the factions aspects of insect behaviour seems a hard one to get your head around at first, but makes everyone distinct and interesting to follow.That prologue jumps right into the story with the passage of seventeen years. Stenwold Maker is now a Master at the Collegium and also a spymaster. He seeks to convince the free states of the threat from the Wasp Empire.

The Lowlands is a world and civilization unlike any other you have read in the fantasy genre and I can guarantee that! There are several different races of humans in this world with each race being referred to as a different Kinden. A Kinden is a race of human that based on the aspects of different insects!. I know this may sound strange but let me explain how it works. The world consists of several different types of Kinden: beetles, ants, dragonfly, mantis, spider, moth, wasp etc… Each Kinden contains their own skills or magic abilities. Beetle-Kinden tend to be short with round build and they are very smart with the ability to build machines. Ant-Kinden are short but very strong soldiers to go to war and they can communicate in each others minds without talking. Mantis-Kinden are elite soldiers similar to a samurai and very prideful. Finally Wasp-Kinden are magic users who can fly, but not very strong as a group. All of these Kinden and so much more inhabit this world and Adrian Tchaikovsky has taken my breath away with his imagination and creative genius!

The cast of characters is varied, fleshed out, and I particularly enjoyed the amount of work the author put into his antagonists. The only problem I noticed for myself, that this world does feel a bit artificial at times - a bit constructed. This might sound a bit strange at first, but thinking about it, this was actually a BRILLIANT move, especially for a debut, and it is easy to see, how he was able to pull this monster of a series off at the beginning of his career.