Books in the Shadows of the Apt series

The ninth and penultimate book in the epic Shadows of the Apt cycle by Adrian Tchaikovsky, War Master's Gate is an explosive fantasy that propels you towards a dramatic conclusion.A city makes its last stand . . . Relentlessly advancing towards Collegium, the Empire is again seeking to break down the city's walls. The mighty imperial armies have learnt from their failures, and Empress Seda will brook no weakness in her soldiers. After all, Stenwold Maker has earned his title, and the War Master has strategies to save his city. His aviators rule the skies - but the Wasp Kinden Empire has developed a terrifying new aerial weapon. Yet the campaign may be decided far from marching armies and the noise of battle. In an ancient forest, where Mantis clans pursue their own civil war, the Empress Seda is seeking a lost power of the old world. Cheerwell Maker must stop her, at any cost, but will their rivalry awaken something far deadlier? Something that could make even their clash of nations pale into insignificance . . .Conclude this immersive epic fantasy adventure with Seal of the Worm.

Dragonfly Falling is the second novel, following Empire in Black and Gold, in the richly imagined Shadows of the Apt series by Adrian Tchaikovsky.Every hero must be tested . . .The armies of the Wasp Empire are on the march, and first to feel their might will be the city of Tark, which is even now preparing for siege. Within its walls Salma and Totho must weather the storm, as the Ant-kinden take a stand - against numbers and weaponry such as the Lowlands have never seen. And after his earlier victory, the Empire's secret service has decided veteran artificer Stenwold Maker is too dangerous to live. So disgraced Major Thalric is despatched on a desperate mission, not only to eliminate Stenwold himself, but to bring about the destruction of his beloved city of Collegium, and thus end all hope of intelligent resistance to the remorseless imperial advance. While the Empire's troops are laying waste to all in their way, the young Emperor himself is treading a different path. His thoughts are on darker things than mere conquest, and if he attains his goal he will precipitate a reign of blood that will last a thousand years.Dragonfly Falling is followed by the third book in this epic fantasy series, Blood of the Mantis.

Following on from Empire in Black and Gold and Dragonfly Falling, Blood of the Mantis is a vivid fantasy full of intrigue and action, from the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning author, Adrian Tchaikovsky.A dread ritual casts a deadly shadow . . .Driven by the ghosts of the legendary Darakyon, the seer Achaeos has tracked the stolen Shadow Box to the marsh-town of Jerez - but he has only days before this magical artefact will be lost to him forever . . . Meanwhile, the forces of the Empire are mustering for their next great offensive. Stenwold and his followers have only a short time in which to seek allies before the enemy soldiers are on the march again, conquering everything in their path. And if they cannot hold them back before spring, then the hated black and gold flag will be flying fly over every city in the Lowlands before the year's end. And should the Shadow Box fall into the hands of the power-mad Emperor, then nothing will save the world from his relentless ambition.The Shadows of the Apt series continues with Salute the Dark.

The Scarab Path is an astonishingly immersive fantasy, in the Shadows of the Apt series by Arthur C. Clarke award-winner, Adrian Tchaikovsky.Ancient powers are waking . . .The war with the Wasp Empire has ended in a bitter stalemate, and Collegium has nothing to show for it but wounded veterans. Cheerwell Maker finds herself crippled in ways no doctor can mend, haunted by ghosts of the past that she cannot appease. The Empress Seda is regaining control over those imperial cities that refused to bow the knee to her, but she draws her power from something more sinister than mere armies and war machines. Only her consort, the former spymaster Thalric, knows the truth, and now the assassins are coming and he finds his life and his loyalties under threat once again. Then out beyond the desert of the Nem, the ancient city of Khanaphes awaits them both, with a terrible secret entombed beneath its stones.Continue this epic fantasy adventure with The Sea Watch.

A new race of Kinden emerge in The Sea Watch, the sixth novel in the Shadows of the Apt series by Arthur C. Clarke award-winner, Adrian Tchaikovsky.Danger lurks beneath dark waters . . . A shadow is falling over Collegium. Despite the tenuous peace, Stenwold Maker knows that the Empire will return for his city. Even as he tries to prepare for the resurgence of the black and gold army, a hidden threat is working against his people. Ships that sail from Collegium's harbour are being attacked, sunk by pirates. Some just go missing . . . Lulled by the spread of lies and false promises, Stenwold's allies are falling away. He faces betrayal on every side, and the Empire is just waiting for the first sign of weakness to strike. But they are not the only power that has its eyes on Collegium. And even with all their military strength and technology, they may not be powerful enough to stave off the forces massing in the darkness.Continue this immersive epic fantasy adventure with Heirs of the Blade.

By Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning novel Children of Time, Heirs of the Blade is the seventh part in the epic fantasy series Shadows of the Apt.The greatest foe is the enemy within . . .Tynisa is running, but she cannot escape the demons of her own mind. Amidst the fragmenting provinces of the Dragonfly Commonweal her past will at last catch up with her. Her father's ghost is hunting her down. At the same time, the Empress, Seda is on the move, and her eyes are on the city of Khanaphes, the fallen jewel of the ancient world. Whilst her soldiers seek only conquest, she sees herself as the heir to all the old powers of history, and has her eyes on a far greater prize.Continue this immersive epic fantasy adventure with The Air War.

Empire in Black and Gold is the first novel in Adrian Tchaikovsky's critically acclaimed epic fantasy series, The Shadows of the Apt.The days of peace are over . . .The city states of the Lowlands have lived in peace and prosperity for decades: bastions of civilization and sophistication. That peace is about to end.In far-off corners, an ancient Empire has been conquering city after city with its highly trained armies and sophisticated warmaking . . . And now it's set its sights on a new prize. Only the ageing Stenwold Maker, spymaster, artificer and statesman, can see the threat. It falls upon his shoulders to open the eyes of his people - as soon a tide will sweep down over the Lowlands and burn away everything in its path.But first he must stop himself from becoming the Empire's latest victim.Empire in Black and Gold is followed by the second book in the Shadows of the Apt series, Dragonfly Falling.

Adrian Tchaikovsky's epic Shadows of the Apt continues with the fourth instalment in this bestselling fantasy series, Salute the Dark.All must face the end of days . . .The vampiric sorcerer Uctebri has at last got his hands on the Shadow Box and can finally begin his dark ritual - a ritual that the Wasp-kinden Emperor believes will grant him immortality. But Uctebri has his own plans both for the Emperor and the Empire. The massed Wasp armies are on the march, and the spymaster Stenwold must see which of his allies will stand now that the war has finally arrived. This time the Empire will not stop until a black and gold flag waves over Stenwold's own home city of Collegium. Tisamon the Weaponsmaster is faced with a terrible choice: a path that could lead him to abandon his friends and his daughter and to face degradation and loss. Yet it might bring him before the Wasp Emperor with a blade in his hand. But is he being driven by Mantis-kinden honour, or manipulated by something more sinister?Continue this immersive epic fantasy adventure with The Scarab Path.