The world of the Apt is a fascinating one. Drawing on a vastly different set of sources to the vast majority of Fantasy fiction, being both modeled on the Classical world via Steampunk and using insect based races in a Shamanic bargain that bypasses gods and other forms of higher powers. Tchaikovsky has made some interesting choices in the creation of his world and there are places where they truly shine. It is a world of empires and city states, sustained by martial law, fear, and magic or mystique. Only Collegium, our heroes, have experimented with democracy, in a fashion far more inclusive than ancient Athens ever did. The Ant cities, as Adrian pointed out in his interview, are basically Sparta without the Helots. The Wasps at least resemble the Persian Empire and there are other analogies. Khanaphes feels very Egyptian for instance. The Scorpions are more like the Bedouin, travelling tribes of nomads, while the Dragonflies are the culture who really seem to break the mold, being ...
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"It was a Fly Kinden war." I love these six words. Hidden deep in War Master's Gate, they sum up pretty much everything about the Kinden that became my favourite. I had expected one of the Inapt races to fill that spot, I'm not the most Apt person, most science either baffles or bores me, and I'm much more interested in people and 'soft sciences' than I am Physics etc. In the earliest books, the character I liked most was Salma, closely followed by Tisamon. They both had style, grace; and were deadly on the battlefield. Both reminded me of Michael Moorcock characters, and took my back to my teens, reading the narrow paperbacks filled with the adventures of Elric, Corum, and their ilk. The fact that the Spider society seemed to have been modeled, if only slightly on the Melnibonean culture added to my affections for the Inapt, and I was honestly surprised when I encountered the Kinden that became my favourite. The Flies. The first Fly I remember re...
Jumping ahead a little from what I'd planned, I asked Adrian Tchaikovsky some questions about his Shadows of the Apt series. His website can be found at: http://shadowsoftheapt.com/ , where he talks... well, sense most of the time. 1) Your work seems to have a consistent theme of magic versus technology. Is this intentional, or do your novels just evolve to reflect that theme? I think I have a very keen sense of things past or failing: lost worlds, extinct species, fallen civilizations and ways of life. When I was a kid I felt the absence of dinosaurs and trilobites and the like very keenly. A passing or ebbing age of magic is not uncommon in fantasy, and it can be a very poignant thing, or it can be a very sinister thing – it’s good story fodder. One day I must write a book about a failing age of technology that’s being overrun by a new and energetic magic. Or something… 2) ...
Having recently finished this series of books, I thought I'd dedicate a few blog pieces to them, looking at the various components of a long Epic Fantasy series, looking at its various arcs, the world building in the series, as well as talking about my favourite Kinden. Cheekily, I'm also going to see if Adrian will answer some questions... The Basics The series is spread out over ten books, and arguably there are three arcs within them. The first four books were written as one story, and are fairly focused on two matters; the First Wasp War and the quest for the Shadow Box. After this Tchaikovsky begins to diversify his world, both geographically and historically. In many ways these novels are my favourites, they feel as if they stand alone far more than the others and in some respects they show that Tchaikovsky can blend other shades of fiction into his fantasy. With the Air War, the conflict resumes and yet more secrets are revealed. The world is divided into ...
Sometimes part of a book will stay with you, no matter what else you read. You find it sits there, never quite forgotten, sometimes only half remembered. I read The Dragonbone Chair the year it came out (way back in the 1990s) and this part has stayed with me ever since and coloured my perception of our species. If fiction is about what makes us human, then in a very real sense I feel Tad Williams nailed an aspect of our essential natures. To put it in context, the heroes are searching for a sword which is meant to be a great defence against a mythological threat known as the Storm King and the humans have been joined by a group of 'Sithi', the settings version of Elves (though written in a far more alien fashion than Elves ever were. At this point they're huddled by the fire and the wolves are howling. * The howling quieted. A long forefinger touched Simon's hand, making him jump. 'Do you listen to the wolves, Seoman?' Jirki asked. '...