Shadows of the Apt

Well, the moment fast approaches to see whether this beastie can survive in the wild, so… To celebrate the publication of his debut novel, Empire in Black and Gold   ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY   will be signing copies of the book at Waterstone's, United Reform Building, 89a Broad Street, Reading RG1 2AP   SATURDAY 5^th JULY, 3–5pm     […]

Download Ironclads, a new short story set in the Shadows of the Apt universe. (Click through for download) ironclads-by-adrian-tchaikovsky

Download a free copy of the Empire in Black and Gold world map below! (Click through for download) empire-in-black-and-gold-world-map

Here is the cover of book one of Shadows of the Apt: Empire in Black and Gold — in glorious technicolor! (Click the post title to see the fullsize artwork.)

Welcome to the Official ™ website of the series Shadows of the Apt First things first: who the hell am I, that I have the right to comment? Am I, for example, award-winning author Neil Gaiman, internationally celebrated fantasist, whose excellent book, American Gods, has already been the subject of a blog about the post-writing process? No, I am […]

There are reasons why many fantasy stories take place in an ersatz Merrie Englande composed of equal parts Robin Hood, King Arthur, Prtince Valiant and cheese. Of course, one reason is imaginative bankruptcy, but there's more to it than that. The more you sing a tune the audience has heard before, the more they can fill […]

  Art by David Mumford   The Wasp Empire is scarcely three generations old, born when the chieftain of one hill-tribe grew strong enough to force all his neighbours to bow the knee. The Wasps have flown from strength to strength since then, embracing new ways of war, conquering cities and enslaving entire kinden. Now, […]

  Art by David Mumford The great and insular Dragonfly Commonweal, the Lowlands’ northern neighbour, has been declining for centuries, unable to sustain order and peace across its many principalities. A state already tottering has been left in ruins after a twelve-year campaign by the Wasp Empire. With thousands dead in battle and thousands more enslaved, still […]

After Stenwold picked up the telescope for the ninth time, Marius said, “You will know first from the sound.” The burly man stopped and peered down at him, telescope still half-poised. From their third-storey retreat the city walls were a mass of black and red, the defenders hurrying into place atop the ramparts and about the gates. “How […]

“From childhood's hour I have not been / As others were; I have not seen / As others saw; I could not bring / My passions from a common spring…”      wrote Edgar Allan Poe (1), although very few fantasists haven't felt like that on occasion. It's a genre that traditionally appeals to the odd and the misadjusted. Fiction about other […]