Event news and combined map : Shadows of the Apt

Event news and combined map

O‑kay, on the back of all that Fantasyconcatenation I have some more confirmed dates for signings. Or at least date.

As well as joining Adam Nevill and Mark Charan Newton at Forbidden Planet on the 15^th October, 1–2pm, I shall be in Reading the day before at the Waterstones Bookshop (the one on Broad Street as usual) on the evening of that Friday from 6–8pm. Do come along, spread the word, etc.

Further signings in Oxford, Leeds and possibly elsewhere (maybe Birmingham, as I'm swinging by there — may just sign stock though) — let you know as I have the info.

As against that, the Derby Thing vaguely mooted for 5^th November has been unmooted owing to author unavailability, and looks likely to be some time early next year — the only info I have for this is that it should be a Tor authors' event — so may be me, Mark Newton, Peter F Hamilton, Paul Cornell, China Mieville and pals. Or none of the above. No idea.

Now, to far more important business. As previously promised, Roderick Easton, occasional poster here, has taken Hemesh Alles' maps and put them together for a complete picture of the world of the Insect-kinden (or at least those parts of it we've seen in the series), which, with great thanks to Mr Easton, I hereby present:

If your browser's like mine you may need to click on it to see it fully.

The Lowlands is really small! Look at it, can you believe the entire first book takes place in that tiny plot of land?

Also, I'm kind of waiting for my father, who teaches Geology at the OU, to tear me off a strip for where the mountains are, or something. But hey…

Posted by Adrian Tchaikovsky on October 3rd, 2011

Posted in Blog, Home, Map

Tags: Events

26 Comments

26 comments to “Event news and combined map”

Stuart Kent, October 4th, 2011 at 5:12 pm:

Dear Adrian,

First off let me say how much i love the books, i am reading them through a second time now and am enjoying them as much as i did the first time, if not more.

I have received the new book Heirs.… off of Amazon this morning and although i have been looking forward to this installment for the last few months with bated breath i find myself somewhat dissappointed when i opened the package and thought i would express my anguish and ask that i please have a response that somewhat answers my concerns.

All of the previous books i purchased in paperback, as did i with this one, and to date they had all come in the same size and format, which i might add i am very happy with. This latest installment however has come and i am upset about the size of the book. This new installment so far has not been released in the standard book size of previous releases and am told via Amazon pre-order that i will not be able to get the smaller copy of the paperback until Feb 2012.

For the life of me i can only come up with one reason that you would release the bigger book at the slightly higher price and i hope to the powers that be that this isnt the reason. I can only put it down to the fact that by releasing this bigger book, and by charging more you, or your publishers, are exploiting the book reading community, your fans, and trying to get away with charging the extra money for the 4 months that i would have to wait for the smaller book. This i feel is unfair to your fans and the people who care about your writing and wait patiently for your work. I am also annoyed that now this book does not match the smaller books in my collection, as i am someone, as are probably many others, who like to have matching books when they are from the same series.

Now i know this is a bit of a rant, but i wanted you to know that as an avid fan and a return reader of the world you are creating i am not overhappy with the thought of you or your publishers with your consent exploiting YOUR FANS for extra cash. I thought that being a writer and presenting this world to us and obviously enjoying what you create, that money would not be the drive for future books in the series.

Please get back to me as i feel slightly let down by your publishers, or you if the decision was yours to make. I would just like to further understand why i now have a book that is hard to travel with and handle with one hand while i read, the story may be good but the reading of it is going to present a nuisance situation.

Yours Faithfully

Stuart Kent
Adrian Tchaikovsky, October 4th, 2011 at 6:29 pm:

Stuart — I don't get any say in the book format coming out. I have the vague idea that it's a general shift for Tor in abandoning the smaller "A Format" books, though I may have misunderstood that. I agree that it's a source of annoyance when you can't get a matching set of books — had the same issue myself when they changed the cover designs for David Gemmell halfway through.

Actually, you're right, there seems to be a separate small paperback release listed. Not sure then.
Ferg, October 4th, 2011 at 9:22 pm:

I don't know a jot about publishing but it seems that the larger size is the sort of step up between mass market paperback and harback edition releases. That really just comes from observation rather than any working knowledge of how publishers work though.

As authors become more popular, publishers are able to exploit reader hunger and therefore release hardback editions etc to take advantage of this. The fairness could be debated, but it's been that way for many, many years and just part of the publishing world (and the dvd world and the music world.…you could buy your favourite dvd/cd right now at full price or you could wait 6 months until it hits the sale at HMV…)

It seems fair to point out that the Heirs book I (and presumably you, Stuart) got off Amazon is still priced lower than the same paperback we would be able to wander into the bookshops and buy in 4 months time (though, of course, Amazon will be cheaper again), so it's not like we're being terribly gouged.

The book size does throw off the symmetry of the shelf, but look at it as a transition from your small paperbacks to the imminent harbacks that may finish off the series. 🙂

Oh, and much kudos on the stitched map! Looks awesome!!!
Roderick, October 5th, 2011 at 1:00 am:

I think that I'll start from the beginning again, so that I can be sure of all the details before going on to the next book. What I might do at the same time is try to plot character paths on the map, as sometimes seen for other series.
Adrian Tchaikovsky, October 5th, 2011 at 9:51 am:

Big Dad's Army arrows for movement of armies, and little crossed swords for battles! 🙂
Roderick, October 5th, 2011 at 12:21 pm:

That seems plausible.

Obviously, Wasp Empire arrows are Black & Gold. Ant States get a colour appropriate to their, well, colour (ie Vek is Black and Tsen is blue-white).

But what about other nations: Spiderlands, the Many of Nem, Khaphanes, Ancient Alliance, Collegium? HAve you any preferences or suggestions?
dresne, October 6th, 2011 at 9:00 pm:

If you ask me, issuing paperbacks in large format is part of a Vile Plot to force everybody to buy Kindles or iPhones.

I like the idea of 'big Dad's Army arrows'!
Adrian Tchaikovsky, October 7th, 2011 at 12:04 am:

Believe me, when the Mayan apocalypse ends the word via a Plague of Bears, you'll be glad you've something to beat them off with.

Although if it's Mayan, they'll be the smaller and more docile spectacled bear, so that'll be a bit like bullying, really.
Bryan, October 7th, 2011 at 3:13 pm:

Since the topic of book format came up…

Any idea if Pyr is going to be publishing books 6 and 7 in the US? Thanks.
Adrian Tchaikovsky, October 7th, 2011 at 7:16 pm:

I don't think Pyr has optioned those books for the US yet. Go make lots of noise about how good they are! 🙂
David, October 8th, 2011 at 12:40 am:

Your waterstone's signing is at Oracle this time! According to our website and both the stores!
Stuart kent, October 8th, 2011 at 2:31 pm:

Thanks for the response Adrian. Was good to hear back from you regarding my concerns.

I understand what you mean and I am kinda glad that you too have the same unknowing about why they have changed the size if the book and glad you were just as unknowing about the smaller book being released in February. Obviously we are all in the dark here and means than come feb I am going to have to sell the big book and buy the smaller, kinda mental I know but the importance of having a series that matches is important to us book worms.

Anyway I shall see you in reading, and I guess depending on how busy you are maybe get a f of my books signed as I have been working most of the other signings that i wanted to come to, and I don't mind queuing again as I think it would be worth while to have to sign them for me,

Thanks

Stu
Billthecanuck, December 29th, 2011 at 6:21 pm:

Hello, i just started reading your series a few months ago and have been enjoying it. I am currently on book 6, the sea watch. My question to you is if it would be possible to see an "inapt" map compared to the apt map that we are looking at above? Just something to consider for a future book.

Since we ourselves are apt I'm curious how you picture an inapt map being unreadable by an apt person. I can visualize it myself but having a point a reference would be great. (IE the map of the world that che sees in book 5 when in the scriptora of khanaphes)

I do not know if you still check this blog post, but hopefully this somehow reaches your eyes. Looking forward to reading the remainder of your series.
Adrian Tchaikovsky, December 29th, 2011 at 8:33 pm:

Oh, now… there's a challenge. The way I envisaged it was that whilst an Apt map would probably be quite recognizable to the Ordinance Survey, with an emphasis on naturalistic top-down presentation and scale, Inapt maps would be cluttered with landmarks and places, and depictions of events and people, wildly out of scale, and organized subjectively in relation to one another, rather than to an objective and measurable scale — in the same way that medieval depictions of events often depict important things and people wildly out of proportion, so you can have an enormous king threatening a tiny castle with an even tinier person in it. And this should be absolutely depictable, and we (who are not quite Apt as the kinden are Apt, because let's face it, their technology doesn't quite make sense to us) would be able to at least see some sense in it — however (and this you couldn't depict graphically) to an Inapt, such a map would not only be wholly comprehensible, but it would be just as useful to them, as a navigation aid, as the precisely measured Apt map would be to its own makers.
billthecanuck, December 30th, 2011 at 3:26 am:

Thank you, that actually helps me picture it. A visual reference at some point would be neat to see, food for thought 😉 keep doing what you do as I am really enjoying the world you have created!
asia, February 6th, 2012 at 7:52 am:

thank you for your work — books are amazing
Tanner Grooms, September 6th, 2012 at 2:45 am:

I'm up to The Air War now Adrian and I must you ve done a fantastic job keeping my interest enjoyment in each book. Brilliant world you ve set up. I was wondering(I'm sure you ve been asked before) but in the ever expanding maps in each book of the continent we get, I m curious if it's the only one for this world you ve created? Also since their isn't a mile scale on any what is the relative miles between Colliegum and Capitias, Spiderlands, Commonweal? Thanks for the entertainment and churning them out!!

On the issue of the Pyr editions I to am bummed out about not having them for 6–8. Those 5 Ed look so good and then there is huge size difference in my 6 & 7.
Adrian Tchaikovsky, September 6th, 2012 at 10:27 pm:

Ah well, as to continents, there's surely a lot of world out there, but, y'know, spoilers etc. As far as scales go, I'm probably best not giving one as the moment I do someone's bound to start pointing out inconsistencies in travel times :).
Tanner Grooms, September 7th, 2012 at 10:49 pm:

Thank you for replying. You and Mark Lawrence (The Broken Empire) have both responded to me and other fans which to us says a lot as a fan. Have you read Steven Eriksons Malazan Empire books? If you get the time I'm inviting you to his Message Boards : malazanempire.com It's a great board and just letting you know you have a thread there in the Other Liter sect. I'm Briar King on there and me and the other fans would love to see you pop in your thread.
Adrian Tchaikovsky, September 8th, 2012 at 8:41 pm:

I have silently lurked in the background of various forums, including the Malazon ones. I'm not sure about casting aside the veil and actually turning up. I did try it on the westeros/asoiaf forums to answer a question someone posted up, and it seemed to kind of kill the thread — after all, readers can't really engage in all that glorious what happens nexting with the author sitting there in the room. It's one of those proof/faith things :).
Alex, November 8th, 2012 at 10:59 am:

On the subject of inapt maps, I'd have thought something like the Bayeux Tappestry would be the closest we can get, telling a story as well as indicating places.
I've seen really old maps of the south coast of England where the detail was drawn in one continuous, lengthy scene, with no indication of change in direction/orientation, just a series of inlets, river mouths, ports and villages on a several-metre-long roll.
Adrian Tchaikovsky, November 8th, 2012 at 1:20 pm:

That's probably not a bad way of thinking about it.
Eruantien, November 25th, 2015 at 11:26 am:

Hi Adrian,
I've recently been looking at these maps again, and trying to pin down some sense of scale. And I've been getting some interesting results. Ultimately it comes down to how fast the Sky Without is; Empire in Black and Gold states that the Sky (fast for it's size) makes the journey from Collegium to Helleron in just over a tenday. Obviously we're looking at an early airship by comparison to our own, and not being an expert it's not the easiest thing to find cruising speeds for these things…

Anyway, in 1873 de Lôme's man powered airship made between 9 and 11 km/h, and Hallenstein's coal gas powered airship made 19 km/h. But these are the amongst the very first airships, and it wasn't until 1875 that Hallenstein added the car slung beneath the framework that we are so familiar with (and is described in your books). La France, the first fully controllable airship, averaged a little under 21 km/s on it's initial tests, and the electrically powered airship later held the world air speed record at 22 km/h. Enter Graf von Zepplin; LZ 1 (sadly dismantled due to funding issues), initially carrying only five crew beat La France's record with a maximum speed of 27 km/h, and the later LZ 2 and LZ 3 were capable of making 40 km/h, and LZ 4 a mighty 48 km/h. LZ 10, the Schwaben, is the first commercially successful passenger aircraft; able to carry 20 passengers an attain a maximum speed of 77(!!!) km/h.

This gives us something to work with regarding the Sky Without. Now, all the speeds above are maximum speeds, and so won't produce the best distance that the Sky can travel. Lets say we drop the speed to 17 km/h to make the distance, that seems fair, right? Question two is whether or not Collegiate artifice is sufficient to travel at night by instruments alone; in the case that it is we can assume the travel time at cruising speed to be around 240 hrs, and in the case that it isn't it seems fair to take nine hours a day due to the need to find somewhere to moor the Sky (90 hrs total). Which gives us two estimates for the distance; either 4100 km (2550 miles) or 1500 km (940 miles). Now, should the first be correct, we run into an interesting conundrum; Capitas is roughly twice as far from Collegium than Helleron, and the Farsphex can apparently make it as a a round trip without having to stop to refuel… which means that the Farsphex can, on a single fuel load, fly from the UK to Australia. Which I can only assume means I've grossly overestimated the Sky Without, or that Lowland artifice prevents them from flying at night at the time of Empire in Black and Gold (but by The Air War, the Empire has sufficient technology to manage it).

If we do go with the Schwaben's 77 km/h, then even having to stop each day we get a distance of 6900 km… Which would mean that the Farsphex can fly more than half way around the world on a single tank of fuel! (In the case that the Sky could fly all night, the Farsphex could fly around the earth nearly twice…)

Obviously, you're going to have a far better idea than me as to how far things are, but am I at least in the right ball park with 1500 km from Collegium to Helleron, and 3000 km to Capitas?

Cheers,
Eru.
Adrian Tchaikovsky, November 25th, 2015 at 7:29 pm:

Well, there's obviously an entirely reasonable explanation for all of this. And that explanation has pretty obviously got to be that, no matter that it's a wallowing pleasure cruiser, the Sky must make the run from Collegium to Helleron in way less time than I've said. Thankfully nothing hinges on it in the plot, but you're absolutely right, it would have to be absolutely crawling because the distances can't be that large. That is some phenomenally impressive showing your working, though, I take my hat off to you 🙂
Eruantien, November 26th, 2015 at 10:38 am:

Thanks for the reply; what if it were two days at a leisurely 17 km/h? That makes Collegium-Helleron ~820 km, and Collegium-Capitas ~1630 km. On foot you'd be able to make the Collegium-Helleron trip in around 22 days (assuming the terrain is pleasant, you walk for eight hours a day, and you can walk on water); and it would give the Farsphex a flight range comparable to the WW2 B‑17 Flying Fortress. Which seems sensible to me.

Staying on land, Helleron-Collegium would probably be ~25 days on foot in this case. A well drilled army could probably get from Tark to Collegium in less than 3 tendays, though the Matids of the Felyal would slow that considerably (maybe accounting for an extra 25 days).
Adrian Tchaikovsky, November 26th, 2015 at 6:18 pm:

If there is ever a SotA RPG, this sort of thing will be invaluable.

Shadows of the Apt