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     […]

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 […]

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 […]