Industrious and adaptable, the Beetle-kinden are the Lowlands’ great innovators, forever labouring to improve their lot. Merchants and artisans, scholars and artificers, their tireless drive for progress has driven forward the boundaries of technology and trade through an interplay of philanthropy and ruthless self-interest. Beetles truly embody the best and worst of the post-revolution world, finding new heights of altruism and new depths of greed.
Silly question — no water beetles? Or just not near the Lowlands?
The answer to that, Trey, is "find out in print" 🙂
Was wondering, any Hercules beetles, or would they be a little bit too strong:)
I'm a little confused about the solider beetle kinden. They're described as being between beetles and ants but physically what do they look like? Do they have flat faces, are they taller, are the slimmer?
Reply @ Low — the Mynans are a little leaner and slimmer than Lowlander Beetles, broader and heavier-set than Ants. They have a grey-blue skin-tone (the similar stable halfbreed kinden in Solarno are sandy-coloured). They are closer to Beetle-kinden than anything else.
So Mynans are literally stable half breeds or do the actually have soldier beetles as their totem insect?
So Mynans are literally stable half breeds or do they
actually have soldier beetles as their totem insect?
Reply @ Low: Yes. 🙂 both.
I think that The Scarab Path has the coolest beetles in the entire series. Sorry Stenwold, you've just moved down a rung.
Khanaphir Beetles seem a lot more martial than any other beetles introduced so far. Is this because they are actually scarabs or is it just their outlook that makes them so much tougher? I mean the first soldier in particular seems on par with a mantis. Not on level a certain deceased weapon master but still.
Well you have to separate Khanaphes as a whole with Amnon in particular, who is absurdly physical. The "martial" prowess of the Khanaphir really comes down to level heads and staying power. I hadn't thought of them as particularly warlike compared to their Collegiate cousins, but I think their somewhat less sophisticated culture and tech level (for various complex reasons as you know) leaves them without a lot of the civilisational armour that allows the Collegiates to swan about being scholars and statesmen.
I think Tisamon actually fights a tiger beetle in book 4 .One of the fastest insects in the world. Goliath beetles, heaviest insects in the world. Hercules beetles, one of the strongest. Beetles are awesome. Where are the kinden for these insects?
They're out there. Tiger Beetle-kinden do live out in the Forest Aleth (in fact there is a lot of weird stuff there that I'll probably never get round to), and we already have Collegiate, Khanaphir and Mynan beetle-kinden, and doubtless there are others. Being renown as the "heaviest" is not going to make for an appealling reputation, however…
Tiger Beetle-kinden. Those guys must give mantises or scorpions a run for their money on sheer fighting ability.
ahh, i love beetle kinden. they can adapt anywhere, and are even seen in the empire! too bad so many can be swayed by money…they could prove to be a great tool…
is there any pics of the kinden like mantis kinden who looks like the in the book
David's picture of the nine "core" kinden of the series are all on site — Mantis kinden are here: http://shadowsoftheapt.com/world/kinden/138
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[…] So, I give you a new story, To Own the Sky, which comes with it’s very own extra-special Christmas bonus, as shown here and another of David Mumford’s splendid pieces of kinden art (and one of my favourites) here . […]