Empire in Black and Gold (Shadows of the Apt)

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So I would tend towards 5 stars now, but in light of the level up that is book 4 I'll go for 4.5 star rating now. A fast paced and interesting story. The world building is quite good, from the various powers, the intra-Kinden conflicts, the differing cultures and philosophies of the kinden and the hidden history. The characters are also excellent. From Stendwold and Tisamon, to Cheerwell and Achaeos, all the characters were interesting and each had their own skill set that made them integral.

There is quite some tension in many of these "little" encounters, that the author pulls off really well. Great stuff, especially in the middle part. Helleron is an industrialised splurge and centre of industry somewhere west of Collegium. It’s interesting, with it’s different districts, gangs and sheer scale. By comparison, Collegium feels like every fantasy university town, a little indistinct apart from the institution it surrounds. I wrote in my notes –‘isn’t this just his version of [George R. R. Martin’s] Oldtown?’ (And even Oldtown just feels like Isengard with people in it).Tchaikovsky, Adrian (30 March 2008). "The Long Good Lunch". Empire Rising. Archived from the original on 13 March 2012. However, as the possibility of the Polish rights being sold seems extremely viable, there is an epilogue to this tale of Frankish ignorance, for in Poland, one would strongly assume, I may finally see my name in print in its unadulterated form. But Stenwold isn’t so parochial as that. Collegium, from whence he hails, is known for being open to all species, and even to accept (with considerable reservations) half-breeds. One of his students is Totho, a cross between an Ant and a Beetle, and especially gifted at mechanical engineering. Tynisa is his ward; she is a beautiful and treacherous Spider-kinden. His niece, Cheerwell or Che, is of full Beetle blood but has never been able to access her Ancestor Art — apparently a sort of maturation that allows one certain abilities that are inherent to one’s race, such as the ability to sprout wings and fly (yes, that’s literal). The fourth in Stenwold’s band is Salma, a prince among the Dragonfly-kinden. Each has a distinctive personality, with his or her own special interests, worries and, ultimately, plot: the group is divided up this way and then that, with the threads of the story traveling across many lands and involving many more characters. The stakes are immediately set, and with what follows after that, the author manages to boost all of the things he wants the reader to feel. Like any self-respecting fantasy, you get your haunted forest, Fangorn-analogue and dangerous inhabitants in Darakyon Forest.

I was listening to it (lovely performance by Ben Allen) and so it took me some time to get into the world, cause it starts in medias res with a lot of names and places which certainly is easier to follow on (e-)paper. But not long and I started to feel for and with the characters. And that's the linchpin for me and Fantasy. When I start rooting for some (or more than some) of the folks I'm reading about, I'm bought.

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I did not yet talk about characters though, which are obviously one of the most important elements in a story like this. And they are great. Nothing too special but serve their purpose. We already know, the wasps are BAD. We know what they can do, we know what they want to do. And so do our characters.