Book Review: Dragonfly Falling, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The second volume in a big fat epic fantasy series that might actually hold my attention for all ten books.
Tor Books, 2009, 673 pages
Every hero must be tested....
The Wasp Empire’s armies are on the move - and the city of Tark will be first to feel their might. Salma and Totho prepare for battle, alongside their Ant-kinden brethren. And within Tark’s walls, they’ll face a force greater than any Lowlander has ever seen. Stenwold Maker predicted this threat, and the Empire's secret service now deems him too dangerous to live. So he’s to be eliminated, and his beloved city of Collegium destroyed. For if this centre of learning is lost, it will crush Lowland resistance.
As the Empire's troops continue their relentless advance, their young Emperor pursues another, even darker goal. And his success would trigger a reign of blood lasting a thousand years.
Horse-choking epic fantasy series are kind of out of style nowadays unless your name is either (a) George R. R. Martin or (b) Brandon Sanderson. Adrian Tchaikovsky isn't either of those guys. But his name should be more well-known in the genre because he writes crackin' good epic fantasy. It's not super-original, it's not poetic or brilliant, it's not a genre-redefining series. That may sound like damning with what it isn't, but Shadows of the Apt is a series that basically delivers what's on the tin, a big sprawling war and fantasy races in a secondary world kind of like ours, with a mix of ancient magic and steampunk and people who are part bug.... what's not to love? Tchaikovsky's prose is smooth, his characters are full of feelings and believable dialog, and his world feels like something that would be fun to roleplay in, but unlike Brandon Sanderson's worlds, does not feel like it was made to be roleplayed in.
In the first book, Empire in Black and Gold, we learned about the kinden of this world. Everyone is human, there are no "fantasy races." Except... everyone is a "kinden" of some sort of insect. There are Wasp-kinden, Ant-kinden, Spider-kinden, Beetle-kinden, Dragonfly-kinden, Fly-kinden, Mantis-kinden, and so on and so on. Kinden all have a characteristic ability and usually a temperament to go with it. Ant-kinden are natural soldiers and mentally "networked" with their fellow Ants. Spider-kinden are sneaky and natural conspirators and manipulators. Beetle-kinden are tough and natural artificers. Fly-kinden... can fly. And so on.
There are a lot of insect species, so Tchaikovsky has plenty of kinden to invent later. After two books we've seen at least a dozen and others have been mentioned, and I'm sure eventually we'll meet Ladybug-kinden and Cockroach-kinden, whatever the hell they do.
Then there are the Wasps. Wasp-kinden are the bad guys of the series, at least so far. The Wasps, in a clear parallel to the Roman Empire, began as a bunch of angry hill tribes fighting each other and stealing their neighbor's cattle, until they all united under an Emperor and now they're becoming a military power that is rolling over everything in their path.
Stenwold Maker, a Beetle, is the main protagonist of the story, though there are several viewpoint characters. Stenwold spent most of the last book trying to persuade his stodgy academic peers in the city of Collegium that the Wasps were a threat, that their very polite ambassador who came to them saying the Wasp Empire absolutely had no intention of invading anything nearby was full of shit. Naturally, no one listened, and naturally, in this book, everyone is wishing they had.
There are a bunch of battles in Dragonfly Falling, and plenty of intrigue. Cities are besieged and new weapons are unveiled to lethal effect. While Stenwold continues to act as spymaster and strategist, his old buddy Tisamon has gone with his daughter Tynisa (a Spider/Mantis half-breed) to face judgment among Tisamon's people and hopefully recruit allies against the Wasps. The Wasp officer Thalric returns, still playing the role of troubled "honorable Nazi" loyally serving an empire he knows in his heart is evil. We get a few chapters about the Wasp Emperor, who turns out to be as big a bastard as you'd expect. He enjoys terrorizing his minions, tormenting his younger sister and constantly reminding her he will probably have her killed any day now, and dreaming of immortality thanks to the captured Mosquito-kinden he keeps locked in a dungeon. This Mosquito is obviously planning something, and as with the first book, while the world is mostly a low-fantasy one on the cusp of an industrial revolution, there are hints of magic and ancient sorcerous powers, so I suspect the Wasps are eventually going to unleash something worse than themselves.
So this is a big fat book for people who like big fat books with lots of characters and sub-plots. Tchaikovsky isn't trying too hard to be clever or plant easter eggs or be grimdark, he just enjoys telling a story.
Also by Adrian Tchaikovsky: My reviews of Children of Time, Children of Ruin, and Empire in Black and Gold.
My complete list of book reviews.
Tor Books, 2009, 673 pages
Every hero must be tested....
The Wasp Empire’s armies are on the move - and the city of Tark will be first to feel their might. Salma and Totho prepare for battle, alongside their Ant-kinden brethren. And within Tark’s walls, they’ll face a force greater than any Lowlander has ever seen. Stenwold Maker predicted this threat, and the Empire's secret service now deems him too dangerous to live. So he’s to be eliminated, and his beloved city of Collegium destroyed. For if this centre of learning is lost, it will crush Lowland resistance.
As the Empire's troops continue their relentless advance, their young Emperor pursues another, even darker goal. And his success would trigger a reign of blood lasting a thousand years.
Horse-choking epic fantasy series are kind of out of style nowadays unless your name is either (a) George R. R. Martin or (b) Brandon Sanderson. Adrian Tchaikovsky isn't either of those guys. But his name should be more well-known in the genre because he writes crackin' good epic fantasy. It's not super-original, it's not poetic or brilliant, it's not a genre-redefining series. That may sound like damning with what it isn't, but Shadows of the Apt is a series that basically delivers what's on the tin, a big sprawling war and fantasy races in a secondary world kind of like ours, with a mix of ancient magic and steampunk and people who are part bug.... what's not to love? Tchaikovsky's prose is smooth, his characters are full of feelings and believable dialog, and his world feels like something that would be fun to roleplay in, but unlike Brandon Sanderson's worlds, does not feel like it was made to be roleplayed in.
In the first book, Empire in Black and Gold, we learned about the kinden of this world. Everyone is human, there are no "fantasy races." Except... everyone is a "kinden" of some sort of insect. There are Wasp-kinden, Ant-kinden, Spider-kinden, Beetle-kinden, Dragonfly-kinden, Fly-kinden, Mantis-kinden, and so on and so on. Kinden all have a characteristic ability and usually a temperament to go with it. Ant-kinden are natural soldiers and mentally "networked" with their fellow Ants. Spider-kinden are sneaky and natural conspirators and manipulators. Beetle-kinden are tough and natural artificers. Fly-kinden... can fly. And so on.
There are a lot of insect species, so Tchaikovsky has plenty of kinden to invent later. After two books we've seen at least a dozen and others have been mentioned, and I'm sure eventually we'll meet Ladybug-kinden and Cockroach-kinden, whatever the hell they do.
Then there are the Wasps. Wasp-kinden are the bad guys of the series, at least so far. The Wasps, in a clear parallel to the Roman Empire, began as a bunch of angry hill tribes fighting each other and stealing their neighbor's cattle, until they all united under an Emperor and now they're becoming a military power that is rolling over everything in their path.
Stenwold Maker, a Beetle, is the main protagonist of the story, though there are several viewpoint characters. Stenwold spent most of the last book trying to persuade his stodgy academic peers in the city of Collegium that the Wasps were a threat, that their very polite ambassador who came to them saying the Wasp Empire absolutely had no intention of invading anything nearby was full of shit. Naturally, no one listened, and naturally, in this book, everyone is wishing they had.
There are a bunch of battles in Dragonfly Falling, and plenty of intrigue. Cities are besieged and new weapons are unveiled to lethal effect. While Stenwold continues to act as spymaster and strategist, his old buddy Tisamon has gone with his daughter Tynisa (a Spider/Mantis half-breed) to face judgment among Tisamon's people and hopefully recruit allies against the Wasps. The Wasp officer Thalric returns, still playing the role of troubled "honorable Nazi" loyally serving an empire he knows in his heart is evil. We get a few chapters about the Wasp Emperor, who turns out to be as big a bastard as you'd expect. He enjoys terrorizing his minions, tormenting his younger sister and constantly reminding her he will probably have her killed any day now, and dreaming of immortality thanks to the captured Mosquito-kinden he keeps locked in a dungeon. This Mosquito is obviously planning something, and as with the first book, while the world is mostly a low-fantasy one on the cusp of an industrial revolution, there are hints of magic and ancient sorcerous powers, so I suspect the Wasps are eventually going to unleash something worse than themselves.
So this is a big fat book for people who like big fat books with lots of characters and sub-plots. Tchaikovsky isn't trying too hard to be clever or plant easter eggs or be grimdark, he just enjoys telling a story.
Also by Adrian Tchaikovsky: My reviews of Children of Time, Children of Ruin, and Empire in Black and Gold.
My complete list of book reviews.