Oh man! I love me some Adrian Tchaikovsky! Children of Time is my favorite of his! It is just so great. I think you would like it. I haven't read books 2 and 3 but I think book 1 has one of the greatest epilogies ever. A lot of his sci-fi feels like fantasy in a sci-fi world. Great characters!
I get the impression that Adrian Tchaikovsky is one of those authors that other authors love, but he's never gotten the popular readership he deserves.
It's my personal opinion, but I think what's holding him back (even though he is already popular) is his poor writing skills. Watching interviews from him, he is himself very conscious of his limitations and honest about it. I've read 3 of his books and hated them because of the mundane, communique, and stiff prose
Matt: "Beginnings of series and books are my favorite" Also Matt: ""Endings of series and books are my favorite" Also, also Matt: ""I would have given this book a 5 star, but I didn't like the middle, and I love the middles of books" haha 😂
This series is phenomenal. I've read them all three times. It's a series with enough substance that each time I read it I realize something I missed before and understood the subtext much better without the surprise of initial discovery dazzling my eyes. 😁 Very very good books!
For me, Shadows of the Apt has all the incredible world-building and lore of Malazan, with the readability of someone like Robert Jordan. Not to diss Malazan - I know you adore it, Matt - but it can come across as a little difficult to read, at times, for many people. Not so with SotA - it's just as sprawling and complex, but also flows like a summer beach read. Just an incredible gem of a series. It deserves to mnentioned in the same breath as other big series like WoT, Malazan, Stormlight, etc.
Thanks for the shout out! I was doing an impersonation of the Jack Nicholson GIF where he’s nodding his head YES during the part where you were hoping it would open up and become a more sprawling tale. It’s coming, don’t worry! I think bk 2 and the rest of the series is gonna make you very happy in that regard. I’m actually right around where you fell on this book at 4.5 stars (though I rounded up since I think I didn’t register any particular disappointments). It’s a fantastic set up book for the start of a 10-book series, and major payoffs are on the way!
Adrian Tchaikovsky has a lot of books written and he seems like the kind of author to read every book he's written, I'm personally about to start Cage of Souls (Sci Fi) and/or Children of Time (Sci Fi too) and Shadows of the Apt has been on my radar for a while now. Good to see that you liked it!!! Looking forward to reading more of this author.
I'm in the middle of this series, really enjoyed the first 5 and will be reading book 6 this month. I think of it as steampunk fantasy. There are 10 books in total.
Shadows of the Apt is one of my favourite series and I'm so glad someone on booktube is finally reviewing it! Book 1 is actually probably my least favourite of the series though, so it should only get better for you from here hopefully. Future books do expand the scope dramatically. More importantly, while I also agree that none of the characters super wowed me in the first book, the character work improves amazingly - by the end of the series I honestly believe nearly every character is A or S-tier stand out. No spoilers, but some of the deaths later in the series made me howl - some in glee and some in agony! Hope you continue reviewing.
I love this series. I read it through twice before I lost the ability to read. I tentatively tried the audiobooks and, to my unending delight, it improved them! The narrator is PHENOMENAL. I just started my fourth listen thru.
Thanks for the review, Matt. Good to see this series getting some love and promotion. I've read it twice and it's a top ten series for me. There are 10 books which kind of fall into three arcs (1-4, 5-7, 8-10) and also four collections of short stories set before/during the events of the main saga. I agree with what you said - worldbuilding and characters are first class throughout. I hope you enjoy the rest of them!
Yes, great rating! Hopefully this series gets more readers as it deserves it, and hopefully more booktubers talk about it as there are very few videos about this series on RUclips.
I’m almost done this book and absolutely loving it. Planning to go into book 2 right after. There were some pacing issues associated with the rescue plot but the umbrella plot was interesting and the world building was unbelievably awesome that I forgave the pacing issues.
I adore Adrian Tchaikovsky and very excited to start this one day. Dunno if you've read Children of Time yet, but it was my fave book ever, really got me into learning more about the natural world. I love this man's love of bugs.
The author is actually best known for Shadows of the Apt and his novel Children of Time (which i think you might the full trilogy of, unlike a lot of scifi readers that likes the sequels less than the first novel because they become more sci-fantasy).
I suspect that Shadows of the Apt, along with several grim dark series, are low on Goodreads because the folks who read them aren’t on Goodreads, they’re on Reddit. This is even true for the hard core Sanderson guys. Goodreads has a certain vibe and it attracts readers who are comfortable with that. Reddit is totally different and probably a better match for Apt. Reddit is definitely where the Sci-fi community hangs out so there’s that too. Finally, as a side note, Broken Binding is putting out a beautiful Apt set. The first two are out and Broken Binding is releasing Mantis later this year.
I had some similar thoughts--AWESOME prologue and worldbuilding and I was hooked for a while, but I thought it went downhill as it went. I thought book 2 was a big improvement with some great battle scenes, as opposed to the minor skirmishes in book 1.
Haha, I may be the odd one out - I didn't care for the cold open of the prologue followed by the time skip. I actually remember putting the book down and it taking me a few months to restart and finish it. That said, I do think I'm quite harsh with the beginnings of things though - if I'm not captured in the first 10 minutes I have the dubious habit of just moving on (so glad I gave this one a second chance though!).
I’ve been toying with reading this one, looks like I’ll move it up the list. He wrote and finished the series so quickly before the online book community was really a thing. I think that lends itself to why it isn’t as popular.
I’m pretty close to your opinion on this novel - like you i really enjoyed it overall. But I thought the sequel was even better so def worth checking out. Adrian is definitely a really talented guy and his career after this series reflects that - his later novels were where he found more success. And he did write some other fantasy novels later on which were a lot more successful in their initial releases.
I read the book a mo th ago and I agree that it's a bit too focussed on a group - I'd have liked a bigger story with different POVS. for example the Wasp-Apt pov character was my favourite pov (alongside the Acheos - the moth)
The characters split up later on, so the scope of the story and world gets bigger. Especially in the middle of the series where the characters get to visit more exotic locations.
I'm currently half way through Seal of the Worm the last book of the series. Over all very disappointed by this series. There some outstanding stretches through the series. But it's dragged down by some absolute dreck and A LOT of bloat.
Oh man! I love me some Adrian Tchaikovsky! Children of Time is my favorite of his! It is just so great. I think you would like it. I haven't read books 2 and 3 but I think book 1 has one of the greatest epilogies ever. A lot of his sci-fi feels like fantasy in a sci-fi world. Great characters!
I get the impression that Adrian Tchaikovsky is one of those authors that other authors love, but he's never gotten the popular readership he deserves.
It's my personal opinion, but I think what's holding him back (even though he is already popular) is his poor writing skills. Watching interviews from him, he is himself very conscious of his limitations and honest about it. I've read 3 of his books and hated them because of the mundane, communique, and stiff prose
Matt: "Beginnings of series and books are my favorite"
Also Matt: ""Endings of series and books are my favorite"
Also, also Matt: ""I would have given this book a 5 star, but I didn't like the middle, and I love the middles of books"
haha 😂
Look, I love all things books apparently! lol
@@MattsFantasyBookReviews haha yes, I do admit it you told us this all along... you love all things books. You did say this haha 😂
I kinda like how he switches between fantasy and scifi. I appreciate an author who tries out different genres. Great review by the way🎉.
The premise of this book sounds incredible! Really want to get to this one!!!
This series is phenomenal. I've read them all three times. It's a series with enough substance that each time I read it I realize something I missed before and understood the subtext much better without the surprise of initial discovery dazzling my eyes. 😁 Very very good books!
For me, Shadows of the Apt has all the incredible world-building and lore of Malazan, with the readability of someone like Robert Jordan. Not to diss Malazan - I know you adore it, Matt - but it can come across as a little difficult to read, at times, for many people. Not so with SotA - it's just as sprawling and complex, but also flows like a summer beach read. Just an incredible gem of a series. It deserves to mnentioned in the same breath as other big series like WoT, Malazan, Stormlight, etc.
Thanks for the shout out! I was doing an impersonation of the Jack Nicholson GIF where he’s nodding his head YES during the part where you were hoping it would open up and become a more sprawling tale. It’s coming, don’t worry! I think bk 2 and the rest of the series is gonna make you very happy in that regard.
I’m actually right around where you fell on this book at 4.5 stars (though I rounded up since I think I didn’t register any particular disappointments).
It’s a fantastic set up book for the start of a 10-book series, and major payoffs are on the way!
Adrian Tchaikovsky has a lot of books written and he seems like the kind of author to read every book he's written, I'm personally about to start Cage of Souls (Sci Fi) and/or Children of Time (Sci Fi too) and Shadows of the Apt has been on my radar for a while now. Good to see that you liked it!!! Looking forward to reading more of this author.
Great review! This book has been on my TBR for a year and you have convinced me to pick this up
I'm in the middle of this series, really enjoyed the first 5 and will be reading book 6 this month. I think of it as steampunk fantasy. There are 10 books in total.
Shadows of the Apt is one of my favourite series and I'm so glad someone on booktube is finally reviewing it! Book 1 is actually probably my least favourite of the series though, so it should only get better for you from here hopefully. Future books do expand the scope dramatically. More importantly, while I also agree that none of the characters super wowed me in the first book, the character work improves amazingly - by the end of the series I honestly believe nearly every character is A or S-tier stand out. No spoilers, but some of the deaths later in the series made me howl - some in glee and some in agony! Hope you continue reviewing.
I love this series. I read it through twice before I lost the ability to read. I tentatively tried the audiobooks and, to my unending delight, it improved them! The narrator is PHENOMENAL. I just started my fourth listen thru.
Really loving this series. Half-way through book #2 at this point.... Im just DYING to talk to people abot this series! 😂
Thanks for the review, Matt. Good to see this series getting some love and promotion. I've read it twice and it's a top ten series for me. There are 10 books which kind of fall into three arcs (1-4, 5-7, 8-10) and also four collections of short stories set before/during the events of the main saga.
I agree with what you said - worldbuilding and characters are first class throughout. I hope you enjoy the rest of them!
Sounds right up my alley, nice!
Yes, great rating! Hopefully this series gets more readers as it deserves it, and hopefully more booktubers talk about it as there are very few videos about this series on RUclips.
About time someone gave this a review. I love this series and recommend it to everyone
I’m almost done this book and absolutely loving it. Planning to go into book 2 right after. There were some pacing issues associated with the rescue plot but the umbrella plot was interesting and the world building was unbelievably awesome that I forgave the pacing issues.
I adore Adrian Tchaikovsky and very excited to start this one day. Dunno if you've read Children of Time yet, but it was my fave book ever, really got me into learning more about the natural world. I love this man's love of bugs.
Great video review. Definitely adding this to my very very long TBR. I have so many series/books to read. Thanks for the review!
The author is actually best known for Shadows of the Apt and his novel Children of Time (which i think you might the full trilogy of, unlike a lot of scifi readers that likes the sequels less than the first novel because they become more sci-fantasy).
Thanks for the review. I’m a huge fan of Tchaikovsky’s science fiction, but I’ve hesitated on his fantasy. This is going on the TBR.
I suspect that Shadows of the Apt, along with several grim dark series, are low on Goodreads because the folks who read them aren’t on Goodreads, they’re on Reddit. This is even true for the hard core Sanderson guys. Goodreads has a certain vibe and it attracts readers who are comfortable with that. Reddit is totally different and probably a better match for Apt. Reddit is definitely where the Sci-fi community hangs out so there’s that too. Finally, as a side note, Broken Binding is putting out a beautiful Apt set. The first two are out and Broken Binding is releasing Mantis later this year.
I had some similar thoughts--AWESOME prologue and worldbuilding and I was hooked for a while, but I thought it went downhill as it went. I thought book 2 was a big improvement with some great battle scenes, as opposed to the minor skirmishes in book 1.
Haha, I may be the odd one out - I didn't care for the cold open of the prologue followed by the time skip. I actually remember putting the book down and it taking me a few months to restart and finish it. That said, I do think I'm quite harsh with the beginnings of things though - if I'm not captured in the first 10 minutes I have the dubious habit of just moving on (so glad I gave this one a second chance though!).
I’ve been toying with reading this one, looks like I’ll move it up the list.
He wrote and finished the series so quickly before the online book community was really a thing. I think that lends itself to why it isn’t as popular.
Just found your channel it's great, here's a well-deserved sub!
I’m pretty close to your opinion on this novel - like you i really enjoyed it overall. But I thought the sequel was even better so def worth checking out. Adrian is definitely a really talented guy and his career after this series reflects that - his later novels were where he found more success. And he did write some other fantasy novels later on which were a lot more successful in their initial releases.
I actually agree that this book is awesome!
When we both agree on something, that means it's the REAL DEAL!
I'm a big fan of his scifi books, I will definitely check this series out.
I read the book a mo th ago and I agree that it's a bit too focussed on a group - I'd have liked a bigger story with different POVS. for example the Wasp-Apt pov character was my favourite pov (alongside the Acheos - the moth)
The characters split up later on, so the scope of the story and world gets bigger. Especially in the middle of the series where the characters get to visit more exotic locations.
Thanks for this I was not sure about this 1. I will add it to my list. Loved the shout out for Ben by the way.
Hello, I have just finished the book call "Lord of the mysteries" is the best book I've ever read, I really recommend
Thats awesome! I read that book a year ago and definitely one of the best fantasy i've read. Have you started the sequel?
His sci fi is amazing... and his cage of lost souls! Trust me you have to read children of time
It's on my list but I'm not sure about this one because I didn't enjoy Tchaikovsky writing in Children of Time
I'm currently half way through Seal of the Worm the last book of the series.
Over all very disappointed by this series. There some outstanding stretches through the series. But it's dragged down by some absolute dreck and A LOT of bloat.