She
remembered how it felt to lose Salma, first to the wiles of the
Butterfly-kinden girl, then to hear the news of his death, abandoned and alone
in the midst of the enemy.
She
remembered how it felt to see her father hacked to death before her eyes.
But
of her murder of Achaeos, of the bite of her blade into his unsuspecting flesh,
the wound that had sapped him and ruined him until he died, she remembered
nothing, felt nothing. In such a vacuum, how could she possibly atone?
Tynisa
is running, but she cannot escape the demons of her own mind. Amidst the
fragmenting provinces of the Dragonfly Commonweal her past will at last catch
up with her. Her father’s ghost is hunting her down.
At
the same time, the Wasp Empress, Seda, is on the move, her eyes on the city of
Khanaphes, the fallen jewel of the ancient world. Whilst her soldiers seek only
conquest, she sees herself as the heir to all the old powers of history, and
has her eyes on a far greater prize.
Ever
since starting in Empire of Black and Gold, the Shadows of the Apt series has
been at the top of my list of favourite series. I read The Sea Watch somewhere
last year but never had gotten around to continue in the series until now. And
even though I have been out of the series for a year, from the first page
onwards it felt like I read the first six books just the other day. This is
because in the Shadows of the Apt series stands out in the current fantasy
genre. Adrian Tchaikovsky introduces and blends a lot of unique fantasy genres
that grow on you as you delve deeper into the series and that definitely leave
an lasting impression on you.
The
Sea Watch changed perspective and broadened the already large universe of
Shadows of the Apt by including the sea side of it. Heirs of the Blade takes us
back the main land and focuses on several characters that were introduced
earlier in the series. Heirs of the Blade is divided into four parts and the
first part focuses on Tynisa. The second part introduces the other storylines
those of Seda the Wasp Empress, Che and Thalric as well as a few others. The
third and fourth part of Heirs of the Blade shows the storyline alternating
each other and eventually you see how interwoven the connections between the
stories are.
Tynisa
has always been a character that really stood out in the series. Her troubled
past being a halfbreed between spider and mantis, brought up by Stenwold Maker
and later finding out her heritage and becoming a Weaponsmaster. In this
seventh addition to the series, Tynisa is haunted by events she witnessed in
the earlier books. She travels to the Commonweal to seek guidance and finds
herself confronting her own demons. Tynisa was introduced in the first book
already, and all along her path in the series she has changed, grown confident.
However her development takes another few leaps in the right direction in Heirs
of the Blade. It was great to see a lot of dedication to Tynisa’s role in the
Shadows of the Apt.
Che’s
(Cheerwell Maker) character can probably be seen as the main protagonist of the
series, she has gone through quite some ordeals herself and have all shaped her
in some way or another, having lost her Aptitude she is now one of the powerful
Inapt and finally able to control her ancestor art. It was great to see that
the events of The Scarab Path were picked up In Heirs of the Blade further
showing how Che’s fate and importance for the rest of the series. In his series
Adrian Tchaikovsky introduces several Kinden, that all have their own set of
behaviour either being confident or quite shy and the like. Che is a beetle;
careful and kind hearted by nature, and her actions in the series greatly
reflects these traits, I keep rooting for her. Che’s companion the ex-Rekef
Thalric, this relationship doesn’t feel like it’s very strong yet but does seem
that it is gaining strength. Thalric is a quite enigmatic character and thinks
about several subject on a different level than Che and thereby making the
whole quite complex. The self reflection of Thalric and “struggle” if you can
call it that was shown in a neat manner. And when push comes to shove, Thalric
springs into his old Wasp-y viciousness to deal with the challenge at hand.
Besides
Tynisa and Che, another important character that makes an appearance in the
first half of the book is the Wasp Empress, Seda. Seda has undergone the same
as Che, losing her Aptitude and becoming a strong Inapt. I am really impressed
by how Adrian Tchaikovsky shows her character. Her character radiates this
strong air of dominance and danger. In all that Seda undertakes, she doesn’t
take no for an answer, even with the wrong look you’ll have to watch out. Her
powers are even more dangerous since she learned rituals of the Mosquito
Uctebri. Likewise Che’s character it was good to have Seda in the storyline as
you now learn what it all is starting to mean. There were some speculation as
to what it all could mean. This is later followed up by revealing how it all is
connected. Even though were still in the seventh book so far with still three
to go, it does make you wonder how the rest of the story will start to unfold.
I
really like that Adrian Tchaikovsky took the story to the Commonweal in Heirs
of the Blade, there were the occasional references in the earlier book but not
one that had the focus there. Like the rest of the world that Adrian
Tchaikovsky creates for us, the Commonweal is neatly detailed, lush and
interesting with the different Kinden that make up their own societies there
in. There is also a short detour, that is just a crucial for the storyline to
the city of Khanaphes. The introduction of this ancient city really gave again
the rustic feel and how powerful the masters are and above all what Seda plans
to do.
In
the end of the book Seda’s plans of rising a new war are being envisioned but
besides this part the book ends on a really cool scene, one of which I hadn’t
imagined. Don’t know if I can call it a bold move but I am eager to see how
this will work out for the remainder of the series, what Seda’s plans are and
how tough it for her opposition will be.
I
am so glad that I finally had gotten the chance to continue in the Shadows of
the Apt series, like I mentioned in the beginning, Shadows of the Apt grows and
sticks on you, it feels like I have just read the other books the other day.
Heirs of the Blade follows up the events of The Scarab Path. I might have been
nice to see a link with The Sea Watch, but I’m not giving up just yet, guessing
by Adrian Tchaikovsky’s careful plotting I guess there will be some links to
The Sea Watch to follow in the three remaining books. There are some great
character developments and broadening of the world in Heirs of the Blade, but I
also think that with the ending as it is in Heirs of the Blade, Adrian
Tchaikovksy lays down the prefect foundation to take his series again that step
further. Shadows of the Apt is a series that never stops to amaze me.