The Book Plank

The Tiger and the Wolf by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Echoes of the Fall #1 In the bleak northern crown of the world, war is coming Maniye’s father is the Wolf clan’s chieftain, but she’s an outcast. Her mother was queen of the Tiger and these tribes have been enemies for generations. Maniye also hides a deadly secret. All can shift into their clan’s animal form, but Maniye can take on tiger and wolf shapes. She can’t disown half her soul, so escapes – with the killer Broken Axe in pursuit. Maniye’s father plots to rule the north, and controlling his daughter is crucial to his schemes. However, other tribes also prepare for strife. It’s a season for omens as priests foresee danger, a time of testing and broken laws. Some say a great war is coming, overshadowing even Wolf ambitions. But what spark will set the world ablaze?   Adrian Tchaikovsky, the man behind one of the series that shook and shaped modern fantasy. The Shadows of the Apt series. This will haunt him forever in...

Escaping the Castle : Medieval Europe in fantasy fiction. By Adrian Tchaikovsky Fantasy fiction has an odd relationship with history, a relationship that involves jumping into bed a lot and telling inaccurate stories about it the next morning.             Some books are set in a straight-up historical setting, but where magic, dragons or some other mythical element is real, albeit sufficiently low-key so as not to disrupt the course of recorded history (which course may itself have been populated by people who believed in both magic and dragons, albeit sufficiently distant so as not to disrupt their lives). Other books present a secondary world that clearly shows the influences of the real. My own insect-kinden from Shadows of the Apt start off with a classical flavour (Ants with big shields and shortswords; not too much of a puzzler where that came from) and then make a jump to 20 th century history when the war really...

Best Science Fiction of 2015 Science Fiction. The genre that excites, invents and build grandiose invents. Science Fiction has always been the books that inspire technology, look at Star Trek tablets anyone? The counts for the light sabers of Star Wars an Harvard - MIT collaboration resulted in a break through ( link ). So you never know what the next big thing will be! Last year Catherine Webb aka Claire North surprised me with Harry August  a terrific book about time traveling. During LonCon3 in London in 2015 I learned about a new book of Catherine, a book where you can jump bodies by touching. If that doesn't get your hopes up I don't know what will. Cathrine Webb writes once again anastonishingstory fast paced, pitch perfect thriller. Adrian Tchaikovksy. The man with a thousand-and-one ideas. After finishing his Shadows of the Apts series he brought two stand alone book this year. One of them was Children of Time  a scifi space op...

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky A race for survival among the stars... Humanity's last survivors escaped earth's ruins to find a new home. But when they find it, can their desperation overcome it's dangers? WHO WILL INHERIT THIS NEW EARTH? The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age - a world terraformed and prepared for human life. But all is not right in this new Eden. In the long years since the planet was abandoned, the work of its architects has borne disastrous fruit. The planet is not waiting for them, pristine and unoccupied. New masters have turned it from a refuge into mankind's worst nightmare. Now two civilizations are on a collision course, both testing the boundaries of what they will do to survive. As the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, who are the true heirs of this new ...

Guns of the Dawn by Adrian Tchaikovsky Denland and Lascanne have been allies for generations, but now the Denlanders have assassinated their king, overthrown the monarchy and marched on their northern neighbour. At the border, the war rages; Lascanne's brave redcoats against the revolutionaries of Denland. Emily Marshwic has watched the war take her brother-in-law and now her young brother. Then comes the call for more soldiers, to a land already drained of husbands, fathers and sons. Every household must give up one woman to the army and Emily has no choice but to join the ranks of young women marching to the front. In the midst of warfare, with just enough training to hold a musket, Emily comes face to face with the reality: the senseless slaughter; the weary cynicism of the Survivor's Club; the swamp's own natives hiding from the conflict. As the war worsens, and Emily begins to have doubts about the justice of Lascanne's cause, she finds herself in a...

Excerpt: Guns of the Dawn - chapter 2  Guns of the Dawn is Adrian Tchaikovksy's latest book, after his success with The Shadows of the Apt series, this will surely be another winner. Below you can read the synopsis of the book and read the second chapter of it. Enjoy. Synopsis: A standalone, action-packed pseudo-Napoleonic historical fantasy adventure from the esteemed author of the Shadows of the Apt series. Denland and Lascanne have been allies for generations, but now the Denlanders have assassinated their king, overthrown the monarchy and marched on their northern neighbour. At the border, the war rages; Lascanne's brave redcoats against the revolutionaries of Denland. Emily Marshwic has watched the war take her brother-in-law and now her young brother. Then comes the call for more soldiers, to a land already drained of husbands, fathers and sons. Every household must give up one woman to the army and Emily has no choice but to join the ranks of young ...

The Air War by Adrian Tchaikovksy, Shadows of the Apt #8 All is in turmoil as the world moves towards war. In Solarno, the spies watch each other and ready their knives, while Myna sees the troops muster at its border and emotions run high as it vows never to be enslaved again. In Collegium, the students argue politics, too late to turn the tide. In the heart of the Empire, new pilots have completed their secretive training, generals are being recalled to service and armies are ready to march. Their Empress, the heir to two worlds, intends to claim her birthright. And nothing – either within the Empire or beyond it – will stand in her way. A conflict is coming, the like of which the insect-kinden have never seen. Having finally been able to catch up with this series with Heirs of the Blade last month I was thrilled to continue the story once again in The Air War . So far the Shadows of the Apt series hasn’t let me down once and Adrian Tchaikovsky just keeps on amazing me ...