Fantasy Books 24

Shadows of the Apt is a series of fantasy novels by English author Adrian Tchaikovsky. In this series, the universe is made up different races of humans that are named after insects, and each race (“kinden”) bears some characteristics of the insect they are named after. Kinden are categorized as “Apt” or “Inapt,” meaning they either have magical powers and are good with mechanical devices or they use magic, but can’t use anything mechanical (even a simple latch). The series focuses on the attempted conquest of the Lowlands by the Wasp-kinden empire.

Adrian Tchaikovsky began his Shadows of the Apt series in 2008 with his debut novel, Empire in Black and Gold. The series lasted ten novels and ran until 2014’s Seal of the Worm. Below is a list of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Shadows of the Apt books in order of when they were originally published (which is the same as their chronological order):

Publication Order of Shadows of the Apt Books