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A review by books_with_benghis_kahn
Heirs of the Blade by Adrian Tchaikovsky
4.0
Yet another extremely solid entry in the Shadows of the Apt! 4.5 stars rounded down to put it on par with the previous one.
It's a quieter book than all the others 'til now with less complex plotting and less action, but it was very impactful on a character and theme level along with moving some very important series-level plot arcs into place. The exploration of the fallout of war and the moral complexities of a noble/peasant society was always present in the background of this one, as was the duality in this world of the apt/inapt or those who believe in magic/materialism.
I've really enjoyed how each of the last three books has focused around a single different location and just a few of the main characters -- the shift in storytelling style from the first arc has felt like a real level up in Tchaikovsky's character work, as everyone feels deeper now and more vital to the narrative than in his debut books.
This is shaping up to easily be one of my all-time favorite series, and the consistency in quality from book to book is just incredible.
It's a quieter book than all the others 'til now with less complex plotting and less action, but it was very impactful on a character and theme level along with moving some very important series-level plot arcs into place. The exploration of the fallout of war and the moral complexities of a noble/peasant society was always present in the background of this one, as was the duality in this world of the apt/inapt or those who believe in magic/materialism.
I've really enjoyed how each of the last three books has focused around a single different location and just a few of the main characters -- the shift in storytelling style from the first arc has felt like a real level up in Tchaikovsky's character work, as everyone feels deeper now and more vital to the narrative than in his debut books.
This is shaping up to easily be one of my all-time favorite series, and the consistency in quality from book to book is just incredible.