Empire In Black And Gold

By Adrian Tchaikovsky

At first glance there’s not much to separate Adrian Tchaikovsky’s debut novel from the thousands other fantasy novels out there. There’s a man with a sword on the front cover and a giant world map just inside and it’s about a group of mismatched adolescents led by a wise old man who harbours a secret past, banding together to battle a powerful empire bent on world domination. But to dismiss it lightly would be folly indeed because, as in cooking, it’s not the ingredients that separate the great chefs from the also-rans, but the magic they work with them.

Adrian Tchaikovsky apparently studied zoology and psychology and it’s the former that really begins to make this book stand apart. The world of the story, part English medieval and part steampunk, is populated by the insect kinden – humans that have taken on the traits of their insect ancestors – thus we have Beetle-kinden, methodical and thorough but skilled artisans and engineers, Wasp-kinded who can fly and hurl a ‘stinger’ as a method of attack, Ant-kinden who communicate and co-operate as a hive-mind and Mantis-kinden, the deadliest of warriors, fast, lethal and unforgiving.

This a fantastic take on separating the peoples of this world because it instantly creates a kinship between like-kinden and animosity between those who are different, and interestingly, there’s the contempt that all kinden feel for half-breeds. It also instantly suggests the personality traits that each type has, so as the books progress, less and less time is taken with explanation and, as new characters are introduced, their likely personalities are instantly conveyed just by knowing to what kinden they belong. Additionally, when you think of how many different types of insects there are, the possibilities are endless, from the exotic almost ethereal butterflies to the cunning and crafty spiders – it’s a wonderful device and one for which I am full of admiration.

But it doesn’t stop there. The world these people inhabit is not a world purely of magic and mystery, it’s a world of technology and craftsmanship that has dulled belief in any kind of magic to hearsay and children’s stories. This makes the Moth-kinden, wrapped-up in their mystic ritual and old-lore ways the butt of many jokes despite their abilities but equally means that the Beetle-kinden, technology obsessed and dismissive of anything they cannot prove with maths and physics, vulnerable to that which they cannot understand.

Our various kinden protagonists grow into their kinden personalities well. Each is thoughtful, intelligent and well constructed and the action throughout is gripping, slow-burning in the build-up and exploding fast and furiously at the climax. The story is beautifully woven throughout with complex warfare, political intrigue and drama and while the writing is a little florid and overwrought at times, it never detracts from the main narrative.

There are still some questions that need answering, historical events referred to but never elaborated upon, pacts and partnerships between kinden that are not explored and there seems to be no religion, no mention of God or Gods anywhere, which would be a rich vein to tap I think, but nevertheless, this is a quite brilliant debut that suggests what is to come is well worth looking out for.

If you’ve read Patrick Rothfuss, Scott Lynch and Joe Abercrombie and you’re looking for something equally brilliant that you can really get your teeth into then look no further. Empire In Black & Gold is a superb first outing for Adrian Tchaikovsky, rich in detail, beautifully textured and full of potential.

The rest of the Shadows Of The Apt series promises much.

Empire in Black and Gold is published by Tor through Pan MacMillan and is available from Amazon, Blackwell and all good book stores.

Adrian Tchaikovsky maintains a blog.