Imprerium Czerni i złota – Adrian Tchaikovsky" (in Polish). Rebis. Archived from the original on 9 October 2010 . Retrieved 12 October 2010. This strange melange of humanity for hundreds of years was ruled by a theocracy of Moth-kinden, the most 'magical' of the humans in alliance with the 'mantis-kinden' who provided the muscle with their legendary prowess with blades. 500 years ago, the 'slave races' rebelled and cast off the moth yoke. It seems moths and some of the races possess an inability to employ technology while beetles (what is called the 'apt'), ants and so forth are really good at it. In a way, it was new tech and mass production that lead to the downfall of the moths and company. The moths have been reduced to living in a few scattered cities while the former slave races populate an area known as the lowlands. Whew! I was listening to it (lovely performance by Ben Allen) and so it took me some time to get into the world, cause it starts in medias res with a lot of names and places which certainly is easier to follow on (e-)paper. But not long and I started to feel for and with the characters. And that's the linchpin for me and Fantasy. When I start rooting for some (or more than some) of the folks I'm reading about, I'm bought.

This was my second go at this series and I'm glad I returned. The story of an empire rising to take over and conquer complacent rivals is an old one. The twist to give all the factions aspects of insect behaviour seems a hard one to get your head around at first, but makes everyone distinct and interesting to follow. Ma il colpo di genio si ha con un altro fatto: non sono normali umani. Cioè, lo sono, ma in un mondo dove da sempre camminano insetti giganteschi. E le tribù umane per sopravvivere e prosperare hanno da sempre appreso come "legarsi" a loro, dividendosi così in base ai tratti "insetti" che hanno assorbito. Terrible Worlds: Revolutions (Solaris, 2023), ISBN 978-1786188885. Collects three novellas: Ironclads, Firewalkers and Ogres. But just know, that there are flying-machines in here, as well as some sorts of early cannons and guns - at least at times.There were some parts/plot points that I liked less the second time through (nearly a decade later), but overall I'm planning to continue a reread of this amazing series in audio.

I don't know how to describe it properly, but the action scenes in here didn't even feel like action most of the time. The writing-style and prose are pretty good consistantly, but the action... I don't know about that one. A massive series with worldbuilding, that feels like done by a veteran. Seriously, before starting this book, I looked up some maps and the likes, to get a feeling for the setting and to decide, if it was worth a read right now, and was kind of blown away. Summed up, setting is phenomenal. It is extremely unique, while also very easy to follow. I guess with a genius premise like that, it is just very easy as an author, to fill the cultures with depth and make them all differ from each other. Also a difficulty for many first-time authors that Tchaikowsky cleverly avoids here. All of the characters are layered and some are more grey tinted than others. Their struggles and doubts feel real in this epic war world. Everybody, including the antagonist, goes through emotional development - and since this is only book one I am eagerly looking forward to see what is in store for them.The Lowlands is a world and civilization unlike any other you have read in the fantasy genre and I can guarantee that! There are several different races of humans in this world with each race being referred to as a different Kinden. A Kinden is a race of human that based on the aspects of different insects!. I know this may sound strange but let me explain how it works. The world consists of several different types of Kinden: beetles, ants, dragonfly, mantis, spider, moth, wasp etc… Each Kinden contains their own skills or magic abilities. Beetle-Kinden tend to be short with round build and they are very smart with the ability to build machines. Ant-Kinden are short but very strong soldiers to go to war and they can communicate in each others minds without talking. Mantis-Kinden are elite soldiers similar to a samurai and very prideful. Finally Wasp-Kinden are magic users who can fly, but not very strong as a group. All of these Kinden and so much more inhabit this world and Adrian Tchaikovsky has taken my breath away with his imagination and creative genius!