Heirs of the Blade by Adrian Tchaikovsky Shadows of the Apt #7

Tynisa is still haunted by the sins of her past with both grief and regret at the loss of her loved ones. Looking to seek comfort in the Commonweal of the dragonfly kinden, Tynisa will come face to face with her own demons and find many more along the way. Cheerwell and Thalric are on the move looking for Tynisa as she is being hunted by a ghost from her past. The Empire is getting ready to wage war on the Lowlands once again but the Empress Seda needs to put the final touches together and the power lies in the ancient ruins of Khanaphes. This will be a spoiler free review but I will be touching upon events that took place in previous novels.

Forced to endure the heartbreak of her love Salma choosing another and then learning of his death at the hands of the wasp empire, Tynisa is crestfallen with grief. Adding to that witnessing the death of her father Tisamon when he stabbed the shadow box and mortally wounding Achaeos with her own blade, Tynisa is searching for answers. Her travels lead to the dragonfly Commonweal where she is looking to divulge the fate of Salma to his kin. Tisamon’s shadow is hunting Tynisa and he is looking to shape her to his will. Long has the mantis kinden viewed the traits of strength, pride, and vengeance in high regard and Tisamon had lost track of that throughout his life. He will not make that same mistake with his daughter.

Cheerwell and Thalric know the desires of Tisamon since he was released from Che’s mind by the rulers of Khanaphes. Desperate the save her foster sister from more pain, the two must hurry across the land before Tynisa becomes an architect for her own destruction. All the while, the Empress is pressing her advantage and has the desire to visit the rulers of Khanaphes. Much like Che received the blessing of the slug kinden, Seda looks for that same blessing and to be the avatar for the old powers of history in the new world. Old faces will return while new enemies will take shape and all the while an ancient evil is stirring with the release of the old magic just waiting to be unleashed.

The best thing about this series are the heartbreaking emotions we feel the characters endure is almost too painful to read but riveting in its beauty we can’t help but be infatuated. Combine this with the complex nuances of the world, magic, rivalries, and themes to the series put this in line with the all time greats of the genre. Can’t tell you how many friends and authors alike who have picked up this series and are flabbergasted by not reading this series sooner. I feel their is a good deal of misinformation about this series either by the covers or the descriptions of the books being about insect. The relationship to the insects can be seen as attributes and not anything you would come across in a horror movie. Human characters with insect-like powers and awareness, sign me up!

Heirs of the Blades has notoriously been one of the Top books in the series among fans and it is in my Top 3 to say the least. The story just pushes forward and the second war is about to be unleashed on the Lowlands. I have been listening to this series on audible and now I have to wait until November 2021 for the final 3, oh the pain! It will all be worth it and here is to the climactic concluding volumes in the Shadow of the Apt series.

Cheers!