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Book Reviews of Blood of the Mantis: Shadows of the Apt (Shadows of the Apt 3)

Blood of the Mantis: Shadows of the Apt (Shadows of the Apt 3)
Blood of the Mantis Shadows of the Apt - Shadows of the Apt 3
Author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
ISBN-13: 9780230704169
ISBN-10: 0230704166
Publication Date: 8/7/2009
Pages: 320
Rating:
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 2

4 stars, based on 2 ratings
Publisher: Tor
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

Trey avatar reviewed Blood of the Mantis: Shadows of the Apt (Shadows of the Apt 3) on + 260 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I'm a bad American SF and Fantasy fan - I bought this from England.

Was it worth it?

Yep.

This picks up from Dragonfly Falling and tosses the main characters into new settings - Solarno, a Lowlands spider city; Jerez, a skater kinden city in the Empire (where the rule of the Wasps is lightly held) and Sarnesh, with a much different view and more detail than before.

The bulk of the book concerns the pursuit of the Heart of the Darakyon and trying to win allies from Solarno and around the Exalsee. It also concerns Stenwold Maker's delicate negotiations with the (remaining) powers of the Lowlands to form an alliance against the Wasp Empire. This is very tricky in the face of the new miracle weapon of the snapbow that Stenwold has as well...

Like its predecessors, its a fun read. Its not great literature (nor does it pretend to be), but its fun. Its got steampunk elements (like airships and clockwork powered ornithopters), magic and an epic storyline. I do miss the politics of the setting that permeated the earlier books, but it may return in later ones.