Empire in Black and Gold
Shadows of the Apt, Book 1
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Narrated by:
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Ben Allen
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Written by:
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Adrian Tchaikovsky
About this listen
Empire in Black and Gold is the first instalment in the critically-acclaimed fantasy series Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky, author of the Arthur C. Clarke Award-winning Children of Time.
The days of peace are over....
The Lowlands’ city states have lived in peace for decades, hailed as bastions of civilization. Yet that peace is about to end. A distant empire has been conquering neighbours with highly trained soldiers and sophisticated combat techniques. And the city states are its desirable new prize.
Only the ageing Stenwold Maker – spymaster, artificer and statesman – foresees the threat, as the empires’ armies march ever closer. So it falls upon his shoulders to open the eyes of the cities’ leaders. He sees that war will sweep through their lands, destroying everything in its path.
But to warn his people, he must stay alive.
Empire in Black and Gold is followed by the second book in the Shadows of the Apt series, Dragonfly Falling.
©2020 Adrian Tchaikovsky (P)2020 Macmillan Publishers International LtdYou may also enjoy...
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Great
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
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-
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- Written by: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Length: 12 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Humanity is a dying breed, utterly reliant on artificial labor and service. When a domesticated robot gets a nasty little idea downloaded into its core programming, they murder their owner. The robot discovers they can also do something else they never did before: They can run away. Fleeing the household they enter a wider world they never knew existed, where the age-old hierarchy of humans at the top is disintegrating into ruins and an entire robot ecosystem devoted to human wellbeing is having to find a new purpose.
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Enjoyable tale with a big tale
- By joan endersby on 2025-01-26
Written by: Adrian Tchaikovsky
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Dogs of War
- Dogs of War, Book 1
- Written by: Adrian Tchaikovsky
- Narrated by: Laurence Bouvard, Nathan Osgood, William Hope
- Length: 9 hrs and 58 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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Overall
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Performance
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What the critics say
Brimming with imagination (SciFiNow)
The Shadows of the Apt series is simply one of the best epic fantasy series out there (LEC Book Reviews)
Super worldbuilding, great characters and extreme inventiveness (Fantasy Book Critic)
What listeners say about Empire in Black and Gold
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon Customer
- 2025-01-24
Fascinating world building yet again!
I'd been skeptical at first but found myself hooked after getting past the slow start by the world building that is the trademark of the Tchaikovsky.The setting, development of plot and characters are excellent and have promise for developing into a series - since I do spy a good many more titles in this series! But I wonder if there will be a frequent return of the trope about the protagonists always being a step behind and/or unaware of an impending doom which of course the reader is made aware of. This type of suspense for the sake of suspense can become especially tiresome... I'll brave book 2, albeit with this concern.
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- Jonathan Alexiou
- 2022-04-23
Great Original Fantasy
Really enjoyed this book, the world is very immersive. Adrian is an amazing writer and the narration is really really well done. Ben Allen does the different voices so well at times it feels like there are multiple voice actors.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Kindle Customer
- 2020-12-17
this series needs more attention!
I adored this book and I am shocked I have never herd of it before. please give this book a chance if you love interesting creative Worldbuilding and epic fantasy stories with a steampunk flare.
can't wait to listen to the second one!
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3 people found this helpful
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- Carolyn
- 2024-01-25
Great series, fantastic performance
I just finished the final book in this series and I highly recommend it. It has such a unique premise, the worldbuilding is second-to-none, and the narrator does a great job interpreting the characters and giving each Kinden a distinct accent. Tchaikovsky has been one of my favourite sci-fi authors ever since I read his Children of Time trilogy, and this foray into steampunk-type fantasy didn’t disappoint. My only regret is that it had to end, I wanted to keep exploring this world forever
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