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Volume 1

Spoils of War

Table of Contents

Title Page

The Shadows of the Apt | (Tor UK)

Volume 1 | Spoils of War | Adrian Tchaikovsky

Contents

Introduction | by the Author

Introduction | by the Publisher

To Own the Sky

Ironclads

Spoils of War

Camouflage

The Shadows of Their Lamps

The Dreams of Avaris

The Prince

Shadow Hunters

Sword and Circle

Idle Hands

An Old Man in a Harsh Season

Brass Mantis

About the Author

Volume 2 | A Time of Grief | Cover art by Jon Sullivan

Now We Are Ten | Celebrating the first Ten Years of NewCon Press | With sixteen original stories written especially for this book | Cover art by Ben Baldwin

Available as a signed limited edition hardback, paperback, | and eBook | www.newconpress.co.uk

Crises and Conflicts | Celebrating the first Ten Years of NewCon Press | The Sister Volume to | Now We Are Ten

Fifteen tales of space opera and military science fiction from:

The Shadows of the Apt

(Tor UK)

Empire in Black and Gold (2008)

Dragonfly Falling (2009)

Blood of the Mantis (2009)

Salute the Dark (2010)

The Scarab Path (2010)

The Sea Watch (2011)

Heirs of the Blade (2011)

The Air War (2012)

War Master’s Gate (2013)

Seal of the Worm (2014)

Volume 1

Spoils of War

Adrian Tchaikovsky

NewCon Press

England

First edition, published in the UK 2016 by

NewCon Press

41, Wheatsheaf Road,

Alconbury Weston,

Cambs,

PE28 4LF

NCP102 Hardback

NCP103 Softback

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN: 978-1-910935-20-0 (hardback)

ISBN: 978-1-910935-21-7 (softback)

Cover art by Jon Sullivan

Editorial meddling by Ian Whates

Interior layout by Storm Constantine

Cover layout by Andy Bigwood

Contents

Introduction by the Author 7

Introduction by the Publisher 8

To Own the Sky 9

Ironclads41

Spoils of War 65

Camouflage81

The Shadows of Their Lamps 99

The Dreams of Avaris 113

The Prince129

Shadow Hunters 167

Sword and Circle173

Idle Hands191

An Old Man in a Harsh Season 215

Brass Mantis 239

About the Author253

Introduction

by the Author

Welcome to the first collection of stories set in the world of the Insect-kinden.

The tales in these pages are presented in roughly chronological order and take place before Empire in Black and Gold, from a piece of Collegiate history through the events of the Twelve-year War between the Empire and the Commonweal, and ending with the exploits of a certain Mantis Weaponsmaster in self-imposed exile in Helleron.

Along the way, we encounter a variety of familiar faces, both heroes and villains. For many, these stories were their first appearance before they worked their way into the novels. Other characters are seen here for the first time, but possibly not the last.

Shadows of the Apt and its associated material almost certainly represents the largest single body of work I’ll ever produce, and perhaps the most detailed and wide-ranging world. For every character and location that made it into the novels there were plenty that were only hinted at, or not even that. I’m delighted to be able to work with Ian Whates and Newcon press to bring these tales of the Apt (and the Inapt) and their world to you.

Adrian Tchaikovsky,

Leeds

May 2016

Introduction

by the Publisher

When Adrian first approached me with the proposal for this series I was thrilled. The Shadows of the Apt books represent one of the most intriguing creationss ever to grace the field of epic fantasy. There can be no doubt that this is fantasy, but the stories also contain elements of steam punk, a strong grasp of entimology, and feature the sort of well-rounded characters that any long-running series needs to succeed. The idea of a world in which some races embrace and routinely employ magic but are incapable of comprehending science, while others pursue the study of science but are blind to the potential of magic proves fertile ground for a storyteller of Adrian’s calibre.

The Tales of the Apt books gather together the many Apt stories that have appeared in various anthologies and online, and combine them with a wealth of new material written especially for these collections. All are arranged in chronological order, so that the reader is provided with another perspective of events alluded to or sometimes detailed in the original series. In effect, Tales provides an alternative history that parallels and unfolds alongside the familiar one, filling in the gaps and revealing intriguing backstories for many established characters.

Any fan of the original Shadows of the Apt books will, I’m sure, be as delighted and excited by this addition to the canon as I am.

Ian Whates

Cambridgeshire

June 2016

To Own the Sky

Between the years of 470 and 482, a little over fifty years before either Stenwold Maker or the Wasp Empire came to trouble Collegium, a curious contest was sponsored biannually by the artificers of the Great College itself. The challenge, extended to all comers (although in practice almost every entrant was local), was to find the heaviest self-powered flying machine.

The entrants, student engineers, professional mechanics and armchair artificers, gathered atop the cliffs east of the city, each cradling or towing his or her creation: little orthopters of a hundred different designs would be cast over the edge, to their sooner-or-later-but-certain doom, lost to the sea. College staff would be standing by, with clock and glass, to measure