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  • Empire in Black and Gold

  • Shadows of the Apt, Book 1
  • By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
  • Narrated by: Ben Allen
  • Length: 23 hrs and 4 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (602 ratings)
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Empire in Black and Gold cover art

Empire in Black and Gold

By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Narrated by: Ben Allen
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Summary

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 Ltd

Critic reviews

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 ratings
Overall
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Narration gold

I read and loved these books ages ago and wanted to revisit via audio book. Not all books translate well into audio but I can honestly say this could have been written for the audio market. The story is wonderful, setting you up for a journey into a new world that quickly becomes navigable. The characters are distinct with masterful accents that make it so much easier to bond with them. The narration is perfectly paced. I couldn't be happier with this purchase and am excited to get started on the whole series.

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32 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A very apt time to read this...

This excellent book is about a cruel misogynistic empire in the east that is step by step taking over and enslaving the western lands, while the powers that be turn a blind eye to the suffering and pretend it'll all be OK, it couldn't possibly happen in their lands.

In the week that I've spent listening to this book (mid August 2021) the Taliban have conquered Afghanistan one city at a time, enslaving or slaughtering the defeated, and just today have entered the capital. Their President has fled, American forces are frantically airlifting civilians off rooftops, as enemy fire rains down on the main airfield.

Luckily that sort of thing won't spread to our safe western lands....

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28 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

great story with fantastic narration

I read this series years ago and am so pleased to see it out on audible. Ben Allen does a great job of distinguishing the different characters and maintaining their voices throughout.
I love the ingenuity of this series and find that I really ended up caring about the characters and what happens to them.

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14 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

production issues

the only issue is the first word of a sentence is usually cut in half and it happens far, far too often

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9 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

its rare that I give all stars but...

this is what fantasy is meant to be! its the start to an epic series, it has characters that I can care about, an intriguing setting, it has espionage and great battles... The story and setting are just amazing and this book really made me want to read the rest of the series right away - (they are even better) overall - read it

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

engaging

loved it the story is very engaging and the narrator does a fantastic job of making each character individual to his or herself

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Excellent Performance and Narrative

Engaging narrative with a richly built world, intriguing mythology and reasonably realistic characters. Occasional hairpin turns and oddities of plot to make events proceed on track, but quite a consistent story.

Performance of good quality with rapid accent shift to delineate characters and good emphasis and intonation, no glaring errors.

Very enjoyable.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Boredom guaranteed

the narrator can turn even the best book into a monotone dredge. i cannot recommend this. sadly.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A thrilling start to an epic series

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.

The narrator was superb and really made individual voices stand out and lifted the story and left you wanting to hear from him more... luckily I've got another nine books to share with him.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

a rip roaring fanticy novel aimed for young adults

I'll be honest, not quite what I was expecting. a novel for teenagers more than adults. But still good fun. I'll probably give the rest of the series a go.

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4 people found this helpful