The end of the Saga.Initially it's a little bit rocky, jumping back and forth between the Worm's kingdom where Che was abandoned, and the rest of the of the Old, daylit world, in Calpas, Collegium and other locals. This takes a hwile to settle down, but the segments et longer, and more familiar and evening rushes to a dramatic conclusion - there's a chapter entitled Epilogues, which finishes off the parts of the minor characters not already concluded. Although technically there is space for further stories in this world - it's large enough! - this is a very satisfactory finish. It introduces one more Kinden, and plays to the talents of those already revealed.

I didn't like the Worm concept, nor the segments in the underground space, but they were effective enough and worked well with Seda and Che. All the characters' stories reached appropriate conclusions, some happier and longer than others - but this has never been a series that shied away from the brutal realities of war and conflict, even if it wasn't fair. Most managed at least some periods of content happiness which is all we can really ask for.

None of the rest pf the series quite matched the innovative spark of the first book when the details of the world were exposed for the first time, but none have faded away that much either. Like the previous instalment this is slightly rushed to get everything that needs to be said fitting into one volume. It is long, but not overly so.

A worthy contender for Epic Fantasy you have to read. ( )

How to describe this book? The finale of a ten book series, it had a lot to live upto. The first 20% of the book is rather slow, but then the pace picks up and things build and build, but at the climax at least one storyline does not quite realize its potential. Nevertheless, the events in the others are quite grand and live upto expectations ( )

This review is written with a GPL 4.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at WordPress, Blogspot & Librarything by Bookstooge’s Exalted Permission

Title: Seal of the Worm
Series: Shadows of the Apt #10
Author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 641
Format: Digital Edition

Synopsis:

Che and her compatriots are stuck in the kingdom of the worm. They find out that the worm kinden found an alternate source of power to magic or aptness in the form of a giant centipede that they worship as a god. This god wipes out all thought of magic and aptness from the minds of those in its vicinity. Che tries to raise the populace to revolt but it ends up turning into a run for survival as the Worm begins to devour all of its underground slaves in preparation for breaking forth upon the surface.

Empress Seda figures out a ritual to re-seal the seal of the worm but she needs so much power to do so. To obtain this power, she will use the death of the thousands of Inapt subjects of the Wasp Empire. She begins a progrom using the Slave Corp and once the camps are established, uses the Red Watch to oversea the setting up of machinery to distribute the bee-killer gas in the camps.

General Tynan, now governor of Collegium is torn between his duty to the Empire and plain old common sense. The Empress has him rounding up Inapt instead of fighting the Empire's enemies. He is eventually driven out of Collegium by Stenwold Maker and his sea-kinden allies. Tynan retrenches in the Wasp capital and prepares to face multiple armies that are all taking advantage of Seda's preoccupation with the ritual instead of running her Empire.

The Worm begins breaking out all over the world and destroys half of Capitas (wasp capital). When Seda begins her ritual, a lot of the guards at various camps rebel and do not use the bee-killer on the prisoners. Seda reaches out to Che, as her sister in magic and Che drags Seda to the underworld. They duel and Che wins. Totho, rogue artificer and rejected lover of Che, is also in the underground kingdom. He is captured and taken to be fed to the worm but has a belt of grenades. He is able to use the grenades and destroys the giant centipede. This destroys all the worm segments attacking the surface world and fighting grinds to an immediate stop.

General Tynan, now in charge, makes treaties with the various armies and their cities. Stenwold dies in a worm attack. Tisamon is finally set free from Seda's magical imprisonment as her bodyguard. Che and Thalric make their way to the surface.

My Thoughts:

I did not race through this book. I would read 20-30 pages here and there and it took me almost 2 weeks to finish this off. Yet at the same time it was not because I wasn't enjoying it. I immensely enjoyed this re-read. It just felt like a big steak that I simply couldn't gulp down. I had to take the time to cut it up into small pieces and then chew each of those pieces thoroughly.

My only real complaint was how the worm god died. As I was reading it, it struck me how exactly the same it was as the movie Edge of Tomorrow. Both this book and that movie came out in 2014. They were released within months of each other so I find it hard to believe that one influenced the other. At the same time, the whole idea of a belt of grenades killing the big baddie almost at the end of the story seems too similar to ignore.

I had forgotten that Stenwold dies. I was under the impression that he went back under the sea with his lady friend. It was rather fitting though, since the group that started the book are now all dead. Very “circle of life” and all that.

In that vein, I thought Tchaikovsky did a good job of wrapping up all the various characters and their storylines. Very few have a happy ending but those who live have a decent ending and a chance to go on. After 10 books of almost continual warfare, you really can't ask for much more than that.

The series overall upon this re-read came out even better. Tchaikovsky can write and each book told a good story while advancing the series narrative. The quality of his writing was top notch and shows that he has mastered the art of writing entertainment. I bought this decalogy when it came out and this re-read has shown me that that was money well spent. I started this re-read back in February of 2017 and am finishing it now, so its been 1 ¾ years of making my way through this. I have enjoyed my time and don't begrudge it in any way.

I realize that Tchaikovsky isn't going to be for everyone, but he is one of those authors that I think everyone SHOULD try at least once. Highly recommended.

★★★★½ ( )

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot.wordpress.leafmarks.tumblr.com by express permission of this reviewer. Title: Seal of the Worm Series: Shadows of the Apt Author: Adrian Tchaikovsky Rating: 4.5 of 5 Stars Genre: Fantasy Pages: 624 Synopsis: The Wasp Empire is collapsing beneath Seda's actions. The Worm's Empire is breaking free. And the world as the Kinden all know it is changing. My Thoughts: This was more enjoyable and a good bit deeper than I was expecting. I suspect it had as much to do with my frame of mind [ie, Thanksgiving] than with the actual book. Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It wraps things up while giving us a rousing good adventure story. The series overall made me feel like I was on a roller coaster. Not because Tchaikovsky's style significantly changed, but because it seemed the focus, the sub-genre almost, changed at the midpoint. From starting out as a Heroic Quest to save Collegium from the Wasp Empire it changed to a much more relational, "think out the consequences" type of story. I have to admit, I did NOT like the change after book 5. But the stories were still good, just different than what I had started out with. With this ending book and seeing how everything works together, I do heartily recommend this series to any Fantasy fan who wants something that is just a tiny "bit" different. I did find the whole Kinden aspect to be wicked cool. " ( )

The Seal of the Worm is book ten of the Shadows of the Apt series. I was eagerly awaiting it, and it more or less lived up to my expectations.

SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO HAVE NOT READ BOOK NINE AND EARLIER

War Master's Gate ended with the titular seal of the Worm broken, and the wasp Empire poised to crush the Lowlands. There was a lot of build-up to this book, a lot of subplots to be taken care of, and then the entire crisis of the Worms emergence to be handled and resolved. Given all this, the book seems a bit short. It's not actually short - at almost 500 pages, but it does feel that way, because there is not a single dull page. The action takes a while to build up and grip you - like a lot the series' books - but once it does it will not let you go. But the sheer complexity of the story means at times not enough words are given to some of the plotlines and characters. Stenwold Maker in particular had almost a guest appearance.

The resolution of the main and side plots is mostly satisfying, though feeling a bit too serendipitous. Especially in case of the Worm. Also a bit unsatisfying for me was that we find out precious little new about the worm, which left me feeling a little cheated after such a long time of burning curiosity. And yet I've given the book five stars. Because it is not a stand-alone book, and viewed together with its parts, it is absolutely awesome. The series had its ups and downs for me, but if this was not a high point, neither was it a low one. And for the sheer freshness of it, for moving away from dragons and dwarves and all that, and creating a fantasy world that feels at once possible and yet utterly alien, I feel justified in my rating.

So I you have been following the series, you've got a good end to look forward to, and if you haven't, then you should, because this is a real gem. ( )