Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

The Sea Watch (Shadows of the Apt #6)

by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Goodreads Author)

3.98 of 5 stars 3.98 · rating details · 388 ratings · 35 reviews

A shadow is falling over Collegium. Despite the tenuous peace, Stenwold Maker knows that the Empire will return for his city. Even as he tries to prepare for the resurgence of the black and gold, a hidden threat is steadily working against his people. Ships that sail from Collegium's harbour are being attacked, sunk by pirates. Some just go missing ...Lulled by the spread...more

Paperback, 697 pages

Published February 1st 2011 by Tor Books

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

A Dance With Dragons by George R.R. Martin

2011 DGLA Fantasy Book Nominees

42nd out of 84 books — 294 voters

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

The "Can't Wait" Books of 2011

339th out of 625 books — 1,911 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 896)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

Jul 12, 2011 Liviu rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011_release_read, review_fbc, genre-fantasy, read_2011, t1_recommended_2011

After the superb Scarab Path, Mr. Tchaikovsky switches characters, setting and gears with a story that takes place partly at sea, partly in underwater scapes that read like action on the Moon or Mars, so the book has a very sf-nal feel.

It is all Stenwold and Teornis here with supporting action from a bunch of new characters as well as some known ones.

The universe expands with more Kinden, more places, more capabilities.

While there are some superb personal scenes including a restatement of one o...more

2 likes · like · see review

Feb 15, 2011 Josh rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: own, fantasy, read_2011, shadows_of_the_apt

Stenwold Maker takes centre stage in a story derived from politics, betrayal, war, and assassination in which his home Collegium is once again under threat of invasion – and it’s not just the usual suspects this time. Fighting to keep the peace, Stendwold embarks on a journey which leads him to the unexplored depths of the sea, east to the Spiderlands and north the newly formed city of Princep Salmea. All of the settings are quite unique and have a distinct feel about them; Tchaikovsky once agai...more

3 likes · like · see review

Oct 17, 2012 Tom Lloyd rated it 3 of 5 stars

Took me a while to get going on, this one. While it's continuing the usual high standards I was jarred by the introduction of the sea kinden. As I've read in another review so am clearly not alone in thinking, after several books of slowly introducing a range of land-kinden you're suddenly slapped in the the face with a tentacle-load of new races with little time to explore them and instead you just dump them in with their equivalent land-kinden they're clearly related to. That it was so easy to...more

like · see review

Jan 08, 2012 Alytha rated it 4 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Finished volume 6 of Shadows of the Apt, The Sea Watch. I don't know how I managed to just about read a 700 page book in one week of holidays, and then another one in 2 days...anyway, I've caught up with Mr Tchaikovski now, although the next volume should be out soon.

This one would actually have been more fitting to read during a diving trip, as it is mostly set underwater. We find out that there is a wide variety of sea-kinden, based on crablikes, squids, jellyfish, polyps, corals and starfish...more Finished volume 6 of Shadows of the Apt, The Sea Watch. I don't know how I managed to just about read a 700 page book in one week of holidays, and then another one in 2 days...anyway, I've caught up with Mr Tchaikovski now, although the next volume should be out soon.

This one would actually have been more fitting to read during a diving trip, as it is mostly set underwater. We find out that there is a wide variety of sea-kinden, based on crablikes, squids, jellyfish, polyps, corals and starfish (and another one which I can't remember right now).

This volume is set shortly after The Scarab Path. The other members of the expedition have returned, but Che and Thalric are still away, and will not appear in this novel.
Sten finds out that more and more Collegium ships are attacked or go missing entirely. Upon researching this, he gets drawn into the political manoeuverings of the Spiders. During an attempt at peace talks, their barge is attacked by a giant squid, and Sten, Teornis the Spider, and Lazlo the Fly are drawn into a bizarre underwater world, inhabited by strange kinden with strange animal companions, and stranger customs. They use living animals as submarines, for one. The prisoners get drawn into more political complications between the usurper ruler of a colony, and the other factions, among them the supporters of the true heir, who was brought to land a couple of years earlier for his own safety, but is now widely believed dead. The prisoners get kidnapped, captured, escape again, and finally each find new factions to support. It all ends in a desperate race between two factions to find the lost heir, who unfortunately was brought to the Felyal, which was destroyed by the Empire, but managed to escape to Salma's rebel army.

Poor Sten gets hit pretty hard in this one. First, Che disappears, then he is betrayed by the Spiders, among them his beloved Arianna, who is killed shortly afterwards, in an attempt to save him. Then he is dragged around the bottom of the sea for some time, loses his best enemy, gains and loses another two lovers...poor guy...

In terms of plot, this book is mostly political machinations and spy games between different factions, and is interesting but not terribly creative. In terms of worldbuilding though, the know world pretty much doubles with many more kinden described in all details concerning their habits, companion animals and politics. There's also a guy called Nemoctes whose ship is a living nautilus. I'm not sure if that's clever or incredibly lame...
I'm also not so sure about the "as above, so below" aspect of the underwater kinden. There's pseudo-spiders, pseudo-mantids, pseudo-butterflies, etc...can't they just be themselves, instead of a mirror of the landside world?
I do understand that this is necessary for some plot reasons, for example the possibility to place spies on land, or the Littoralist mythology that the ancestors of the landkinden banished the ancestors of the seakinden into the water. From what we know about the world, I think that's pretty much impossible. A Spider can't just adopt a new totem animal, I guess. Maybe it's just a case of parralel evolution, where creatures which cover a certain niche in an ecosystem independently end up looking somewhat similar, although biologically, they have nothing to do with eachother.

All in all, not a bad book though, although in terms of the bigger picture, only the last couple of chapters add anything. Sten literally playing Battleship with the Spider armada is pretty impressive though.

I wonder if the next volumes are going to be mostly standalone too, or if there's going to be another bigger arc, like the one about the war against the Wasps from the beginning of the series.

8/10(less)

like · see review

Apr 09, 2011 William rated it 4 of 5 stars

“The Sea Watch” is in some ways a bit of break from the previous five books in the series. Not only is it one of the more stand-alone of the books (it is the first in the series where the threat from the Wasp Empire isn’t a major part of the story), it is also the most focused on a single character, namely academic and unlikely spymaster Stenwold Maker. It gets off to a fairly slow start, with the first couple of hundred pages being devoted to Stenwold trying to deal with political intrigue in C...more “The Sea Watch” is in some ways a bit of break from the previous five books in the series. Not only is it one of the more stand-alone of the books (it is the first in the series where the threat from the Wasp Empire isn’t a major part of the story), it is also the most focused on a single character, namely academic and unlikely spymaster Stenwold Maker. It gets off to a fairly slow start, with the first couple of hundred pages being devoted to Stenwold trying to deal with political intrigue in Collegium and a potential new threat from their rivals in the Spiderlands. There is then a sudden change of scene as the focus fixes instead to a different threat originating from the aquatic world of the previously unknown Sea Kinden. In some ways this is a first contact story, much of the novel being taken up by Stenwold and his companions’ encounter with an alien civilisation they never even realised existed, and the civilisation is indeed more alien than that of any of the other kinden described so far in the series. There are a number of very imaginative ideas in the world-building and the Sea Kinden world is in some ways very different to any other place I’ve read about and it does manage to feel fresh (an unusual thing in fantasy). This is despite the world-building occasionally feeling a bit hurried, due to the pace of the story we don’t spend a huge amount of time in the main settlements of Hermatyre or the Hot Stations and therefore I didn’t feel I knew them as well as Khanaphes in the previous book. The plot is also consistently entertaining, with a fair amount of intrigue, some unusual battle scenes, a satisfying detestable villain in the form of Hermatyre’s ruler, a compelling antihero in the form of the Spider lord Teornis and even a gang of mercenaries somewhat reminiscent of the TV show “Firefly”. I enjoyed it a lot, but wouldn’t quite say it was the best in the series. The pacing isn’t as satisfying as in “The Scarab Path”, and although Stenwold is a decent character I don’t find him the most interesting character in the series and arguably he doesn’t develop that much as a character in the book.(less)

like · see review

Apr 21, 2011 Tom Boshell rated it 5 of 5 stars

This author is a genius. The world is (I find) quite a refreshing concept. Humans that have the traits of insects with 2 main types of people: magic users and non-magic users (science). The one can not understand the other and we enter the world in a time where the magic users are out of fashion. The series follows the one main character as he is the only one who sees the danger with spin-offs to his friends and niece. This book is return of focus to him and the future of the beatles. I'm just w...more

like · see review

Nov 05, 2011 Derrick rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011, fantasy, favorites

It seems like it is Stenwold Maker against the entire Kinden world. I feel pretty bad for the poor guy. Everything seems to go wrong for him.

Overall, I enjoyed this book. Not quite as much as the previous books, but I think the Wasp Empire makes a fantastic antagonist, and the underwater kinden made me feel kind of creepy/crawly and Tchaikovsky's descriptions made ME feel claustrophobic.

I have to say, it sure would be nice if somebody besides Stenwold became the major character. I just have this...more

1 like · like · see review

Apr 03, 2011 Algernon rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2011

The sixth installment in one of my favorite ongoing fantasy epics. Great story that didn't receive the highest mark like the previous books only because Stenwold is not my favorite chracter so far, and I felt the plot in this version of 20000 leagues under the sea was a tad too straightforward and predictable.
Still, the middle of the book - where we get to explore the kinden of the sea and their habitat was amazing - easily the best part of the book. Tchaikovsky somehow manages to inject fresh b...more

like · see review

Mar 25, 2013 Neil rated it 5 of 5 stars

In my opinion, The Sea Watch, is the best novel in the series so far. It took me a long time to procure this book (I had trouble getting a copy here in Canada for some reason), but it was definitely worth the effort. A few interesting notes. While this book is indeed one in the Apt series - it nearly stands on it's own. Oh - there are some familiar characters, but the environment and the majority of characters are new. As if the diversity and expanse of Tchaikovsky's world was not deep enough, h...more

like · see review

Apr 13, 2011 Aidan Walters rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is the sixth book in the Shadows of the Apt series, really the second novel in the current arc, as the first four novels are a complete series in its own right.

This novel is different to the other novels in that it has only one major POV character, Stenwald Maker. Every other novel has had multiple main characters carrying the novel, the first four multiple disparate strands while book 5 was more focused. This really will shape how you enjoy the novel, if you particularly liked Maker's stra...more

like · see review

Feb 23, 2011 Matt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Redemption - the one word that comes to mind after reading this book. After being extremely disappointed by The Scarab Path (book 5) i told myself The Sea Watch would be A.T's last chance to keep me reading. I'm quite happy to say he has once again grabbed hold of my interest...and like the Polypoi "Touch" art...i don't think i'll be able to wriggle free.

As one of the other reviewers stated, i didn't like this book very much...in the beginning anyways. I definitely found the first few 100 pages...more Redemption - the one word that comes to mind after reading this book. After being extremely disappointed by The Scarab Path (book 5) i told myself The Sea Watch would be A.T's last chance to keep me reading. I'm quite happy to say he has once again grabbed hold of my interest...and like the Polypoi "Touch" art...i don't think i'll be able to wriggle free.

As one of the other reviewers stated, i didn't like this book very much...in the beginning anyways. I definitely found the first few 100 pages more irritating and slow than exciting. Initially, when Stenwold is in Collegium the novel appears to be a boring, diplomatic, and rather uneventful drama about his crappy life after the war. From Collegium Stenwold makes his way under the sea...yup...under the sea. At first the whole ocean thing seems a little bit wierd, however it slowly grows on you. The initial ocean plot is a little bit fast paced for my liking- tons of characters, travel, and explanations crammed into...not enough pages. The plot really picked up half way through leaving me quite happy with the end result. A great deal of the book was very entertaining and i will most definitely be picking up the next installment.

I would really like to say that I am STILL captivated by the whole Kinden world. Adrian did a very smart thing when creating a world based on insect/animals that every single human being is familiar with. I love the fact that i have to work a little bit to form a an image in my mind when a new kinden is introduced. The Sea Watch was a success for me because a completely different world was introducted. After 5 novels of Land kinden...just when the story started to dry up for me (get it? DRY UP!)...the story is taken underwater where plenty of new Kinden with completely different Art are introduced. Overall approximately 6-8 sea kinden are touched upon, with some being visited in greater detail than others. I felt at times the introduction of new characters was a little confusing, however in the end descriptions are slowly added to sharpen your image of each race.

My main complaint about "The Scarab Path" was the lack of likable characters. A.T has this uncanny ability to kill off every character you begin to like. The Sea Watch revolves mainly around Stenwold (who i generally find quite boring and overall unimpressive) That being said, A.T found numerous way to surround Stenwold with both interesting characters and situations. The Sea Watch was filled with secret meetings and plots that showed the reader how impressive Stenwold could be. My main complaint about Stenwold is his constant reliance on support. Generally a main character is a know-it-all do-it-all kind of guy, however Stenwold is a know-it-all "get-everyone-else-to-do-it-all-for-you" kind of guy. Sometimes i feel as though his dumb luck in battles and lack of self defense takes away from his image.

The subplot of the story revolves mainly around Teornis- the smooth and savvy Spider prince. Teornis is a pretty interesting character who really helps to advance the plot. He is witty, suave, and intriguing character who weaves his web of deceit time after time. Although you can never really get enough of Teornis, don't get too attached or...well...i think i've said enough. Although a few Fly Kinden pirates are also introduced in this installment and are somewhat interesting, i still find myself missing some of the characters from previous books. In my opinion (which is fairly unimportant) i think A.T should introduce an exciting, fierce, and noble character to fill at least one of the gaping holes left by Salma, Tisamon, Felise....just anyone...PLEASE. A few other familiar characters such as Arianna are disposed of, but none of any real significance to the plot.

Lastly, i would like to say that i am excited to learn what Thalric and Tynisa have been up to since their time in Salute the Dark and The Scarab Path. The next story could use a little bit of Thalric's bad-boy image and Tynisa's Weapons Master skill. Unfortunately, if the next book revolves solely around Che once again...which i have a pretty good feeling it will...i might be dishing out a few less stars in my next review.

(less)

like · see review

Mar 07, 2013 Clawfoot rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I've been conflicted on this series for a while now. For the most part, I love them. The characters are wonderful and the plots are intricate and complex, but don't leave me behind wondering what the heck is going on. But I have to say, I'm not a big fan of the world these books are set in. There are too many inconsistencies and the addition of the sea-kinden doesn't do anything to sway me. In fact, it does the opposite.

On some level, I did enjoy seeing the underwater world, but it just didn't f...more I've been conflicted on this series for a while now. For the most part, I love them. The characters are wonderful and the plots are intricate and complex, but don't leave me behind wondering what the heck is going on. But I have to say, I'm not a big fan of the world these books are set in. There are too many inconsistencies and the addition of the sea-kinden doesn't do anything to sway me. In fact, it does the opposite.

On some level, I did enjoy seeing the underwater world, but it just didn't fit with the rest of the world, in my mind. Yes, it was supposed to be alien and weird and different, but it managed to be both too similar and too different at the same time. It was too different in that it breaks the "insect-kinden" theme the world had (even though Spiders and Scorpions aren't actually technically insects, they're still called insect-kinden, but I'm being pedantic now), and too similar in that there were no language barriers beyond accent, and everyone still had the exact same standard of beauty as everyone else (a common complaint with me and these books).

The author also followed the same pattern the other books had in the introduction of new kinden: each one is an improvement over the last. Moths were mystical, but Mosquitoes even moreso. Spiders were beautiful, but Butterflies even moreso. Beetles were enduring, but Mole Crickets even moreso. Flies were sneak-thieves, but Skater kinden even moreso. Mantids were deadly, but Assassin Bugs even moreso. And now we have a new batch of kinden: whereas the Butterflies used to be the most ethereal and beautiful, now we have the jellyfish kinden who are even moreso; it used to be that the Mole Crickets and Scorpions were the biggest and toughest, but now it appears the crab kinden are even moreso; the octopi kinden rival the Spiders in machination and deceit, and so on. Every book introduces yet more kinden who are "MORE [X] THAN YOU."

I can't help but think that by the time the series is over, the world is going to look even more patently ridiculous than it does now.

But as I said, that's just the setting. I still devour the books as quickly as I can, because the characters are fascinating and the plot is seriously compelling. I wouldn't have pegged myself as someone who appreciated books about political intrigue and war before, but these books have completely hooked me. In spite of my misgivings about the world, they still remain one of my favourite fantasy series.
(less)

like · see review

Oct 17, 2012 Larou added it

Shelves: fantasy

Following after The Scarab Path (which I read a few weeks ago), The Sea Watch is the sixth novel in Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Shadows of the Apt series. Like the previous novel, it only focuses on a small part of the total cast and is quasi-standalone, i.e. forms a complete story arc of its own within the framework of the greater plot.

While The Scarab Path took place in a new location but was peopled with many characters familiar from previous novels, The Sea Watch reverses that pattern and begins in...more Following after The Scarab Path (which I read a few weeks ago), The Sea Watch is the sixth novel in Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Shadows of the Apt series. Like the previous novel, it only focuses on a small part of the total cast and is quasi-standalone, i.e. forms a complete story arc of its own within the framework of the greater plot.

While The Scarab Path took place in a new location but was peopled with many characters familiar from previous novels, The Sea Watch reverses that pattern and begins in a familiar location but with mainly new characters as protagonists. However, there is a very marked shift in the novel’s second part, and with it, The Sea Watch becomes a tale of two cities – Collegium, home to Stenwold Maker, one of the series chief protagonists and this novel’s main character, and Hermandyre, a city located at the bottom of the ocean. In a way, it is even a tale of two worlds, so different does the world below the surface of the sea seem from that above it.

The novel’s first third, set in Collegium presents the reader with business as usual – we’re still in the aftermath of the war against the Wasp Empire, the peace is still uneasy, and everyone is jostling for advantages and strategic placement in preparation for the rekindling of the conflict that everyone knows is unavoidable. Stenwold Maker is trying to do his best to forge an alliance that will be able to withstand the Empire when it returns, but he is about to learn the hard way that even apparent allies can not be trusted. Things start to go very wrong indeed, leading to a desastrous finale at the end of the first part and the introduction of an unexpected change of location.

The second part of The Sea Watch takes place at the bottom of the ocean, and it is here that the novel really hits its stride. Tchaikovsky has been praised for his imaginative world-building before but nothing he has done in the previous novels quite prepares the reader for the realm of the Sea-Kinden whose scenery the middle third of this novel spreads out before the reader. It is a very fascinating realm, weird and bizarre, and populated by alien creatures, but also very human, its denizens driven by the familiar passions of greed and fear, violence and love. The picture Tchaikovsky paints of this world in the depths is of something truly rich and strange, and while his canvas is large he does not lack attention to detail – the individuals we meet are well-drawn, their motivations appropriately enigmatic for people who make their living in this alien, inimical world, but still human enough to be relatable (with the exception of one particular Kinden, but those are meant to be incomprehensible to outsiders).

(A quick note on the term “world building” here, as I have noticed that my use of it seems not quite congruent with common usage. Usually, the term appears to refer to internal coherence and plausibility of a novel or a series – good world building, in that sense, would be if the author draws maps and takes care that they make geographical sense, creates a history for the world, thinks up a functioning economy and generally ensures that everything in the world works – or would work, if it wasn’t fictional. World building in this sense indicates a realistic approach. – In contrast, when I speak of world building I tend to have nothing as pedestrian as plausibility in mind, but rather mean the scope and originality of the imagined world, the soaring of the author’s fancy – good world building in that sense would be if the world created is a bold invention, if it moves away from the world we know towards something new, something colourful and strange that strikes us with its alienness (think Jack Vance and you’ll probably have an idea of what I’m aiming at here). World building in this sense is indicative of the fantastic. - Of course, the two are not mutually exclusive, but to find them both realised in equal measure in a single work or series is very rare – Karl Schroeder’s Virga series comes to mind, but not much more – and if I have to chose between the two, I will most of the time prefer the latter (which, I hasten to add, is purely a matter of taste). In order to avoid confusion, as I think it is clear that the two meanings are quite distinct, I should probably use a different term. I have yet to come up with anything snazzy (suggestions welcome!), so for the time being I will stick with “world imagining”.)

The world imagining in The Sea Guard, then, is nothing short of fantastic, impressive in its imaginative if not factual coherence and breathtaking in its scope and originality. One almost ceases to care about the plot altoghether while one is busy admiring the vistas of wonderous seascape at the bottom of the ocean and the bizarre creatures passing through it – I for one could easily have spend a whole novel in this place, and I hope Tchaikovsky will return to this location in the course of the series. The novel, though – and I am very tempted to say: unfortunately – moves on, and in its final third connects the separate locations of the previous parts in a quasi-dialectical synthesis. Obviously, there was no way to avoid the plot moving back to the land, but this reader at least was rather sad to leave the sea floor behind and thought that the novel became a bit bland and less colourful for it. Still, another excellent installment in a series that seems to just get better as it goes along.(less)

like · see review

Jan 09, 2013 Goran Zidar rated it 3 of 5 stars

Being the sixth book of a series creates certain difficulties, with each instalment it gets harder to treat the reader with something new, as by now we are familiar with the world, its people, its politics, its technology, the way the magic system works, and the characters. So it is a credit to the author that this book has managed to introduce so much that is completely new at this stage of the series.

I have enjoyed all the books of this series so far, and while this one isn’t my favourite (boo...more

like · see review

May 11, 2011 Claire rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy

If you haven't started reading this series, and you love fantasy, then you are missing out. I thoroughly recommend these books. I don't think that this is a good place to start this sequence - start at the beginning - but it really pays off.

The action is back at Collegium with Stenwold. It starts just after the The Scarab Path as news of Che is just reaching Stenwold, and I suspect that it overlaps the next in sequence (not yet published 'Heirs of the Blade') slightly. We see more Collegium poli...more

like · see review

Feb 07, 2011 Jason rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: e-books, read-2011

Let me start by saying that I was very disappointed with this book...for a little while anyways. That being said, Adrian Tchaikovsky has quickly become a favorite Author of mine, and I really am anxious to devour more. I was disappointed with this book because I loved the last one, The Scarab Path so much. Che and Thralic are my favorite characters in this series and they play no part in this novel. However, Tchaikovsky has made this novel all about Stenwold,and Teornis to a smaller degree. Sten...more

like · see review

Feb 16, 2011 David rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, series-i-just-love

I just want to say right off the bat, that I love the shadows of the apt novels! While some have been better than others, none of them have disappointed, and I eagerly await each entry into the series.

This one I found to be rather different than the rest, and im figuring this book is a bridge for the events to come. But it did feel a little disjointed from the rest of the series, not to mention the mass amount of new information about new races, traditions and politics that is introduced. To be...more

1 like · like · see review

Nov 13, 2012 Jimmit Shah rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, steampunk, sci-fi

Superb work as always. One thing that I feel is lacking is the presence of a society of healers. It can be a complete kinden of healers or some sect in each society which deals with healing. Since the development of the series is very steampunk-ish, the missing developments in medicine/understanding of the human body is more obvious. Looking forward to reading Heirs of the Blade soon...

like · see review

Nov 21, 2012 Rbette1299 rated it 4 of 5 stars

This story takes you away from the main story line into another very strange world underwater. I enjoyed this story even without some of my favorite characters because of the pathos running through it and because Tchaikovsky develops his characters so that you care about them. I can't imagine that he would take the time to write about this under the sea world unless it is to play a role in the end of the story and I am still considering the ways that the alliances may benefit Collegium. Not my f...more

like · see review

Aug 23, 2012 Ella rated it 4 of 5 stars

Completely different direction to the rest of the series, introduces new characters and some very odd new Kinden. Teonis mentions the "city of bones" offhandedly but that stuck with me, is there possibly some mammal-kinden hiding out somewhere. i'd love if the author explored that more.

like · see review

Mar 11, 2012 Catrine rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book in the Shadows of the Apt series takes us down below the sea surface, where the evolution regarding Aptness only just has begun. After reading about all the races I can only say one thing about the author: Does the man's imagination have no end?

I really enjoyed the book, even though I took a looong time to read it. Sometimes it's a bit heavy on the intrigues, politics and the number of plotlines, and I wasn't quite sure what was what, particularly with the new terms that were introduce...more

like · see review

Apr 16, 2013 Jahmes Garcia rated it 5 of 5 stars

Now that's a good book if ever I have read one. One you just can't put down til you're through. Tchaikovsky sealed this series' place in the Hall of Fantasy with this sixth installment. On to the seventh then!

like · see review

May 18, 2012 Elvis Simpson rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Amazing ideas and imagery makes this book one of my favourite of the series so far, along with Heirs of the Blade. Brings with it a nice (though not necessary) change of scenery.

like · see review

Aug 04, 2011 Ruth rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: spec-fic

Loved it. Different side of the world, so to speak.

like · see review

Aug 27, 2012 Ann rated it 4 of 5 stars

Fantastically inventive of sea creatures!

like · see review

Oct 25, 2011 Matt rated it 4 of 5 stars

Wow and double Wow! Loved this episode of Shadows of the Apt! Easy 4.5 stars if that were permitted.

Like The Scarab Path - this is a pretty much a standalone novel. The pace picks up again after a more sedate book 5 with pirates, submarines's, underwater cities and a whole new "kinden" (minor gripe: there are a lot of new kinden introduced and each has a number of sub - divisions so you don't get to really identify with a particualar type as they are not as cleary defined as the land kinden.

like · see review

Feb 12, 2011 ChristinaJL rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fantasy, kindle

Superb, equally as good as his previous five books!!

like · see review

Mar 09, 2013 Nikhilā Williamson rated it 3 of 5 stars

I love Adrian's world building, I seriously think someone should sit down and make an rpg out of his works, but like so many fantasy authors while his stories and world ideas are really interesting and cool, his writing style is not fantastic.
Also there are themes that repeat rather annoyingly. And he's pretty much killed off every single one the characters that i found interesting now :( But certainly an entertaining book that one can read without expending any brainpower.

like · see review

Jul 14, 2012 Mike rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

This one started a bit slow finished off nicely.

like · see review

Dec 18, 2011 Kit rated it 3 of 5 stars

Not my favourite book of the series, but great fun meeting the new underwater races. A bit too many different types for my landkinden brain to keep up with at times. I have Heir of the Blade and will start it soon - am trying to pace myself now that Mr Tchaikovsky's books are being released more gradually.

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 29 30 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (2)

Genres

Fantasy

64 users

Science Fiction > Steampunk

6 users

Science Fiction

3 users

Fantasy > Epic Fantasy

3 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Adrian Tchaikovsky

ADRIAN TCHAIKOVSKY was born in Lincolnshire and studied zoology and psychology at Reading, before practising law in Leeds. He is a keen live role-player and occasional amateur actor and is trained in stage-fighting. His literary influences include Gene Wolfe, Mervyn Peake, China Miéville, Mary Gently, Steven Erikson, Naomi Novak, Scott Lynch and Alan Campbell.

More about Adrian Tchaikovsky...

Books by Adrian Tchaikovsky

Empire in Black and Gold (Shadows of the Apt, #1)

Dragonfly Falling (Shadows of the Apt, #2)

Blood of the Mantis (Shadows of the Apt, #3)

Salute the Dark (Shadows of the Apt, #4)

The Scarab Path (Shadows of the Apt, #5)

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About The Sea Watch

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: The Sea Watch
avg rating	preview: The Sea Watch Goodreads rating: 3.98 (388 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8945977-the-sea-watch?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1282273767l/8945977.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8945977-the-sea-watch?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]The Sea Watch by Adrian Tchaikovsky[/url]

The Sea Watch (Shadows of the Apt #6)

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website