The Air War (Shadows of the Apt Book Series) - Epic Fantasy Novel for Adults - Perfect for Sci-Fi & Fantasy Book Clubs

I have read all previous books from the "Shadows of the Apt" series written by Mr. Adrian Tchaikovsky. My comments here are specifically about the last book, "The Air War", but in the context of the series as a whole.Mr. Tchaikovsky's writing is truly excellent. The story is told in a very mature way, without stereotypes but with plenty of truly original ideas making this series one of the most accomplished in recent fantasy literature. The steampunk style of "magic and artifice" is inventive without being far-fetched, and the creation of human races defined by some "aptitude" or features related to invertebrates (insects, spiders, worms...) is a refreshing turn on the human-orcs-elves-hobbit tradition. The novelty and scope of the series is such that it may take some time before the series is finally recognised as one of the best around."The Air War" tells the start of the Second War between the Lowlands and the Wasp Empire. The Wasp Empire, now under the absolute domination of its queen Seda, has dramatically improved its warfare technology, both on the ground and in the air. A sizeable part of the book is dedicated to fights between Collegium and the Empire for the control of aerial dominance, starting from the development of more advanced aircrafts and new types of pilots, and leading to the description of major air combats. Some may see inspiration for this book in the dawn of air combat of World War 1. The separation between good guys=Collegium/badguys=Empire becomes more blurred as each pilot fight more for their own squadron than for their country. It is mature, complex and well written. As usual for Mr Tchaikovsky, the emphasis of this book is completely different from that of previous books. I do not really care so much for aviation, but the drive for the story is the characters themselves. As mr. Tchaikovsky has previoulsy demonstrated, his mastery of character development is excellent.In parallel, we also follow the development of the main characters Stenwold Maker from Collegium and Empress Seda from the Wasp Empire, both stories dominated by personal struggle against themselves and their environment. The bridges to the next book originates mainly from the arcane pursuits of Empress Seda, seeking to bring the world under her control with the aid of ancient and dangerous magic.Slowly but with a multitude of dramatic events, the story unfolds, events in the previous books start coming together, and characters converge for the grand finale that will be written in books 9 and 10. I will be waiting for more.Thank you, Mr Tchaikovsky, for this truly fascinating series.4 stars our of 5, due to some poor editing (word repetition, typos...)