The Scent of Tears

Tales of the Apt #4

by Adrian Tchaikovsky (Editor, Contributor), Keris McDonald (Contributor), Frances Hardinge (Contributor)

The Scent of Tears by Adrian Tchaikovsky, Frances Hardinge, John Gwynne
For the first time in print, Adrian Tchaikovsky has opened up the realm of the Apt, as featured in his best-selling Shadow of the Apt decalogy, to a carefully selected cast of fellow writers, inviting them to do their best and their worst within the world he has created. They have done just that. Topped and tailed by two new stories form Adrian himself, some of the finest imaginations in fantasy, including winners of the David Gemmell Award, the Costa Book Award and British Fantasy Award, have combined to produce a stunning collection of tales that examine fresh aspects of the Apt world and its people.

Contents:

Old Blood – Adrian Tchaikovsky

The Scent of Tears – Keris McDonald

Wonder – Frances Hardinge

The Promise of a Threat – David Tallerman

The Unforeseen Path – Juliet E. McKenna

The Message – John Gwynne

The Mantis Way – Peter Newman

Poor Little Earwig Girl – Tom Lloyd

Forwards, Up, Back, Down – Joff Leader

Recipes for Good Living – Justina Robson

God of Profound Things – Adrian Tchaikovsky

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Anthologies, Steampunk, Science Fiction, High Fantasy

208 pages, Hardcover

First published October 16, 2018

About the author

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.

Reviews

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shadows of the Apt is one of the most creative and well crafted fictional universes I've had the pleasure of reading. The decalogy features some of the best fantasy print to every caress the page; full of interesting and dangerous landscapes brought to life by equally interesting and complex characters.

The Tales of the Apt books; short story collections set in the same universe are the cream on top of a very rich cake.

The fourth installment (and hopefully not the last) sees a bunch of authors given licence to delve into the world of the varied kinden and breathe new life into some of the lesser-knowns from the series proper while also introducing new characters to the fold.

Some of my personal favorite characters in Totho, Uctebri, and Dephos all make some form of an appearance throughout the collection of stories which serves as nice Easter eggs for longtime fans of the series.

Whilst I generally enjoyed all the stories, particular highlights include; OLD BLOOD and THE GOD OF PROFOUND THINGS by Adrian Tchaikovsky, THE MESSAGE by John Gwynne, THE PROMISE OF A THREAT by David Tallerman, and THE MANTIS WAY by Peter NEWMAN.

Be it Wasp, Sea, Mole, Beetle, Bee, Mosquito or Mantis kinden - there's a story for every Shadows of the Apt fan.

[Kathi · Rating 3 out of 5]

6.25/10
I enjoyed about half those stories in this collection, the final book in the Tales of the Apt. The selections are bookended by Adrian Tchaikovsky’s own stories, but all the authors wrote convincingly of the world of the Apt and Inapt and the various kinden races.
Favorites stories: The Scent of Tears, Wonder, The Unforeseen Path, The Poor Little Earwig Girl, Recipes for Good Living, and The God of Profound Things.
Worst stories: Forwards, The Message, The Promise of a Threat.

[Alina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally at the very end of all the Shadows of the Apt material available and what a way to reach it. I.e. the horrifying claustrophobia and thalassophobia and giant sea monsters phobia that I struggled with while reading The Sea Watch. I don't recall reading anything with such a clenched stomach as whenever Adrian Tchaikovsky goes underwater. It's amazing, he is an incredible author and I am privileged to have had ALL the Shadows of the Apt novels and short stories available for reading this year. I'm late to this party but sure to return to it before a year has passed.

I'm not giving this collection of short stories 5 stars because a couple of them aren't up to par, especially the 8th and 9th in the volume, they don't compare at all to the quality that Adrian Tchaikovsky produces by merely flourishing his pen. To my surprise, John Gwynne wrote one of the shorter stories and easily the scariest of them... thanks John, as if I needed more reasons to loathe Dariandrephos. You give me more by mere association.

Also, whenever Mr Tchaikovsky or any other author decides to write Wasp characters, it's always a great story. Guaranteed. The Empire is THE WORST but the Wasp men are easily THE BEST characters in the entire Apt/Inapt universe. This volume of short stories is no exception.

And, as extra parting praise... I dislike short stories and novellas, but lookit me investing time and money in 4 volumes of them, with excellent returns. I can only hope that Adrian Tchaikovsky returns to the world of the kinden someday because I can’t think of any fantasy!verse more fruitful in terms of inspiration.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating 4.5 stars. This collection of short stories from the Shadows of the Apt world had 11 stories, 9 written by a variety of fantasy authors. I was unfamiliar with most of the guest authors but really enjoyed most of the stories. Only a couple stories were weaker than the rest.
All of the stories in this novella centred on an individual kinden and an experience that either highlights their insect traits or the struggle in the Lowlands and Commonweal. My favourites were,
"The Scent of Tears"-about an enslaved Wasp girl who strikes back stealthily at her enslaver.
"The Unforeseen Path"-the story of a fly-kinden who falls for an ant-kinden, with emphasis on what it's like in an ant-kinden's mind.
"The Poor Little Earwig Girl"-which tells of a girl sent to poison the local people at the orders of a Wasp through tainting their smoked meat.
"The God of Profound Things"-about the possibility of Seagods and the ill luck of a land woman who has come to see the sea kinden.
What is so nice about the stories is that they are excellent character studies about kinden who aren't in the Shadows of the Apt series. This allows us to learn more about the various kinden (fly, bettle, wasp, mantis, etc. . . ) and how the Shadows world works. Not only was it mostly well written, I am intrigued to look more into a couple of the included authors.
This collection fits earlier in the series but I read it at the end. I enjoyed dipping back into this fascinating world. This is worth the read!

[Jeanette Greaves · Rating 4 out of 5]

In which Tchaikovsky throws the world of the Kinden open to other writers, with various degrees of success. I've read a few shared world / multiple writer anthologies, but never one that was so firmly associated with a single writer. It can't be easy walking into someone else's world and telling your own story there, but some of these stories do it very well. There is a limitation on these authors, in that they're asked to write a concise and close ended tale within a longer story that many of the readers will already be familiar with, where there is an established canon. Other than the first and last stories, which are by Tchaikovsky himself, my favourite tale was The Mantis Way. Tchaikovsky himself has said that the best characters go against type, and our protagonist in this story definitely does that, until she doesn't ...

[LJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent variety of stories written by a stellar cast of authors, set in Tchaikovsky's Apt world. Creative imaginative writing based on an absolutely epic original story. Enjoyed.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 Stars

The Scent of Tears is an Anthology of stories set in the Apt - 11 original stories by 10 talented contributing authors (including two by Adrian Tchaikovsky) - and is also Book #10.7 in the Tales of the Apt Series by Adrian Tchaikovsky.

This Anthology Contains:

-Old Blood By: Adrian Tchaikovsky
-The Scent of Tears By: Keris McDonald
-Wonder By: Frances Hardinge
-The Promise of a Threat By: David Tallerman
-The Unforeseen Path By: Juliet E. McKenna
-The Message By: John Gwynne
-The Mantis Way By: Peter Newman
-Poor Little Earwig Girl By: Tom Lloyd
-Forwards, Up, Back, Down By: Joff Leader
-Recipes for Good Living By: Justina Robson
-God of Profound Things By: Adrian Tchaikovsky

Tales of the Apt is an epic sci-fi fantasy series, with steampunk vibes, and political intrigue. It is set in a richly imagined world that feels both alien and yet still eerily familiar. Spanning more than ten books, this series is a testament to Mr. Tchaikovsky’s creativity and ability to weave complex tales with deeply human themes.
The world of Shadows of the Apt is populated by "Kinden", a human-like race (inspired by insects), each with unique traits and abilities. From the militaristic Ant-Kinden to the cunning Spider-Kinden, the diversity of these cultures is awesome. The tension between the "Apt" (technologically inclined) and "Inapt" (magically attuned) adds another layer of depth to the story, reflecting the broader themes of societal/cultural evolution. Mr. Tchaikovsky uses these differences to explore issues of identity, prejudice, and the clash between tradition and progress, making the series as thought-provoking as it is entertaining.
The story itself is a sprawling epic, filled with large-scale battles, espionage, and personal struggles. Adrian Tchaikovsky excels at blending the grand with the intimate, ensuring that even amidst the chaos of war, the characters’ personal journey/s remain at the heart of the narrative. The protagonists are flawed, relatable, and yet grow and develop in meaningful ways over the course of the series, making the victories and losses all the more impactful.
One of the series’ standout features is its steampunk aesthetic/vibe. The contrast between the ancient magic and industrial technology created a unique and immersive setting.
Original. Thought-provoking. Epic.
Happy Reading…

[Nighteye · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good collection who are a mix of positive and negative stories. Some give voice to secondary characters past (like Uctebri and the haunted forest) not explained in main series, or caracters just mentioned (the mole from The scarab path) who have captured the fashinating of the diffirent authors. Other mentions a few events from the series in passing from the second half of the series and one shows us a key event from Shadow of the apt book 5/6 (don't remember exactly) but from a diffirent prospective. Very good writing and intresting takes. It shows that the authors have read and liked shadow of apt series.

[E.J. J Doble · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice collection of stories from a number of great authors in the field, returning to a rich world with their own unique takes. The stories themselves were very well developed and interesting, but there was a distinct lack of cohesion with the where/when elements - the book could have done with pointers as to where the stories fall in the main series. That being said, it was a fun journey, and I've enjoyed the Tales of the Apt immensely overall!

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excitingly, Tchaikovsky has opened up the rich world of the Apt to interlopers in this collection. Some are hits, some are misses, as is to be expected. The Stories about the poor little rich wasp girl is a particular stand-out.

[Tom the Guvnor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very well written series of Apt short stories that round out the setting very well. Although it refers to events not yet read by myself, I didn't view them as spoilers, more teasers. Several of the authors are so good I shall look them up. In short I'd suggest it's ironically a good taster.

[Blind_guardian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can't get enough of the kinden, they're a fascinating society. World of the Apt TTRPG when? They could even have a splatbook detailing the shapeshifters across the sea.

[Si2Au · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories about the Insect Kinden, (except for two) written by other authors then Adrian Tchaikovsky.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

4th collection of short stories from the Apt world, this time from a selection of authors. Includes two superb new offerings from Tchaikovsky himself and across the remainder the quality varies, some excellent some not so good (or surprisingly adult-only in content). Overall its another fine addition to the series. When's the next one??