Salute the Dark is the fourth book in the critically acclaimed epic fantasy series Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky, winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award. As spymaster Stenworld makes a stand in his home city, others must chose where their loyalties lie. All must face the end of days . . . The mighty Wasp armies are on the march. And with war imminent, spymaster Stenwold must finally separate allies from false friends. He knows the Empire won’t stop until its flag hangs over Collegium, Stenwold's home city. Tisamon the Weaponsmaster favours a more direct strategy – facing the Wasp Emperor himself, with a blade in his hand. He’d be abandoning both friends and family to do so. Yet is he driven by honour, or being manipulated by something far more sinister? With the Shadow Box in his possession at last, Uctebri can begin his dark ritual. The Wasp-kinden’s Emperor believes this will grant him immortality. However, Uctebri has his own plans – for the Emperor and the Empire. Salute the Dark is followed by the fifth book in the Shadows of the Apt series, The Scarab Path.

The vampiric sorcerer Uctebri has at last got his hands on the Shadow Box and can finally begin his dark ritual—a ritual that the Wasp-kinden Emperor believes will grant him immortality—but Uctebri has his own plans for both the Emperor and the Empire. The massed Wasp armies are on the march, and the spymaster Stenwold must see which of his allies will stand now that the war has finally arrived. This time the Empire will not stop until a black and gold flag waves over Stenwold’s own home city of Collegium. Tisamon the Weaponsmaster is faced with a terrible choice: a path that could lead him to abandon his friends and his daughter, to face degradation and loss, that might possibly bring him before the Wasp Emperor with a blade in his hand—but is he being driven by Mantis-kinden honor, or manipulated by something more sinister? From the Trade Paperback edition.

Driven by the ghosts of the Darakyon, Achaeos has tracked the stolen Shadow Box to the marsh-town of Jerez, but he has only days before the magical box is lost to him forever. Meanwhile, the forces of the Empire are mustering over winter for their great offensive, gathering their soldiers and perfecting their new weapons. Stenwold and his followers have only a short time to gather what allies they can before the Wasp armies march again, conquering everything in their path. If they cannot throw back the Wasps this spring then the imperial black-and-gold flag will fly over every city in the Lowlands before the year's end. In Jerez begins a fierce struggle over the Shadow Box, as lake creatures, secret police and renegade magicians compete to take possession. If it falls into the hands of the Wasp Emperor, however, then no amount of fighting will suffice to save the world from his relentless ambition.

The war with the Wasp Empire has ended in a bitter stalemate, and Collegium has nothing to show for it but wounded veterans. Cheerwell Maker finds herself crippled in ways no doctor can mend, haunted by ghosts of the past that she cannot appease, seeking for meaning in a city that no longer seems like home. The Empress Seda is regaining control over those imperial cities who refused to bow the knee to her, but she draws her power from something more sinister than mere armies and war machines. Only her consort, the former spymaster Thalric, knows the truth, and now the assassins are coming and he finds his life and his loyalties under threat yet again. Out past the desert of the Nem the ancient city of Khanaphes awaits them both, with a terrible secret entombed beneath its stones...

Two young companions, Totho and Salma, arrive at Tark to spy on the menacing Wasp army, but are there mistakenly apprehended as enemy agents. By the time they are freed, the city is already under siege. Over in the imperial capital the young emperor, Alvdan, is becoming captivated by a remarkable slave, the vampiric Uctebri, who claims he knows of magic that can grant eternal life. In Collegium, meanwhile, Stenwold is still trying to persuade the city magnates to take seriously the Wasp Empire's imminent threat to their survival. In a colorful drama involving mass warfare and personal combat, a small group of heroes must stand up against what seems like an unstoppable force. This volume continues the story that so brilliantly unfolded in Empire in Black and Gold - and the action is still non-stop.

The Sea Watch is the sixth book in the critically acclaimed epic fantasy series Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky. Danger lurks beneath dark waters . . . 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 army, a hidden threat is 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 of lies and false promises, Stenwold's allies are falling away. He faces betrayal on every side, and the Empire is just waiting for the first sign of weakness to strike. But they are not the only power that has its eyes on Collegium. And even with all their military strength and technology, they may not be powerful enough to stave off the forces massing in the darkness. The Sea Watch is followed by the seventh book in the Shadows of the Apt series, Heirs of the Blade.

Seal of the Worm is the tenth and final book in the critically acclaimed epic fantasy series Shadows of the Apt by Adrian Tchaikovsky. An ancient enemy stirs once more . . . The Empire has vanquished its enemies at last, but at a terrible price. With her chief rival cast into the abyss, Empress Seda must face the truth of what she’s unleashed in her hunger for power. Now the Seal has been shattered, the ancient Worm stirs towards the light for the first time in a thousand years. Already it is striking at the surface, consuming everything in its voracious path. Unchecked, it will ravage the world. As her victory seems hollow indeed, Seda knows that only the most extreme solution can lock the Worm in the dark once more. But if she’ll go to such horrific lengths to save them all from the Worm, who’ll save the world from her? Start the epic journey with Empire in Black and Gold, the first book in the Shadows of the Apt series.

The city states of the Lowlands have lived in peace for decades, bastions of civilization, prosperity and sophistication, protected by treaties, trade and a belief in the reasonable nature of their neighbors. But meanwhile, in far-off corners, the Wasp Empire has been devouring city after city with its highly trained armies, its machines, it killing Art . . . And now its hunger for conquest and war has become insatiable. Only the aging Stenwold Maker, spymaster, artificer and statesman, can see that the long days of peace are over. It falls upon his shoulders to open the eyes of his people, before a black-and-gold tide sweeps down over the Lowlands and burns away everything in its path. But first he must stop himself from becoming the Empire's latest victim.

"Richly-woven, evocative, and absolutely impossible to put down — I was hooked from the first lines! Dark Shores has everything I look for in a fantasy novel: fresh, unique settings, a cast of complex and diverse characters, and an unflinching boldness with the nuanced world-building. I loved every word." — Sarah J. Maas, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Throne of Glass The Celendor Empire has set its sights on conquering the far side of the world. And the secret to transporting its legions across the treacherous seas is held by seventeen-year-old Teriana. Teriana has always been taught that east must never meet west, but when her closest friend is forced into an unwanted betrothal, she breaks the rule. A decision Teriana comes to regret when her crew are imprisoned and she lands face-to-face with the Empire’s most ruthless—and secretive—commander, Marcus. To save her people, Teriana chooses to guide Marcus and his legions into a world of meddlesome gods and magic. But with dark forces rising on both sides of the seas, the consequences of her alliance with the enemy may be greater than she imagined . . . especially for her heart. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The sixteenth volume in the Aubrey/Maturin series, and Patrick O'Brian's first bestseller in the United States. At the outset of this adventure filled with disaster and delight, Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin pursue an American privateer through the Great South Sea. The strange color of the ocean reminds Stephen of Homer's famous description, and portends an underwater volcanic eruption that will create a new island overnight and leave an indelible impression on the reader's imagination. Their ship, the Surprise, is now also a privateer, the better to escape diplomatic complications from Stephen's mission, which is to ignite the revolutionary tinder of South America. Jack will survive a desperate open boat journey and come face to face with his illegitimate black son; Stephen, caught up in the aftermath of his failed coup, will flee for his life into the high, frozen wastes of the Andes; and Patrick O'Brian's brilliantly detailed narrative will reunite them at last in a breathtaking chase through stormy seas and icebergs south of Cape Horn, where the hunters suddenly become the hunted.