The Fantasy 101 › Books Like

Books Like Shadows of the Apt

Tchaikovsky, 2008 · #76 on the Epic Fantasy 101 Booklist · 72/120

Kinden take traits from insect totems such as beetles, spiders and wasps. An aging scholar tries to warn the Lowlands that the Wasp Empire is coming.

Its strongest scores: creative details and epicness. The five books below have the closest scores across all eleven criteria.

If you liked Shadows of the Apt, read:

1. The Chathrand Voyage

   Redick, 2008 · #91 on the list · 67/120

   Aboard a six-hundred-year-old ship carrying a peace mission, a tarboy, a young bride and a crew of tiny ixchel are caught in a plot to restart a war.

   Close on mood, theme, structure, further reading.

2. The Books of Babel

   Bancroft, 2013 · #60 on the list · 77/120

   On his honeymoon, a schoolteacher loses his wife in the crowds at the foot of the colossal Tower of Babel. He climbs ring after ring to find her.

   Close on theme, further reading, creative details, real-world blend.

3. Vlad Taltos

   Brust, 1983 · #74 on the list · 72/120

   A human assassin climbs the underworld of an elf-like Dragaeran empire, with a witty familiar on his shoulder.

   Close on mood, theme, structure, further reading.

4. Redwall

   Jacques, 1986 · #69 on the list · 74/120

   When a warlord rat besieges Redwall Abbey, a young mouse searches for the lost sword of the legendary Martin the Warrior.

   Close on mood, theme, structure, further reading.

5. The Engineer Trilogy

   Parker, 2005 · #82 on the list · 70/120

   Ieuan Vaatzes, an engineer exiled for one small improvement to a design, turns his skill with machines into a weapon of revenge against the city that cast him out.

   Close on mood, theme, further reading, creative details.

How the scores work: each book is rated 1 to 10 on eleven criteria; real-world blend and climax and fights count double, for a maximum of 120. See the full Fantasy 101.