- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Night Shade Books (Jan 3 2012)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1597803324
- ISBN-13: 978-1597803328
- Product Dimensions: 22.6 x 15.2 x 2.5 cm
- Shipping Weight: 431 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #234,089 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
Moon, once a solitary wanderer, has become consort to Jade, sister queen of the Indigo Cloud court. Together, they travel with their people on a pair of flying ships in hopes of finding a new home for their colony. Moon finally feels like he's found a tribe where he belongs. But when the travelers reach the ancestral home of Indigo Cloud, shrouded within the trunk of a mountain-sized tree, they discover a blight infecting its core. Nearby they find the remains of the invaders who may be responsible, as well as evidence of a devastating theft. This discovery sends Moon and the hunters of Indigo Cloud on a quest for the heartstone of the tree - a quest that will lead them far away, across the Serpent Sea. In this followup to The Cloud Roads, Martha Wells returns with a world-spanning odyssey, a mystery that only provokes more questions - and the adventure of a lifetime.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.ca
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.7 out of 5 stars (31 customer reviews)
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
excellent, gorgeous, satisfying fantasy, Jan 3 2012
By mlle. x - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Serpent Sea (Paperback)
I enjoyed THE CLOUD ROADS without being convinced that I wanted to continue with the series. I jumped on the chance to do an advance review of THE SERPENT SEA because I wanted to find out if Martha Wells could make a fan of me. The answer? Yup. She can, and did. I loved THE SERPENT SEA.One reviewer described the plot of THE CLOUD ROADS as Moon discovering that he's been "Cursed by Awesome," and, at the time, I agreed. Poor baby discovers he's been born into a high caste, what's to complain about, right? But in THE SERPENT SEA I began to see what a perfect choice Moon's position as a consort really is.
Raksura consorts are basically trophy wives. As a consort, Moon has status but no real power. But Moon isn't content to be pampered and impotent, which means he's not content to fill the traditional role of consort. He likes to keep busy and he's a natural authority figure. So, yes, he's got enough rank to rub elbows with the movers and shakers but he has to earn every bit of authority that comes his way and constantly defend his choice to step outside of his allotted role.
The plot has the Indigo Cloud court on a mission to recover the stolen seed of their mountain-tree. They encounter obstacles on the way to completing their quest, as on the way Moon finds himself trying to play the part of a perfect consort at a foreign court, dealing with a solitary Raksura that reminds him all too much of himself, and battling a power-hungry magician.
As in THE CLOUD ROADS, Wells' descriptions of the Three Realms' landscapes kept me enthralled. It's just such a pleasure to imagine all the little details, from the mountain-tree where the Indigo Cloud court hopes to settle, with its glowing shells and fantastical carvings, to the floating city where most of the novel takes place.
I read THE SERPENT SEA in one sitting, and loved every page. It's more relaxing than heart-pounding, but I found that I relished every minute I spent with in Wells' marvelous landscapes among the Raksura. Four very enthusiastic stars.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Please Purchase and Look Forward to Book 3!, Jan 5 2012
By BookMaven - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
I devoured the Cloud Roads, and purchased the Serpent Sea as soon as it was available. The novel continues the journey of Moon and the Indigo Cloud Raksura. It's basically a standard "search for the magical object that will fix everything" type story. However, the book is very well executed.I also really liked that this book explored a lot more of Raksura culture, and the chance to look at another Raksura court. The idea of Moon as an outsider comes more strongly into play in this novel than the first novel, and I really enjoyed reading about how he struggled to come to terms with his status.
Otherwise, I did not like this novel as much as the first. I still stayed up all night reading it, but I didn't feel like all the story strings were as neatly woven and snipped off as in the first novel. Honestly, I finished it feeling only partially fulfilled, because (while we do get resolution as to the major plot points) I don't feel like I got resolution as to the characters and their development/interactions. Without giving too much away, I felt like the characters were on the verge of discovering things about themselves and never quite crossed that point. They seemed to sort of back off from embracing the dramatic emotional/character changes that an epic journey would have made, and almost reverting back to their pre-Serpent Sea selves.
It made we wonder if, perhaps, a third novel is in the works?
Well, despite that, I definitely would not hesitate to buy another Raksura novel, and highly recommend this one.
UPDATE: Rumor has it there IS in fact a book 3, but it has not been purchased by a publisher yet. So, please purchase a copy of the Serpent Sea. I'd really like to see a book 3 :)
UPDATE 2: Thank you fellow purchasers, we're getting a book 3 (and thank you Anthrophile for letting me know)!!!!!!!!!!!! According to Anthrophile, the book will be called The Siren Depths and will hopefully still be out in January or February of 2013. If you liked this book, look forward to it!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Worldbuilding and Characters, Jan 3 2012
By OtterB - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Serpent Sea (Paperback)
I've been a fan of Martha Wells for years. Her Raksura series, of which this is the second, highlights her two great strengths, worldbuilding and characters. This book is set in a fascinating, richly imagined world with multiple intelligent species. There's not a stereotype in sight: no elf-and-dwarf analogues, no thinly-disguised Earth cultures, no generic fantasy quest. There are cities, forests, trade, airships. There are races of shapeshifters (who are nothing at all like werewolves) and many other kinds of people. All are vividly sketched in, with finely selected details that bring the locations and the individuals to life. There is nuance; Moon, the protagonist, is clearly a good guy but he's neither flawless nor universally loved. There are antagonists, but not all are villains.If you haven't yet read The Cloud Roads, I'd recommend starting there. You'll be missing a lot of the fun if you don't know the backstory as you begin this book. There are clues and reminders of past history, so I think it's probably possible to start here, but I don't know why'd you'd deprive yourself to do so.
In this book, I enjoyed seeing Moon develop his relationship with Jade and the others of Indigo Cloud. I loved the new locations they visited, especially the Indigo Court old home location and the new city. (Trying to avoid spoilers here.) I enjoyed the humor, which isn't "jokes" and usually not even witty banter, but humor that groups naturally out of the interaction between characters.
I'm usually not a big visual imagery person, but I'd love to see this series made into a movie.
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
