The best thing about Martha Wells’ narrators is that their general exasperation with everything makes them immediately relatable, no matter how weird their selves and circumstances… which is good, because the reader is otherwise thrown straight into a complicated sociopolitical fantasy structure and magic system with absolutely no explanations. This book’s viewpoint character, Kai, is a demon who possesses the bodies of dying humans, and whose closest friends are powerful witches and warriors — useful because they seem to have some very terrifying enemies as well. Through adventure and flashback, Wells builds a portrait of how Kai and his friends were brought together, and how they became instrumental in the formation of the empire’s current political balance. Most of the plot threads are tied together neatly at the end, but it also feels like Wells might be doing some worldbuilding in preparation for future adventures.
Tag: author-martha wells
Stories of the Raksura vol. 2, by Martha Wells
The two stories in this collection are “The Dead City” and “The Dark Earth Below.” The first is a prequel, which is an interesting adventure but doesn’t honestly add much to Moon’s character that we don’t already know about; we see yet again that he is slow to trust but quick to defend. The second deals with a threat to the neighbors of Indigo Cloud that coincides with Moon and Jade’s first clutch being born; the tension is kept high by Moon’s parenting issues and the real danger being presented by the attackers.
Stories of the Raksura vol. 1, by Martha Wells
The two stories in this collection are “The Falling World,” in which Moon has to mount a rescue party when Jade disappears; and “The Tale of Indigo and Cloud,” about the founders of Jade and Pearl’s court. In the world of the Raksura, queens are the biggest and baddest, with the biggest teeth and claws, so touchy that negotiations between courts are carefully ritualized dances of insult calibrated to fall just shy of actual violence; their counterparts, the male consorts, are expected to be more docile and nurturing, and find their way through negotiation and diplomacy. The first story explored the delicacy of the power balance in Indigo Cloud, and I liked seeing how everyone had to balance their desire for stability against their need to go after Jade; the second story was my favorite, as it was all about people trying their best to do the right thing without falling afoul of politics and the Raksura version of honor.
The Harbors of the Sun, by Martha Wells
#5 in the Books of the Raksura. I really think the books in the series suffer when they leave the personal and go global. Even though the conflict has reached the point where entire species are being threatened, the urgency isn’t there; the writing is still more interesting when addressing with the relationships between the characters (especially how the Raksura deal with the individual Fell, whose gradual gaining of consciousness makes their conflict seem even more tragic). It’s still adventurous, wildly inventive, and fun reading, because Martha Wells is good at what she does… but the first three books were definitely better than the final two.
The Edge of Worlds, by Martha Wells
4th in the Books of the Raksura. Moon having arrived in an emotionally stable space, this book is less concerned about his journey and more about the society, namely how groundlings as a whole tend to feel about flying shapeshifters like the Raksura. It also lays the groundwork for some really interesting confrontations with the Fell. Does not stand alone well, but a fun read for fans of the series, with plenty of action and sarcastic observations by Moon.
Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory, by Martha Wells
Available online here. Really long title given that it’s a short story, but it’s a Murderbot story so I’ll take it. This one is from the point of view of Mensah, Murderbot’s favorite human, and I love her narrative voice; in her own way she’s very like Murderbot, aware of her own weaknesses but unwilling to face them. I loved seeing Murderbot through her eyes as well, the physical description colored by her feelings. Not too much action but great emotional punch.
The Serpent Sea, by Martha Wells
Sequel to The Cloud Roads, this one follows Moon’s court as they try to find a home. Unfortunately, their ancestral dwelling has been robbed of its heart, sending them on a quest to retrieve it from unfriendly actors. The ecology of this universe just gets weirder and weirder; we meet trading “waterlings” whose entire bodies are seacraft, and enormous seagoing leviathans who have entire cities on their backs (and crazy macrobiomes in their bellies). Yet the heart of the novel is still Moon and his defensive independence, set against his desperate need for family and belonging. Love the focus on emotion amongst all the adventure and crazy worldbuilding, really good stuff.
The Cloud Roads, by Martha Wells
It’s been awhile since I read a fantasy world this fearlessly inventive. Moon can shapeshift into something with scales, wings, and talons, but no one else in the village can, so he hides it. However, when he’s banished and encounters his own species, he finds himself a misfit among them as well. Pretty standard trope, but before you know it you’re drawn deep into an incredibly detailed and alien ecology and culture, where very different rules apply and like Moon you have to figure out how things fit together. Moon is a very relatable hero, someone who hates bullies but also hates fights, who just wants to be left alone but also needs other people. Like Murderbot (Wells’ other hero that I’ve read), he prefers to process his emotions quietly, on his own, rather than talk to anyone about them, and as his history unspools you come to understand why. Great character work alongside really cool worldbuilding.
Fugitive Telemetry, by Martha Wells
Back to novella length for Murderbot, a nice compact mystery. Murderbot is currently adjusting to Preservation, a place where humans and bots live alongside one another and bots are granted a certain amount of autonomy and free will when sponsored by humans; however, the people of Preservation (particularly the security personnel) are understandably unenthused about granting those freedoms to an armed and (presumably) dangerous security enforcement bot. Murderbot isn’t terribly interested in trying to win them over, either, or in being some human’s pet bot. However, when a dead body turns up, both Security and Murderbot are interested in finding the killer; it’s great to see them try to combine their resources and work together. Murderbot’s narration is priceless as usual; I love how piercingly observant it is of other humans, set against how determinedly it refuses to analyze its own reactions.
Network Effect, by Martha Wells
After four Murderbot novellas, I was surprised to find that this was a full-length novel (ebooks are so deceptive!). Happily, the awesomeness carried well throughout the longer length; it felt like a movie after watching episodes of a TV show. I love how the characters care so much for one another without having to rely on hormones or attraction to make it work; Murderbot is a spiky ball of reactions that feels emotions so deeply that it literally cannot deal, and it’s really touching to watch its friends (both human and bot) try to soothe a creature that hates to be hugged and doesn’t want to admit any weakness. I loved the plot, which created drama and tension without feeling forced; I loved the characters, both puzzled human and exasperated bot, and I loved the action, which gets intense at times but remains friendly and readable due to Murderbot’s awesome narrative voice. Great worldbuilding too, using the previous novellas as a foundation for establishing corporate greed and cruelty. Such good stuff; I can’t believe I finished an entire novel’s worth of Murderbot and am still left wanting more.