The Serpent Sea: Volume Two of the Books of the Raksura Paperback – January 25, 2012

The Serpent Sea is author Martha Wells second installment of her Raksura series picking up the story of Moon not long after the climatic conclusion of The Cloud Roads.In the Cloud Roads, drifter & shape shifter & loner-not-by-choice Moon is reunited with his species/people The Raksura, even if the Indigo Cloud Court were not his home court (who he thinks were all murdered when he was very young). He learns that he is a Consort of his species, destined to be the mate of a Queen. Jade, sister queen of Indigo Court, woos and wins him despite his trust issues. The Indigo Cloud Court has been apparently cursed with mysterious deaths & declining numbers and a strong faction including Jade want the colony to return to its roots in the Western Reaches. Moon is instrumental in making that happen, playing a particularly significant role in the rescue of members of his new colony who were kidnapped by the dreaded Fell/Raksura hybrid queen and her minions. The Cloud Roads ends with the entire Court's successful return to their original home place, a huge tree in the Western Reaches.In the Serpent Sea, Moon becomes part of the investigative team sent out to replace/find the missing heart stone/seed/nut of the home tree that is dying. He is still insecure about his place in the colony and his relationship with Jade and he is painfully aware that he doesn't react or behave the way a proper Queen's consort is supposed to react or behave. But Moon's seeming mis-steps give the investigative team & the Court the advantage in eventually achieving its aims.What I really like about Martha Wells writing in general and The Raksura series in particular is her sheer imaginative world-building genius. I've been reading fantasy for more than 5 decades now and it was so overwelmingly refreshing for me to find a 'new to me author' whose work was well, so completely fresh and new. Moon and the Raksura are shape shifters, yes, but that is the first & last resemblance between The Raksura and the masses of shape shifter dreck that is published on the fantasy market today.Second, I found the characterizations to be 3 dimensional, with fully developed primary and secondary characters. No Raksura is portrayed as 1 dimension stick figure. Even Moon's non-fans in the Indigo Cloud community, such as River, are provided depth and motivations and character growth. And while the evil Fell in the Cloud Roads may at first seem to be only stereotypical ultimately evil bad guys (and a bit over the top); upon reflection, I consider they are hugely innovative stereotypical bad guys (an oxymoron, yes, but it works). The bad guys in The Serpent Sea are wizard types and I was a little disappointed with them, but again the world building & characterizations lift them out of the ordinary at the same time that the wizards' "island" world had me thinking of Terry Pratchett's universe (that's the only spoiler hint I'll give). And anyway, I have never been a member of the bad guy fan club that demands the author to ratchet up the badness & evilness with every series installment until finally one is reading farce and not fantasy.Since reading The Cloud Roads and The Serpent Sea, I've gone on to read Wells' earlier novels, The City of Bones and The Wheel of the Infinite. I give them both 5 stars. I am currently reading her 1st novel The Element of Fire and I've just ordered her novel The Death of the Necromancer. It's been a wonderful few weeks of reading and I will be sorry when I've exhausted her back list. I am eagerly looking forward to a new entry in the Raksura series and wish there was also a new entry in the City of Bones universe (that leaves the reader with a strong sense that more is in the offing).The Serpent Sea - Highly recommended fantasy, 5 stars.And THANK YOU to the internet & Amazon that Wells and/or her publishers are able to e-publish her backlist. I missed her when she started writing in the 90s and I am so pleased to have this opportunity to make up for the error of my reading ways :-).

This is the second book in the Books of the Raksura series, picking up shortly after book one, "The Cloud Roads." As before, the setting is fascinating: an invented fantasy world with multiple intelligent species. As before, the writing is skillful and intelligent. As before, I found Moon, the main character, sympathetic. I have become very attached to Moon, and am also fond of several of the supporting characters, most notably Stone and Chime and the three fledglings (Frost, Thorn, and Bitter). The worldbuilding is excellent. I can't remember the last time I've read a fantasy novel that evokes civilizations that are so credible yet distinct from human civilizations. Plus the eponymous sea serpent is very striking.Highly recommended, but with three caveats: 1) begin with the first book, "The Cloud Roads," rather than jumping in here, 2) it took me a chapter or so to warm up to that first book, 3) if you've read Wells's excellent Murderbot stories and are searching for something similar, this is quite different, though there were a handful of moments when Moon's wry thoughts reminded me of Murderbot.About my reviews: I try to review every book I read, including those that I don't end up enjoying. The reviews are not scholarly, but just indicate my reaction as a reader, reading being my addiction. I am miserly with 5-star reviews; 4 stars means I liked a book very much; 3 stars means I liked it; 2 stars means I didn't like it (though often the 2-star books are very popular with other readers and/or are by authors whose other work I've loved).

Entertaining and easy to read. Pages keep turning with suspense, a good plot and interesting characters. Strange as Raksura are, it was easy to relate to.

I bought this to read after finishing the first Raksura Series book. It was an excellent read. Like the first, the world building and story line is fantastic. Definitely recommend.I saw some reviews that showed the book's print was tiny compared to the size of the pages. That was not my experience; the book I received was as expected.

Pacing is a little off. There are long stretches of characters running around in what amounts to a maze filled with rubber monsters. The story is good even if some of the events seem very improbable, and yeah, I get that it’s a fictional world of shape shifting, flying eagle people. Readable? Yes. Entertaining and fun? Yes. Just a little too goofy too often, which broke the spell of suspended disbelief I count on to make me feel connected to a story.

I've just finished the trilogy of Martha Wells' Raksura books and have pre-ordered the newest in the series, due out April 2013. The world the author has created is fresh and original, her characters are vivid and there is the potential for many, many more stories exploring both. I look forward to seeing what Ms. Wells will do with the world she's created, and would particularly appreciate a prequel, so we can learn more about the ancient ruins, apparently built by a race physically much larger than the current inhabitants.I inadvertently read the series out of order. Purchased the second book in the series from a Kindle list, (probably either books under $1.99, or fantasy), which I didn't discover until I'd read it and went back to get the other two. That didn't spoil my enjoyment of this series at all. The reason I gave it only 4 stars is because it had long battle scenes, which are completely lost on me - I don't see the battle action unfolding in my head the way some people do, I guess, and only plow through battle scenes to find out the essentials so the plot makes sense: "this character dies bravely, these characters were injured and we don't know what happened to these two characters." That, however, is not the author's fault! Other reviewers seem to think the battle scenes were well-written, so they're probably great, for those who like reading about battle.

I really loved how the story is going on in such an amazing worl with these great characters.

This is the second book in the Raksura series and it does not fail to delight.Having helped his new colony migrate back to their ancestral home in the heart of Raksura territory, they are greeted with terrible news.Something is wrong with their tree.So off Moon goes on yet another un-consortlike adventure (honestly, Moon, won't you just stay at home and focus on making babies and looking pretty like a *normal* consort? Spoiler: Nope!) to save their tree-home and ends up in one of the more bizarre places in the Three Worlds. Adventures ensue.I finished the last book in the series recently, and looking back at the series as a whole, one of the things I think I most enjoyed about this book was the insight it gives into why Moon was initially treated with such hostility as a "feral solitary" as well as some insights into Moon's psyche. Despite the danger to their new home, this book, in the larger scheme of the series, is sort of a breather for Moon and the reader. We get to see him find his place and learn more about the court without the presence of the Fell as a distraction.There's still adventure and action, but overall I'd rate this as one of the calmer books in the series. This doesn't diminish it in any way - it's certainly not a filler book - and I highly recommend it along with all other books in this series.

A great series and one that i enjoy. the descriptions of the places are the kind that makes it seem like i am there, and that is hard for me to do.I want more books of this series, as i think there story is far from complete.

I gave this the rating beacuse i never wanted to put it down and i love the characters in this book and the world its presented in i would say if u like fantasy in general its worth giving this a shot

This series is everything I never knew I wanted.Awesome awesome awesome. Refreshingly different.