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shlymiller's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
laurareads87's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
4.5, rounding up. As Murderbot's biggest fan, I was happy to pick up a copy of Wells' earlier The Cloud Roads, and very happy to have found that I like her fantasy too! I will absolutely continue this series.
What I like: the Raksura are a totally original and entirely plausible not-at-all-human-like fantasy species. Their societal norms, social roles, biology, and culture are thoroughly developed and make sense. Moon as a protagonist is great -- clear motivations, complex, and sympathetic without ever being perfectly likeable. There are some great secondary characters as well. The plot moves along at a consistent pace. The world building is perhaps the novel's best aspect: complex, dynamic, and fantastical. Wells also handled a disturbing aspect of the story that might be challenging for many readers -- the fact thatthe antagonist species is trying to forcibly reproduce with the Raksura against their will -- very well: it wasn't 'content warning' heavy in a way that made it unreadable.
What I didn't like so much: My only wish was that the main antagonists in the book, the Fell, were given some kind of motivation or back story or something. They're terrifying, and the reader does get a sense of their social organization and biology, but because the reader learns about very few of them by name and spends almost no time with them outside of battle scenes, it is hard to say that they are motivated by much beyond their desire to kill (and eat) others. I hope that this is further developed later in the series.
What I like: the Raksura are a totally original and entirely plausible not-at-all-human-like fantasy species. Their societal norms, social roles, biology, and culture are thoroughly developed and make sense. Moon as a protagonist is great -- clear motivations, complex, and sympathetic without ever being perfectly likeable. There are some great secondary characters as well. The plot moves along at a consistent pace. The world building is perhaps the novel's best aspect: complex, dynamic, and fantastical. Wells also handled a disturbing aspect of the story that might be challenging for many readers -- the fact that
What I didn't like so much: My only wish was that the main antagonists in the book, the Fell, were given some kind of motivation or back story or something. They're terrifying, and the reader does get a sense of their social organization and biology, but because the reader learns about very few of them by name and spends almost no time with them outside of battle scenes, it is hard to say that they are motivated by much beyond their desire to kill (and eat) others. I hope that this is further developed later in the series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cannibalism, Confinement, Violence, Blood, Murder, Death, War, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Abandonment
Moderate: Sexual assault and Rape
bel017's review
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
I read this because I love Murderbot (by the same author). The two series are very different - the protagonist has different existential issues, it's a full-length fantasy not a sci-fi novella, I found it much more violent, and there's some romance. I'm glad there's more in the series because there's so much world building that it feels like it would be a waste to have just one book set in that world. I found the world far more foreign and less of an allegory for our world than Murderbot's world. But the stories share having a capable lead who protects others but who doesn't feel like they belong, and isn't sure they want to.
I skipped over every single battle. I don't like violence, and the outcome is a given so it just felt pointlessly gratuitous. Unlike the sex scene which is more implied than explicit. I think it says bad things about society that in the media horrifically violent scenes are considered more appropriate than sex scenes between consenting partners. After getting through all the world building in this book I'll read the next in the series, but sadly it did not fill the Murderbot-shaped gaping hole in my reading-life.
I skipped over every single battle. I don't like violence, and the outcome is a given so it just felt pointlessly gratuitous. Unlike the sex scene which is more implied than explicit. I think it says bad things about society that in the media horrifically violent scenes are considered more appropriate than sex scenes between consenting partners. After getting through all the world building in this book I'll read the next in the series, but sadly it did not fill the Murderbot-shaped gaping hole in my reading-life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Gore
Minor: Abandonment
hanz's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Rape, Grief, and Death of parent
kylieqrada's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Okkkk but this was funnnn! I wanted to try something else from Martha Wells since I love Murderbot so much, and I'm glad I picked the Raksura. This is very quiet fantasy, ala Sarah Beth Durst. It was tough to get into at first, but once I got immersed, there was no going back. I'm excited to learn more about this super gorgeous world, and to see more of our blossoming romance!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Rape, Confinement, and Sexual content
Minor: Cannibalism and Sexual violence
felofhe's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Like her other, later series, The Murderbot Diaries, which led me to this book, Martha Wells' first installment of her Books of the Raksura series is a beautifully heart-wrenching and heartwarming story of an outcast looking for their place in the world. Unlike Murderbot, however, the Raksura books and their protagonist, Moon, eschew a cyberpunk futuristic space aesthetic for a world more reminiscent of high fantasy with echoes of Tolkien and Lewis. The Three Worlds, as their known, are rendered in beautiful strokes with multiple types of sentient beings, all coexisting in semi-peaceful harmony. Except for the horrific Fell, which exist as a dark mirror to the Raksura, a comparison drawn early and solidly over the course of this book. Wells' penchant for complex characters is in full force here. Every character has their own motivations and their conflicts never seem forced for dramatics. They all have deeply human motivations and reasons for antagonism. Even the Fell are rendered with enough complexity and care that they seem realistic in their motives. Wells is swiftly climbing the ranks of my favorite writers and I can't wait to continue this series.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Classism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, and War
Moderate: Sexual content
ma_vollmer's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Death
Moderate: Rape
szuum's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexual violence
achingallover's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Moderate: Rape
wordsareworlds's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I enjoyed this book, especially the way Wells established a fantastic world without info-dumps. The emotional aspect felt understated, and it took me a bit to get invested in that aspect. Will definitely be continuing the series, but I don't feel a burning need to pick up the next book right away
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Sexual violence