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spoke_spider's review against another edition
5.0
A fascinating episode from Moon's past, and kids?! What more could we ask for, really? <3
mousie_books's review against another edition
3.0
The Dead City - 3/5 - After Moon flees Saraseil, he stumbles across another groundling conflict. I couldn't quite get into the story. Moon's inner conflict and interactions were compelling, but the mystery of the miners was meh.
Mimesis - 3/5 - "This story takes places three months after the end of The Siren Depths." (book 3) Like a cut scene. Fun.
Trading Lesson - 4/5 - "This story takes place once month after the end of Mimesis."
The Almost Last Voyage of the Wind-Ship Escarpment - 3/5 - "This story is set in another part of The Three Worlds, with a different cast of characters." A bit hard to get into, but I liked the ending.
The Dark Earth Below - 4/5 - "This novella takes place a turn and a half after the events of The Siren Depths." (book 3) Kek hunters go missing, and the village seeks help from Indigo Cloud. Meanwhile, Jade is about ready to pop out her first clutch. Very sweet interactions, and an interesting mystery. I was kinda meh on the ending of the A plot, but the B plot more than made up for it.
Spoiler
Moon is in shock and despair after Saraseil. As he says, he may or may not have a death wish, but he certainly doesn't have a life wish. The inn at which he stays becomes pulled into a conflict between a queen/drone insect-like species protecting their dead in their long dead city, and spider-like miners eating the remains for 'power'. He rescues and protects the inn owner, her friends, and the insect-like tribe, but is forced to reveal himself and is betrayed by the leader of the insects. This experience reinforces those of his past. He makes excuses and slips away after saying good bye to the inn owner.Mimesis - 3/5 - "This story takes places three months after the end of The Siren Depths." (book 3) Like a cut scene. Fun.
Spoiler
Fair gets lured by a giant predator with a groundling decoy tendril on a hunting trip. Jade rescues him.Trading Lesson - 4/5 - "This story takes place once month after the end of Mimesis."
Spoiler
A groundling trader comes with a group from Sunset Water, and Moon stops him from taking advantage of his fellow Raksura in trades for his pretty green (common as dirt) amber.The Almost Last Voyage of the Wind-Ship Escarpment - 3/5 - "This story is set in another part of The Three Worlds, with a different cast of characters." A bit hard to get into, but I liked the ending.
Spoiler
A mercenary? wind-ship is sent with a ransom to rescue a sea ship held hostage by sealing raiders. Upon delivery, the raiders try to capture the wind-ship. The crew of the wind-ship discover that the box they were given was empty, and that they, in fact, were the ransom. The B plot is that the man who hired the crew is the estranged father of the wind-ship's first officer. Though his father abandoned him and left him to die, he still desperately wants his approval and to go home.The Dark Earth Below - 4/5 - "This novella takes place a turn and a half after the events of The Siren Depths." (book 3) Kek hunters go missing, and the village seeks help from Indigo Cloud. Meanwhile, Jade is about ready to pop out her first clutch. Very sweet interactions, and an interesting mystery. I was kinda meh on the ending of the A plot, but the B plot more than made up for it.
Spoiler
The Onde are invisible to most species, and 'skin-hunters' use their hide to create camouflage. An Onde sneaks into the colony, and a skin-hunter stages attacks in attempts to retrieve it. Meanwhile, Moon and Jade are going out of their minds waiting on their first clutch to be born.cleo_reads's review against another edition
4.0
I think I enjoyed these novellas and short stories even more than I enjoyed the full length novels.
sparkatito's review against another edition
5.0
Sad this is the last set of stories about the Raksura and their world. Love them all.
travelgirlut's review against another edition
3.0
More stories like the original series. Wells had a great imagination for unique people and place!
christophertd's review against another edition
4.0
Another refreshing visit to the worlds of the Raksura. All too brief, alas.
nae's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
nghia's review against another edition
5.0
The first collection of Raksura stories, [b:Stories of the Raksura, Volume 1: The Falling World & The Tale of Indigo and Cloud|20344635|Stories of the Raksura, Volume 1 The Falling World & The Tale of Indigo and Cloud|Martha Wells|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394522898l/20344635._SX50_.jpg|28349112], was mostly disappointing but also contained probably my overall single favorite Raksura story.
This collection is much stronger over all and also contains several of my favorite Raksura stories, with "The Dark Earth Below" vying with "The Falling World" as my favorite overall story.
"The Dead City" is a nice enough story. It takes place during Moon's days as a wandering loner before the main series starts. The break from typical Raksura/Fell stuff is very welcome but, on the other hand, it also means we don't see any of the other characters -- Stone, Chime, etc -- that we've come to love, which leaves it feeling a bit...not fully satisfying somehow? We also see why Moon isn't very trusting of groundlings but... a) I'm not sure needed to see that spelled out and b) that's the result of dozens of things over the years, not just one or two episodes. A solid B-grade story.
"Mimesis" is interesting because it is really the only non-Moon story in the whole Raksura collection. Jade is on her own adventure here, saving someone who gets in over their head while hunting. Another pretty good B-grade story.
"Trading Lesson" is a brilliant little story. It is a small slice-of-life story where not much happens except we see the contrast between Moon, world-wise from his decades of travel, and the rest of the sheltered and naive Raksura. A-grade story.
"The Almost Last Voyage of the Wind-Ship Escarpment" goes down as a bit of a noble failure. It is the only non-Raksura story in the entire series. It is a random group of traders on an airship. It is clearly a bit of an experiment, showing us something other than the Raksura. But the various people on the airship come off as a bit vanilla. One of the great parts about the whole Raksura series is how alien the Raksura feel, which is mostly missing here. C-grade story.
"The Dark Earth Below" started off pretty slow for my tastes but eventually ended up being one of my favorites. It takes places while Jade is pregnant and about to give birth. We see more of Pearl and River not just being jerks. We have Moon torn between his duties as a father -- stay home and protect the clutch -- versus his desire to explore (and his feeling that others aren't as competent at saving the day as he is). A-grade story.
Overall I recommend nearly every story here to fans of the series.
This collection is much stronger over all and also contains several of my favorite Raksura stories, with "The Dark Earth Below" vying with "The Falling World" as my favorite overall story.
"The Dead City" is a nice enough story. It takes place during Moon's days as a wandering loner before the main series starts. The break from typical Raksura/Fell stuff is very welcome but, on the other hand, it also means we don't see any of the other characters -- Stone, Chime, etc -- that we've come to love, which leaves it feeling a bit...not fully satisfying somehow? We also see why Moon isn't very trusting of groundlings but... a) I'm not sure needed to see that spelled out and b) that's the result of dozens of things over the years, not just one or two episodes. A solid B-grade story.
"Mimesis" is interesting because it is really the only non-Moon story in the whole Raksura collection. Jade is on her own adventure here, saving someone who gets in over their head while hunting. Another pretty good B-grade story.
"Trading Lesson" is a brilliant little story. It is a small slice-of-life story where not much happens except we see the contrast between Moon, world-wise from his decades of travel, and the rest of the sheltered and naive Raksura. A-grade story.
"The Almost Last Voyage of the Wind-Ship Escarpment" goes down as a bit of a noble failure. It is the only non-Raksura story in the entire series. It is a random group of traders on an airship. It is clearly a bit of an experiment, showing us something other than the Raksura. But the various people on the airship come off as a bit vanilla. One of the great parts about the whole Raksura series is how alien the Raksura feel, which is mostly missing here. C-grade story.
"The Dark Earth Below" started off pretty slow for my tastes but eventually ended up being one of my favorites. It takes places while Jade is pregnant and about to give birth. We see more of Pearl and River not just being jerks. We have Moon torn between his duties as a father -- stay home and protect the clutch -- versus his desire to explore (and his feeling that others aren't as competent at saving the day as he is). A-grade story.
Overall I recommend nearly every story here to fans of the series.
genevakelly's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed the world-building aspects of this book, fascinating and fun to read. At times the pacing was too slow, and some information we could have understood without being told. Otherwise it was a 5-star read for me. I love this world and these characters.