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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.
jemofabook's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-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
5.0
Rating: Absolutely Loved It
I liked this collection of stories a lot more than the first one, and it was just a joy to be with Moon and Jade and the rest of the colony. I really wish that we would have been able to get a short story or novella focused on Stone, but I'm not going to complain.
The Dead City was a really fun novella focusing on Moon shortly after he first encounters the Fell. He stops at a caravanasei (or however you spell that), and of course trouble springs up. This was involving some spider people who were excavating a city of the dead. I really enjoyed seeing Moon who was determined not to care, but of course he does, and we got to meet other groundling species. I didn't think that I cared that much about Moon's time prior to finding the Raksura, but I greatly enjoyed it.
Mimesis was a short story that focuses on Jade and some companions while they are out hunting. One of their number goes missing, and Jade goes after him. I really enjoyed seeing Jade save the day on her own, and it was a fun, fast-paced story.
Trading Lesson was my favorite because we just get to see the Raksura living their lives without something horrible or intense happening. I loved seeing Moon being so exasperated with the Raksura being bad traders and ensuring that they don't get scammed. Loved it!
The Almost Last Voyage of the Windship Escarpment was my least favorite, and that's probably because there were no Raksura. But it was still exploring the world, and I want to know more about this place. It was a fun time but I would have preferred a story following a young Stone.
The Dark Earth Below gave me lots of happy feels because we got to see Jade have her first clutch. Of course there's some mysterious new threat, but I greatly enjoyed all the family feels in this one. I love Stone and Moon and their relationship and I just want to see more of it.
Overall just a good time hanging out with the Raksura and living life. Highly recommend this series!
I liked this collection of stories a lot more than the first one, and it was just a joy to be with Moon and Jade and the rest of the colony. I really wish that we would have been able to get a short story or novella focused on Stone, but I'm not going to complain.
The Dead City was a really fun novella focusing on Moon shortly after he first encounters the Fell. He stops at a caravanasei (or however you spell that), and of course trouble springs up. This was involving some spider people who were excavating a city of the dead. I really enjoyed seeing Moon who was determined not to care, but of course he does, and we got to meet other groundling species. I didn't think that I cared that much about Moon's time prior to finding the Raksura, but I greatly enjoyed it.
Mimesis was a short story that focuses on Jade and some companions while they are out hunting. One of their number goes missing, and Jade goes after him. I really enjoyed seeing Jade save the day on her own, and it was a fun, fast-paced story.
Trading Lesson was my favorite because we just get to see the Raksura living their lives without something horrible or intense happening. I loved seeing Moon being so exasperated with the Raksura being bad traders and ensuring that they don't get scammed. Loved it!
The Almost Last Voyage of the Windship Escarpment was my least favorite, and that's probably because there were no Raksura. But it was still exploring the world, and I want to know more about this place. It was a fun time but I would have preferred a story following a young Stone.
The Dark Earth Below gave me lots of happy feels because we got to see Jade have her first clutch. Of course there's some mysterious new threat, but I greatly enjoyed all the family feels in this one. I love Stone and Moon and their relationship and I just want to see more of it.
Overall just a good time hanging out with the Raksura and living life. Highly recommend this series!
daniella's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
bookishgalaxies's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
wordnerdy's review against another edition
4.0
https://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2020/04/2020-book-78.html
https://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2021/09/2021-book-190.html
Like the first volume of the Stories of the Raksura, this compiles two novellas (along with a few short stories) featuring our characters. One focuses on the protagonist in younger days, and the other on him as an expectant father. But of course there are still bad things to fight! There's also a short story set in this world but with different characters entirely, and I’m not sure why it was included unless it will be relevant in later books. A-.
https://wordnerdy.blogspot.com/2021/09/2021-book-190.html
Like the first volume of the Stories of the Raksura, this compiles two novellas (along with a few short stories) featuring our characters. One focuses on the protagonist in younger days, and the other on him as an expectant father. But of course there are still bad things to fight! There's also a short story set in this world but with different characters entirely, and I’m not sure why it was included unless it will be relevant in later books. A-.
bahnree's review against another edition
5.0
"The Dead City": I JUST WANT TO HUG MOON ALL OF THE TIME BUT ESPECIALLY DURING AND AFTER THIS STORY.
5/5
"Mimesis": This was horrifying. But it starred Jade! Everything is fine. Everything is fine. Everything is f -
5/5
"Trading Lesson": I have been waiting for this exact situation since I read The Cloud Roads, so, um. Yeah. 5/5
"The Almost Last Voyage of the Wind-ship Escarpment": I thought I wouldn't care about this because it was completely different characters but it was really fun! I would enjoy more with this crew.
5/5
"The Dark Earth Below": Jade is about to have babies, some Kek have disappeared, and there are invisible things everywhere but EVERYTHING IS FINE, MOON, JUST RELAX. I've been waiting for more Kek content so this made me very happy.
5/5
5/5
"Mimesis": This was horrifying. But it starred Jade! Everything is fine. Everything is fine. Everything is f -
5/5
"Trading Lesson": I have been waiting for this exact situation since I read The Cloud Roads, so, um. Yeah. 5/5
"The Almost Last Voyage of the Wind-ship Escarpment": I thought I wouldn't care about this because it was completely different characters but it was really fun! I would enjoy more with this crew.
5/5
"The Dark Earth Below": Jade is about to have babies, some Kek have disappeared, and there are invisible things everywhere but EVERYTHING IS FINE, MOON, JUST RELAX. I've been waiting for more Kek content so this made me very happy.
5/5
szuum's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-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
4.25
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
penstarling's review against another edition
5.0
Sigh. With this read I only have one Raksura book left and frankly that's not enough. I'd read 200k words of like just Moon playing with kids and trying to teach them his weirdo non-Raksuran ways while Chime, and occasionally Jade, look on fondly and exasperatedly.
Absolutely recommend this series to anyone, anywhere who will listen and consider reading. I love it so so so so so so so so so much. I mean even you think you don't want to read about drag-shifters, you still want to read this. It's like nothing else you've ever read. Start at the beginning though, maybe not with this book.
Absolutely recommend this series to anyone, anywhere who will listen and consider reading. I love it so so so so so so so so so much. I mean even you think you don't want to read about drag-shifters, you still want to read this. It's like nothing else you've ever read. Start at the beginning though, maybe not with this book.