The Cloud Roads

By: Martha Wells

Narrated by: Christopher Kipiniak

Length: 15 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's summary

Moon has spent his life hiding what he is - a shape-shifter able to transform himself into a winged creature of flight. An orphan with only vague memories of his own kind, Moon tries to fit in among the tribes of his river valley, with mixed success. Just as Moon is once again cast out by his adopted tribe, he discovers a shape-shifter like himself... someone who seems to know exactly what he is, who promises that Moon will be welcomed into his community.

What this stranger doesn't tell Moon is that his presence will tip the balance of power... that his extraordinary lineage is crucial to the colony's survival... and that his people face extinction at the hands of the dreaded Fell! Now Moon must overcome a lifetime of conditioning in order to save himself - and his newfound kin.

©2011 Martha Wells (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Martha Wells' books always make me remember why I love to read. In The Cloud Roads, she invents yet another rich and astonishingly detailed setting, where many races and cultures uneasily co-exist in a world constantly threatened by soulless predators. But the vivid world-building and nonstop action really serve as a backdrop for the heart of the novel - the universal human themes of loneliness, loss, and the powerful drive to find somewhere to belong." (Sharon Shinn)

"Wells merrily ignores genre conventions as she spins an exciting adventure around an alien hero who anyone can identify with." (Publishers Weekly)

"Wells... has created a new world of dragonlike shapeshifters and human tribes that could serve as the background for future novels in this exotic setting. Concise storytelling and believable characters make this a good addition to most fantasy collections." (Library Journal)

Buy It! Then buy all the rest by Wells.

I love this book and this series. It's one of the audibles I listen to over and over again. Kipiniak does an amazing job bringing life to the emotions wagging across this series. I've always loved Wells, but Cloud Roads was my first audible of hers. I'm so happy with it. The world, society, and story building are all top notch.

Great book, good audio

I listened to the audiobook. I’ve read the book before multiple times, it’s a favorite of mine. I think the voices were very well done.

Good comment

Interesting book. It's not always predictable and not boring. Narrator is also good. I like it.

Perfect on Paper.

Great book, but maybe you could find a better narrator. Jade sounded positively husky and nearing on exactly the same as Pearl. While the story kept me invested all the way through, and the characters have always made me laugh, I think I'll stick to hardback.

Interesting read

What did you love best about The Cloud Roads?

This book is an interesting read - it doesn't rise to the greats (The Wheel of Time, A song of Ice and fire, etc) but it is engaging. It kept my interest and at the end, I wanted to know what happened next. It makes me wonder if this is a stand alone book or part of a series.

What did you like best about this story?

This story gave me an opportunity to imagine how it would be if men had wings and could fly. It gave me a good opportunity to share in the character's delight in flight, and to imagine myself out there in the sky - flying freely.

Any additional comments?

If you are like me and are constantly seaching for good epic fantasies and have already read all the greats (see above) and are looking for new series, you might like The Stormlight Archives: The way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, The King Killer Chronicles: The name of the wind (#1), The Wise Man's Fear (#2) by Patrick Rothfuss, Old Man's War by John Scalzi - I really loved the light-hearted and extremely entertaining nature of this book - you may like it. I recently read a series by Elizabeth Moon that I truly enjoyed - the first book in the series was Trading in Danger, then Marque and Reprisal - and so forth.

For a long time, I would see L.E. Modesitt Jr's book: Imager on Audible and ignore it. I even read the reviews and was not very impressed. When I ran out of books that immediately grabbed my attention, I decided to give it a try - although it started out dry, I did not regret reading it at all. In fact, the story was continued recently in an interesting way - L.E. decided to go back a few hundred years to tell the origins of what is written in the series. It was very interesting. There are a lot more books that I have to share, but hopefully the above will keep you occupied for a while.

Now, although I enjoyed the above books to one degree or another, please note that everything truly isn't for everyone. Please read other reviewer's comments on the above books if you decide to try them. If there are any good series you have read, please pass them along. Thank you.

I did not want it to end!

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would and have recommended this book to a friend,
I could do nothing less. I was so excited when I began this book, and it just got more and more exciting as I read it through to the end. Being blind, I was so grateful for the dynamic descriptions all through the book, I could almost see the characters myself, which is not often so in other books. I could also feel the thrill of stretching my wings and flying over a completely new world. I am now searching for other audio books by Martha Wells, to see if this lovely feeling goes on in her other books.

What other book might you compare The Cloud Roads to and why?

I can honestly say that The Cloud Roads, is like no other book I have read and I read a lot of books. It seems unique in it's story line, and it keeps you caught up in the story until sadly the end sneaks up on you.

Have you listened to any of Christopher Kipiniak’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No I am sorry to say I have not heard Christopher Kipiniak in a book before, but I shall sure be looking for his name from now on. He brings this book to life for me, I can imagine he will do the same in another book as well.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Have you ever wanted to fly using your own wings? This is as close as you will ever get.

Any additional comments?

I have just gotten the next book in this series, and I can hardly wait to see if it keeps me as enthralled as this one did.

Very Unique and Interesting Universe

Let me start by saying this is unlike almost any "fantasy" book I've ever come across. It reminded me A LOT of Avatar in the setting initially, but the more the story continued, the less similar it seemed. I must say I really did enjoy this 1st novel. Have no clue what the title means as related in the book, but the plot is very good and very unique.

Starts with a loner who is trying to fit it with people who aren't like him, but you're not really sure why. The author takes her time setting up the mythology, but once all the pieces are in place and the main characters are fully fleshed out, it's actually a pretty excellent story.

Fantastic

I love this book, and all the others in the series, and the narrator absolutely does it justice.

I love Martha Wells` "The Cloud Roads"

Complex world, multifaceted characters , a noble quest, political intrigue, love, lust and loss. Yes. a good listen.

Unusual premise

My husband and I both really enjoyed this book. One of the criticism I have about fantasy is the amount of fighting there is. So much so that often there is nothing else. Here there is meat. The characters are well developed and the fact that this is a matriarchal society makes it even more interesting. The hours just flew by. the reader was exceptional, there are many voices and many accents here but Mr. Kipiniak delivered them all. Great Story!