The Serpent Sea

By: Martha Wells

Narrated by: Christopher Kipiniak

Length: 14 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

Moon, once a solitary wanderer, has become consort to Jade, sister queen of the Indigo Cloud court. Together, they travel with their people on a pair of flying ships in hopes of finding a new home for their colony. Moon finally feels like he’s found a tribe where he belongs. But when the travelers reach the ancestral home of Indigo Cloud, shrouded within the trunk of a mountain-sized tree, they discover a blight infecting its core. Nearby they find the remains of the invaders who may be responsible, as well as evidence of a devastating theft. This discovery sends Moon and the hunters of Indigo Cloud on a quest for the heartstone of the tree - a quest that will lead them far away, across the Serpent Sea.

In this followup to The Cloud Roads, Martha Wells returns with a world-spanning odyssey, a mystery that only provokes more questions and the adventure of a lifetime.

Also listen to the first book, The Cloud Roads.

©2012 Martha Wells (P)2011 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Wells… spins an exciting adventure around an alien hero who anyone can identify with." (Publishers Weekly)

I am so hooked

In the first book of this series - Cloud Roads - Ms Wells built the solid foundation for the realistic world of the Raksura. Anyone who reads fantasy looks for that kind of foundation because an unrealistic fantasy world just doesn't work.

With The Serpent Sea Ms Wells has continued to tell this story within this world and with her original characters while strengthening the story by adding more and more solid characters and developing the challenges they face.

Her descriptions are strong and well written and never over the top.

Again, my personal opinion is that Mr. Kipiniak's narration falls short, but is not enough to steal the brightness of this story.

The true test for me of the quality of a series is of course whether I want to continue, and the final book of this series is already one I am enjoying as well as the first two.

Solid - Good Middle Book in Series

The storyline in this 2nd novel is more varied and ranges from an initial "discovery" setting in the home forest to an odd twist that turns into an old fashioned quest, but in a very unique setting. Given the progression and growth of the characters and a good pace overall, very good listen and lives up to promise in 1st book.

Great series!

The world building is so imaginative, I really enjoyed this series with its interesting characters.

Okay, but nothing great

Where does The Serpent Sea rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Definitely in the middle

How would you have changed the story to make it more enjoyable?

More depth into the world and characters.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No

Any additional comments?

It was entertaining, just nothing I would exclaim over.

Excellent

A great, exciting installment. Excellent. Such an incredible imagination, and incredible characters. I've read this book so often and it was lovely hearing it on Audible.

Great follow up to book 1

Loved the follow up. Moon is hilarious and sardonic, Stone the perfect line father, Jade is coming into her own and each character more fleshed out woth each adventure. Can't wait for more.

Great world-building, perfect pacing, dragons!

It's unusual to find a fantasy novel that features really lush, complex world-building but is still well-suited to audiobook format. Often the complexity becomes a little confusing, or the rich description muddles the plot. But Martha Wells's prose style is a perfect fit for the spoken word-- she gives just enough detail to allow you to revel in the nifty, gorgeous concepts without losing the thread of the narrative. A fortunate thing, given that the narrative is a marvelous, thoughtful, moving, and occasionally terrifying adventure.

I should say off the bat that this is foremost a plea for Audible Frontiers to produce the third novel, due out this December, as an audiobook. The Raksura series is one of the most compulsively listenable ongoing stories I've ever had the good fortune to discover, and I know I'm not the only one who'd really like to have any subsequent books to look forward to in audio form. What say you, Audible?

In any case, back to the review. The friend who recommended the Raksura series to me informed me that while the main character seems at first to have a mild case of Male Epic Fantasy Protagonist Syndrome, there is in fact a really interesting deconstruction going on. I agree! (That is to say, the story is riddled with pleasant surprises.) A lot of tropes get turned on their heads, often in a delightful fashion, and characters acquire ever more depth as the plot progresses.

The narration is merely adequate. The narrator's voice isn't exactly mellifluous, but it's not grating. While listening, on occasion I'd think, "did you pay *any* attention to the clear in-text indications of how you should have read that?" And from time to time I took issue with his rendition of female characters' lines-- he sometimes pronounces them with a tremulous quality that is, given the character and the situation she's in, totally inappropriate. But overall he reads competently, and when he doesn't, it doesn't really detract from the scene.

I'm trying to avoid any spoilers here. The tight plotting relies in part on gradual revelations (as plotting is wont to do), and I don't want to wreck their well-considered structure. Suffice it to say that I love The Serpent Sea (and its predecessor, The Cloud Roads) with all my persnickety heart.

A different type of fantasy.

So, I went into this series not expecting much at all. To be honest, I was expecting something written badly but I was pleasantly surprised. So here we go:

-At first, I did not like the narrator and thought his voices where corny, but he grew on me and I ended up enjoying him

- The book was actually pretty clever and overall, it was very different from other things I have read.

- I feel that there needs to be more to this series, it does not seem to have an end. This is a good thing!

good fallow up the the first book

This book was as good as the first one, a must read for those who like the first book.

Not my favorite story

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

No I wouldn't recommend this to a friend. It is hard to follow and the story line is not new.

Did The Serpent Sea inspire you to do anything?

No