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)

Still Completely Enthralled With This World

Readers are introduced to the Raksura in The Cloud Roads, a shapeshifting race that possess both a draconic form and a groundling form. They are a matriarchal race of people with complex court laws. In this story, we meet Moon, a Raksura who's spent most of his years living among groundlings after the destruction of his court when he was a young child. Because of Moon's ignorance of much of the Raksuran mores, following him through this book is perfect. The readers experience the world as Moon experiences it, learning as he learns, which means that nothing feels like filler.

Book 2 picks up almost immediately after The Cloud Roads. After an attack on the colony, the Cloud Indigo court moves back to the place where their lineage started, a mountain-tree nestled in the forest. Upon arriving there, they soon find out that the tree is dying because its heartseed has been stolen. This leads them to seek out the assistance of another Raksuran court. The neighboring court is unable to provide them with another seed. However, they are able to help the colony scry for their missing seed which leads Moon on a dash to retrieve it.

I am still charmed by this story of the Raksura and the world they live in. Wells introduces new and fascinating races such as the waterlings in this installment, continuing this flair that feels fresh and original. Raksuran politics continue to be a complex weave of laws. While in-fighting was common in the last book, in this book, they have to contend with another court, which sheds even more light on how Raksura are expected to behave with one another. Readers learn how tenuous the ties between various courts can be and how the smallest things can be perceived as insults and power plays to force a rival's hand.

I appreciate that Moon is still learning and still wary, even though he is now the consort to the sister-queen of Cloud Indigo. Readers are allowed to continue this journey with Moon as he shares his uncertainties, triumphs, and losses. There are always new things for him to learn. He doesn't automatically want to know everything about Raksuran politics. In fact, much of the culture makes him uncomfortable. He concedes that he should be learning things about the court, but he continues to live outside their societal norms for a consort. It doesn't help that the mentor-like person who brought him to the court is allowed the freedom to do as he pleases due to his age, which Moon is emulating in his own way. Moon becomes very aware of how he differs from other consorts when visiting the neighboring court. Where Moon is quick to protect what is his, he finds that other consorts are little more than arm decoration. Moon has never lived a pampered, spoiled life, and he doesn't intend to start living one (but he does give a little when it really counts).

Wells also introduced more magic into this world. There are tastes of it in the first book via the mentor-caste in the Raksuran court who can heal, have visions, and perform augury (more like divination/scrying than reading omens due to birds' flight patterns). In this book, groundling magic is introduced, especially as one character struggles with the fact that he's no longer a mentor but is starting to exhibit strange powers more like groundling magic. However, the magic in this world is subtle and downplayed, and it never detracts from the Raksura who are the heart of this story.

Chris Kipiniak continues to narrate this series, and I don't think there's anything that I can say about his narration that I haven't said in my review of The Cloud Roads. His characterization of Stone and Moon continues to be two of my favorite voices in the series.

I enjoyed this book maybe only slightly less than the first. There's a bigger spot in my heart for the first one. Maybe because of the way it completely enthralled me with this new setting and characters, but this book is a fitting continuation of the story that balances politics, action, and story in the world the Raksura inhabit. A part of me wishes I'd read these books sooner, but another part of me is glad that I started later, as there is plenty more for me to read and I don't have to anxiously await a next book.

a great follow up to the cloud roads!

the continuation of the adventures of moon and jade pulls the listener into a magical dangerous and sometimes humorous world rich with unique cultures and history. moon continues his understanding of the raksura ways as his relationship deepens with jade.

Fun book, disappointing narrator

Like the previous book in the series, The Serpent Sea delivers a lush, imaginative fantasy world and fast-paced story. However, also like its predecessor, the narrator overacts when voicing characters, and overemphasizes the pauses associated with commas. It's nitpicky, I know, but it bugged me. Otherwise, the narrator has a pleasant voice and speaks clearly.

Mooning

Love the depth and detail of the world and characters. Love the twists that keep the storyline fresh. Engaging. l love Moon.

A great second book

This story rejoins our characters a few days after the end of book one.

Once again Moon, is found trying to findhis place within Raksura society as the troubled colony of Indigo Cloud moves to it's new home, also it's old home, in the reaches. Once again Moon, and the Indigo Cloud Colony find that things are not going to be easy.

Another great story as Moon tries to work out what it means to be a Consort as well as a Raksura. The narrator does a good job of keeping the diverse characters straight and the wit of the characters comes through well.

Second books are often a disappointment. This one wasn't. Martha Wells builds on book one, deepening our understanding of the world and the characters, along with a great adventure and exploration tale in a world still full of wonders.

Love It!

Downloading the next one now! I wasn't sure about the narrator's style but he's great!

So Brilliant - We are left breathless

What did you love best about The Serpent Sea?

The characters - real, earthy, detailed, ironic, a culture come alive

What did you like best about this story?

Everything has consequence. You could feel the impact on a culture with a different physiology.

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

This was a stunning performance by someone who truly understood the author's intent. He "got it."

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

The whole family inhaled the book.

Any additional comments?

Give us more!!!

A solid follow up with more character development

This is the second book of the series and if you haven't read the first book, Cloud Roads, you should start there. Without that context and background you will find this book much less enjoyable. In this book, Indigo Cloud must face the fact that all is not right with their new (old) Mountain Tree home and they head out on an expedition to find a solution. Their quest takes them to the court of a rival Raksuran clan and Martha Wells uses this opportunity to further flesh out her Raksuran society in more original ways. This is the real hook of this series and she builds nicely upon the foundation that she built in book one.

All of the main characters return and are developed throughout this story. With the possible exception of Stone I didn't find any of the characters all that compelling in the first book, but as a group they are growing on me over time. Indigo Cloud takes its dysfunctional family on the road and must interact with groundlings regularly which gives Moon plenty of opportunity to leverage his past as an asset to help his new colony. The main group of characters feels like old friends by the time the end of this one rolls around and it leaves you wanting to move on to book 3 to spend more time with them.

Just as he did in Cloud Roads, Christopher Kipiniak does an excellent job on the narration of this one. Overall I would say I liked it more than the first book. The Serpent Sea successfully builds upon all that was good with Cloud Roads and the character development helps round this out into an enjoyable listen.

Excellent Series

Inventive and original from beginning to end, I have never heard another story like this series.

I didn't want it to end!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Enjoyed all of the well-developed characters thoroughly.

Which scene was your favorite?

Picturing the Island where the "floating ships" were....beautiful scenery come alive with words.

Any additional comments?

Again, I'll say I was sad to hear the end of this second book. I use audio books for commuting and there were many times I wished I could have sat in my car and listened longer!