Stories of the Raksura, Volume 2

The Dead City & the Dark Earth Below

By: Martha Wells

Narrated by: Christopher Kipiniak

Length: 9 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's summary

Moon, Jade, and other favorites from the Indigo Cloud Court return with two new novellas from Martha Wells.

Martha Wells continues to enthusiastically ignore genre conventions in her exploration of the fascinating world of the Raksura. Her novellas and short stories contain all the elements fans have come to love from the Raksura books: courtly intrigue and politics, unfolding mysteries that reveal an increasingly strange wider world, and threats both mundane and magical.

"The Dead City" is a tale of Moon before he came to the Indigo Court. As Moon is fleeing the ruins of Saraseil, a groundling city destroyed by the Fell, he flies right into another potential disaster when a friendly caravanserai finds itself under attack by a strange force.

In "The Dark Earth Below," Moon and Jade face their biggest adventure yet: their first clutch. But even as Moon tries to prepare for impending fatherhood, members of the Kek village in the colony tree's roots go missing, and searching for them only leads to more mysteries as the court is stalked by an unknown enemy.

Stories of Moon and the shape changers of Raksura have delighted readers and listeners for years. This world is a dangerous place full of strange mysteries, where the future can never be taken for granted and must always be fought for with wits and ingenuity, and often tooth and claw. With these two new novellas, Martha Wells shows that the world of the Raksura has many more stories to tell.

©2015 Martha Wells (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Enriching this already stunning world

Would you consider the audio edition of Stories of the Raksura, Volume 2 to be better than the print version?

I haven't read it in print, but I have always enjoyed the audio book version of this series.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Stories of the Raksura, Volume 2?

The incredible sadness I felt for the groundling people in The Dead City, once it's revealed what happened there.

What about Christopher Kipiniak’s performance did you like?

Everything about it. See my reviews of the book series proper for more detail, but I adore him and the way he does voices of all these characters.

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

Dragonpeople caught in timeloop; Man gets Gifts For Wife's Successful Quintuplets

Any additional comments?

It's an incredible series that will satisfy world building affectionados, but also someone who loves

Engaging

Yes, the short stories and novellas are not in perfect chronological order, but I found them, and main protagonist Moon, to be completely engaging. I certainly will go on to read the rest of the series.
I did find the use of deep, gravely voices for many of the female characters to be disconcerting. I don't know if that was a narrator choice or coaching from the author. Based on the voices, I would judge a character as male, only to be wrong. just another lesson not to judge gender by voice.

I I enjoyed reading their struggles and challenges

an interesting kind of anthology. focus on one species in the many different things that can happen in their lives over a long time.. and then put them in the world with lots of its own adventures. I liked it. some things for predictable that's how is everything in life so that wasn't too bad. It was just very refreshing to watch the author write a new world alive. sometimes it would be cool if some things could be woven in they're completely alien to us and our imaginations but that's a tall task for anybody.

Adds welcome texture and detail to Raksuran World

If you have enjoyed to the Stories of the Raksura, but still felt as though there were details missing/left unexlplored due to the pace and action of previous novels, then you will thoroughly enjoy this collection. The narration is spot on, per usual and although there is certainly a healthy dose of action, I found the best part of this collection was in the small details. This book explores unanswered questions about clutches and clutching, relationship dynamics, and even glimpses into completely different parts of this world unrelated to the Raksura, resulting in a satisfying and engaging read.

That is not say this stories aren't filled with action, as there is plenty action, but it was the small details I enjoyed most. Wells takes time seemlessly weave more vivid descriptions characters and setting that may have felt to be lacking in the major novels.

I would absolutely recommend reading/listing to this collection if you've been a fan of the Raksura.

Pacing was good, details were refreshing and welcomed and it's an easy listen.

I can't wait to see where Wells goes next in this fascinating universe that is clearly rich with details and stories waiting to be explored.