The Siren Depths

By: Martha Wells

Narrated by: Christopher Kipiniak

Length: 15 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's Summary

All his life, Moon roamed the Three Worlds, a solitary wanderer forced to hide his true nature - until he was reunited with his own kind, the Raksura, and found a new life as consort to Jade, sister queen of the Indigo Cloud court. But now a rival court has laid claim to him, and Jade may or may not be willing to fight for him. Beset by doubts, Moon must travel in the company of strangers to a distant realm where he will finally face the forgotten secrets of his past, even as an old enemy returns with a vengeance. The Fell, a vicious race of shape-shifting predators, menaces groundlings and Raksura alike. Determined to crossbreed with the Raksura for arcane purposes, they are driven by an ancient voice that cries out from… The Siren Depths.

©2012 Martha Wells (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

Excellence in Worldbuilding

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

I have recommended and will continue to recommend The Tales of the Raksura series but no one listens to me. Just in case, though... If you are looking for a series of fantasy novels that defy Tolkien-true tropes, this series for you. Set in the Three Worlds, a world whose geography and inhabitants are almost wholly unfamiliar from our own, Martha Wells' flying dragon shifters are so familiar to us because of their humanity. I love this series wholeheartedly. Start with The Could Roads. Our hero, Moon, doesn't even know what he is or where he's from. That's wonderful for the reader because we get to know the Raksura and the Three Worlds as Moon searches for a place to call home. Then, in the second novel, The Serpent Seas, Moon and members of the Indigo Cloud court have to fight to make their home safe and secure. This third novel very satisfactorily answers our remaining questions about who Moon really is and where he's from. It's lovely how the author turns traditional gender roles around and then has her characters subvert them some more. Brilliant.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I can't begin to choose. Okay, Moon first. He's prickly and prone to fighting and loyal and honorable. Then, Stone who is even more prickly, prone to fighting and is ancient, to boot.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Malachite refers to Moon and Jade as children (even though she's telling them to shut up), I knew that she had accepted Jade as Moon's queen, even though it means he must leave her and his new found home.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Moon's past catches up with him.

Throughout the first two books of this series, the lead character, Moon, has struggled to find his place within Raksuran society. After forty turns spent growing up amongst groundlings his re-integration into the world of the Raksuran has been an endless series of learning experiences. Moon has struggled to know what he wants at times but by the end of book two he becomes determined to make his place in the Indigo Cloud court work out for both him and them.

All of that gets tossed up in the air when his birth court finds out that he is alive and now Moon faces a threat of a different kind. Moon has never fit in anywhere all of his life and now he finds himself with reasons to fit in to multiple places. However, all is not what it seems at his birth court and an external threat by the dreaded Fell takes priority. Once again Moon finds himself in the thick of the conflict and he must battle his own feelings at the same time that he battles the Fell.

Moon's story comes full circle in The Siren Depths and Martha Wells fills in a lot of the blanks. Christopher Kipiniak delivers another excellent performance and this acts as a fitting end to a unique trilogy. All of the main story threads are tied together nicely and Moon's time as a solitary is certainly over.

4 of 5 people found this review helpful

Great "Conclusion"

While the book leaves open possible opportunity for more (hopefully), it neatly closes most of the back-story elements of the 1st two books and even provides much of the pre-history that moved the 1st two books forward. The author manages to propel the characters into yet another new situation (this time more politically oriented initially) without loosing a step. I'm very impressed with the author's skills as she has managed to create 3 separate storylines in 3 books that are non-repetitive and leave you wishing for more.

5 of 7 people found this review helpful

Wells needs to wright more on this story line

Finally more of the culture is revealed. I just love this story. More must be made. This one focused more on the main characters culture which makes me happy.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Really good listen

All I can say if you liked the first two books you will really enjoy this part of series. Because it shows where Moon comes from and how previous events changed his life.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Siren Depths

I like the books in this series and hope that there are more. It is a different type of other world and quite interesting.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

I love them all.

I have all 5 books on Kindle and 4 of the books on audible. The narration for all the books is excellent and easy to listen to which I have multiple times. I hope Audible gets the last book the harbour of the sun soon because it's not fun getting to the last book and not being able to finish the series.

Great stories

I love the series so much that I have to force myself to take a break and listen to something else or I will run out forever which would be sad

Fun book, not my favorite narrator

Like the previous booms in the series, The Siren Depths delivers a fast-paced story in a vivid world. Also like the prior books, the audiobook narrator is a bit heavy-handed with characterization when it comes to voicing characters. He's improved some since the earlier books, though--eirher that, or I've just got used to him.

The adventure continues

Absolutely wonderful! Great story, great narration. Could not put it down. Perfect listening pleasure. Yay!