Read Ebook {PDF EPUB} The Serpent Sea by Martha Wells Lela E. Buis. This novel is volume 2 of the Books of the Raksura . It was originally published in 2012 by Nightshade Books and runs 356 pages. The series remains a popular read and seems to have a dedicated fan base, compendiums, etc. In 2018 it received a Hugo nomination for Best Series. This review contains spoilers. Moon has settled into Indigo Cloud’s community and accepted sister-queen Jade’s overtures to become her consort. Because of Fell influence in their current location, reigning-queen Pearl has decided to move the colony back to their ancestral home in the Reaches. In the nearby Golden Isles, they contract for flying boats to transport the Arbora and clutches of young. They make a safe trip, but then find someone has stolen the heartstone seed from their mountain tree home. The living habitat will die without it, and the colony will have nowhere to go. Can they track the thieves across the Serpent Sea and get the seed back? Wells hits her stride with the second installment of this story. Character personalities come into strong focus as frictions erupt between the characters due to the close quarters on the boats and the heavy work load in getting the ancestral home back into working order. Then there are relations with other Raksura colonies in the area that cause even more frictions. On the mission to rescue the seed, Moon encounters a feral solitary, and at first has sympathy as he understands the Raksura’s loneliness, but finally realizes the other has brought on his own problems. The colony strikes up an enduring friendship with the Golden Isles trading family that owns the flying boats. On the less positive side, the lack of structure in the Three Worlds continues to bother me. Each community features different species of humanoids and animals, and seems to have developed a different technology. Fantastical beasts appear around every corner. It’s clear Wells is making this up as she goes along. Regardless of niggles, this is an excellent adventure and with snappy, entertaining character interactions. Martha Wells Books In Order. Publication Order of Star Wars: Empire and Rebellion Books. Razor's Edge (2013) Hardcover Paperback Kindle. Publication Order of Anthologies. From a Certain Point of View: The Empire Strikes Back (2020) Hardcover Paperback Kindle. Martha Wells is the bestselling American author of Fantasy, Science Fiction and Science Fiction Fantasy novels. She was born in Texas in the United States. Wells became a published novelist in 1993 after her first novel The Element of Fire the debut novel in Ile-Rien series was published. Since then Wells has published over five book series, three standalone novels, collections, and contributed to writing Stargate Atlantis and short stories such as Bad Medicine (1997), and Reliquary (1995). The second novel in Ile-Rien series, The Death of Necromancer was nominated for Nebula Awards Best Novel category. Wells graduated with a B.A. Degree in Anthropology; she resides in College Station, Texas with her beloved husband. The Cloud Roads. The Cloud Roads is the debut novel in Books of the Raksura series. The story introduces Moon a shape-shifter, but the problem is that he does not know what he is. He transforms into a dragon like a creature with claws, wings and black scales. His family was killed when he was a small boy, and he is the only survivor in his family. His mother, sister, and three brothers all died and ever since their death (thirty-five) years/turns, he never discovered what he was and had to adjust to this scary and mysterious world alone. All the years he had been alone, Moon lived in the “dark” with the Groundlings trying to make a home for himself. However, he knew well that his hiding would never last forever and each time he would be discovered, and he would be chased out almost killed. Surprisingly, this would happen when the groundlings saw his other shifter form; this is because, his humanoid black scaled body when transformed closely resembles the most deadly predators on their planet- the Fell. However despite all the hints, Moon understands well that he is not one of the Fell (dangerous predators), but explaining this to the dumb groundlings would be another entirely different story. He is used to getting kicked and endured worst treatment, but now he can’t stand the loneliness anymore and therefore decides to seek company regardless of the cost. In the village of Cordons, the latest settlement where he was a resident for a long time, the rumors of seeing the Fell creatures in the area started circulating. Once the stories start spreading, he is discovered by the woman he was in a relationship with. Not realizing that his cover has been compromised, he does not notice anything strange until the villagers drug him with a poison that paralyzes the Fell, which makes him unable to shift and traps him into something between his two forms. He is hogtied, left alone to be ripped and eaten by other predators.) However as the others, wild beasts are ready to make a meal out of Moon, the rumored predator, “Fell” kills the animal and vanishes away with the moon. Shocked and out of his mind possibly because he is most likely to be eaten by this monster thrice his size, Moon doesn’t cooperate. However, what Moon later learns sends him into an epic adventure that will see him question everything he has ever believed. The debut novel is a prime fantasy set in a world where there is no earth like humans at all and the only creatures that closely resemble human beings are the groundlings. There about a dozen of groundlings species and very few of them resemble human beings. The Raksura shapeshifters are the closest thing that resembles human. This book is a high fantasy with settings including consorts, queens, courts, rulers and a minion, flying ships, flying islands, unique flora and fauna, flying boats, in other words, this is a world, unlike planet Earth. What makes the tale unique is the fact that it features reversed gender roles. The female characters in the story are strong, maintain peace and are a terror in the sky. Some female warriors form a strong security force when together. There are different races, cultures and this is explained in various stages which makes it entirely believable. The story is told only from the third person perspective. Wells has done a brilliant job when it comes to characterization. All her characters are unique and bond with the readers a factor that makes this novel interesting. There is Moon, the shape-shifter who knows nothing about his race and family. At first, he is afraid, solitary rogue, curious, cautious and also careful due to his experiences in the past. Then there is Stone a member of the Indigo Cloud Court. He is patient, kind but also a fierce warrior. Other characters you will encounter in the story include Chime, Jade, and Pearl who blend well in this narrative and contribute to the overall story building. The Serpent Sea. Once a solitary wanderer, Moon has become a life time partner to Jade, one of the sister queen of the Indigo Cloud Court. Now, the two travels alongside with their people on flying ships with the hope of finding a new colony that they would call it home. At last, Moon feels that he has found a tribe and a family where he belongs. However, when they reach their ancestral home of Indigo Cloud cloaked within the trunk of a massive tree, a mountain sized one; they find out that blight is infecting the tree core. Just in the proximity, they discover the remains of invaders who could be responsible for the disease and also find evidence of a disastrous theft. This shocking discovery sends hunters of Indigo Cloud led by Moon on a journey to locate the heart stone of the tree, a trip that will take them into new lands far away across the Serpent Sea. The second book in The Books of the Raksura is a brilliant one. Moon, the main character in this fantasy novel, still cannot fit in even though he has found a place in the society and he is happy with Jade. He is unhappy regarding his social standing since most of those around him still dislike him. Jade is protective of Moon and cares very much about him. She is happy that Moon accepted her courting gifts and agreed to stay with her. Overall The Serpent Sea is an impressive and excellent sequel to a brilliant series from a bestselling author. One Response to “Martha Wells” When is the next murderbot diary? I just finished binge reading the lot and find myself reeling in withdrawal. You must either deliver a new installment or provide a 10 step group to fill the abyss and prevent self harm….. we are all now helpless in your hands … helpless, helpless, helpless ….. The Serpent Sea by Martha Wells ePub download. “The Serpent Sea by Martha Wells” If you want a strong, courageous, downright and heart wrenching novel, this is it. You can read this novel online or download it in PDF or ePub format. Summary of “The Serpent Sea by Martha Wells” “The Serpent Sea by Martha Wells” is one of the best novels to read at every age. This novel tells a perfect story of pure love, care and importance of family in human life. It begins with slow but after few pages you will start enjoying it. This story is so beautiful and complete that even old age readers will enjoy it. There are many life lessons in this novel that will help you to understand the true meaning of life. Unexpected twists and turns reflect the beauty of author’s writing and great story telling skills. All the characters are well developed and injected timely in the story. Each and every page of the story will keep you on edge from beginning to till the last word. To cut the story short, if you are looking for an ideal and great novel with beautiful story, we highly recommend you to bag this impressive novel. Some Useful eBooks Details; Title & Author: “The Serpent Sea by Martha Wells “ Series: None Language: English Formats: PDF, ePub Status: Available for Download Genre: Fiction & Literature, Price: Free. Download ePub/PDF. Click on the button given below to download ePub/PDF Free of cost. It is a neat and clean download with original quality of ePub and PDF. The Serpent Sea – Martha Wells. If there weren’t plenty of evidence against it, I’d think that the Martha Wells who wrote this book and the one who wrote City of Bones are completely different people. City of Bones and Wells’ other early books are interesting and well written. The Raksura books, on the other hand, are distinctly average. Wells has come up with an interesting world for the Raksura, so it’s not a failure of invention that plagues the series (though there are weak points, like cost-free magic). Most writers get better as they age (unless they get distracted by particular obsessions), but Wells’ Raksura books simply don’t seem very well constructed. There’s a pervasive feeling of action for the sake of plot, rather than as a result of natural character choices. For example, late in the book, some of the characters have escaped danger, and should be free to go. For no reason at all, they presume antagonism in a new set of encounters. It’s clearly meant to heighten the tension, but fails because there’s simply no reason for it to happen. It’s confounding and frustrating rather than exciting. There are similar moments throughout, as if Wells has mysteriously lost her ability to construct credible characters and story. Because so many character actions don’t make sense, the story is not very interesting to follow. The story is unfortunately also an entry in the ‘might makes right’ subgenre. Most of the character relations in the book are based heavily and often explicitly on ‘do as I say or I’ll beat you up’. Happily for us, our hero is bigger, stronger, and meaner than the bad guys. It’s a lazy and distinctly unappealing approach to character building; even Conan had a little more depth. There’s a distinct racial/speci-al element to the story as well, with the Raksura treating groundlings (humans) as a distinctly lower class. There’s never much introspection about this. The Raksura are simply high- handed in how they treat other species, and they get away with it without a second thought. For example, one ‘waterling’ who answers their questions (a bit grudgingly) is dumped far out of his way because … why not, if that’s what the Raksura feel like? Equally unappealing is the double standard the Raksura use. When they do something, well, they’re good guys. When others do the same, it’s shocking! There’s not much character recognition of this, even when the parallels are painfully obvious. There are other inconsistencies in the story and setting. They’d be minor issues if it weren’t for the above, though there are a few key points that simply make no sense, including one related to the core of the story – the special seed they spend so much time searching for. I used the word ‘lazy​ to describe the writing. Perhaps that​s harsh, but I’m not sure what else to think. There’s a lot good in this series, but so many flaws that it just doesn’t work. Yet Wells’ early books were quite good. Perhaps she’s under time or other pressure. Whatever the cause, the result is far from the skilled presentation I expected. Some people clearly like the series, but my feeling is that if you loved City of Bones , you’ll be pretty disappointed by the Books of the Raksura . The title, by the way, is misleading. There​s a sea, certainly, but little in the way of serpents. The Serpent Sea by Martha Wells. Anthony Huso author of The Last Page (review here ) Brandon Sanderson author of The Way of Kings (review here ) Lou Anders Editor of Pyr Books. Ian Tregillis author of Bitter Seeds (review here) Sam Sykes author of Tome of the Undergates (review here ) Benjamin Parzybok author of Couch (review here) Kristine Kathryn Rusch author of Diving Into the Wreck (review here) Ken Scholes author of Lamentation. Cherie Priest author of Boneshaker ( review here ) Character Interviews. RECENT REVIEWS. Publisher Blogs. Author Blogs. Popular Features. Popular Articles. Lists. Contact. Review Blogs. Disclaimer. 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Martha Wells is one of those "where have you been all my life writers" having only discovered her last year with The Cloud Roads . But the best thing about finding an already established author is they have plenty of older works to tide you over until the newest book is released. She is the author of twelve novels, including the Nebula-nominated The Death of the Necromancer , as well as a number of short stories and nonfiction articles. Her first novel, The Element of Fire , was published by Tor in hardcover in July 1993 and was a finalist for the 1993 Compton Crook/Stephen Tall Award and a runner-up for the 1994 Crawford Award. The French edition, Le feu primordial, was a 2003 Imaginales Award nominee. Her third novel The Death of the Necromancer (Avon Eos) was a 1998 Nebula Award Nominee and the French edition was a 2002 Imaginales Award nominee. Her most recent release is the Fantasy The Serpent Sea , sequel to The Cloud Roads , both from Night Shade books. MH: Thanks for joining us today, Martha. You've now published about a dozen novels and been nominated for numerous awards including the Nebula. Was there ever a moment when you felt like you made it as a writer? WELLS: Not really. There are a lot of moments that stand out for me. Nothing beats finding out you've sold your first novel. Except possibly finding out I had sold The Cloud Roads and The Serpent Sea after a three year sales drought. Finding out I was nominated for the Nebula award for The Death of the Necromancer was wonderful, once I'd been persuaded to believe that it was actually happening. My mother had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's that year, so it was a very stressful time, and that was one of the few bright spots in the year. Nowadays, unless you have a super-mega-hit bestseller, I don't think you ever make it as a writer permanently. I think you have to make it all over again, prove yourself all over again, with each book. MH: The Cloud Roads portrays a world with a seemingly endless history of immense cultures and species that have risen and fallen. There are no humans per se in the world, but many that are humanoid. What made you want to develop this world in such a manner? WELLS: I wanted to do something different. The last fantasy novels I'd written were the Ile-Rien trilogy, where I was working with two different worlds: Ile-Rien, which was heavily based on 1920s France and Europe in general, and already had a background of history that I'd established in The Element of Fire and The Death of the Necromancer , and the alternate world of Cineth, which had Greek and Roman influences and a more sword and sorcery feel. I did enjoy using historical settings as inspiration, but I felt like it was time to really push myself to do something beyond that. I also wanted to get back to the SF/F novels I'd read when I was growing up, the ones I used to find in the library when I should have been staying in the children's fiction section. The ones with wild pulp covers and two moons and people riding animals with three eyes and horns and being green for no reason. I really enjoyed those books, and I wanted to recapture that sense of wonder, and that feeling of starting out somewhere strange and travelling somewhere even stranger. That's always been one of my favorite things about SF/F. I like to read about places where I have no idea what's going to be over the next hill or around the corner. MH: Is it any different or harder to write so many non-human characters. Most Fantasy books have at least one focal human while the Raksura books don't feature any. WELLS: I don't think it's different or harder. I do the characterization in basically the same way. I try to think about what this person's life would be like, what their likes, dislikes, loves, fears, and so on would be. All that is affected by physical appearance and abilities, the environment where the characters live. When the person you're characterizing isn't human, you just have to use more of your imagination. MH: You just recently finished the first draft of the third Raksura book. Any details you can tell us? Title perhaps? The Serpent Sea sees Moon and company travel to another colony. Are things getting more Epic? Do we get to learn more mysteries of this world? WELLS: I actually haven't decided on a title yet. With every book I've done, I either hit on the title effortlessly at some point while I'm writing it, or I finish the book without a title and agonize over trying to pick a good one. With this book I'm in the agonize stage now. There is a lot more in it about Moon's past and what happened to the court he originally came from, and it brings the whole story full circle, I think. They encounter the Fell again, too. MH: By the same note do you see yourself doing anything else placed on this world? It seems so rich that you might be able to even do something in the deep past of the world given how many cultures have risen and fallen over the eons. WELLS: I think that's a definite possibility, and I know I'd like to do more books set there, either with the Raksura or with another set of characters. It's a fun world to explore. I have written one short story set in the Three Worlds with different characters than the books. It's "The Almost-Last Voyage of the Windship Escarpment" and it's posted for free on my web site. MH: You just announced you've got a contract for the third Raksura book so big congratulations are in order! Do you have any celebration rituals when you sell a new book? WELLS: Thanks! I don't really have any one thing that I do, except collapse in relief. Usually I go out to dinner with my husband, but the day I got the email about the third book, I was about to leave to drive to ConDFW in Dallas. So it was a lot of fun getting to see some friends there and tell them in person. Going to a convention is a great way to celebrate! MH: What is the greatest advice you've even been given as a writer? WELLS: I've been given a lot of great advice over the years, but I think the best critique I've had was from Bruce Sterling at a Turkey City Writers Workshop in Austin, Texas. This was a few years before I sold my first book, and I'd been trying to write short stories. He was very good at breaking down the prose and telling you exactly why this one sentence worked and exactly why this one didn't. It was the most helpful workshop I ever went to. MH: You've published a couple media tie-in novels in the Stargate universe. Is that something you'd consider again? Was it very different from writing your own original fiction? WELLS: I wouldn't do it again unless it was a show I loved as much as I did Stargate: Atlantis. I'd been watching SG1 since the first season, so I was already a big Stargate fan when SGA started airing, and the first season had me hooked. The only thing that was different from my original fiction was that I had to work hard to match the character's voices to the actors' performances, and to make sure I was getting the details of the technology right. I felt a big obligation to try to get everything right, and to come up with an adventure that would mesh with the kinds of things they do on the show. I really enjoyed writing those characters, so I had a lot of fun with those two books. It was very different from what I had been writing in my fantasy novels, and I think it was a creative break that I really needed. MH: Many people discuss how e-books are the future and you've been re-releasing many of your older titles. What has your experience been like so far? Do you feel like they've helped your career and exposure in some way? WELLS: It's been a pretty good experience. The one that was the most work was Wheel of the Infinite . I didn't have a Word file of the final version of the book to use, so I had to cut apart a hardcover to scan it. That was a surprisingly unpleasant thing to have to do; destroying a book felt very, very wrong, even though I was doing it for a good reason. I don't think having them available has helped my career or exposure any. I think they're mainly found/bought by people who are already searching for my name on Amazon or Barnes and Noble. It's mainly nice to have them still easily available to new readers who have read The Cloud Roads or The Serpent Sea and want to check out my older books. MH: Now on to the important stuff. What is your favorite type of hat? WELLS: I have a floppy canvas hat that I love, mainly because I can roll it up and cram it into a pocket without hurting it. MH: What's the book you're most looking forward to this year? WELLS: There are a lot of books I'm looking forward to, but I think the one that's coming up the soonest is The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin. MH: That's on my list as well. Is there anything you like to add to close us out? WELLS: My web site is http://www.marthawells.com and has sample chapters of all my books, free short stories, and lots of other stuff. I also just put up an "extras" section for The Cloud Roads and The Serpent Sea , with the short stories, a missing scene from The Cloud Roads , some information on the world, etc. It's at http://www.raksura.com. Posted by Mad Hatter Review at 9:30 AM 4 comments: I have been a long-time reader of Martha Wells and have nothing but good things to say about her works. I only fault her for not writing enough! More, more, more. I am really looking forward to her third book in the Raksura series, but we have to wait until 2013. She also just finished a section on her website dedicated to the three worlds in the books for us fans. "being green for no reason" is my new favourite phrase! I am well into Cloud Roads and I think she has captured that essence of the fantastic she refers to. Does remind me a little of Jack Vance, in the way communities are introduced with a few well chosen descriptions and characteristics, and are then part of the story, without further explanation, just getting on with their lives. I haven't read some of her latest books, but I've been a big fan of Martha Wells ever since I read The Death of the Necromancer when it came out in 1998--seminal Steampunk before the more recent swell of popularity. Can't recommend that one enough. The Element of Fire and City of Bones are also excellent. One good thing about doing a Google search on fantasy is finding an interview like this one.