Review: Stories of the Raksura: The Falling World & The Tale of Indigo and Cloud

Stories of the Raksura: The Falling World & The Tale of Indigo and Cloud by Martha Wells

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



First of all, for those of you who already know these gems that are the Raksura and love them, I found both novellas to be complex and surprisingly satisfying for their shorter length. They sucked me right back into the world, and I really loved them. There are also two short stories included, which were a fun bonus when I wasn't ready to let go yet, but they were too short for me. I just can’t be satisfied with such tiny snippets, but the novellas did feel complete enough to be filling little bites.

Now, if you are a Fantasy fan at all and you haven’t read the original trilogy yet, go do that right away! It starts with The Cloud Roads. I highly recommend the whole series. It is unlike anything else I've read, one of the most imaginative worlds I've experienced, and deserves so much more attention. If there’s one series that I believe more people need at least to try, it’s this one. It’s so different from any typical Fantasy that I have a hard time describing it. It's truly a breath of fresh air.

I really love the world of the Raksura - the individuals, their culture and even their mannerisms. When the trilogy ended, I was so sad to leave them all behind. But Wells apparently agrees with me that there is plenty of room for more, and delivered these new novellas to read. I'm desperately hoping there will be many more, including - dare I? - more full length novels. But for now, I am happy.

The first novella, The Falling World, takes place about six months after the end of the trilogy, so we get to see all of our old friends again. The scrape they get into has plenty of danger and suspense packed into it, as well as details of a more settled court life and politics between courts.

The second novella, The Tale of Indigo and Cloud, is a prequel that takes us back to the story of what happened when Indigo stole Cloud. This one focuses more on tense court politics, and we get to see the Reaches back when they were more populated and the courts were stronger. I was afraid I wouldn’t be as interested because it was all new characters (except for one surprise cameo appearance), but I loved it just as much.

So, if you haven’t read the original trilogy yet, start there, and then be thankful that you have some more crumbs to eat when you’re finished because these novellas are fantastic as well. I wanted to read slower so I could stay in the world for a while, and I'm eagerly awaiting the next lot.

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Sept 8, 2014:

I really loved these novellas and I'm sad to be finished with Raksura stories again. Review to come.

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September 2, 2014:

I might have to bump all my other currently-reading books for this tonight. So excited!

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March 7, 2014:

Wait - a new Raksura book??? This could save 2014.



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