schneefink (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
schneefink) wrote2016-11-16 12:47 am
schneefink) wrote2016-11-16 12:47 am
Books of the Raksura 1-3
Soo today I read three books and blinked and the day was over. Not sure how that happened lie. I read the first three Raksura books by Martha Wells and enjoyed them very much.
I had "The Cloud Roads" at home as a paperback for a few years and I remembered reading it, but that I didn't especially like it, and I even thought of leaving it behind when I moved. (I can't even remember why I picked it up again yesterday, maybe I just saw it on the shelf?) Looking back, I think that was during a time when I was very tired of Chosen One storylines, so I was annoyed by Moon being an oh-so-rare and important and special consort from the beginning. I also remember being a lot more annoyed by the biologically supported caste system than I was this time (I think I was reading a lot of D/s AUs.)
I like the worldbuilding of the series, especially the many different races and cultures. I like the characters, Moon and Jade and Chime and Stone and the others, and how they relate to each other, and the social structure of the court(s). (I think Chime might be my favorite.) I like the descriptions, with some exceptions they work well for me. I liked the plots mostly as well, especially for the h/c.
I didn't read the fourth book yet because a) I looked at the time and noticed that it was midnight, oops; and b) I saw in reviews that book 4 ends on a big cliffhanger, and since book 5 is coming out in half a year I thought I could wait that long. Not sure that resolve will last longer than a few days, but I'll see. There seems to be some good fic on AO3, I'll try that first.
I had "The Cloud Roads" at home as a paperback for a few years and I remembered reading it, but that I didn't especially like it, and I even thought of leaving it behind when I moved. (I can't even remember why I picked it up again yesterday, maybe I just saw it on the shelf?) Looking back, I think that was during a time when I was very tired of Chosen One storylines, so I was annoyed by Moon being an oh-so-rare and important and special consort from the beginning. I also remember being a lot more annoyed by the biologically supported caste system than I was this time (I think I was reading a lot of D/s AUs.)
I like the worldbuilding of the series, especially the many different races and cultures. I like the characters, Moon and Jade and Chime and Stone and the others, and how they relate to each other, and the social structure of the court(s). (I think Chime might be my favorite.) I like the descriptions, with some exceptions they work well for me. I liked the plots mostly as well, especially for the h/c.
I didn't read the fourth book yet because a) I looked at the time and noticed that it was midnight, oops; and b) I saw in reviews that book 4 ends on a big cliffhanger, and since book 5 is coming out in half a year I thought I could wait that long. Not sure that resolve will last longer than a few days, but I'll see. There seems to be some good fic on AO3, I'll try that first.
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Chime is also my favorite!
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I'm not overly excited for the plot of book 4 - I thought the whole "an ancient evil trapped underwater has been instructing the Fell to crossbreed with Raksura because only a Forerunner can release it from its prison" was almost too contrived (especially because we had little evidence of different kinds of magic being strictly race-based or, idk, gene-locked before), and the summary of book 4 says it is related to that so I'm a bit skeptical - but I'm looking forward to more character interactions :) Fortunately for that fic can be a good substitute.
Chime is so great! I think one reason of why I find his position so interesting, in addition to his fascinating transition from mentor to warrior, is that in Raksura society poly relationships are the norm and in our world not. For Chime it's clearly natural that he's not Moon's main partner, because Moon is a consort and Jade is his queen, and it may not ever occur to him to wish things were different, but it's hard for me to imagine that there would be no occasions of if not jealousy then at least wishes Moon had more time/consideration for him. Cultural differences.