Stories of the Raksura, Volume One: The Falling World & The Tale of Indigo and Cloud

by Martha Wells

Overview

In “The Falling World,” Jade, sister queen of the Indigo Cloud Court, has traveled with Chime and Balm to another Raksuran court. When she fails to return, her consort, Moon, along with Stone and a party of warriors and hunters, must track them down. Finding them turns out to be the easy part; freeing them from an ancient trap hidden in the depths of the Reaches is much more difficult.

“The Tale of Indigo and Cloud” explores the history of the Indigo Cloud Court, long before Moon was born. In the distant past, Indigo stole Cloud from Emerald Twilight. But in doing so, the reigning Queen Cerise and Indigo are now poised for a conflict that could spark war throughout all the courts of the Reaches.

Stories of Moon and the shape changers of Raksura have delighted readers 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 two brand-new novellas, Martha Wells shows that the world of the Raksura has many more stories to tell . . .

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781597805636
Publisher:	Night Shade Books
Publication date:	09/02/2014
Series:	Books of the Raksura Series
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	280,815
File size:	572 KB

About the Author

Martha Wells was born in Fort Worth, Texas, in 1964, and has a BA in anthropology from Texas A&M University. She is the author of ten previous novels, including The Cloud Roads, The Element of Fire, Wheel of the Infinite, the Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy, and the Nebula-nominated The Death of the Necromancer. She has also had short fiction published in Realms of Fantasy, Black Gate Magazine, Lone Star Stories, and the Tsunami Relief anthology Elemental, and has articles in the non-fiction anthologies Farscape Forever and Mapping the World of Harry Potter. She lives in College Station, Texas, with her husband.

Editorial Reviews

07/14/2014
Two novellas and two short stories expand the setting of Wells’s dreamlike fantasy novels. In “The Falling World,” a vanished envoy triggers a diplomatic crisis between two courts, and investigation reveals a long-forgotten tragedy. “The Tale of Indigo and Cloud” sets two queens against each other, with an unhappy consort as the prize. Familiar characters appear in “The Forest Boy,” a prequel to The Cloud Roads that examines a brief encounter between Moon and forest dwellers, and “Adaptation,” in which Chime deals with an unwanted transformation and its disquieting implications. Wells is adept at suggesting a long, complex history for her world with economy, and, while her protagonists may not be human as we understand it, they are definitely people, sympathetic figures constrained but not defeated by their environments. Longtime fans and new readers alike will enjoy Wells’s deft touch with characterization and the fantastic. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for Stories of the Raksura, Volume One and The Books of the Raksura
"Breathtakingly surprising and fun. Wells is a master worldbuilder.”—The New York Times

“Wildly original world-building, diverse and engaging characters, and a thrilling adventure plot. It’s that rarest of fantasies: fresh and surprising, with a story that doesn’t go where ten thousand others have gone before.“—N. K. Jemisin, author of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

“Truly inventive and stunningly imaginative world building perfectly melded with vivid, engaging characters make the Books of the Raksura one of my all-time favorite science-fiction series.”—Kate Elliott, author of the Crown of Stars series

“The characters in these stories are just as complex, diverse and sympathetic as in the novels. Their gender roles are explored believably, their actions are also believable and they have realistic problems. . . . The relationships and tensions between the characters are handled admirably.”—RisingShadow.net

“A strong set of stories that joyfully show new and extended aspects of a fascinating fantasy world.”—Paul Weimer, SF Signal

"That rarity—a completely unique and stunning fantasy world.”—Hugo Award-winning author Elizabeth Bear

“Martha Wells writes fantasy the way it was meant to be—poignant, evocative, and astonishing. Prepare to be captivated 'til the sun comes up.”—Kameron Hurley, author of The Mirror Empire and God's War

“With these books Wells is writing at the top of her game, and given their breadth, originality, complexity, this series is showing indications it could become one of the landmark series of the genre.”—Adventures Fantastic

“An imaginative world of engaging characters . . . the dramatic battles, tough decisions, and character dynamics shine through.”—Publishers Weekly

“Martha Wells' Raksura books are dense, and complex, with truly amazing world building, and non-human characters who are quite genuinely alien, yet still comprehensible and sympathetic.”—Kelly McCullough, author of the WebMage series and the Fallen Blade novels

Praise for Stories of the Raksura, Volume One and The Books of the Raksura
"Breathtakingly surprising and fun. Wells is a master worldbuilder.”—The New York Times

“Wildly original world-building, diverse and engaging characters, and a thrilling adventure plot. It’s that rarest of fantasies: fresh and surprising, with a story that doesn’t go where ten thousand others have gone before.“—N. K. Jemisin, author of The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms

“Truly inventive and stunningly imaginative world building perfectly melded with vivid, engaging characters make the Books of the Raksura one of my all-time favorite science-fiction series.”—Kate Elliott, author of the Crown of Stars series

“The characters in these stories are just as complex, diverse and sympathetic as in the novels. Their gender roles are explored believably, their actions are also believable and they have realistic problems. . . . The relationships and tensions between the characters are handled admirably.”—RisingShadow.net

“A strong set of stories that joyfully show new and extended aspects of a fascinating fantasy world.”—Paul Weimer, SF Signal

"That rarity—a completely unique and stunning fantasy world.”—Hugo Award-winning author Elizabeth Bear

“Martha Wells writes fantasy the way it was meant to be—poignant, evocative, and astonishing. Prepare to be captivated 'til the sun comes up.”—Kameron Hurley, author of The Mirror Empire and God's War

“With these books Wells is writing at the top of her game, and given their breadth, originality, complexity, this series is showing indications it could become one of the landmark series of the genre.”—Adventures Fantastic

“An imaginative world of engaging characters . . . the dramatic battles, tough decisions, and character dynamics shine through.”—Publishers Weekly

“Martha Wells' Raksura books are dense, and complex, with truly amazing world building, and non-human characters who are quite genuinely alien, yet still comprehensible and sympathetic.”—Kelly McCullough, author of the WebMage series and the Fallen Blade novels

From the Publisher