We’re finally at the last of the Books of the Raksura. It’s been a thrilling few months of reading my way through this series. Honestly, I didn’t expect to love it as much as I did. Every time I picked up a new book, I’d try to pace myself but end up inhaling it over the course of a couple days. I just couldn’t put them down. I’m gonna miss my little dragon people. Cheers to my favorite fantasy thruple, Moon, Jade, and Chime.
Let’s do some quick housekeeping first. Stories of the Raksura Volume 1 (2014) contains: novellas written for the collection “The Tale of Indigo and Cloud” and “The Falling World,” and short stories “The Forest Boy” (2009) and “Adaptation” (2012). Stories of the Raksura Volume 2 (2015) contains: novellas written for the collection “The Dead City” and “The Dark Earth Below,” and short stories “Mimesis” (2013), “The Almost Last Voyage of the Wind-ship Escarpment” (2011), and “Trading Lesson” (2013). There’s also a short story in another anthology, Mech: Age of Steel, but I’m skipping it. I may go back and pick up the scattered short fiction she’s had published in other anthologies and speculative fiction magazines, but right now I’m keeping things simple.
“The Tale of Indigo and Cloud” is set turns and turns ago when Indigo, of Umber Shadow, and Cloud, of Emerald Twilight by way of Sunset Water, are barely into adulthood. They give into their youthful impulses in a potentially catastrophic way. While visiting Emerald Twilight on a trading mission, Indigo steals Cloud, consort of one of the sister queens, away. Except turns out he actually manipulated her into it. Cloud is miserable in his partnership with Beryl, who is just as miserable but too proud to admit it. Both Indigo and Cloud are attracted to each other but too embarrassed to admit it. And queen Cerise and consort Paragon are equal parts exasperated and enamored by the young adults but definitely not afraid to admit it. The confrontation between Beryl and Indigo threatens to spill into a Reaches-wide war until Indigo displays some of the cleverness she’ll eventually pass down to Pearl and Jade to get out of it with her life and her man intact.
Of all the stories in the volumes, this may be my favorite, in no small part because fledgling Stone makes an adorable appearance. Stone clearly learned a lot from Paragon, not just how to be a consort but how to balance “I do what I want” and “ You are exhausting me, go away.” This story also shows that as much as the Raksura like to claim they adhere to strict social rules of appropriate behavior, breaking those rules is awfully common. Raksuran culture grows because of these breaks in tradition. Indigo Cloud was born from a daring act, so it’s no surprise the court is the way it is by the time Jade and Moon turn up. Emerald Twilight seems to have always been stodgy and overly formal. Cloud, who was born into a rural and fairly informal court, chafes at the regulations and hierarchies in his new home. It sounds like he went through much of what Moon did when he first moved into Indigo Cloud, but Cloud didn’t have a Jade, Stone, or Chime to protect and teach him.
Set not long after The Siren Depths is “The Falling World.” Jade, Chime, and Balm fail to return after a trading mission to another court, so Moon, Stone, and a contingent of warriors and hunters, go after them. The missing Raksura are found in the ruins of an ancient city and trapped in magic like insects in amber. It takes a lot of ingenuity and bravery (plus all of what little patience Moon and Stone have left) to free them. It mirrors in a way the origin story for Indigo Cloud Court in how the past plays out in the present in unexpected ways. The Raksura are trapped by a spell gone wrong cast by a sorcerer trying to save his people from another power-hungry sorcerer. The past literally comes back to haunt the present. We forget our history at our peril.
With “The Dead City” we meet Moon shortly after he killed a Fell ruler and escaped the destroyed city of Saraseil. He arrives in a lakeside village about the same time as a battalion of spider-like creatures referred to as “miners” by the local groundlings. The miners are digging up a city of the dead the former inhabitant, the Cedar-rin, sealed up generations ago. For what purposes remains unclear, but Moon knows it can’t be good. Funnily enough, while reading this, it reminded me a bit of the Jack Reacher books by Lee Child. A vagabond wanders into a new town with nothing but the clothes on his back and a desire to keep moving. He stops just long enough to get pulled into some local trouble where a big bad is terrorizing the innocent civilians. He uses his brute strength to defeat the baddies and leaves before the locals can convince him to stay. Only difference is Reacher likes being on the move and Cloud is only travelling because it’s either that or curl up and die.
Wells echoes this sentiment in “The Dark Earth Below,” set just before The Edge of Worlds. Several Kek are found dead near a floating leaf boat occupied by a sealing and swamplings, all of whom are unconscious. An invisible creature, an Onde, sneaks into the colony tree, but it’s mortally wounded and mostly hides from the Raksura. Another groundling wearing the skin of a dead Onde terrorizes the Kek and invades the colony tree. Eventually, the Raksura are able to destroy it. In a sad turn of events, we learn that the Onde dying in their hall was one of a dwindling number of groundlings conquered by the murderous creature. The Onde watched all of its family be killed and in a last ditch effort tried to spare the Kek and the traders the same fate. The Onde weren’t lucky enough to have their own version of a Moon wander through town and defeat the local warlord. Unlike Moon, the remaining Onde had nothing left to live for. As much as Moon claimed to not have a “lifewish” (as opposed to having a deathwish), he still had hope, a hope that is rewarded with a finale involving the birth of his first clutch. This Onde ran out of hope a long time ago.
“The Forest Boy” is another Moon prequel, this one set shortly after the Tath murdered his family. It’s the story of how he learns that if he wants to be himself, he’ll never be able to settle down. And he learns to never show anyone his true self. That last depressing lesson comes after a local boy threatens to expose him but comes to his senses a little while later. For Moon, the apology comes too late. Likewise, “Adaptation” is another creation story. In it we see Chime’s initial transformation from mentor to warrior. As much as I adore Chime, I’m not sure this story was totally necessary. We already knew all of this from previous books. But it was interesting watching Chime bumble around in his new, unwanted body.
The short stories in volume 2 are full of adventure but not much in the way of character development. “Mimesis,” set shortly after The Siren Depths, is about a hunting party gone awry. Jade attempts a rescue from a predator that can mimic groundlings. “Trading Lessons” takes place a month later. Sunset Water, Cloud’s birthcourt, visits Indigo Cloud Court with a guest trader in their party. The groundling has amber, a precious stone Raksura love. Once Moon catches onto the guy’s scheme, he makes sure the trader gets the short end of the deal every time. The only story in the Three Worlds with no Raksura is “The Almost Last Voyage of the Wind-ship Escarpment.” Captain Jai is hired by Navigator Flaren’s estranged father to deliver a ransom for a crew captured by pirates. By the time they realize they’ve been betrayed, it’s too late. I cared the least about this story of the bunch. I would’ve rather visited the Kek or another species we hadn’t met yet, but I guess it was nice to explore the Three Worlds more.
Well, friends, that’s it for the Raksura! My only regrets are that we didn’t get stories about a young, brash Delin getting into trouble in the Golden Isles or a feisty fledgling Jade testing Pearl’s limited patience. Overall, though, this was such a great series. I’m so glad I started this book club with the Books of the Raksura.
Next month we’re sticking with fantasy and diving into City of Bones. I know absolutely nothing about this book and am ready to be enchanted.
Thank you for doing this series! I love these books, and was glad to be reminded that it was time for a re-read.