Reviews

The Siren Depths by Martha Wells

ksharpe's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

diaryofthebookdragon's review against another edition

5.0

The Books of the Raksura follow adventures of a male shifter Moon in a imaginary world of Three Realms. After events in [b:The Cloud Roads|9461562|The Cloud Roads (Books of the Raksura, #1)|Martha Wells|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1317017378s/9461562.jpg|14346450] and [b:The Serpent Sea|11834447|The Serpent Sea (Books of the Raksura #2)|Martha Wells|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344908440s/11834447.jpg|16789468], Moon finally settled down as a consort to a Jade, sister queen of Indigo Cloud court. They have successfully fled from their enemies, The Fell, and reclaimed and repaired their old home. But rest is still not in the cards for Moon, because in [b:The Siren Depths|13649197|The Siren Depths (Books of the Raksura, #3)|Martha Wells|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1340294868s/13649197.jpg|19268638] Martha Wells will finally tackle the biggest mystery - what really happened to Moon's birth court and why was he abandoned to survive alone in the wild.

Be prepared to be left without a breath as you discover new enchanting secrets and areas of the Three Realms. There will be more floating islands, ancient ruins, underwater cities, flying boats and new unusual species for you to encounter. I was again amazed and impressed with the amount of imagination and originality that Martha Wells invested into world building. She definitely achieved a new level of high fantasy with this series. I mean, just look at the Raksura:

The Raksura by Jessica Peffer [image source]
Yes, this is the species that main characters belong to. Wings, scales, disemboweling claws, they are definitely not something that you will encounter everyday.

A lot of Raksura's customs are weird and it takes some time getting used to their behavior. Sometimes, this did not allow me to understand or sympathize with Moon and Jade as much as I wanted to, but it's a small price to pay for such unique experience and it could not diminish my enjoyment in this series. Also I am glad that [b:The Siren Depths|13649197|The Siren Depths (Books of the Raksura, #3)|Martha Wells|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1340294868s/13649197.jpg|19268638] is more focused on Moon's and Jade's relationship. A lot of things about their reactions and feelings were explained and I think I understand Raksura's matriarchal society structure a lot better now.


Moon (in groundling form) and Jade by Pentapus [image source] & by ivihaer [image source]

Martha Wells wrote another breath-taking sequel to the Books of the Raksura series. Although, the ending is not a cliffhanger and all major mysteries and problems in Moon's life are now resolved, I still hope that she will write more novels about Raksura in the future. The world of Three Realms is too beautiful to be abandoned.

My rating: 4.5 stars

I recommend this book to fans of: fantasy who are looking for something fresh, unique and original.

Disclaimer: I was given a free eBook by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. This text is also posted on my blog Bookworm Dreams in a little bit more styled edition.

literatehedgehog's review against another edition

4.0

Another banger, heck yeah. Reading these as e-books lets me imagine the raksura (rather than this over the top cover), though I would love to see fan art of the cities, ruins, and landscapes described. So vivid, so imaginative! The antagonists are always just horrid enough, believably so, without being caricatures. Ah and Moon. Beautiful Moon and his trauma and feelings and independence. All of the characters really, especially the Raksura, are so lovingly created, even if some of the details may be filled in by my imagination. On to the next book...

krystal_bythebook's review against another edition

adventurous emotional

3.0

9.4.23 - Anothet fun installment in this series. This one was a bit more emotional and Moon's character development was touching. I love the snarkiness that shines through the writing. The adventure was interesting and intense.

leslielikesthings's review against another edition

5.0

This one was all big emotions and big revelations, my favorite in the series so far.

laz92's review against another edition

5.0

Somehow this series continues to get even better

daniel_radclit's review against another edition

5.0

This is easily my favorite entry in the series. The unique worldbuliding continues to impress as does all of the characters. Somehow in minimal page time, Wells gets you to care about all of her dozens of secondary characters. And the main characters are of course still awesome. I think this entry also has the best plot so far in the series. Wells also nails pacing. Each of the books have been in the 200-400 page range, yet it never feels rushed. It seems to move at a slow pace yet it never feels slow and there doesn’t seem to be any wasted pages. Other readers might find this series slow and not action packed, but it’s the right kind of book for me right now. The series is not only fun to read, but it’s also relaxing and so wholesome.

distant_mirrors's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

smeenk_ak's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

jkherz25's review against another edition

adventurous funny medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

My favorite so far. More emotional depth than the first two, and that really heightened the closer look we got at Raksura dynamics. Plus well-paced action and tension.