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Book #29 of 2023: “The Cloud Roads” by Martha Wells

I really enjoyed this. A fiction about a shapeshifter trying to find his place, there‘s lots of adventure and suspense. I‘m going to find more of her works to read.

Yesterday I ate my mum‘s Hungarian mushroom soup and started THE CLOUD ROADS. It‘s lingered on La TBR for years because Martha Wells is kind of hit-or-miss for me, but I‘m really enjoying it. Whew. I‘ve got a bunch of trusted people who love this series and I always feel a bit like I‘ve let the team down when I‘m not into their recs.

I‘m gonna post a book (or series) from my TBR every day until I‘ve shared the lot. No descriptions. No explanations. Just a whole bunch of books I haven‘t read yet.

This is Day 58.

#LaTBRrevealed

Very different to Murderbot. Way more into the fantasy end of SFF.

Shape shifting bird ppl society whose enemy want to kidnap them to crossbreed.

This is a unique, technicolour, immersive world, which offers up plenty of action. But also lots of snuggles which in my touch starved state was really comforting

With Queens dominant it offered incredibly interesting perspective on gender roles

But mainly it is fun and comforting adventure

Loved it—from the worldbuilding & all the plot twists to a fabulous main character impossible not to root for, this book was a fantastic read. Wells is an excellent writer who pulls readers in from the first page in her story about Moon, a shape-shifter who knows little about his history & where he comes from. When another shape-shifter appears, Moon goes with him knowing very little about what he‘s really walking into. I‘ll be reading Book 2.

Next. It‘s Martha Wells so it has to be good, right?

The jacket copy for this book is sort of misleading and kept me from actually looking at this series for a long time because it makes it sound...not very interesting. In fact it is a book about eusocial humanoid shapeshifters, which is enough to get me on board already, and "Moon discovers what he really is" is where the book starts rather than the whole plot. There's something...unformed about some of the character interaction, but I enjoyed it.

I've been offline for a while, quietly devouring this book and its sequel. Martha Wells is the queen of prickly, antisocial protagonists who are nonetheless extremely likeable and relatable. The other thing this series has in common with her Murderbot books is excellent worldbuilding. The world feels lived in and bigger than the story. I don't think these books are quite as good as Murderbot, but I still highly recommend them.

I should have liked this more. I like other books by Martha. It had flying dragonesque shape-shifters. But somehow it failed to pull me in. Perhaps I just wasn‘t in the right frame of mind for this type of story today.

Humble Bundle but up a sci-fi book bundle! Not sure about the other books, but I loved Murderbot so decided to grab this for the Martha Wells books 😀
#humblebundle #bookbundle

Unfortunately, I can‘t get into this book at all. For such a short novel, it‘s taken me since Monday to get through just over 100 pages. And that‘s not even halfway through the book. I have a giant stack of books begging to be read and I don‘t feel like trying to slog through to the end. It‘s very disappointing because this series sounded promising.

It‘s a Martha wells reading weekend! Hoping to get through these today and tomorrow so I can start on that huge library stack

Just read this one (again!). Good I love this series so much. Absolutely amazing worldbuilding! Bisexual polyamorous relationships! Surprisingly friendly for aroace readers (Moon/Jade is not a romance in this book FIGHT ME)! Shapeshifters with wings that put the MC in a precarious position before he finds more of his kind! Like I never would have expected to like that last bit AND YET!

I really enjoyed this book. I like Wells's world building and the way that humanoids are all different from the humans that we're used to. It gradually dawns on you you're in the Three Worlds (water, earth and sky). The terrain Moon covers is familiar, but there are also flying islands and mushroom-creatures that run away. There is a long history to this world but other than providing abandoned ruins to shelter in it isn't relevant to this story.

Groundlings come in different shapes, sizes, colours. But Moon is different - he can shift shapes and fly. He discovers he is a Raksura and joins the Indigo Cloud court. But he has spent all his life hiding what he is. So he finds it difficult to trust. And the Raksura of Indigo Cloud are suspicious of him, a solitary male.

Meanwhile, there are political manoeuvrings between the queens and the Fell seem to have an unholy interest in the court.

To be honest, the cover does nothing for me. And this book took a while to get into but once I did, I was lost in it! Fantastic worldbuilding w strange creatures w scales and wings and sort of social rankings within a matriarchy. The main character, Moon, doesn‘t quite know what he is. He‘s been living w groundlings most of his life. It‘s the story of an outsider trying to figure out who he is, where he belongs. And it‘s a great read!

Still enjoying reading about Raksura.

However - I don‘t know if it‘s differences between English and American or the editing - but past tenses keep sticking out and snagging my attention, like ‘weaved‘ instead of ‘woven‘ or ‘sunk‘ instead of ‘sank‘. It may just be that I‘m super sensitised because I have two school-going sons who constantly use the wrong words. I didnt have this issue with ‘All Systems Red‘ (also read on Overdrive).

Raksura! Wind-ships!
I‘m up to chapter 9. Moon is still trying to find his place in the Three Worlds and additionally, something sinister threatens the Raksura of Cloud Indigo. Like the way courts are named for a colour and a sky icon. Was worried about a potential ‘love at first sight‘ situation but Wells is too accomplished an author for that.

Another exciting Thursday night! In my pyjamas and reading.

(Reading as an e-book on Overdrive)
Chapter 3: Moon has just met a Raksura. Quite amusing. I‘m imagining Raksura as winged lizards - maybe even dragons. Nice to see no humans although all the characters seem somewhat humanoid.

@Jilly6183 and @Kwrightson1986 I just sent out my #bbsredacted package. Picture is of books I‘m currently reading because I forgot to take a picture of the actual package.

I'm gonna reread this entire... *pause to count* ...seven book series this weekend with this snow storm, watch me.

Seven glorious volumes of polyamorous bisexual shapeshifting murderous cuddlesome dragon people. Plus assorted fanfic. Just saying. ❤

#littenintro @tessavi

1. Ontario, Canada
2. Most recently, Katherena Vermette. Loved her poetry collection "river woman"
3. Um... probably-would-sustain-injuries-if-it-fell-on-me big?
4. Comfy chair
5. I'm really enjoying Harbors of the Sun! But since that's the last book in a series, I'll go with the first: The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells (tagged, highly recommended for sff fans)

I heard good things about this series so this is in my TBR.

Wells does it again (I just finished the Murderbot Diaries). She's revamped an old trope and done some spectacular world building. I highly recommend this one of you like fantasy/scifi.

If you are looking for a book where people give up and wallow in despair, do not read this book. If you want a book (nominated for a Hugo:Best Series) that has amazing world/character/society building about someone forced to hide who they truly (he has wings!!!) while hoping to find their place in this world, you should read this book.

#7favesin7days day 4

@lauren.lerner

I'm finally sitting down to start my #litsypartyofone 🤗🤗I'm hoping to make a #tbrbingo while I'm at it

Up early reading because it's Mom Xmas!!!! (First day of school!!)

Day 14 #readingwomenmonth - signed books. Not the most personal of personalized books, since I just won this in an online contest, I haven't met Martha Wells. But from a marketing standpoint it certainly worked since this was the first Wells I read, and now I've bought all the other Raksura books, and if you get me started on amazing worldbuilding (esp culture) I just won't shut up about these books. They are a masterclass in sff worldbuilding.