The Cloud Roads: Volume One of the Books of the Raksura: 1 Paperback – Import, 1 March 2011

Take one orphaned winged shape-shifter in search for a place to belong - a place where he can be loved that he can call home: MoonOne of the most original non-human races I have ever read about: The RaksuraAnd a deadly enemy: The Fell - that the Raksura need to face in bloody aerial battles.Add in a queen looking for a consort: JadeFrame it all into an original amazing culture with a light and easy writing style and a fast paced story; add a little feeling and emotion to make the reader smile and laugh at times and there you go!!The perfect recipe for a fabulous read that will literally knock your socks off!This is the first volume in a series of books about "dragony-humany shapeshifters in a sprawling, massive, complex world of magic and creatures and cultural politics, complete with extra Feelings."- as Martha Wells herself describes.The Raksura, are a hive-like society ruled by queens. Just like bees, most of their numbers are born sterile: neither male nor female warriors can have children. They encompass the Arbora – creatures whose dragony-forms are flightless, and the winged Aeriat who can shape-shift into flying winged forms.Much of the Raksuran social hierarchy is dictated by birth and relies on significant physical and biological differences between individuals. They differ in both strength and size.Moon is a shapeshifter who, in his groundling form, looks like a brown-skinned humanoid and in his shifted form resembles a winged, scaled, “dragony-humany” creature. Orphaned at a very young age, he doesn’t know what species he is or where he belongs.The realm he inhabits, called the Three Worlds, is huge and diverse, populated with different types of creatures ranging in between groundling, sealing and skyling – some sentient and some not. Moon has spent his entire life without meeting anyone like him and trying to fit in with a variety of groundling civilisations. Rather less successful we might add, as he kept being either thrown out, or attacked and forced to leave from each and every one of them.Just as Moon is once again cast out by his adopted tribe, he discovers a shape-shifter like himself... someone who seems to know exactly what he is, who promises that Moon will be welcomed into his community. What this stranger doesn't tell Moon is that his presence will tip the balance of power... that his extraordinary lineage is crucial to the colony's survival... and that his people face extinction at the hands of the dreaded Fell! Now Moon must overcome a lifetime of conditioning in order to save himself... and his newfound kin.I loved Moon's POV. As someone who knows he doesn't belong but yearns to be a part of the society around him, his worry that he will once again not fit even among his own kind is absolutely touching.If you can’t fit in here, it’s not them; it’s you.No wonder he is skittish like a wild little young dragon thrown into a fray. Because the stakes are pretty high when love and a place to call home are on the line.The matriarchal society is refreshing and the ownership-marking-attitude of the queens absolutely fabulous.She "stuck her claws in Monn's sleeve and hissed at Jade. "Mine.""The queens fight for their consorts and give them gifts if they accept them. Their possessiveness is an absolute treat and so is the whole behaviour of the Raksura.The ruffling and puffing up of feathers and the mock fights to show who's the boss, the skittishness and the sweetness of the young will make even the toughest readers smile. You can't possibly not love a little winged baby trying to claw its way up your back and chew on your fingers!Mrs Wells gives us a great story written in an easy rhythm and with absolutely no nonsense extra info-dump. The mix of feeling and humour is just right! Enough to make you both smile and sigh."they're hoping we'll attack like crazy idiots, he thought sourly...The only thing they could do was attack like sane idiots and hope that worked."Dragony-humany shapeshifters, a complex world of magic, creatures and cultural politics, complete with extra Feelings! Kick-ass warrior queens and bloody aerial battles!And above all, a place to call home, where you can find someone to love you as you are! A place where you don't have to hide! A place where you can be yourself!You'll find all of these and more in Martha Wells Raksura Series!Happy reading! :)

I discovered Martha Wells through The Murderbot Diaries and searched out this older, original, very immersive series. It’s great to find a series that sets you down in a believable other world with a cast of engaging friends and enemies and leaves you breathless, biting your nails and frequently laughing. I sped through the first three books and am ready for number four!

The Cloud Roads: Volume One of the Books of the Raksura is a captivating fantasy novel. It's the first of the series, and it sets up the world and the characters in a way that makes the reader eagerly anticipate the next book. The story follows Moon, a shape-shifting creature known as a Raksura, as he discovers more about his past and his people. The world building is fantastic, and the different cultures and societies of the Raksura, the Fell, and the groundlings are all unique and fascinating. Moon is a great protagonist, and the supporting characters are all well-developed and add depth to the story. The pacing of the book is perfect, with just enough action and plot twists to keep the reader engaged. Overall, The Cloud Roads is a must-read for fans of fantasy literature, and I can't wait to see where the series goes from here.

I entered into this series as an spanish twitter (@teknomagic) relentlessly recommended it. I was being cautious at first, as the premise sounded pretty weird, but... OH, BOY, DID IT PAY OFF!Amazing world-building, an greatly constructed plot and characters I just want to know more about... Yeah, the Books of Raksura just won a new fan.

I chose to rate this book five stars because I cannot think of anything that I disliked about it. This book caught my attention from the start, and did not disappoint. At first I was worried that I wouldn't like Moon, but as we got to know him and more of his backstory was revealed, I really began to understand him and I ended up absolutely loving him. I also loved how much power the women had in this book!!This book was really enjoyable, it was easy to read, everything flowed, it had a couple of big surprises that didn't feel out of place, it was reasonably fast paced. The audible narration was brilliant.

I like a fantasy novel where the "world" is a little bit different, and this is definitely out on its own in that regard. A very enjoyable read.