Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
Night Shade Books (New York, 2017). 1st trade paperback edition, 1st printing. 416 pages. $14.99.
Description
"A former friend has betrayed the Raksura and their groundling companions, and now the survivors must race across the Three Worlds to rescue their kidnapped family members. When Moon and Stone are sent ahead to scout, they quickly encounter an unexpected and potentially deadly ally, and decide to disobey the queens and continue the search alone. Following in a wind-ship, Jade and Malachite make an unlikely alliance of their own, until word reaches them that the Fell are massing for an attack on the Reaches, and that forces of the powerful Empire of Kish are turning against the Raksura and their groundling comrades. But there may be no time to stage a rescue, as the kidnapped Raksura discover that their captors are heading toward a mysterious destination with a stolen magical artifact that will cause more devastation for the Reaches than anything the lethal Fell can imagine. To stop them, the Raksura will have to take the ultimate risk and follow them into forbidden territory. The Harbors of the Sun, from celebrated fantasy author Martha Wells, is the thrilling follow-up to The Edge of Worlds, and the conclusion of a new Three Worlds duology of strange lands, uncanny beings, dead cities, and ancient danger"--… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member pwaites
The fourth Raksura book, The Edge of Worlds, left off on a cliffhanger. The Harbors of the Sun, the fifth and final Raksura book, picked up where it left off. To read The Harbors of the Sun, you need to have at least read The Edge of Worlds, if not have started at the very beginning with The Cloud
Given how closely The Harbors of the Sun is tied to The Edge of Worlds, beware of spoilers for the previous book when reading farther into this review.
The Raksura have been betrayed! The ancient Forerunner artifact has been stolen and two of the Arbora have been kidnapped. Moon and Stone are scouting ahead for the rescue mission, while Jade, Malachite, and the rest follow in the flying boat… while dealing with the Fellborn queen. And if you thought things couldn’t get worse, apparently the ancient artifact has the ability to kill all the Fell and Raksura in the Reaches… and some consider the Raksura an acceptable causality. Also, the Fell are massing to attack the Reaches while Jade and Moon are away. Welcome back to the Three Worlds!
The Harbors of the Sun had more of an epic fantasy feel than the rest of the Raksura books. What with the dreadful powers of this ancient artifact, we’re getting into end of the world type territory. Oh, and the impending Fell invasion is totally a grand Final Battle. The Harbors of the Sun made excellent use of some classic fantasy tropes, and I think enlarging the scale of the conflict was a good move for the last book in the series.
In my review of The Edge of Worlds, I said that the plot felt like it dragged what with all the traveling from A to B. That may have been a bit true of The Harbors of the Sun, especially in the beginning, but overall it felt a lot less draggy. Besides, even when there’s not plot stuff going on, I still love reading about the Raksura. They’re too delightful! I love their dialogue and bickering. Oh, and Pearl and Malachite became friends in this one! It was both wonderful and terrifying! Picture the two of them coming at you in battle.
I’m going to miss these characters so much. I know I can always go back and read the books and short stories again, but I’ll miss having new content on the horizon. I’m not normally into fanfiction, but this series ending might drive me to it. God, I love these characters. They’re all my snarky little lizard babies, and I don’t want to ever let them go.
That said, I’m sure to follow Martha Wells into whatever world or genre she writes next. Pretty much everything she’s written has been excellent. The Harbors of the Sun was no exception.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
I received an ARC in exchange for a free and honest review.
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Roads. But if you’re not familiar with this series, I beg you to look into it. The Raksura books are some of the most imaginative fantasy novels I’ve ever read, and they’ve received too little attention.Given how closely The Harbors of the Sun is tied to The Edge of Worlds, beware of spoilers for the previous book when reading farther into this review.
The Raksura have been betrayed! The ancient Forerunner artifact has been stolen and two of the Arbora have been kidnapped. Moon and Stone are scouting ahead for the rescue mission, while Jade, Malachite, and the rest follow in the flying boat… while dealing with the Fellborn queen. And if you thought things couldn’t get worse, apparently the ancient artifact has the ability to kill all the Fell and Raksura in the Reaches… and some consider the Raksura an acceptable causality. Also, the Fell are massing to attack the Reaches while Jade and Moon are away. Welcome back to the Three Worlds!
The Harbors of the Sun had more of an epic fantasy feel than the rest of the Raksura books. What with the dreadful powers of this ancient artifact, we’re getting into end of the world type territory. Oh, and the impending Fell invasion is totally a grand Final Battle. The Harbors of the Sun made excellent use of some classic fantasy tropes, and I think enlarging the scale of the conflict was a good move for the last book in the series.
In my review of The Edge of Worlds, I said that the plot felt like it dragged what with all the traveling from A to B. That may have been a bit true of The Harbors of the Sun, especially in the beginning, but overall it felt a lot less draggy. Besides, even when there’s not plot stuff going on, I still love reading about the Raksura. They’re too delightful! I love their dialogue and bickering. Oh, and Pearl and Malachite became friends in this one! It was both wonderful and terrifying! Picture the two of them coming at you in battle.
I’m going to miss these characters so much. I know I can always go back and read the books and short stories again, but I’ll miss having new content on the horizon. I’m not normally into fanfiction, but this series ending might drive me to it. God, I love these characters. They’re all my snarky little lizard babies, and I don’t want to ever let them go.
That said, I’m sure to follow Martha Wells into whatever world or genre she writes next. Pretty much everything she’s written has been excellent. The Harbors of the Sun was no exception.
Originally posted on The Illustrated Page.
I received an ARC in exchange for a free and honest review.
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LibraryThing member Herenya
Former allies have betrayed the Raksura, killed or kidnapped some of their friends, and absconded with a dangerous weapon. Meanwhile the Reaches is facing an attack of historic proportions from the Fell, requiring different courts to work together.
Unlike The Edge of Worlds, I couldn’t put this
Also unexpected -- and fascinating -- is the way the Raksura’s view of Fell is challenged and complicated further. The Fell have caused so much trauma, so it isn’t easy for Raksura to accept that they’re not all horrifyingly evil. This is a satisfying development.
Another thing this story continues to explore is Moon having had an atypical upbringing, and thus having atypical skills, for a consort.
I really enjoy reading about the Raksura. I like how they recognise and validate each others’ need for comfort. And I'm much more interested in Wells' imaginative scenery when it's the backdrop for characters having feelings and being resourceful and trying to rescue their friends.
“You don’t need to explain your mad plan to me.” Pearl’s spines almost rattled in frustration. She said to Malachite, “You realise I am ill-suited to this role that you’ve foisted on me. The other queens dislike me almost as much as I dislike them.”
“You are better suited to it than I am.” This time Malachite did move a spine, and Ember was a little astonished to read amusement in it.
“A rock is better suited than you are.”
Unlike The Edge of Worlds, I couldn’t put this
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one down. It’s consistently tense and told from multiple points of view -- which this story absolutely needed. And it’s interesting how different Raksura see things. The teamwork between the Raksura courts is delightful to behold, especially since, after several books about them, I know exactly how it is unusual: So much depended on the cooperation of two queens not known for cooperating with anybody, including their own bloodlines.Also unexpected -- and fascinating -- is the way the Raksura’s view of Fell is challenged and complicated further. The Fell have caused so much trauma, so it isn’t easy for Raksura to accept that they’re not all horrifyingly evil. This is a satisfying development.
Another thing this story continues to explore is Moon having had an atypical upbringing, and thus having atypical skills, for a consort.
I really enjoy reading about the Raksura. I like how they recognise and validate each others’ need for comfort. And I'm much more interested in Wells' imaginative scenery when it's the backdrop for characters having feelings and being resourceful and trying to rescue their friends.
“You don’t need to explain your mad plan to me.” Pearl’s spines almost rattled in frustration. She said to Malachite, “You realise I am ill-suited to this role that you’ve foisted on me. The other queens dislike me almost as much as I dislike them.”
“You are better suited to it than I am.” This time Malachite did move a spine, and Ember was a little astonished to read amusement in it.
“A rock is better suited than you are.”
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LibraryThing member readinggeek451
Fifth in the Raksura series, completing the storyline begun in The Edge of Worlds. This begins in the middle of the action, and it can take the forgetful reader a little time to catch up. There are a lot of characters to follow, many of them separated from each other for much of the book. We follow
This is a fascinating, well-written fantasy series, unlike anything else. And The Harbors of the Sun is a worthy entry. Recommended to fans of the series. Newcomers would be advised to start with the previous book, if not at the beginning.
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each in turn, seeing the events through many eyes, some of them overlapping. It can get confusing.This is a fascinating, well-written fantasy series, unlike anything else. And The Harbors of the Sun is a worthy entry. Recommended to fans of the series. Newcomers would be advised to start with the previous book, if not at the beginning.
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Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2017
Physical description
416 p.; 6 inches
ISBN
1597809330 / 9781597809337