2014 fantasy anthology: four stories of the Raksura.
All right, I'll admit it: while I've enjoyed everything I've read
y Wells I'm less enthused by this fantasy series than by most of her
other material. They have a civilisation, they have artisans, they
write books, but somehow they never seem to have any real life of the
mind beyond the immediate demands of survival. Hey ho, just me I
suppose. And certainly I feel more positive about this collection,
having just finished it, than I do about the novels in retrospect.
"The Falling World" is set after the novels: Jade and an escorting
party have left Indigo Cloud on a trade mission, and vanished. Early
sections deal with the dance of ceremony and politics designed to give
options other than full-on war between courts; later, a rescue party
is sent out, and here we get into what I think is always Wells' strong
suit, the exploration of an ancient ruin (in this case influenced by
magic rather than by steampunk tech).
"*The Tale of Indigo and Cloud" is basically all politics, but here
they work rather better; Indigo and Cloud are the queen and consort
pairing who would later give their names to Indigo Cloud court, and
here we see not their first meeting but the consequences after Indigo
steals Cloud from what had been an allied court. The primary
viewpoint is that of Cerise, Indigo's mother and the ruling queen, and
her practical world-weariness feels like just the right angle from
which to approach this plot. (This is before the lives of most of the
characters we know, though Stone appears as a young consort.)
"The Forest Boy" is an incident in Moon's life, one of the many
occasions on which he tried to blend in with non-shapeshifters. This
time he isn't driven away, exactly, but one feels that this is about
as positive an outcome as he's ever found.
"Adaptation" shows us Chime's unexpected transition from mentor to
warrior, and how the court tries to pull together to get him through
it. (Though this is in the late pre-Moon days of Indigo Cloud, so they
don't do a great job.)
I may not fall in love with the people, but Wells' worldbuilding is
always excellent, and it's lovely to see the setting expanded.