Honestly, it’s kinda weird how many people claim they want "original" fantasy but haven't touched Martha Wells’ Books of the Raksura. We’ve all seen the same tired tropes a thousand times—the farm boy with a destiny, the medieval European kingdom, the elves who are basically just humans with pointy ears.
But then there’s the Three Worlds.
There are no humans here. Not a single one. Instead, you've got a planet so massive and biologically diverse that it makes Earth look like a backyard garden. It's a place where cities are built on the backs of leviathans or inside the trunks of trees so large they have their own weather systems. Basically, if you're tired of "human-centric" stories, this series is the antidote.
The Hero Who Doesn't Know What He Is
The whole thing kicks off with The Cloud Roads, introducing us to Moon. When we first meet him, he’s a solitary wanderer trying to survive in a river valley. He’s a shapeshifter, which in this world is usually a death sentence if the neighbors find out.
Moon has spent his entire life hiding. He has two forms: a "groundling" form that looks vaguely humanoid and a winged, scaled, gargoyle-like form. Because he was orphaned young, he has no idea what species he actually is. He just knows that whenever he shifts, people start screaming and reaching for pitchforks.
It’s pretty heartbreaking, actually.
He’s spent decades being kicked out of villages the second his secret slips. Then comes Stone. Stone is an ancient, grumpy, and massive Raksura who drops out of the sky and tells Moon, "Hey, you’re not a monster. You’re one of us. And we need you."
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The Indigo Cloud Court and the Caste System
One of the coolest things Wells does is build a society that feels truly alien but internally logical. The Raksura are communal creatures, and their social structure is basically a mix of a beehive and a lion pride.
They are split into two main groups: the Aeriat (the winged ones) and the Arbora (the wingless ones).
- Queens: The absolute bosses. They’re bigger, stronger, and much more aggressive than everyone else.
- Consorts: This is what Moon is. They’re the fertile males who mate with queens. In a typical court, consorts are expected to be shy, refined, and protected.
- Warriors: The muscle. They’re sterile and live to defend the colony.
- Teachers, Mentors, and Hunters: These are the Arbora castes that keep the colony running, from raising the "clutches" of kids to seeing the future (the Mentors).
Because Moon grew up alone in the wild, he is "wrong" by Raksuran standards. He’s too violent, too independent, and he doesn’t know how to act like a "proper" consort. Seeing him try to navigate the politics of the Indigo Cloud Court while falling for the sister-queen, Jade, is where the series really finds its heart.
Why the World-Building is Top-Tier
Most fantasy authors just give you a map with some mountains. Wells gives you an ecosystem. The Three Worlds is littered with the ruins of extinct civilizations—the Forerunners—who left behind "flying boats" and strange technology that the current inhabitants barely understand.
The main antagonists are the Fell. Think of them as the dark mirror to the Raksura. They’re also shapeshifters, but they’re predatory, soul-crushing monsters that travel in massive "flights" to devour entire civilizations.
There’s a real sense of history here. You’ve got the Reaches, the Serpent Sea, and the Siren Depths. Every location feels like it has a million years of baggage. In The Serpent Sea, the colony has to move because their old home is too hard to defend. They head back to an ancestral colony tree that’s essentially a vertical city. It’s got running water, farming platforms, and nurseries.
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It makes you realize how small our "castles and knights" stories usually are.
Breaking the Gender Mold
If you're into gender-flipped dynamics, you'll love this. In Raksura society, the women—specifically the queens—are the primary decision-makers and the heavy hitters in a fight.
Jade isn't a "love interest" for Moon to rescue. Half the time, she's the one doing the rescuing. She’s possessive, tactical, and occasionally terrifying. It flips the "damsel in distress" trope on its head without making a big deal out of it. It’s just how their biology works.
Moon’s struggle to fit into a role where he’s supposed to be "delicate" while having the survival instincts of a feral cat is genuinely funny and often quite moving.
The Full Reading Order
If you’re ready to dive in, don’t just stop at the first book. The series evolved from a trilogy into a larger saga with novellas that fill in the gaps.
- The Cloud Roads (2011): Moon finds his people.
- The Serpent Sea (2012): The quest for a new home.
- The Siren Depths (2012): Moon discovers his actual birth court (and it’s intense).
- Stories of the Raksura Vol 1 & 2: These collections include prequels like The Forest Boy and the story of how Chime (a fan-favorite character) changed from a Mentor to a Warrior.
- The Edge of Worlds (2016): An expedition to a sealed Forerunner city.
- The Harbors of the Sun (2017): The big finale.
What Most People Get Wrong
A lot of readers coming from Martha Wells’ other huge hit, The Murderbot Diaries, expect Moon to be "Fantasy Murderbot."
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He’s not.
Murderbot is about a machine trying to find its humanity while watching soap operas. The Books of the Raksura are about a guy who is a person but has been treated like a beast for so long he doesn't know how to be part of a family. The themes are similar—belonging, identity, found family—but the execution is much more lush and adventurous.
The Raksura aren't humans in suits. They have different instincts. They "shift" when they’re startled. They groom each other's scales. They don't have a concept of marriage; they have "clutches" and collective parenting. If you try to read it through a human cultural lens, you’re gonna miss the point.
Actionable Next Steps for New Readers
If you want to get the most out of this series, don't rush through the world-building details.
- Pay attention to the castes: Understanding the difference between a Warrior and a Soldier (Arbora vs. Aeriat) makes the battle scenes way more interesting.
- Don't skip the novellas: The Tale of Indigo and Cloud gives crucial context for why the Indigo Cloud court is the way it is.
- Look for the "groundling" interactions: The way Moon interacts with non-Raksura species (like the Kish or the Delin) shows just how much he’s learned about the world compared to his "sheltered" court-mates.
Start with The Cloud Roads. It’s a self-contained enough story that you’ll know by the end of the first fifty pages if this weird, beautiful, wing-filled world is for you.
Next Step: You can pick up the first three books as a single "Complete Raksura Series" collection if you want to binge the original trilogy in one go.