by
Martha Wells
278 pages
Published
March 15th 2011
by Night Shade Books
(first published March 1st 2011)
ISBN 1597802166
(ISBN13: 9781597802161)
Series The Books of the Raksura
BLURB: Moon has spent his life
hiding what he is — a shape-shifter able to transform himself into a
winged creature of flight. An orphan with only vague memories of his own
kind, Moon tries to fit in among the tribes of his river valley, with
mixed success. 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 and himself... and his newfound kin.
My rating: 5 stars
BOOKSHELVES: adventure, aerial-shapeshifters, fantasy, high-fantasy, shapeshifters, todas-ibamos-a-ser-reinas
“Three realms: sea, earth, and sky. Everyone remembers the sea realms, but they’ve forgotten the sky realms. It’s been so many generations since the island peoples fought among themselves. They’re mostly gone now, with no one left to tell the stories.”
Moon wondered if he had been right about the sky-islands all along. “Is that where we’re from?”
His gaze distant, Stone said, “No. We’ve always come from the earth.”
La historia comienza con Moon, viviendo en una comunidad de cazadores/recolectores. Él siempre ha vivido con el miedo a ser descubierto -tiene 35 años- y expulsado por todas las comunidades donde ha pasado desde que era apenas un niño. Es diferente. Se transforma en una especie alada y nunca ha visto a nadie más como él desde que perdió a su familia. Sus temores se ven confirmados, pero esta vez parece que la conclusion será muy diferente, porque Moon por fin a re-descubierto a los de su propia raza, ¿o no?
La soledad tremenda de Moon marca todo el libro, y su miedo al rechazo.
He had never lived with anyone long enough to truly trust them, to tell them what he was. But living alone, even with the freedom to shift whenever he felt like it or needed to, wore on him. It seemed pointless and, worst of all, it was lonely.
------
People like him. It was wonderful and terrifying.
And seeing it let him articulate the thought that had been plaguing him since Stone had asked him to come to a shifter settlement: If you can’t fit in here, it’s not them; it’s you.
Todo esto en medio de un mundo fantástico lleno de selvas y rios, en lo que parece ser despues de una era mucho más formal, con carreteras y ruinas de ciudades inmensas, torres y bibliotecas destruidas... ¿por una guerra, una catastrofe, epidemia, todo lo anterior? Nunca se habla de esto en toda la historia.
Lo que sí hay es peligro a cada paso, los depredadores de este mundo son voladores, zapadores y escaladores; voraces y hasta canibalisticos.
La raza de Moon, los raksura son una especie de lagartos alados, omnivoros, aunque los encuentro más parecidos a una gárgola como el clan de Goliath (sin la parte de convertirse en piedra)
El recorrido de Moon por saber quien es, como es su raza, y su lugar en ella, la hacemos con él.
La Corte de Indigo y Cloud tiene sus propios problemas. Enemigos.
Desconfianzas, y algo de intriga como en toda corte.
