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fantasy
Series · fantasy
The Books of the Raksura
The Books of the Raksura series by Martha Wells has 5 known books (5 published) and is best read in publication order, starting with The Cloud Roads (2011). The latest book with a fully recorded publication date is The Harbors of the Sun.
- Books
- 5 known books (5 novels)
- Published
- 5
- First published
- 2011
- Status
- completed
- Shelved under
- Fantasy
- Last checked
Start here: The Cloud Roads (2011) — then read straight through in publication order.
Reading order
The date order of published books and any announced future entries — the default way to read the series.
- Book 1:
The Cloud Roads
The Cloud Roads (2011) opens Martha Wells' series, introducing Moon, a shapeshifter who's spent his life hiding his dragon-like true form, as he's finally found by others of his own kind -- the Raksura, a matriarchal, caste-structured flying people he never knew existed. It runs 392 pages and precedes The Serpent Sea.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Cloud Roads - Book 2:
The Serpent Sea
The Serpent Sea followed The Cloud Roads by a year, continuing The Books of the Raksura as its second entry at 384 pages, following Moon's court, the Indigo Cloud, as they work to rebuild a damaged home tree.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Serpent Sea - Book 3:
The Siren Depths
At 432 pages, The Siren Depths is the longest book in The Books of the Raksura to date, published in December 2012 as Moon and the Indigo Cloud court confront rival courts and the ancient enemies called the Fell.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Siren Depths - Book 4:
The Edge of Worlds
Published in April 2016, The Edge of Worlds is the fourth installment of The Books of the Raksura, running 388 pages as Moon's court is drawn into wider threats facing the Three Worlds their people inhabit.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Edge of Worlds - Book 5:
The Harbors of the Sun
The Harbors of the Sun is the fifth and final book in The Books of the Raksura, published in 2017 at 410 pages, closing out Moon's escalating conflicts and his slow, hard-won sense of home among the Indigo Cloud court.
Alternative text for cover: Cover of The Harbors of the Sun
About The Books of the Raksura
Moon has spent his entire life hiding what he is, drifting between short-lived communities of other species because revealing his shapeshifting, dragon-like true form has always meant being driven out or killed. The Cloud Roads (2011) begins when he's finally found by others of his own kind, the Raksura -- a matriarchal, caste-structured flying people he never knew existed -- and has to decide whether he can belong to a society built on rules he's never learned. Martha Wells builds an unusually detailed non-human social structure around the Raksura's court system, with queens, consorts, warriors, and soldiers each carrying distinct roles and instincts, and uses Moon's outsider position to explore belonging without ever losing the series' core adventure-fantasy momentum.
The Serpent Sea, The Siren Depths, The Edge of Worlds, and The Harbors of the Sun follow Moon's court, the Indigo Cloud, as they rebuild a damaged home tree, confront rival courts and ancient enemies called the Fell, and are drawn into wider threats to the Three Worlds their people inhabit. Wells layers worldbuilding thick throughout -- ancient ruins, alien technology, and a genuinely non-Western social structure -- while keeping the emotional core fixed on Moon's slow, hard-won sense of home.
Frequently asked questions
How many novels are in The Books of the Raksura?
Five: The Cloud Roads (2011), The Serpent Sea (2012), The Siren Depths (2012), The Edge of Worlds (2016), and The Harbors of the Sun (2017), plus two companion short-fiction collections not tracked here.
What order should I read The Books of the Raksura in?
Publication order: The Cloud Roads, The Serpent Sea, The Siren Depths, The Edge of Worlds, The Harbors of the Sun.
Is The Books of the Raksura connected to the Murderbot Diaries?
No -- they're entirely separate settings; Murderbot is science fiction, while the Raksura books are secondary-world fantasy with no shared characters or continuity.
Who are the Raksura?
A matriarchal, shapeshifting winged species with a caste-based court system (queens, consorts, warriors, soldiers, and more), central to the series' worldbuilding and to protagonist Moon's search for belonging.
Does the series have a complete ending?
Yes -- The Harbors of the Sun (2017) concludes the main five-book arc; Wells has continued to write shorter Raksura fiction since.
If you like The Books of the Raksura
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