Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Author
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
Tremaine picked her way along the ledge, green stinking canal on one hand, rocky outcrop sprouting dense dark foliage on the other. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tremaine picked her way along the ledge, green stinking canal on one hand, rocky outcrop sprouting dense dark foliage on the other. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organise and find favourite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.co.uk.
5 star
4 star
3 star
2 star
1 star
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4 reviews
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
A Quarrelsome Quest
26 April 2006
Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Martha Wells's beautifully written "Ships of the Air," the second in the author's "Fall of Ile-Rien" trilogy (and you really have to read the first novel, "The Wizard Hunters," before you tackle this one) surpasses the first in its utter looneyness. We meet once again the spectacularly neurotic Tremaine Valliarde (who has, thankfully, gotten over her suicidal impulses), as she and the companions she met in the first volume explore the world she now finds herself in as they attempt to learn more about the Gardier, who have been wreaking havoc on Tremaine's world. In order to do so, Tremaine engineers an alliance between one of the tribes of this world, the Syprians, and the Rien, after which they attempt to discover just where the Gardier are coming from.
At the end of the volume, after quite a trip, they do.
Once again Wells's elegantly flowing prose style smoothes out the rough spots caused by her tendency, as was the case in the first volume, to write herself into a corner, creating problems for herself that don't really matter. (I suspect that, like her heroine, Ms. Wells makes things up on the fly--perhaps working from only the loosest of outlines. And that's not a complaint.)
Whatever. The completely dysfunctional quest is bizarre fun. Tremaine has leadership foisted on her after she gets married mainly on a dare, and although she hasn't a clue, she's certainly plucky and lucky. The tale, which features sorcery and electricity in equal proportions, moves quickly from land to a converted luxury liner and thence to "flying whales," which is what some of the characters call this world's version of hot-air balloons. (They're filled with hydrogen, not helium. Oh. Oh.) And despite the fantasy elements, much of the novel is grounded in reality. Wells describes perfectly what is bound to occur when a group of ill-assorted people are forced to go sallying forth together. They quarrel; they fight for dominance; they all think they're right. It's quirky fun. For readers anyway.
At the end of the volume, after quite a trip, they do.
Once again Wells's elegantly flowing prose style smoothes out the rough spots caused by her tendency, as was the case in the first volume, to write herself into a corner, creating problems for herself that don't really matter. (I suspect that, like her heroine, Ms. Wells makes things up on the fly--perhaps working from only the loosest of outlines. And that's not a complaint.)
Whatever. The completely dysfunctional quest is bizarre fun. Tremaine has leadership foisted on her after she gets married mainly on a dare, and although she hasn't a clue, she's certainly plucky and lucky. The tale, which features sorcery and electricity in equal proportions, moves quickly from land to a converted luxury liner and thence to "flying whales," which is what some of the characters call this world's version of hot-air balloons. (They're filled with hydrogen, not helium. Oh. Oh.) And despite the fantasy elements, much of the novel is grounded in reality. Wells describes perfectly what is bound to occur when a group of ill-assorted people are forced to go sallying forth together. They quarrel; they fight for dominance; they all think they're right. It's quirky fun. For readers anyway.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Excellent work
5 Jan 2008
Format:Mass Market Paperback
For a mid book in a series, this book moves along well, tells a real story and develops the overall theme sharply. Nothing moves too slow or too quickly, and none of the interactions is forced.
Another outstanding book from an awesome writer
5 May 2011
Format:Mass Market Paperback
The whole series of the books in this story line are awesome. Catches you and takes you into the incredible world that Martha Wells has created.
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Fantasy > Epic
- Books > Science Fiction
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
