Much of this takes place on the Ravenna, a 1930s-eque ocean liner, which is a unique setting for a fantasy.

I wanted more personal developments -- or rather, I kept expecting something more from the personal developments and then feeling disappointed and dissatisfied when the story didn’t deliver that. However, I still found the story engrossing and read the third book straightaway. And the third one was satisfying. These books are a set and I think they need to be judged as such.

Tremaine buried her head in her hands. The magazine stories and plays she had written had all been desperate adventures but the characters had moved through them effortlessly, unaffected. In reality what you got was tiresome arguments and exhaustion and people pulling you in a dozen different directions and demanding you stop for a godforsaken lifeboat drill when you had to stalk the spy/sorcerer/creature who had tried to get your stupid worthless prisoners. ( )

This one was a slow starter for me (perhaps because it was hard to jump right back into the world - or perhaps because the protagonist's sense of disconnection at the beginning of the book bleeds into the narrative), but it picked up after about 75 pages and continued to build in excitement and intrigue for the rest of the story. I especially appreciate the unusual characterization and worldbuilding. ( )

This is a middle book in a series, and begins with exciting action in progress that we subsequently have to piece together partial background for. It also ends more or less in mid-action, though the main issues of this volume are resolved enough.

I listened to the audiobook, and some spellings below are guesses. Please forgive any errors.

Tremaine Valiarde and a collection of soldiers and sorcerers from Ile-Rien have crossed into an alternate world in the former luxury liner Queen Ravenna, trying to track down the home base of the Gardier, the people who are attacking and destroying Ile-Rien. Having teamed up with a pair of local wizard hunters, Giliead and his foster brother Ilias, they have rescued kidnapped Rienish, done some damage to the Gardier, and have hopes of forming an alliance with Giliead and Ilias's people, the Cyprians, even though the Cyprians think that sorcerers are all mad and evil, and they think most of the Rienish technology is magic, along with their real magic which is an accepted part of their society.

Tremaine, Giliead, and Ilias lead their band of rescued prisoners and the team of soldiers and sorcerers that helped rescue them back to the Ravenna, along with a capture Cyprian wizard, Ixion, who can't be killed because his personality would transfer to a new body he has in storage elsewhere. He's a great example of why the Cyprians have such a negative view of magic workers.

The main story concerns their efforts to return to the world of Ile-Rien, join up with their allies in that world, bringing what they've learned about the Gardier to aide the war effort.

Wells does a fantastic job of both world building and character development.The plot kept moving, the cultures we see each make sense in their own context, and I grew to like and care about the main characters. It's a fascinating world to explore, and I want to see more of both the Cyprians and the Rienish.

Oh, and there's something really interesting going on with the Gardier, which we only get hints of in this volume.

Recommended, though you may want to find [b:The Wizard Hunters|367333|The Wizard Hunters (The Fall of Ile-Rien, #1)|Martha Wells|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388970771s/367333.jpg|3259620] first.

I bought this book. ( )

This is an excellent sequel. Good in plot, pacing and characters, adding and developing them and the worlds they inhabit. ( )

The Ships of Air is the second book in the Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy, which starts with The Wizard Hunters. I suggest reading them in order, but I actually enjoyed The Ships of Air more than the first installment.

Ile-Rien has been overrun by the Gardier, the mysterious enemies who’ve been attacking them from another world. Everyone who can has evacuated, and the front of the war has moved on to a neighboring country. Our protagonists are aboard the Queen Ravenna, a luxury liner which has been converted for the war effort and given the ability to travel between worlds with the aid of a sorcerer. The goal is to avoid the Gardier patrols and get the refugees to safety. But the ship itself is not entirely safe, for a malevolent and shadowy force stalks it.

I’m hard pressed to say why I liked The Ships of Air better than The Wizard Hunters. One explanation may be that I’m simply in a better mental place now. However, I think I was a lot more attached to the central characters here. Tremaine in particular grew on me. She has that fierceness that I find so appealing, and she can be rather ruthless as well. Plus she can be hilarious at times, and I love it when other characters are taken aback by her. I think Gerald actually did a facepalm at one point – it was delightful. While I wouldn’t call The Ships of Air a comedic book, there were moments when I laughed. There’s a marriage subplot that for once might be one of the highlights of the book and which lends itself to some unexpected humor.

I felt like the setting was a lot stronger in this book as well. I really liked the luxurious setting of the Queen Ravenna and how it contrasted with the current circumstances. Apparently it is based on an actual ship, the Queen Mary, which I really need to look up. The subplot on the alliance between the Syprians and the Riens was something else I really enjoyed, particularly the culture clash between the two groups. There’s some new (and characteristically inventive) settings off the boat too. We get a bit more of a glimpse into the Gardier, and it’s fascinating. I can’t wait to find out more in book three.

By the last hundred pages, I wasn’t able to put The Ships of Air down. Martha Wells was already one of my favorite fantasy authors, and this book has cemented her in that position.

Originally posted on The Illustrated Page. ( )