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The Ships of Air

Fall of Ile-Rien Series # 2

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The Ships of Air

By: Martha Wells
Narrated by: Talmadge Ragan
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About this listen

Known for her lush, intricate worlds and complex characters, acclaimed author Martha Wells has delighted readers with her extraordinary fantasy novels of daring and wit.

With The Wizard Hunters she launched her most ambitious undertaking yet-the return to the beloved world of the Nebula Award-nominated The Death of the Necromancer and The Fall of Ile-Rien.

Now the saga continues in a triumph of suspense and imagination. Despite a valiant struggle against superior forces, the country of Ile-Rien has fallen to the onslaught of the relentless Gardier, a faceless army of sorcerers determined to conquer all civilization.

To save the remnants of her country, former playwright Tremaine Valiarde undertakes an epic journey to stop the Gardier. Rescuing the proud ship Queen Ravenna from destruction, Tremaine and a resolute band of sorcerers and warriors set sail across magical seas on a voyage of danger and discovery. For the secret to defeating the enemy - and to rescuing the world from the Gardier's inimitable hatred-lies far beyond the walls of the world, and only the tenuous ties of friendship and honor will keep the band together.

But the Gardier are not the only evil in this tumultuous world, and an ancient terror stalks the ornate rooms and shadowy decks of the Queen Ravenna-a force so malevolent and enigmatic that even the growing power of the sorcerer's sphere may not be enough to save Ile-Rien from utter ruin.

©2004 Martha Wells (P)2013 Tantor
Classics Epic Fantasy Science Fiction

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Critic reviews

"Fascinating. . . . A vastly entertaining and refreshingly different fantasy adventure with a surprisingly satisfying conclusion." ( Locus Magazine)
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I really love the Ile Rien series, the progression of the story through generations and the world Martha Wells has built and the characters she has developed are most enjoyable and i am always eager to hear the story unfold
The only criticism i have is the somewhat stilted narration which i have got used to but still find jarring and occasionally when words are mispronounced quite annoying
However its worth putting up with the narration to hear the story

love this series

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I have loved the Ile Rien series so far - but I wish the narrator had been better for this and the previous book. It was much better in the first two books. This narrator has a lovely voice, but the delivery is stilted. There are odd pauses in the middle of sentences and clauses, as if perfect, clipped pronunciation is more important than the meaning of the words. More noticeable in description than dialogue. The story does manage to overcome this - but it grates.

Great characters and story

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Over all I enjoyed The Ships of Air but it does drag for a bit at the beginning as all the people get to know each other and get going on the ship. It picks up about two thirds through and gets more interesting. Good writing almost ruined by the narrator who seems more interested in pronouncing every word correctly rather than reading with any heart. I'm two thirds in so going to finish and find out what's going on however this trilogy is nowhere near as good as the first two stand alone Il'rien books that were fantastic.

A long trip by airship to get to the finale.

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Great narration once you get accustomed to the pace, inflection and precision. Engaging story. Looking forward to the 3rd of this trilogy.

Enjoyed this immensely

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Interesting story - a bridge between the first and last. Find the narrator’s staccato reading hard to listen to and, for me, it distracts from the plot line.

Interesting themes

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This is the second of Martha Wells titles in this series I have listened to but no more. The tales kept me engaged but only just considering I almost gave up on numerous occasion due to the shockingly poor narration. It almost sounds like the voice has been digitised and narrated by a computer. Dead, emotionless and halting. This isn’t doing Martha wells stories any favours.

Story let down by narration

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Again, great story but completely let down by very very poor naration. On this book I don't think it's text-to-speach issues it's really just very very poor naration by the actor. Poor inflection, poor annunciation, absolutely no expertise in different character voices, just really really poor "reading".
Such a shame when reading the book is excellent.

Same bad naration as book 1 :(

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