The Dark Earth Below

The Books of the Raksura #3.7

by Martha Wells

In "The Dark Earth Below," Moon and Jade face their biggest adventure yet; their first clutch. But even as Moon tries to prepare for impending fatherhood, members of the Kek village in the colony tree's roots go missing, and searching for them only leads to more mysteries as the court is stalked by an unknown enemy. Stories of Moon and the shape changers of Raksura have delighted readers for years. This world is a dangerous place full of strange mysteries, where the future can never be taken for granted and must always be fought for with wits and ingenuity, and often tooth and claw.

Genres: Fantasy, Short Stories, Fiction, Audiobook, High Fantasy

Kindle Edition

First published January 16, 2017

About the author

Martha Wells has been an SF/F writer since her first fantasy novel was published in 1993, and her work includes The Books of the Raksura series, the Ile-Rien series, The Murderbot Diaries series, and other fantasy novels, most recently Witch King (Tordotcom, 2023). She has also written media tie-in fiction for Star Wars, Stargate: Atlantis, and Magic: the Gathering, as well as short fiction, YA novels, and non-fiction. She has won Nebula Awards, Hugo Awards, Locus Awards, and a Dragon Award, and her work has appeared on the Philip K. Dick Award ballot, the British Science Fiction Association Award ballot, the USA Today Bestseller List, the Sunday Times Bestseller List, and the New York Times Bestseller List. She is a member of the Texas Literary Hall of Fame, and her books have been published in twenty-five languages.

She is also a consulting producer on The Murderbot Diaries series for Apple TV+.

Reviews

[Alina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Again Martha Wells introduces new and interesting species and adventures. As Jade and Moon are waiting for their first fledglings to make their entrance in the Three Worlds, there's a problem in the Kek village below Indigo Cloud's mountain-tree and the colony gets involved.
I very much liked this story and I'll miss the characters that I came to care about, as this is the last story featuring them.

[Carolyn F. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as part of Stories of the Raksura, Volume 2: The Dead City & The Dark Earth Below

Right before Jade and Moon's babies were born, the court is thrown into turmoil when they try to figure out what happened to some explorers. Nice story. I liked that it was a little longer. 4 stars

[Mitchell Friedman · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a lot going on in this one. And it read slower than I expected. That said, I was on a roadtrip and it may have been hard to separate my experience of the trip from the story. I would have liked to have known the side characters more as their own selves at this point. The Kek did have a bigger part to play, and Moon's experience in the world was leaned into. 3.5 of 5.

[Mallori · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this one as a follow up after reading Book 3 The Siren Depths. You get an interesting mystery ("How's she going to resolve it?!?"), more of the Kek people, and you get to see Moon and Jade clutch!

[Nagy Miklós · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was another nice shorter story, with Jade taking a backseat Moon was pushed to the forefront even more. The deeper introduction of the Kek was also nice. Here at least the story feels complete with almost every element getting closure. The clutch naming was also a great little scene.

[Titus Fortner · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun story with interesting characters set during Jade's pregnancy. 3.5 stars

[Tammy · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short story. Nice and quick but super interesting.

[C. Steinmann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Aus a story inbetween the full books, it is quite intertaining...

[Felipe · Rating 5 out of 5]

The funny thing is, I generally can't stand baby subplots, but I adore this and crave more. That just shows how truly amazing the Raksura books are. <3

MOON IS SUCH A GOOD DADDY.