The Cloud Roads

The Cloud Roads
Martha Wells
Night Shade Books
Trade paperback, 278 p., $14.95
Various e-book formats

What's that, you say?  You haven't read Martha Wells?

Shame on you.

You've been missing out.  And The Cloud Roads is the perfect place to find out what you've been missing.  It's a stand-alone, at least so far, although I hope it doesn't stay that way.

This is a dense, complexly layered novel.  And that's a good thing.  The story concerns Moon, an orphan who doesn't know who or what he is.  Moon is a shape-shifter, able to take either the winged form you see on the gorgeous cover, or a humanoid shape called a groundling  because it's wingless.  In his wanderings since his family was killed, he's never come across any others of his kind.  The closest he's come is a race called the Fell, who look a lot like his winged form.  Only the Fell are feared and hated by everyone.  They have the nasty tendency to move in, destroy a city, and eat the inhabitants.  Not exactly the best of neighbors; when the Fell move in, there really does go the neighborhood.