The Siren Depths by Martha Wells (The Books of the Raksura #3)

Genres: High Fantasy, Adventure
My Rating: 4 out of 5

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All his life, Moon roamed the Three Worlds, a solitary wanderer forced to hide his true nature--until he was reunited with his own kind, the Raksura, and found a new life as consort to Jade, sister queen of the Indigo Cloud court.

But now a rival court has laid claim to Moon, and Jade may or may not be willing to fight for him. Beset by doubts, Moon must travel in the company of strangers to a distant realm where he will finally face the forgotten secrets of his past, even as an old enemy returns with a vengeance.

The Fell, a vicious race of shapeshifting predators, menaces groundlings and Raksura alike. Determined to crossbreed with the Raksura for arcane purposes, they are driven by an ancient voice that cries out from... The Siren Depths.

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This was a great way to end this series, and a drastic improvement from book 2, The Serpent Sea. I loved the story in this one because it manged to incorporate a lot of new Raksuran courts and culture, but was also very focused on the Raksuran enemy, the Fell. The sinister villains and the fascinating culture of the Raksuran are two of this series strongest qualities. I loved seeing both the Opal Night and Veridian Sea courts, and how they treated Moon. The interactions are fascinating because they are not human, and even the subtlest body language means something different than it would to us. Its all new and I loved it.

One of the things I found most fascinating was the difference in gender roles. Moon is consort to the Queen and the way he behaves towards her is a way that I would never see a human man behaving towards a woman under any circumstance. On more than one occasion Moon was hurt or weak and Jade carried him. And it just seemed so natural. And the way the men act towards each other as well. They are so affectionate. After Shade faced the Fell progenitor he cried himself to sleep in Moon's arms. When Moon was sick Stone cradled him in his lap. When Dare was dying Moon held him close to his chest as he took his last breaths. I just thought it was beautiful to see these males unafraid to show each other how much they care.

The final battle sequence was just epic and heart-pounding, and everything comes together in the end for Moon and Jade and the Indigo Cloud court. I find I am even happy for Pearl. I will miss the Raksura.