The Rats and the Ruling Sea

All hands on deck for Robert Redick’s excellent follow-up to his debut, THE RED WOLF CONSPIRACY. THE RATS AND THE RULING SEA begins where THE RED WOLF CONSPIRACY ended.

Once again, the action is focused on the giant ancient ship, the Chathrand, whose purported mission, to delivery the Treaty Bride to her wedding and thus cement the peace between two rival empires. Thasha's wedding is only hours away - it is a wedding that will both fulfil the promise of a mad god's return and see her murdered. However, we learn that this is merely a cover for the machinations of numerous other parties – the Imperial spymaster, Sandor Ott, who hopes to precipitate a civil war that will fatally weaken the Mzithrin empire; the dangerously deranged show more Captain Rose, who must deliver him; the sorcerer Arunis, who is planning to harness the power of the dreaded Nilstone to some diabolical end; and the tiny Ixchel, who are stowed away in the hold.

Redick takes us further into the labyrinthine plots and betrayals that have underscored the trilogy from the beginning. We learn more about the Ixchel as they fight for survival against the Chathrand's woken rats, discover more about the true motives of conspirators, live with Thasha and Pazel as they face death and deceit, and as the Chathrand sails into the infamous Ruling Sea. The magic that might save them might doom them equally, and even the wisest among them are stunned at the surprises they confront. The use of Captain Rose's letters to his father, Editor's footnotes and journal entries by quartermaster Fiffengurt is an interesting device to enable narration from several characters’ points of view.

It isn't just the engaging, compelling characters that make The Rats and The Ruling Sea so enthralling; it's the entire complex world that Redick has created. The intricacy of his details make the world of the novel and the people in it not just plausible, but real and gritty. Plots unfold at every turn, and no one, including the reader, knows who to trust. Betrayal comes from where you least suspect and the results break your heart.

The only bad thing about this book is that it ended after only 592 pages. I cannot wait for the third instalment in this story! show less

The second book in Reddicks Chathrand Voyage builds on everything established in the first with a consummate ease that left me salivating for more. I'm amazed that a bigger deal wasn't made of these books.

The novel itself picks up shortly after the first one finishes. The passengers and crew of the Chathrand continue to struggle against an array of powerful interests, natural and supernatural both.

I really enjoyed this book on every level. The plotting was exciting and unpredictable, yet satisfying. The characters continued to evolve in depth, motivation and histories, and the prose and settings were lovely. The climax was excellent, and something I particularly enjoy with Reddick's writing is that he is not afraid of change or tragedy show more - something too many fantasy writers shy away from in any meaningful sense.

The Ruling Sea meets the promise of the first book in this series, and builds on it. Great stuff. show less

This is book 2 of the Chathrand Voyage tetralogy. It continues right where the first book ended, and they need to be read in order to appreciate the story.

As already happened in The Red Wolf Conspiracy (TRWC), the worldbuilding is masterful, the characters appealing and the story epic in scope and filled with powerful magic and terrible revelations. The plot is tighter and more linear here than in the first book. That is probably for the better, since TRWC sometimes felt a bit scattered.

I'm giving it four instead of five stars because for some time in the middle of the book I felt that the pace was lagging. Things were always going on and there is always some new detail about the world or about the characters to reward your patience, show more but it seemed that little of consequence happened and the overall plot progressed too slowly. These are massive novels and when you get that feeling you start to think that some stricter editing would have been for the better.

Nevertheless, towards the end of the plot accelerated and the ending is breathtaking. Thankfully I'm reading this when the tetralogy is already complete and I can go straight to the third book. show less

If you are following my reviews, you have probably read how much I liked The Red Wolf Conspiracy, first part of Chathrand Voyages. Not even a rough start with too much jumping between characters could dampen my enthusiasm.

But, as often happens to me when I like the first part in series so much, I delayed reading The Ruling Sea. Will it be as awesome? Maybe it was a fluke? Will Robert V.S. Redick disappoint me or earn a place in a hall of my all-time-favorites? Finally I have gathered enough courage to sail on further into the adventure.

From the beginning it's perfectly clear that Robert V.S. Redick listened to the readers input. The Ruling Sea has a much more concise start and jumps between characters are not so often. Also, the fact show more that most of the characters are familiar to us from The Red Wolf Conspiracy helps. Although my reading went much smoother, I could not but sadly notice that excitement and tension, because of this, were also tampered down in The Ruling Sea. I know, you can never please some people. o:)

I liked that The Ruling Sea gives us a better understanding of Mzithrini culture and that we get the better look at the so-called 'enemy' but I hoped that the plot will progress more. The Ruling Sea seemed more to deepen and clarify the characterisation and world building.

Maybe if The Red Wolf Conspiracy was not so full of adventure you would not hear me complaining me so much, it's not like nothing happens. Chathrand sails The Ruling Sea and some new strands in the web of the conspiracy are revealed. And with huge shock and discovery at the end, I am definitely left intrigued and ready to find out more.

In The End...
The Ruling Sea continues adding more intriguing depths to the characters and the world, that The Red Wolf Conspiracy introduced us to. Although maybe a little bit calmer in pacing, it's a solid sequel to the series. Chathrand Voyages still has my recommendation as a good fantasy adventure if you like ships, conspiracies and magic.

Disclaimer: I was given a free eBook by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. show less

A continuation to a tale with a classic feel that wanders into strange but never dark. It somehow manages to incorporate disparate ideas and remain relevant, whether rats erupt into song, the crew bickers or concerts in their workaday routines in the midst of a hidden world, or when the odds are stacked and the least guessed at occurs. Family-friendly and a good, adventurous, seafaring jaunt that shouldn't fail to entertain.

I'd really like to rate this book higher, but I just can't. I enjoyed it, but it borrows way too many concepts from other fantasy novels. No dwarves or elves in this one, instead we have just about everything else. Shape changing aliens, tiny Borrower-sized people, ROUS' (Rodents of Unusual SIze), talking animals, and several borrowed concepts. I enjoy the characters and the setting, though nearly all of this book takes place on a ship, so the action is somewhat constricted. Still a good read and there's a 'shocking' ending, it will be interesting to see where the next book leads.

This review is written with a GPL 3.0 license and the rights contained therein shall supersede all TOS by any and all websites in regards to copying and sharing without proper authorization and permissions. Crossposted at Bookstooge.booklikes.blogspot. wordpress.leafmarks.com & Bookstooge's Reviews on the Road Facebook Group by Bookstooge's Exalted Permission.
Title: The Ruling Sea
Series: The Chathrand Voyage
Author: Robert Redick
Rating: of 5 Battle Axes
Genre: SFF
Pages: 641
Format: Kindle








Synopsis: The Wolf group make the final sacrifice to stop the marriage and the false prophecy. Only to fail beyond belief. Now they must continue the battle, on the Chathrand. The Chathrand is on a voyage but their destination won't be quite show more what anybody planned. My Thoughts: This was sad and depressing and not in a good way. The Wolf group fall from one barely contained catastrophe into another. They don't have chance to get ahead, to plan, to figure out just what is going on. They are strictly reactive. This was like watching someone being pushed down a long staircase and then applauding because they didn't break their neck. I thought about stopping this book, this series. However, I am going to try the next book but will be ready to DNF it quick as a wink " show less