The Ruling Sea (Chathrand Voyage) [Audiobook, CD, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Robert V. S. Redick (Author), Michael Page (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 8, 2010 | Series: Chathrand Voyage

The Ruling Sea begins where Robert V. S. Redick's acclaimed The Red Wolf Conspiracy ended: Thasha's wedding is hours away. It is a wedding that will both fulfill the promise of a mad god's return and see her murdered. Pazel has thwarted the sorcerer who would bring back the god but both sides now face deadlock. Can Thasha be saved? Can the war between two Empires be stopped? The Ruling Sea is, once again, focused on the giant ancient ship Chathrand, but now she must brave the terrors of the uncharted seas-the massive storms and the ship-swallowing whirlpools-and explore lands forgotten by the Northern world, all the time maintaining a vicious running battle with a ship half her size but nearly her match. A masterpiece of plotting and adventure, Redick's new novel takes the listener 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 rats, discover more about the true motives of conspirators, live with Thasha and Pazel as they face death and deceit, and watch as the Chathrand sails into the infamous Ruling Sea.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This exciting follow-up to 2009's The Red Wolf Conspiracy features enough plot twists and double-crosses to satisfy the most demanding lover of suspense. The powerful Nilstone, most recently held by a living statue who was once an insane god-king, is sought by a wizard who wishes to destroy humanity by sparking war between empires. The whole world believes the ship Chathrand to be sunk, but it secretly survives and carries the Nilstone to the fabled lands of the south beyond the Ruling Sea, while a ragtag group of conspirators battle not only the wizard but their own empire and captain in a desperate attempt to preserve the world. Vivid characterizations and Reddick's brilliant depiction of the microcosmic world aboard Chathrand will captivate readers. (Feb.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

The second book in an appealing trilogy continues the adventures on and around the great ship Chathrand. Imperial Princess Thasha stands with her bridegroom before the priest for a wedding that is supposed to seal peace between longstanding enemies. She is not expected to survive, for behind the nuptials seethe multiple plots and intrigues. The imperial spymaster is trying to start a civil war; the Chathrand’s captain is mad and serves an evil sorcerer; the tiny Ixchel have their own plans. After escaping death by a hair, Thasha and her comrades face a voyage across the Ruling Sea, which is so vast that only the Chathrand can cross it, and whose southern border is unknown. Redick keeps a good grip on characters and the vast, detailed, action-packed story, and it isn’t quite necessary to have read The Red Wolf Conspiracy (2008) to keep track of who is doing what to whom. --Frieda Murray --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Tantor Media; Unabridged,Library - Unabridged CD edition (March 8, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400142954
• ISBN-13: 978-1400142958
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 7 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)

More About the Author

I have two beloved home towns: Charlottesville, Virginia, and Iowa City, Iowa. I've been writing since I could hold a pen, and began my first novel, about purple monsters invading a Chicago apartment complex, when I was twelve. After that my tastes somewhat diversified. I studied literature and Russian at the University of Virginia, tropical conservation and development at the University of Florida, and fiction writing in the Program for Writers at Warren Wilson College. Among my wonderful former mentors are Jim Shepard, John Casey, Wilton Barnhardt, Judith Grossman, David Haynes and Chuck Wachtel.

I've had the good fortune to live, work and travel extensively in Latin America. In Cali, Colombia I worked with a human rights foundation and taught in a bilingual school. In Argentina I interviewed park rangers, park administrators, superintendents and biologists across the country, and wrote an extensive study of ranger training and park management practices. My first (serious) novel, Conquistadors, is set during the Argentinian dictatorship of the late 1970s. The book was a finalist for the 2002 AWP/Thomas Dunne Novel Award.

For four years (two each with the Portland Phoenix and Valley Advocate) I worked as a stage critic, which is a wonderful job to have if you're dating. I've also worked as a baker, translator, Paso Fino horse handler and lab technician in an acid rain study.

Currently I'm writing The Chathrand Voyage series of epic fantasy novels. For more information please visit my official site, www.redwolfconspiracy.com.

I live in rural western Massachusetts with my companera, Kiran Asher; Chloe the giant poodle; two semi-feral cats (Maya, Blue); and a Florida lake turtle (Jacques-Yves).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Off to a thorough and satisfying start, March 12, 2010

By 

Mennonite Medievalist (Cleveland, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ruling Sea (Hardcover)

Look, Redick's fantasy series is intriguing. Very. Perhaps my favorite developing out there now not written by Patrick Rothfuss. About two thirds of the way through The Ruling Sea, I thought to myself, you know, I hope I don't get in a car crash or acquire fast-moving cancer or something and not live to see the end of the story (currently projected as the Night of the Swarm, two books down the line, although we know how fantasy series projections go). That's a high compliment, obviously. And that was before I read the fantastic end of The Ruling Sea, less a cliffhanger than a "well, now that we've unexpectedly fallen off a cliff and hit bottom..." The series isn't driven by moral themes or philosophical statements about how the world works or high literary ambition: just good, solid, cleverly written, richly imaginative fantasy, unfolding plot twist after plot twist, filling the same niche in my reading repertoire that Greg Keyes used to do but filling it better. I don't put it down feeling healthier for having read it, but satisfied nonetheless. Plenty of enjoyable narrative calories that don't burn off immediately.

A few seams show. There's a little plot sloppiness in TRS. For instance, the reasons given for the estrangement between Pazel and Thasha, between Thasha and the Polylex, seem rather strained and artificial. As if something's coming in book 3 that would have come much earlier had the author not forced these actors apart. TRS does substantially improves the main problem I felt in The Red Wolf Conspiracy: that we were experiencing the fantasy world widely but not deeply. TRWC flagged when the characters got off the ship. TRS stays on the ship, mostly: good. We explore this wonderful fantasy world from a familiar base, a lesson smart Tolkien taught us when his hobbits packed the Shire & its rusticity wherever they went in Middle-earth. A fantasy story needs both familiarity and wonder. At the end, too, I do begin to miss the old Pazel and Thasha, and rue the high heroes that wear their names and take their shapes. The plot demands that they become heroes, but the change is awfully swift, and carries little (so far) of the old personalities with it.

Redick's learning how to write a fantasy epic. Sometimes the fantasy world creaks under creative strain; sometimes its plot bites off more than it can chew. There are a lot of characters and worlds to juggle. Not all appear in their most advantageous richness and depth. But for fertility of invention (both imaginative and verbal), Redick's your man, and this series is off to a most attractive start.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars That's it. I'm done. I just don't care what happens., June 11, 2010

By 

Captain (Colorado) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Ruling Sea (Hardcover)

I agree with all the points made so eloquently by the previous reviewer (Too Ambitious). Rather than repeating those points, I will just say that I ordered this sequel when I was half way through the first book, which was going along well at the time. I sail a lot and the idea of a fantasy set on such a grand sailing vessel intrigued me. The author really knows his sailing terms and seems familiar with the subject. But fantasy writing, not so much. The good guys never win, and when they lose the bad guys never finish them off and actually end up helping them in a few pages. This circular narrative repeats over and over and that's all that happens. New villains keep cropping up, old ones never go away, and it's too confused. But most of all, I don't care what happens to Pazel and Thasha and Neeps. I don't want to continue with the third book because the same stuff will keep happening, and it's tough to continue reading the same story line over and over. Never a resolution or explanation of what's happened, just an immediate jump to the next dilemma. Disjointed, confused, not at all satisfying at any point. I have no qualms about never knowing what happens. I have a hunch the author has no idea what's going to happen either.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Too Ambitious, May 18, 2010

By 

Amy J. Violante "Starved for decent fantasy" (San Diego, CA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Ruling Sea (Hardcover)

When I saw the reviews for this book, I was very eager to read it and based on the raves of other readers, went on ahead and purchased both "The Conspiracy" and "The Ruling Sea". I was disappointed. The author just seems to be trying to juggle too many characters, without any of them being truly fleshed out. It almost feels as though the author is trying too hard to make the story more complicated than it needs to be. I never really felt strongly about any of the characters and because of that, found that I was actually forgetting who the characters were and what happened in earlier parts of the book. The premise of the book was good and the plot was intriguing, but honestly, the book would have been better with more time spent on developing fewer more memorable characters. There were parts of the book I just found annoying, that I think were supposed to be plot twists, and surprises, but I felt were never really clearly represented, so that I had to ask myself "What just happened here?" and go back and read a section again.

This book was just too ambitious a project. It felt too contrived, and was confusing in parts, and after a while I just found myself not caring. This book needed a couple more re-writes, better editing and perhaps more time spent on fewer characters. There is nothing wrong with a complicated and long story, but the story has to be engaging and you have to care about the characters. He is most certainly no Robin Hobb or George R.R. Martin, both masters at complex world-building and creating memorable characters. This book was a tough slog, not because it didn't have enough action, but because it had too much action and not much else.