As at the close of the Liveship Traders trilogy, the serpents have finally made it to Cassarick, where they are meant to hatch into dragons, but something is wrong. None of the serpents emerge as fully grown dragons, and none of them are capable of taking care of themselves. The dragons grow sick of waiting around, and the city grows sick of feeding them, so they agree to head north and try to find the ancient city of Kelsingra. With them goes Thymara, a girl heavily touched by the Rain Wilds and resented by her mother since birth, as well as other Rain Wilds children chosen to care for the dragons. Meanwhile, Alise, a Bingtown Trader’s wife deeply unhappy with her marriage, makes herself into a scholar of dragons and decides to go speak with them for herself.
Robin Hobb is one of my favorite fantasy authors and her worlds never cease to draw me in. We’re back in a familiar place here and I loved hearing more about it and the people in the Rain Wilds. She also draws fantastic characters. I felt so much for Alise and her struggles with her husband. There are many secrets floating around and she is clearly the most hurt by them. I wanted her to reassert her independence and remember who she was over the course of her journey. Thymara is hurt in different ways; she’s younger but has had to deal with parental and societal rejection throughout her entire life. Her father loves her and saved her from exposure as a baby, but her mother has always resented her for being so heavily touched by the Rain Wilds, unable to think of marriage or a normal life. As she embarks on this journey, she’s forced to confront the fact that her preconceptions about life may be wrong.
And there are the dragons, who have personalities of their own. Readers of previous series will be familiar with Tintaglia, but the stunted dragons are very interesting characters in their own right. They remember what it’s like to be dragons from their ancestral memories, but are incapable of behaving the way they know they should. That conflict is fantastically done.
The problem, however, is that not really all that much happens here. There is a whole lot of building up but not a lot of moving, and I fear fans of other fantasy novels might consider this one boring. Plus, it has no real plot of its own, no arc contained in this book, not even a cliffhanger at the end to mark the close. I can see why the second book is being released only a few months after, instead of the normal year, because to be honest readers would probably forget to buy the next one otherwise. It’s obviously only half a book for all its length and I have to admit that I hope the second volume will be a little more exciting. I’d suggest waiting and reading both of them together.
Robin Hobb is still an amazing author, though, and her works draw me in like almost nothing else. I’m very much looking forward to the next book in this duology. Fans of the series will love Dragon Keeper, but I think newcomers would be better starting off with her Six Duchies books.
I am an Amazon Associate. I received this book for free from the Amazon Vine program.
Oh, I’m sad this one didn’t live up to its promise. I tried some Robin Hobb earlier, but didn’t love her. I tried the series around Fitz, and I don’t think I finished the second book. I should give it another shot, if so many people like her!
.-= Aarti´s last blog ..With Reverent Hands: The Changeling Sea =-.
I don’t read much fantasy, but my sister loves it, so I’ll tell her about this review.
This is not my usual genre, but my daughter is in love with dragons and I’m sure she would find this book to be a wonderful read for her. I have been looking around for something like this, because she seems to have read all the dragon books out there, with her favorite being the Pern series so far. Thanks so much for bringing this book to my attention, I will have to look into them!
.-= zibilee´s last blog ..Keeping the Feast: One Couple’s Story of Love, Food and Healing in Italy by Paula Butturini – 272 pgs =-.
I’ve only read one Robin Hobb book that, that was based on Sleeping Beauty or Cinderella or one of those stories. I had the same problem with it! Not much happened.
.-= heidenkind´s last blog ..Searching for Donatello =-.
I am a big fan of Fantasy novels. I have not heard of this author though.
Thanks for introducing me to a new series of books
.-= Nishita´s last blog ..Evenings Filled with Food, Music, Shopping, and Laughter =-.
I love fantasy but I haven’t read any of the Hobb books. I’ll take your advice and start with the Six Duchies books.
.-= Beth F´s last blog ..Thursday Tea: An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor =-.
I’ve heard the same complaints about the plot on other blogs, but I’m really glad to hear that the character development is good! That’s my favourite thing about Hobb anyways.
.-= Memory´s last blog ..TBR Additions =-.
If you’ve never made friends with Fitz Chivalry in The Assassin series, he’s a keeper. I also liked the Rain Wilds trilogy. The Second Son trilogy was so disappointing — after I bought them all based on Hobb’s other books — I didn’t even open the third book. I’m afraid to say it, but she appears to have burned out. Sorry to hear that Dragon Keeper had plotting problems. Burnout happens, even to wonderful authors like George R. R. Martin.
The book was originally written as a single volume, but the publisher decided it was too long and split it in two parts – that’s why there’s no real cliffhanger. The second volume (it’s already out in Europe and Australia) picks up right where the first one left off too.
Robin Hobb has quickly become my favorite author. The Liveship series, The Fools, to her latest books the Rain Wilds… You won’t be sorry you picked up any of them. Her stories move you through the characters loves, hardships and hard fought triumphs. The stories captivate on a level unlike any i’ve experienced before. I adore the way she blends stories of love and longing with battles and wit. Robin Hobb is simply marvelous at her craft.
I went and saw Robin Hobb when she released this book, and got her to sign most of my collection as well.
I have to agree that this was an entertaining story, but nowhere near the depth of her Farseer trilogy.
If you liked Robin Hobb, Lynn Flewelling is another author that write in a similar style of great characterization.
http://alexristea.wordpress.com/2011/01/31/lynn-flewelling-the-nightrunner-series/
[…] Dragon Haven, Robin Hobb This book is the sequel to Dragon Keeper. The books are virtually one story, so read that one first (and before you read this […]