Title: Dragon Haven

Author: Robin Hobb

Series: Rain Wild Chronicles #2

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: Fifteen dragons have set off on a dangerous trek up the Rain Wild River, in hopes of rediscovering their lost haven, the ancient city of Kelsingra. Accompanying them is a disparate group of rejects from Rain Wild society, including strong and defiant young Thymara; wealthy dragon scholar and Trader’s wife Alise; and her companion, the urbane Sedric. These human keepers yearn also to create a new home where they can decide their own fate. But is Kelsingra real or merely a fragment of a glorified past buried deep in the dragons’ shared memories? As they forge ever deeper into uncharted wilderness, starvation, flashfloods, and predators imperil them all. But as dragons and humans alike soon learn, the most savage threats come from within their own company . . .

The Review:

You could safely say Robin Hobb is one of my favorite authors, perhaps even my #1. Since I have gushed over how much I love her books in several past posts (and will continue to do so for the handful of titles I’ve yet to read) I’m going to keep this review relatively short. If you would like a full geek-out about the Rain Wilds series, check out my review of Dragon Keeper.

What can I say? Hobb gets better and better with every book, and Dragon Haven (book 2 of this series) was no exception! I love the progression of the story, the characters, and (most notably) the dragons. I particularly excited about these books because they are finally revealing some answers to questions I’ve had since books 2 or 3 of the Farseer trilogy. It’s that slow, ever present discovery process that makes these books so much fun to read. Add that to the fact that all of the mysteries seem to be centered around dragons, and you can see why I’m in love.

Hobb’s books have been my go-to books for years now – they’re always the ones I pick up when nothing else sounds good. You could even say I’ve been savoring them. However, with the release of The Fool’s Assassin (the beginning of a new trilogy) looming before us sometime in August, I admit I’ve been clipping along faster than usual to try to catch up. It’s bittersweet because I’m not sure what I’ll do with myself once I’ve finished all of the books (maybe go back and reread them?).

Part of the reason I love Hobb’s work is that every novel has an abundance of great characters. Every POV is relatable in one way or another, always adding their own unique momentum to the story. Multiple perspectives can be rough on a reader because it can make it difficult to get emotionally attached. This is so not an issue with these novels. I always want to know more about the character in question, mostly because they are all just so human. They have flaws and charms just like real people, which makes them incredibly interesting and fun to read about.

Overall, Dragon Haven was another strong novel from an exceptional author. I will continue to talk about her with anybody who will listen (and will hopefully one day have the chance to meet her).

Recommended Reading: as far as high fantasy is concerned, in my opinion you can’t get any better than Robin Hobb. I do find her books interesting to recommend, however: on one hand, my passion for them really comes out when I talk about them, but on the other, I’m aware that it does take a few books to see that earth-shattering momentum start to build and I get concerned that some readers might not have the patience. I’d say, if you don’t mind slowly developing (though never boring) fantasy novels, this is a great series to immerse yourself in. I’d recommend starting with The Assassin’s Apprentice. :-)

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