Tag Archives: robin hobb

Aug 24 2013
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Book Review: Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb

4703450Title: Dragon Keeper

Author: Robin Hobb

Series: Rain Wild Chronicles #1

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: Too much time has passed since the powerful dragon Tintaglia helped the people of the Trader cities stave off an invasion of their enemies. The Traders have forgotten their promises, weary of the labor and expense of tending earthbound dragons who were hatched weak and deformed by a river turned toxic. If neglected, the creatures will rampage–or die–so it is decreed that they must move farther upriver toward Kelsingra, the mythical homeland whose location is locked deep within the dragons’ uncertain ancestral memories.

Thymara, an unschooled forest girl, and Alise, wife of an unloving and wealthy Trader, are among the disparate group entrusted with escorting the dragons to their new home. And on an extraordinary odyssey with no promise of return, many lessons will be learned–as dragons and tenders alike experience hardships, betrayals . . . and joys beyond their wildest imaginings.

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The Review:

In my eyes, Robin Hobb is the epitome of an amazing fantasy author. Every element of writing I expect from my books she always delivers brilliantly, and is easily one of my all-time favorite authors. I didn’t think she could do anything to make me love her more… until she wrote a series about dragons!

She has written about dragons before, but takes it to the next level of brilliance in this latest, amazing series: The Rain Wild Chronicles. It follows the life cycle of dragons, makes them just as important as the humanoid protagonists, and celebrates just how beautiful and shall we say unhuman they really are.

I love how well-developed Hobb’s characters are. They always feel like real people, and their flaws make them endearing. What’s great about Dragon Keeper is that she applies that same talent for character development to dragons. I found the whole thing entirely fascinating and loves how much of an active role the dragons had in the story – we even get several chapters from the dragon’s POV.

Part of the reason Hobb’s characters are so memorable is that she takes a lot of time within the story developing them to their fullest. Her novels, while not lacking in either setting, plot, or events, are strongly character-driven. A lot of times the larger scope of the story takes a backseat to the inner conflicts of her characters. I have to say, I’ve never been bored despite the slower pacing. Hobb’s works are like trickles of water running into streams – A bit narrow and unremarkable at first, but eventually growing into raging rivers that give you an exhilarating ride to the end. I have never been anything less than completely engaged, and I absolutely love that about her works.

Overall, if you are a dragon-lover like me and haven’t yet picked this up you’ll kick yourself for waiting so long when you finally do (I know I did).

Recommendations: While this series can be read as a standalone, the characters within are ones we’ve seen before. In fact, this book is the culmination of everything we’ve been working towards in a previous series. Even though dragons don’t play a huge role in the earlier novels, they are still well worth your time to read. The last book in the Tawny Man series was so profound that it was one of the main reasons why I started this blog (I’d read a phenomenal book and had no one to tell… that had to change). :-)

So, if you’d like to start from the beginning (the recommended path) consider following the order below from left to right:

by Niki Hawkes

Other books you might like: 

Dragon Champion Review

Jul 25 2013
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Book Review: Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb

6460575Title: Ship of Magic

Author: Robin Hobb

Series: Liveship Traders #1

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: Bingtown is a hub of exotic trade and home to a merchant nobility famed for its liveships–rare vessels carved from wizardwood, which ripens magically into sentient awareness. The fortunes of one of Bingtown’s oldest families rest on the newly awakened liveship Vivacia. For Althea Vestrit, the ship is her rightful legacy unjustly denied her–a legacy she will risk anything to reclaim. For Althea’s young nephew Wintrow, wrenched from his religious studies and forced to serve aboard ship, Vivacia is a life sentence. But the fate of the Vestrit family–and the ship–may ultimately lie in the hands of an outsider. The ruthless pirate Kennit seeks a way to seize power over all the denizens of the Pirate Isles…and the first step of his plan requires him to capture his own liveship and bend it to his will…

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 The Review:

Robin Hobb has quickly become one of my all-time favorite authors. In my eyes, she can do no wrong, and here’s why: she has mastered every aspect that I consider when evaluating fantasy novel. Her world building, writing, characters, story, magic, and pacing are all phenomenal – and then she adds… something extra. An X-factor of sorts that tips her novels from enjoyable to profound. I am still reeling from her Tawny Man trilogy almost a year later (Fool’s Fate), and have said before that it’s part of the reason why I wanted to start a book blog – it rocked my world and I had to share.

Hobb actually has some of the most slow pacing of any novel that I’ve read – but it works because she makes everything relatable and writes it beautifully. The magic and the remarkable characters within these books make them worth reading in their own right. But it’s the little things – the daily acts done by average people just trying to make their way in the world – that makes them so special and absorbing.

These characters are real – I’m convinced of it. Their behaviors and personalities are so lifelike that they have to be going through these struggles in some distant universe that Hobb just happens to have access to. They are just so human, and so vibrant in that humanity that you can’t help but love them. They are flawed, they make mistakes, and they don’t always say the right thing, but they are real. This trilogy in particular features several different viewpoint characters, and while that can sometimes take momentum away from the story, in this case it only adds to it. You know Hobb chose to tell their perspective for a reason, so it’s only a matter of sitting back and enjoying their journey until their true purpose is revealed.

Overall, if you are interested in the ultimate high-seas adventure in a rich and vibrant world accompanied by excellent characters faced with endless possibilities, this may be the trilogy for you!

Recommendations: I hand this author to anyone looking for a great fantasy series – especially if they mention dragons. When an author has multiple series, you don’t usually need to read them in any particular order. In Hobb’s case, one of the reasons she is so profound is that each series builds off of one another. I would recommend reading them in the following order from left to right (depicted below are the covers for the first books in each series):

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Jun 12 2013
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Dragon Obsession – The Literary Files

Up to this point, I mostly use this feature to highlight awesome dragon paintings (and the fact that I have spent way too much money on dust-collectors). Today, however, Dragon Obsession gets a new angle. What can I say? I was inspired.

Today’s post is a feature on an author who has dazzled me so much with her dragons that I can’t remain quiet about it anymore! I give you:

Robin Hobb

a43She  has written about dragons before, but takes it to the next level of brilliance in her latest series (The Rain Wild Chronicles). It follows the life cycle of dragons, makes them just as important as the humanoid protagonists, and celebrates just how beautiful and shall we say unhuman they really are. 

If you are a dragon-lover like me and haven’t yet picked this up you’ll kick yourself for waiting so long when you finally do (I know I did).

While this series can be read as a standalone, the characters within are ones we’ve seen before. In fact, this book is the culmination of everything we’ve been working towards in a previous series. Even though dragons don’t play a huge role in the earlier novels they are still well worth your time to read. The last book in the Tawny Man series was so profound that it  was one of the main reasons why I started this blog. I’d read a phenomenal book and had no one to tell… that had to change. :-)

So, if you’d like to start from the beginning (the recommended path) consider following the order below from left to right:

by Niki Hawkes

Jan 30 2013

Coming Soon: Blood of Dragons

Apr 9.Title: Blood of Dragons

Author: Robin Hobb

Series: Rain Wilds Chronicles #4

Genre: Fantasy

Release Date: April 9, 2013

I have to say this is one of the few books I’ll probably drop everything to read as soon as it comes out. As I’ve said before in my review of  Assassin’s Apprentice, Robin Hobb is my favorite go-to author when I need a guaranteed good read! The ending of one of her books is partially what inspired me to start this book blog, and I simply can’t praise her works enough! Her writing is effortless and beautiful, her characters are real and compelling, and her story-lines are totally fulfilling. If you like fantasy and haven’t read her yet, you are sorely missing out!

Sep 15 2012
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Book Review: Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Title: Assassin’s Apprentice

Author: Robin Hobb

Series: The Farseer Trilogy #1

Genre: Fantasy

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: In a faraway land where members of the royal family are named for the virtues they embody, one young boy will become a walking enigma. Born on the wrong side of the sheets, Fitz, son of Chivalry Farseer, is a royal bastard, cast out into the world, friendless and lonely. Only his magical link with animals – the old art known as the Wit – gives him solace and companionship. But the Wit, if used too often, is a perilous magic, and one abhorred by the nobility. So when Fitz is finally adopted into the royal household, he must give up his old ways and embrace a new life of weaponry, scribing, courtly manners; and how to kill a man secretly, as he trains to become a royal assassin.

The Review:

Some stories fade from my memory the minute I finish the book. This story not only remained vividly in my mind months later, but I find I can recall tiniest details with minimal effort. That, to me, is the mark of a great book. Hobb has a unique writing style in the fantasy world, using a beautiful descriptive voice that effectively draws you into the story without being overwhelming. You can read two pages or fifty and come away feeling invested and satisfied. Her books are so evoking that she has become my go-to author whenever I need a guaranteed good read.

The characters are well-developed, relatable, dynamic, and quite simiply: brilliant. I often forget that I’m reading fantasy characters, as they sometimes seem like real people. Because of this, some of them are among my all-time favorites. Apart from being so well-developed, what I love most is they have flaws like everyone else, which make you cheer for them all the more.

Overall, “Assassin’s Apprentice” contains a highly memorable plot, exceptional characters, and the beautiful writing style that combines in a story that will take your breath away.

Recommendations: The Farseer trilogy is chronologically the first of four separate trilogies (Farseer, Liveship Traders, Tawny Man, and Rain Wilds – in that order) Each book is as good as the last, and what you take away from each novel just lends to an incredible momentum as the story progresses. Within each trilogy, there is an overall arch to the story that is highly satisfying enough to make them stand-alones, but the overall arch between all the books is so fantastic that it’s well worth your time to read them all.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes