Dragon Keeper (Rain Wilds Chronicles, Bk 1)
Author:
Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy
Book Type: Hardcover
Author:
Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy
Book Type: Hardcover
This is Book 1 of the Rain Wilds Chronicles.
For starters, I love Robin Hobb's books. The Farseer, Tawny Man, and Liveship Trilogies resonated with me in ways that few series ever have, and I count them among my all-time favorite books. I approached Dragon Keeper with some reservation based on all of the mixed reviews and reader complaints. However, I actually liked the book (although perhaps not as much as the other works of hers that I have read) and I'm looking forward to continuing the series.
I have never found any book by Robin Hobb to be full of "action" in the traditional sense, because she develops so much of the tension and conflict through her characters. I would describe all of her books as slow, but never boring. Granted, Dragon Keeper was slow even by Hobb's usual standards. There was very little action or conflict, but I did not feel like that ruined the book.
There is no official ending to the book in the sense that there is no resolution or closure for any of the story arcs. The book simply ends. This is due to the fact that Dragon Keeper and Dragon Haven were intended to be one long book that ended up being chopped in two. Had I not known that in advance, I probably would have had more of an issue with the non-ending. Instead, I just finished one book and began immediately on the next.
Like most books by Robin Hobb, this is a book about flawed characters in difficult circumstances. This is not a glamorous book about dragons (they are, perhaps, the most flawed characters of all) and it is not a swashbuckling fantasy epic with a lot of flash and fireworks. It is a slow and gritty book that moves at the pace of life, which is an approach that will draw in just as many readers as it turns away. I don't feel like this particular set of characters has the same quality and depth as her earlier works, but I hope that they will grow on me in time as I get to know them better.
This book was not Robin Hobb at her best, but I will gladly take a slightly sub-par work by her over the best works of many other authors out there.
For starters, I love Robin Hobb's books. The Farseer, Tawny Man, and Liveship Trilogies resonated with me in ways that few series ever have, and I count them among my all-time favorite books. I approached Dragon Keeper with some reservation based on all of the mixed reviews and reader complaints. However, I actually liked the book (although perhaps not as much as the other works of hers that I have read) and I'm looking forward to continuing the series.
I have never found any book by Robin Hobb to be full of "action" in the traditional sense, because she develops so much of the tension and conflict through her characters. I would describe all of her books as slow, but never boring. Granted, Dragon Keeper was slow even by Hobb's usual standards. There was very little action or conflict, but I did not feel like that ruined the book.
There is no official ending to the book in the sense that there is no resolution or closure for any of the story arcs. The book simply ends. This is due to the fact that Dragon Keeper and Dragon Haven were intended to be one long book that ended up being chopped in two. Had I not known that in advance, I probably would have had more of an issue with the non-ending. Instead, I just finished one book and began immediately on the next.
Like most books by Robin Hobb, this is a book about flawed characters in difficult circumstances. This is not a glamorous book about dragons (they are, perhaps, the most flawed characters of all) and it is not a swashbuckling fantasy epic with a lot of flash and fireworks. It is a slow and gritty book that moves at the pace of life, which is an approach that will draw in just as many readers as it turns away. I don't feel like this particular set of characters has the same quality and depth as her earlier works, but I hope that they will grow on me in time as I get to know them better.
This book was not Robin Hobb at her best, but I will gladly take a slightly sub-par work by her over the best works of many other authors out there.
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