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Robin Hobb
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Publisher | Harper Voyager | ||
ISBN | 978-000727374 | ||
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Reviewer
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Ann
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Synopsis
Return to the world of the Liveships Traders and journey along the Rain Wild River in this standalone adventure from the author of the internationally acclaimed Farseer trilogy. Guided by the great blue dragon Tintaglia, they came from the sea: a Tangle of serpents fighting their way up the Rain Wilds River, the first to make the perilous journey to the cocooning grounds in generations. Many have died along the way. With its acid waters and impenetrable forest, it is a hard place for any to survive. People are changed by the Rain Wilds, subtly or otherwise. One such is Thymara. Born with black claws and other aberrations, she should have been exposed at birth. But her father saved her and her mother has never forgiven him. Like everyone else, Thymara is fascinated by the return of dragons: it is as if they symbolise the return of hope to their war-torn world. Leftrin, captain of the liveship Tarman, also has an interest in the hatching; as does Bingtown newlywed, Alise Finbok, who has made it her life's work to study all there is to know of dragons. But the creatures which emerge from the cocoons are a travesty of the powerful, shining dragons of old. Stunted and deformed, they cannot fly; some seem witless and bestial. Soon, they become a danger and a burden to the Rain Wilders: something must be done. The dragons claim an ancestral memory of a fabled Elderling city far upriver: perhaps there the dragons will find their true home. But Kelsingra appears on no maps and they cannot get there on their own: a band of dragon keepers, hunters and chroniclers must attend them. To be a dragon keeper is a dangerous job: their charges are vicious and unpredictable, and there are many unknown perils on the journey to a city which may not even exist...
Review
Another great story from Robin Hobb. Thank goodness, for a tale in the same setting as previous series, (Tawny Man, Live Traders, Mad Ships) one doesn't feel as though one has come in on the second act which is unusual and greatly appreciated. The serpents have made it up the river and have hatched into dragons, but these are few and those few are mentally and physically deficient. Mindful of their bargain with the powerful dragon Tintaglia, the traders have to care for them. However they are becoming a problem and the ancestral dragon memory of the fabled elderling city poses a solution not only to that but also provides an opportunity to rid the town of various unwelcome Rain Wild touched youngsters (such as Thymara) who become the dragon keepers for the journey. Then there's the Liveship Tarman with his coarse, good natured captain infatuated with the high born, self-taught, unhappily married dragon expert Alise and her secretary, and the dragons themselves - crippled, intelligent, hungry and unprincipled. There could be troubles ahead !
As now expected from this author the characters and locale are well defined - the mud and flies of the Rain Wilds river can almost be smelt and felt, and interest in the story line and people develops early and is held.
While the detailed plot development is satisfying, a minor moan is that while obviously there is going to be more than one book, this book ends just as the journey gets under way ! How long do we have to wait for the next !
Recommended, can be read as a stand alone, but why not go and read the others first if you haven't already - a sumptuous treat in store.
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