Robin Hobb: Dragon Haven

Hi everyone

Dragon Haven is the second book in The Rain Wild Chronicles by Robin Hobb. 
I got my copy from Bol.com.

"Return to the world of the Liveships Traders and journey along the Rain Wild River in the second instalment of high adventure from the author of the internationally acclaimed Farseer trilogy.
The dragon keepers and the fledgling dragons are forging a passage up the treacherous Rain Wild River. They are in search of the mythical Elderling city of Kelsingra, and are accompanied by the liveship Tarman, its captain, Leftrin, and a group of hunters who must search the forests for game with which to keep the dragons fed. With them are Alise, who has escaped her cold marriage to the cruel libertine Hest Finbok in order to continue her study of dragons, and Hest's amanuensis, Bingtown dandy, Sedric.
Rivalries and romances are already threatening to disrupt the band of explorers: but external forces may prove to be even more dangerous. Chalcedean merchants are keen to lay hands on dragon blood and organs to turn them to medicines and profit. Their traitor has infiltrated the expeditionand will stop at nothing to obtain the coveted body parts. And then there are the Rain Wilds themselves: mysterious, unstable and ever perilous, its mighty river running with acid, its jungle impenetrable and its waterways uncharted.
Will the expedition reach their destination unscathed? Does the city of Kelsingra even exist? Only one thing is certain: the journey will leave none of the dragons nor their human companions unchanged by the experience."

As always, Robin Hobb’s worldbuilding is immersive and breathtaking. The Rain Wilds feel alive and dangerous, and the mystery of Kelsingra keeps me just curious enough to keep reading. I do enjoy Mercor’s perspective; his thoughts and emotions feel more nuanced than Sintara’s, who still grates on me with her arrogance and one-dimensionality. So yes, it’s definitely a Sintara issue, not a dragon one.

The character development is still almost nonexistent. The teenage Dragon Keepers are juvenile, sex-crazed, and painfully shallow. Their constant focus on relationships (to the point where it feels like that’s all they think about) was maddening. I don’t care about any of them, and their obsession with themselves overshadows what could have been interesting character arcs.

The story moves at a snail’s pace, with certain situations dragged out needlessly. Hobb could easily have condensed the first two books into one tight, 400-page novel, it would have been so much more engaging. Instead, we get one main storyline with almost no character growth, and the plot feels stagnant despite the potential for adventure and danger.

At this point, I’m only reading this series because I’m committed to finishing all of Robin Hobb’s books and honestly, it feels more like a chore than a pleasure. The worldbuilding is still fantastic, but the characters and pacing make it hard to enjoy. I’m holding out hope that the next book picks up the pace and delivers more depth, but for now, I’m reading out of obligation rather than excitement.

Have you read Dragon Haven or any of Robin Hobb’s other works? Did you feel the same way, or did it grab you more than it did me? I’d love to hear your thoughts, maybe you’ll help me see something I missed!

Happy reading!
Helena