Robin Hobb: Blood of Dragons

Hi everyone

Blood of Dragons is the fourth and final book in The Rain Wild Chronicles by Robin Hobb. I got my copy from Bol.com.

"Dragons will fly over Kelsingra once more
Attacked by hunters, Tintaglia is dying of her wounds. If she perishes, her ancestral memories will die with her and the dragons in the ancient city of Kelsingra will lose the secret knowledge they need to survive.
The dragon keepers immerse themselves in the dangerously addictive memory-stone records of the city in the hope of recovering the lost Elderling magic that once allowed humans and dragons to co-exist.
But war is coming: war between dragons and those who would destroy them. "

In keeping with my experience with the other three books in The Rain Wild Chronicles, this book wasn’t great.

The focus is way too much on teenage romance to be truly enjoyable. This has been, and still is, my biggest gripe with the series, and it persists here. It was better in this book than in the previous ones; not every page with the keepers was about their love/sex lives, but it’s still too much. It was uninteresting, repetitive, and tedious to put it nicely. And it all ends utterly predictably. I’m so, so tired of this love triangle; Hobb took it way too far, and it should have ended in book two at the latest.

I really enjoyed being mad at the dragons for how superior they act. Aside from Tintaglia (I wouldn’t have minded her death were it not for her Elderlings) and Sintara, I liked reading from their POVs, getting to know them, and understanding them. Their arrogance and one-dimensionality made them frustrating but fascinating in a way.

I don’t have an issue with the pace of the story. Hobb’s writing is so good and engaging that I usually enjoy the slow pace of her novels. The whole series is lighter than her other works, which I enjoyed.
However, I was disappointed that we got a long buildup to the "war" only for it to happen off-page. It felt like a missed opportunity.
My second problem with the plot is the sudden addition of the Silver and its importance. This came out of nowhere; it was never mentioned as being important, and suddenly it’s as important as breathing? It felt forced and unearned.
Another minor gripe was Hest’s death. I love how he dies, but I don’t understand why it remains a mystery. How can no one know anything about it, including Davvie? 

The book (and the whole series) would have been so much better if Hobb hadn’t spent so much time and so many chapters writing about the keepers’ love lives. Instead, she could have focused on the worldbuilding, exploring Kelsingra better, and uncovering more of its mysteries and the surrounding country. Even Chalced was barely explored, and it would have been so much more interesting to dive deeper into its politics, culture, and conflicts. I love Robin Hobb’s worlds and usually, she's wonderful with worldbuilding, and I would love to read more about them, just without all the teenage drama.

Have you read Blood of Dragons? Did you enjoy it more than I did, or did you feel the same way? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Happy reading!
Helena