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 

Robin Hobb: City of Dragons

Hi everyone

City of Dragons is the third book in Robin Hobb’s The Rain Wild Chronicles, and I picked up my copy from Bol.com. 

"The dragon keepers and fledgling dragons have discovered a route to the lost city of Kelsingra but there is one problem: they need to be able to fly to cross the treacherous waters and enter the fabled city. At first, only a few dragons are willing to try – the others are either too ashamed of their deformed wings and feeble muscles or too proud to risk failure and humiliation.
But the rewards waiting at Kelsingra for those brave enough to take to the air are worth more than they could possibly imagine. This was a city built for dragons and their keepers. Alise Finbok is overwhelmed by the treasures she finds there, and spends hours carefully uncovering wonder after wonder, recording her findings for posterity. She knows the knowledge will change everything the world thought about dragons and the Elderlings.
Yet rumours of the city’s discovery have floated down the Rain Wild River and reached envious ears in Bingtown and beyond. Adventurers, pirates and fortune hunters are coming in droves to pillage what they can from the city. Will the dragons, only just finding their strength, and their keepers, who are changing in their own mysterious ways, be able to fend them off?
And what has happened to Tintaglia, the dragon-mother who started it all? Has she really abandoned her offspring forever? Or will she too return to seek the riches of Kelsingra…" 

After the slow build of the first two books, I was eager to see where this story would take me, and I came away with very mixed feelings. 

Robin Hobb’s writing is as engaging as ever; her prose flows beautifully, and this series, in particular, feels lighter and easier to read than some of her earlier works. The pacing is much improved here, too. We get more points of view, not just from the keepers and dragons on their journey to Kelsingra, but also from Malta, Reyn, and Selden, whose return I loved. Even Hest’s and the Duke of Chalced's POV added depth and tension, making the story feel more nuanced and driving the plot forward. Thankfully, there’s less focus on the sex-crazed teenagers this time, which helped the plot immensely.
The worldbuilding is where this book truly shines. Finally getting to explore Kelsingra was a highlight, it’s rich with potential, and I can’t wait to see more of its magic, history, and secrets uncovered. Discovering the Elderlings’ legacy alongside the characters was fascinating, and Alise’s awe and curiosity made the city feel alive and mysterious.

While the writing and worldbuilding are strong, the overall story still feels weaker compared to Hobb’s earlier series. There’s less happening than I’d hoped, and the keepers’ arcs continues to read like YA. Their obsession with sex, while less prominent than in previous books, still felt aggravating and unnecessary. The stakes feel lower, and the conflicts lack the depth and emotional weight I’ve come to expect from Hobb. I wanted more political intrigue, more emotional weight, more high-stakes drama.

City of Dragons is a step up from the previous books in the series, thanks to its improved pacing, expanded POVs, and stunning worldbuilding. But it doesn’t quite reach the heights of Hobb’s best work plotwise. 

Have you read City of Dragons? Did you love the exploration of Kelsingra as much as I did? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Happy reading!
Helena 

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 

Robin Hobb: Dragon Keeper

 Hi everyone

I felt it was time to start another Robin Hobb series, and since I’m reading her books chronologically, I started The Rain Wild Chronicles with the first book; Dragon Keeper.
I got my copy from Bol (with a gorgeous cover as always).
You can read my other Robin Hobb reviews here.

"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…"

There’s always something in Robin Hobb’s writing that compels me to keep reading, and in this case, it’s the promise of Kelsingra and the hope of learning more about the Elderlings. The worldbuilding is rich and immersive, and the premise; dragons returning to a world that has forgotten them, is intriguing. I’m curious to see where this journey leads, even if the execution in this book left me frustrated.

Unfortunately, Dragon Keeper lacks complexity. There’s almost no suspense or tension, and the plot crawls along at a snail’s pace. Even when the journey finally gets underway, it drags on far too long. The entire book revolves around a single storyline (with multiple POVs, yes), but reading about just one thing (the dragons and their keepers) gets boring quickly.

The characterization was not great. Some characters I hated with a passion (Sintara’s arrogance was insufferable), while others felt shallow and underdeveloped. Thymara, one of the main characters, felt surprisingly flat, and Alise was a bore. The dragons’ POVs added little depth, and the writing felt oddly childish or YA-ish ; very different from Hobb’s usual complex, layered characters.

This book would have been so much better if it were shorter and had more plotlines to keep things dynamic and engaging. As it stands, Dragon Keeper feels like a slow, meandering setup for something potentially (hopefully) greater. I’m still curious enough to continue the series but I hope the next book picks up the pace and gives us more depth.

Have you read Dragon Keeper? Did you feel the same way, or did it grab you more than it did me? I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Happy reading!
Helena