Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Collection
Publication
Harper Voyager (2009), Edition: 1st Edition, 560 pages
Description
Guided by the great blue dragon Tintaglia, a tangle of serpents fights its way up the Rain Wild River to the cocooning grounds. But the creatures which emerge from the cocoons are a travesty of the powerful, shining dragons of old; some cannot fly, others are stunted or deformed. To save the dragons, a band of dragon keepers, hunters and chroniclers must attend them if they are to find their true home--the legendary Elderling city of Kelsingra.
Media reviews
Hobb's meticulously realized fantasy tale is a welcome addition to contemporary dragon lore.
A nicely imagined fantasy setting that will engage readers and raise anticipation for the second installment.
User reviews
LibraryThing member Narilka
Dragon Keeper is the first in the Rain Wilds Chronicles by Robin Hobb and tenth in her greater Realm of the Elderlings series. While you can probably enjoy the story regardless, I recommend to have read the Liveship Traders prior to starting this book as this series is a direct follow up to those
It has been many years since Tintaglia saved Bingtown and struck a deal with the Traders to protect the newly hatched dragons. Tintaglia has vanished and the Traders are having trouble with keeping up their end of the bargain. The new dragons were too old when they cocooned as serpents and born too early, hatching weak and deformed. Many did not survive their first year. Those who did are becoming a menace, hampering efforts to excavate a buried Elderling city and costing a fortune to upkeep. There is only one solution: the dragons must be relocated somewhere else. Anywhere else. A crew of keepers are hired to help herd the dragons upriver to the mythical city of Kelsingra. Legends say Kelsingra was the home of dragons and Elderlings in ages past. Does it still exist? Can dragons and keepers survive such a journey?
This book is all about setting the stage for remainder of the series. The first two thirds of the book are spent in character building and Robin Hobb is an expert at it. We are introduced to a large cast though the story is told primarily from four points of view. Alise Finbok is in a marriage of convenience with Trader Hest Finbok. Their relationship leaves a lot to be desired. She's a self proclaimed dragon expert and has dedicated herself to learning everything she can about the creatures. She negotiates a trip to visit the hatchlings to learn about dragons directly from the source. Sent with her as her secretary/guardian is Hest's right hand man, Sedrec Meldar. To say that Sedrec is unhappy about this arrangement is an understatement. While grudgingly accepting this horrible duty he decides to put the trip to good use and has a nefarious plan of his ownto try and gather dragon parts as they're worth a fortune . Leftrin is captain of the oldest known liveship, Tarman. He and his crew are hired to assist with the dragon's relocation and will be loaded down with supplies for the keepers and hunters that have signed on for the journey. Sintara, also known as Skymaw, is one of the new dragons. She is frustrated by her and her kin's malformed bodies and taunted by ancestral memories of what a dragon is supposed to be. She is paired with Thymara as a keeper. Thymara is heavily touched by the Rain Wilds. Thymara grew up knowing she should not have existed, being born with claws instead of fingers and toes, and jumps at the chance to join the expedition to make her own way in the world. Great care is taken to flesh out everyone's perspectives, backgrounds, motivations and dark little secrets. In addition to the main points of view, there are around 16 dragons total, 14 keepers, the rest of Tarman's crew and a few hunters hired on to help provide food for the dragons on their trip. It seems like a lot but ended up not being that bad to keep up with.
Again, the feeling of setting the stage is greatly apparent. The pacing is very slow. Just as the plot really gets going, it ends on a small bombshell that I imagine will have great impact to the rest of the series. It was great learning more about the Rain Wilds, an area hinted at but not really encountered in depth before. My heart really went out to the dragons and their keepers. Both groups are the rejects of society. I hope this journey helps them to rise above their circumstances. But it's a Robin Hobb book so there will definitely be more hardships ahead. It's a good set up and an interesting read. On to book two!
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events and many things from those books are referenced with the idea that the reader is already in the know. So far there is no impact from the Farseer Trilogy at all and only one minor relation to the very end of the Tawny Man series which you can probably skip too and still understand the whole story no problem. Without further ado...It has been many years since Tintaglia saved Bingtown and struck a deal with the Traders to protect the newly hatched dragons. Tintaglia has vanished and the Traders are having trouble with keeping up their end of the bargain. The new dragons were too old when they cocooned as serpents and born too early, hatching weak and deformed. Many did not survive their first year. Those who did are becoming a menace, hampering efforts to excavate a buried Elderling city and costing a fortune to upkeep. There is only one solution: the dragons must be relocated somewhere else. Anywhere else. A crew of keepers are hired to help herd the dragons upriver to the mythical city of Kelsingra. Legends say Kelsingra was the home of dragons and Elderlings in ages past. Does it still exist? Can dragons and keepers survive such a journey?
This book is all about setting the stage for remainder of the series. The first two thirds of the book are spent in character building and Robin Hobb is an expert at it. We are introduced to a large cast though the story is told primarily from four points of view. Alise Finbok is in a marriage of convenience with Trader Hest Finbok. Their relationship leaves a lot to be desired. She's a self proclaimed dragon expert and has dedicated herself to learning everything she can about the creatures. She negotiates a trip to visit the hatchlings to learn about dragons directly from the source. Sent with her as her secretary/guardian is Hest's right hand man, Sedrec Meldar. To say that Sedrec is unhappy about this arrangement is an understatement. While grudgingly accepting this horrible duty he decides to put the trip to good use and has a nefarious plan of his own
Again, the feeling of setting the stage is greatly apparent. The pacing is very slow. Just as the plot really gets going, it ends on a small bombshell that I imagine will have great impact to the rest of the series. It was great learning more about the Rain Wilds, an area hinted at but not really encountered in depth before. My heart really went out to the dragons and their keepers. Both groups are the rejects of society. I hope this journey helps them to rise above their circumstances. But it's a Robin Hobb book so there will definitely be more hardships ahead. It's a good set up and an interesting read. On to book two!
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LibraryThing member alcarinqa
Guided by the dragon Tintaglia, they came from the sea: a Tangle of serpents fighting their way up the Rain Wild River, the first to make the perilous journey in generations. For Thymara, a Rainwilder born with scales and caws, the return of dragons symbolises the return of hope to her war-torn
But the creatures which emerge from the cocoons are a travesty of the dragons of old. Soon, they become a danger to all: it is decided that they must be moved. Far upriver lies the legendary Elderling city of Kelsingra. Perhaps there the dragons will find their true home. However, if the dragons are to get there, a band of dragon keepers must be recruited to attend them. None are expected to return, or even survive, but Thymara is certain it is her destiny ...
As usual, Hobb's characterisation is absolutely flawless in this novel. The story is primarily told through Sintara, a dragon who cannot fly, and Thymara, a Rain Wilds girl who was allowed to survive despite being born with scales and claws. Interspersed are the view points of Alisa, a Trader-born woman in an unhappy marriage, her childhood friend Sedric, and the captain who is ferrying them on the Rain Wilds River, Leftrin. These characters are so wonderfully described that I never dreaded a change in point-of-view. I feel that they grew in predictable ways through the course of the story, and the only negative point is that I was never surprised by any of the major developments in the novel.
I have always found Hobb's level of world-building impressive, and this book did not disappoint. The descriptions were vivid and rich in detail and I absolutely loved it. The story is mainly set in the river valley that used to be the dragon's breeding ground, where the dragons have not visited for generations, and has become swampland, marsh and rain forest in the intervening years. Humans live in the trees and have discovered ruined Elderling cities, but they do not understand the things they find there. The level of thought into the ecology of a world is rarely seen in fantastic literature, and makes this book a thought provoking read.
The most annoying aspect of the novel is that it it does not have a conclusion. The story is set up very slowly and the journey of the dragons and their keepers only begins half way through the book. The novel is paced as though it is a much larger book, and comes to an abrupt halt. The lack of conflict (and its subsequent resolution) left me disappointed. I would suggest that this book should not be read unless its sequel is close at hand.
A great story with amazing characters you can not help but sympathise with, The Dragon Keeper continues Robin Hobb's amazing work in fantastic literature. I suspect this novel would be unsatisfying if the sequel is not read soon after, however the exploration of human nature and its place in the wider world will entertain many readers. If you loved Hobb's other works, then this is a must for you, and if you have not, then it would be best if you stated with The Farseer Trilogy and worked your way through the novels of The Realm of the Elderlings.
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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 dragons.But the creatures which emerge from the cocoons are a travesty of the dragons of old. Soon, they become a danger to all: it is decided that they must be moved. Far upriver lies the legendary Elderling city of Kelsingra. Perhaps there the dragons will find their true home. However, if the dragons are to get there, a band of dragon keepers must be recruited to attend them. None are expected to return, or even survive, but Thymara is certain it is her destiny ...
As usual, Hobb's characterisation is absolutely flawless in this novel. The story is primarily told through Sintara, a dragon who cannot fly, and Thymara, a Rain Wilds girl who was allowed to survive despite being born with scales and claws. Interspersed are the view points of Alisa, a Trader-born woman in an unhappy marriage, her childhood friend Sedric, and the captain who is ferrying them on the Rain Wilds River, Leftrin. These characters are so wonderfully described that I never dreaded a change in point-of-view. I feel that they grew in predictable ways through the course of the story, and the only negative point is that I was never surprised by any of the major developments in the novel.
I have always found Hobb's level of world-building impressive, and this book did not disappoint. The descriptions were vivid and rich in detail and I absolutely loved it. The story is mainly set in the river valley that used to be the dragon's breeding ground, where the dragons have not visited for generations, and has become swampland, marsh and rain forest in the intervening years. Humans live in the trees and have discovered ruined Elderling cities, but they do not understand the things they find there. The level of thought into the ecology of a world is rarely seen in fantastic literature, and makes this book a thought provoking read.
The most annoying aspect of the novel is that it it does not have a conclusion. The story is set up very slowly and the journey of the dragons and their keepers only begins half way through the book. The novel is paced as though it is a much larger book, and comes to an abrupt halt. The lack of conflict (and its subsequent resolution) left me disappointed. I would suggest that this book should not be read unless its sequel is close at hand.
A great story with amazing characters you can not help but sympathise with, The Dragon Keeper continues Robin Hobb's amazing work in fantastic literature. I suspect this novel would be unsatisfying if the sequel is not read soon after, however the exploration of human nature and its place in the wider world will entertain many readers. If you loved Hobb's other works, then this is a must for you, and if you have not, then it would be best if you stated with The Farseer Trilogy and worked your way through the novels of The Realm of the Elderlings.
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LibraryThing member salimbol
It's always a pleasure to return to Robin Hobb's Bingtown and Rainwild settings, which are once more in the throes of change. This time, she presents us with the outcasts of human and dragon society, and the text is really a passionate argument for their worth and that society should allow them to
The Dragon Keeper is not as epic in scope as Hobb's other works, and suffers a little from an overly-luxurious pace (although when the trade-off is extra time spent on characterisation, as it often is with Hobb, I seldom mind). As others have mentioned, the ending is somewhat abrupt, almost cliff-hangerish, and I'm keen to read the next book soon. One final caveat: here, Hobb is dealing more directly with male homosexuality (though not explicitly) than she ever has before. Unfortunately, both of the homosexual characters are quite unsympathetic. However, I do have faith in her ability to grow and change her characters (think of Malta in the Liveship books!), and even when they're being thoroughly unlikeable, she's always careful to present their motivations in such a way that the reader can understand them (e.g. Kennitt), and I don't consider this a real criticism (yet :-).
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become everything they can be, while at the same time never becoming sentimental about them and allowing them to be flawed and sometimes unworthy beings. True to form, things will never be easy for them; Hobb delights in putting obstacles in her characters' paths, and one of the things that I appreciate most in her writing is that the road to maturity and self-knowledge is frequently painful and uncomfortable (for both characters and readers). It was also a pleasure to see how life is treating characters from the Liveship books: we get to spend brief but significant time with some old favourites. Cunningly, they're also used to illuminate the choices our new main characters are making - in particularly, they present Alise with a new range of possibilities, outside of her sheltered experience.The Dragon Keeper is not as epic in scope as Hobb's other works, and suffers a little from an overly-luxurious pace (although when the trade-off is extra time spent on characterisation, as it often is with Hobb, I seldom mind). As others have mentioned, the ending is somewhat abrupt, almost cliff-hangerish, and I'm keen to read the next book soon. One final caveat: here, Hobb is dealing more directly with male homosexuality (though not explicitly) than she ever has before. Unfortunately, both of the homosexual characters are quite unsympathetic. However, I do have faith in her ability to grow and change her characters (think of Malta in the Liveship books!), and even when they're being thoroughly unlikeable, she's always careful to present their motivations in such a way that the reader can understand them (e.g. Kennitt), and I don't consider this a real criticism (yet :-).
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LibraryThing member maggie1944
I really enjoyed this story as the "world building" was both unique and believable. The setting was similar to a rain forest but with some interesting twists. The characters were both people and dragons with some interesting hints of cross-fertilization, of a sort, to come. The characters were, in
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the words of a friend of mine, quite tortured but also in turn lovable and irritating. Even the "evil" people had some redeeming qualities which I enjoyed as this reflects real life. I was disappointed that the novel did not happily stand alone. It really really makes you want to read the next in the series....and you know it! Not yet published. Coming out soon....in hard back. money money money Show Less
LibraryThing member Jvstin
Life in the jungle filled Rain Wilds is tough. Whether you live in half-ruined Bingtown, recently rebuilding from a war with a long time adversary, or if you live deeper in the Rain Wilds, where buildings are built into the trees, and social position is based on how low to the ground you can manage
To this dangerous environment, add Dragons, hatched from Sea Serpent eggs, and protected by a bargain the egg layer has made with the Rain Wilds folk to care for the creatures. Mix in the fact that these dragons are stunted, malformed and some of them are nearly feral. These are far from your typical fantasy dragons!
Set in (as you might already have guessed) Hobb's Farseer world, Dragon Keeper is the story of these malformed dragons, offspring of the true dragon Tintaglia (who featured prominently in the Liveship Traders series). Malformed and stunted as they are, they are not the creatures anyone expects, and are a burden on the Rain Wilders. The Dragons seize a chance to get the Rain Wilders to get them out of each other's hair by sending them, with their keepers, upriver, in search of a legendary city from the prior Elderling civilization.
Dragon Keeper is also the story of two young and very different women. Thymara has the mutations and markings that make her a semi-outcast even amongst her people, and it is no wonder that she leaps at the chance to escape her home environment and join that expedition to repatriate the dragons further upriver. By comparison, Alise is a sheltered young woman, bound in a marriage that is literally only in name, whose study of scrolls and documents makes her, improbably, the foremost theoretical expert on Dragons and their former world. She, too, with both hands, leaps at the chance to escape her home life and join the expedition.
There are a small flock of secondary characters as well that mainly serve as relief and contrast to Alise and Thymara (although compared to many authors, they serve very well as defined characters).Sedric, secretary to Hest, and unwilling companion to Alise on her journey, is close as they come to being a third main character in the novel.
I've read a few of Hobb's novels before (and under her pen name Megan Lindholm as well). Like those previous novels, she provides solid characters, a well fleshed out and thought out world, and has captured the magic of "one more page, one more chapter" in her writing style, leading the reader on to continue the journey. In addition to cutting between the two main characters, the chapters also have the text of messages sent between bird keepers, which provides a third, objective view of some events and helps flesh out the world as really extending beyond the words on the page.
While I think reading some of the previous Farseer books (especially the Liveship Traders--there are Liveships in this novel, naturally) might be useful for understanding some events, since most of this book is set in the isolated backcountry, I think this book can serve as a gateway book to Hobb's work.
The only weakness to the book, and its endemic to a lot of fantasy these days, is that this is an unfinished story.This is the first in a duology and even as such, this first novel does not stand alone.
However, given the richness of the book, I will *definitely* be looking to getting and reading the second book when it comes out. I also need to fill in the backlog of books of Hobbs in the Farseer world I haven't read--Dragon Keeper helped remind me of the skill and craft in her worldbuilding and characters.
If you are looking for a low magic fantasy world with a different take on dragons, or if you are a previous fan of Hobb's Farseer world, I recommend Dragon Keeper to you.
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to live, its a tough life. The fact that the river itself is somewhat acidic and inimical adds to the dangerous ground.To this dangerous environment, add Dragons, hatched from Sea Serpent eggs, and protected by a bargain the egg layer has made with the Rain Wilds folk to care for the creatures. Mix in the fact that these dragons are stunted, malformed and some of them are nearly feral. These are far from your typical fantasy dragons!
Set in (as you might already have guessed) Hobb's Farseer world, Dragon Keeper is the story of these malformed dragons, offspring of the true dragon Tintaglia (who featured prominently in the Liveship Traders series). Malformed and stunted as they are, they are not the creatures anyone expects, and are a burden on the Rain Wilders. The Dragons seize a chance to get the Rain Wilders to get them out of each other's hair by sending them, with their keepers, upriver, in search of a legendary city from the prior Elderling civilization.
Dragon Keeper is also the story of two young and very different women. Thymara has the mutations and markings that make her a semi-outcast even amongst her people, and it is no wonder that she leaps at the chance to escape her home environment and join that expedition to repatriate the dragons further upriver. By comparison, Alise is a sheltered young woman, bound in a marriage that is literally only in name, whose study of scrolls and documents makes her, improbably, the foremost theoretical expert on Dragons and their former world. She, too, with both hands, leaps at the chance to escape her home life and join the expedition.
There are a small flock of secondary characters as well that mainly serve as relief and contrast to Alise and Thymara (although compared to many authors, they serve very well as defined characters).Sedric, secretary to Hest, and unwilling companion to Alise on her journey, is close as they come to being a third main character in the novel.
I've read a few of Hobb's novels before (and under her pen name Megan Lindholm as well). Like those previous novels, she provides solid characters, a well fleshed out and thought out world, and has captured the magic of "one more page, one more chapter" in her writing style, leading the reader on to continue the journey. In addition to cutting between the two main characters, the chapters also have the text of messages sent between bird keepers, which provides a third, objective view of some events and helps flesh out the world as really extending beyond the words on the page.
While I think reading some of the previous Farseer books (especially the Liveship Traders--there are Liveships in this novel, naturally) might be useful for understanding some events, since most of this book is set in the isolated backcountry, I think this book can serve as a gateway book to Hobb's work.
The only weakness to the book, and its endemic to a lot of fantasy these days, is that this is an unfinished story.This is the first in a duology and even as such, this first novel does not stand alone.
However, given the richness of the book, I will *definitely* be looking to getting and reading the second book when it comes out. I also need to fill in the backlog of books of Hobbs in the Farseer world I haven't read--Dragon Keeper helped remind me of the skill and craft in her worldbuilding and characters.
If you are looking for a low magic fantasy world with a different take on dragons, or if you are a previous fan of Hobb's Farseer world, I recommend Dragon Keeper to you.
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LibraryThing member majkia
If there is one thing Robin Hobb does well, it is torture her characters. Nothing ever is easy, and few things work out perfectly, despite incredible efforts by dedicated people with the best of intentions. How... realistic is that.
Dragon Keeper picks up where her Assassin, Live Ships and Tawny Man
The one dragon who is alive, helps to usher sea serpents up the Rain Wilds River to cocoon and become more dragons. Only... Well, the sea serpents have been at sea for too long and the hatching doesn't go well, and the story is about what to do with 'failed' dragons.
It is a moving tale, as are all her books, difficult in that you want things to work, but somehow they never quite seem to work well. But at the same time, she can grow her characters like no one else can, letting them struggle against impossible odds which might defeat them, but never quite breaks them
Highly recommended, if you are NOT looking for light or happy fantasy.
Dragon Keeper picks up where her Assassin, Live Ships and Tawny Man
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series ended.The one dragon who is alive, helps to usher sea serpents up the Rain Wilds River to cocoon and become more dragons. Only... Well, the sea serpents have been at sea for too long and the hatching doesn't go well, and the story is about what to do with 'failed' dragons.
It is a moving tale, as are all her books, difficult in that you want things to work, but somehow they never quite seem to work well. But at the same time, she can grow her characters like no one else can, letting them struggle against impossible odds which might defeat them, but never quite breaks them
Highly recommended, if you are NOT looking for light or happy fantasy.
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LibraryThing member littlegeek
It was ok, I guess. The story really didn't get going until the last 3rd and it ends on kind of a cliffhanger and the second book isn't due out til May. But it was diverting enough. The thing is, most of the world building was already done in previous books, so it needed some a really great story
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or exceptional characters to give it a wow factor. Didn't really have either, imo. Although the last chapter did make me want to read on. Show Less
LibraryThing member phenske
Beautiful story, not too complex but enough to hold my attention and want me to read read read!
LibraryThing member NogDog
I quit reading about a quarter of the way into it. Neither the characters nor the plot was grabbing me and making me want to read more. It was reading more like a soap opera than a fantasy novel.
LibraryThing member mauveberry
The story was okay and a bit slow sometimes. I felt it hard to like or empathize with any of the characters for the whole book, and parts of it reminded me of the Lord of the Flies. I also didn't like the repeated descriptions of parasites living on the dragons and of how tasty the dragons thought
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fresh entrails were. Show Less
LibraryThing member bjanecarp
When I picked up Dragon Keeper, a novel by Robin Hobb, it was specifically to have a nice, mindless read during my several hours of sitting in airports. I assumed it would be, like most novels with the word “Dragon” in the title, a cheaper knock-off of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonflight series.
The novel is situated in an acid-filled swampland called The Rain Wilds, where dragons have all but died out and people have moved to the rain forest canopy to survive. Fifteen hatchlings were all the dragons that survived of the last clutch, and each of them born malformed and sometimes mentally deficient. They have all the attitude, and memories, of millenia of their race, but are confined to a muddy swampland, unable to fly or hunt for themselves. The dragons are huge, horribly-tempered, and largely arrogant. Their crippled condition causes them to depend on the kindness of the local humans to survive. The local community’s patience is wearing thin and is looking for a way to get rid of the dragon problem once and for all.
Humans are also slowly transforming in this harsh swamp environment. Many are born with scales, and black fingernails, or with ridges on their skin. When the deformities are too severe, the human infants are left to die.
The setting is engaging, but where Hobb shines is in the interactions between the characters who populate her novel. The internal conflict is what moves the work from chapter to chapter, and causes us to enjoy the setting, and the arrogant dragons. Hobb seems to intuitively comprehend this, and it was a pleasure to read her work. I occasionally, if rarely, struggled with her sense of time. A few times, if a reader misses a cue, they will be taken back to a scene that occured years before, and which makes no sense. Generally the plot is linear, although it is told from the perspective of four or five characters. It was probably my fault: if I weren’t reading with a bad cold, on an uncomfortable airplane seat, the temporal motion of the plot probably wouldn’t have stymied me.
The novel ends at a point where I was sorry I left the second novel of the series on the shelf at home. I was surprised to find that I’d jumped into the middle of a relatively well-defined world. Hobb has written several series (perhaps 15 titles?) that take place in the Realm of the Elderlings. What she accomplished remarkably well is never once giving me the impression that I should have read several novels *before* this one. The only component lacking, I thought, was a map, to allow me to keep track of where these people and dragons were. I was pleased to discover it and a looking forward to reading more.
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I’ve read others, by Mercedes Lackey and others: a big scary dragons meets a girl who falls in love with the creature. Basically, I expected My Friend Flicka with scales and wings. I’m here to report that I was pleasantly surprised about Dragon Keeper.The novel is situated in an acid-filled swampland called The Rain Wilds, where dragons have all but died out and people have moved to the rain forest canopy to survive. Fifteen hatchlings were all the dragons that survived of the last clutch, and each of them born malformed and sometimes mentally deficient. They have all the attitude, and memories, of millenia of their race, but are confined to a muddy swampland, unable to fly or hunt for themselves. The dragons are huge, horribly-tempered, and largely arrogant. Their crippled condition causes them to depend on the kindness of the local humans to survive. The local community’s patience is wearing thin and is looking for a way to get rid of the dragon problem once and for all.
Humans are also slowly transforming in this harsh swamp environment. Many are born with scales, and black fingernails, or with ridges on their skin. When the deformities are too severe, the human infants are left to die.
The setting is engaging, but where Hobb shines is in the interactions between the characters who populate her novel. The internal conflict is what moves the work from chapter to chapter, and causes us to enjoy the setting, and the arrogant dragons. Hobb seems to intuitively comprehend this, and it was a pleasure to read her work. I occasionally, if rarely, struggled with her sense of time. A few times, if a reader misses a cue, they will be taken back to a scene that occured years before, and which makes no sense. Generally the plot is linear, although it is told from the perspective of four or five characters. It was probably my fault: if I weren’t reading with a bad cold, on an uncomfortable airplane seat, the temporal motion of the plot probably wouldn’t have stymied me.
The novel ends at a point where I was sorry I left the second novel of the series on the shelf at home. I was surprised to find that I’d jumped into the middle of a relatively well-defined world. Hobb has written several series (perhaps 15 titles?) that take place in the Realm of the Elderlings. What she accomplished remarkably well is never once giving me the impression that I should have read several novels *before* this one. The only component lacking, I thought, was a map, to allow me to keep track of where these people and dragons were. I was pleased to discover it and a looking forward to reading more.
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LibraryThing member nimoloth
This is the first of two (maybe three) set in the same world as the Assasin's Apprentice, Tawny Man and Liveship Traders trilogies. It focuses on the Rain Wilds, and the dragons, and is set, time-wise, at the end of The Tawny Man trilogy. There are no common characters from there (unless you count
It was a very addictive read - one I couldn't put down. It follows about four or five different character threads which eventually join up, and the characters are very well written. You feel for them all. I think the one that most gripped me, emotionally, was Alise's story, although others are equally gripping in different ways. For me it was easy to put myself in her place and to want her to take control of her life.
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mention of the dragon Tintaglia), but I believe there are common characters from the Liveship series (I haven't read those yet).It was a very addictive read - one I couldn't put down. It follows about four or five different character threads which eventually join up, and the characters are very well written. You feel for them all. I think the one that most gripped me, emotionally, was Alise's story, although others are equally gripping in different ways. For me it was easy to put myself in her place and to want her to take control of her life.
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LibraryThing member VirginiaGill
Unfortunately this author committed on of my greatest pet peeves ensuring it's unlikely I will by their books in the future. The crime? Not crafting the each part of a trilogy as a freestanding COMPLETE story. Dragon Keeper just suddenly drops off with no resolution to any of the story threads,
In general it's a slow story though it is interesting enough to keep you reading. Would I recommend it? Probably not, certainly not without a warning that the story is incomplete.
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most annoying. In general it's a slow story though it is interesting enough to keep you reading. Would I recommend it? Probably not, certainly not without a warning that the story is incomplete.
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LibraryThing member hawkinsfamily
Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb is the first in a new series. As is the norm for Robin Hobb it is a great fantasy story. It is well written and makes you not want to wait for the following parts of the trilogy.
LibraryThing member ffowles
Not her best but still great. Takes a bit of time to get going - it's only when all the different characters are brought together that it really starts getting interesting. Looking forward to reading the rest.
LibraryThing member kdcdavis
I can't help but enjoy reading all of Robin Hobb's books, even if I'm not always satisfied by them. Because this one is continuing a greater story as well as beginning a trilogy, it starts off slowly and unexcitingly. I'm also a little concerned that she's falling into the Kate Elliott
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trap--getting involved with too many characters and their different stories; so far this lacks a clear protagonist. However, it is well written and interesting, and her characters are, as always, intriguing because of their flaws; I also like that they have to work for everything they get--Hobb doesn't let anyone get off easily! I have higher hopes for this trilogy than the Soldier Son trilogy (talk about unsatisfying), and am inspired to go back and re-read the Farseer, Tawny Man, and LiveShip trilogies. I'm looking forward to the publication of Dragon Haven in May. Show Less
LibraryThing member 4fish
Dragons have once again hatched in the Rain Wilds, but the newly hatched dragons are weak and deformed. Still, feeding them is straining the resources of the Rain Wilds towns to the breaking point, so the Traders decide to send them off to find the fabled city of Kelsingra, along with some human
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companions that they'd just as soon be rid of, too. It's an intriguing setup, but not a lot happens in this first book in the series. Show Less
LibraryThing member amanderson
A very good fantasy with lots of YA crossover appeal. It apparently is set in a fantasy world the author has built in others of her books, but I haven't read those and it didn't matter much. It features a small group of dragons, born deformed in a rain forest land called Rain Wilds, where humans
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have mostly forgotten dragons and are themselves sometimes born with a touch of reptilian mutations like scales and claws that make them outcasts and sometimes left to die at birth, if the mutations are too severe. An agreement with one of the last full dragons meant that the Rain Wilds tribes are required to feed these deformed, some mentally challenged, flightless young dragons, an arrangement that all parties soon grow sick of. The dragons eat a lot, perhaps including humans if they get hungry enough, and the rain forest is a miserable place for them to live. All decide that the dragons need to be relocated to the mythical land of the Elderlings, Kelsingra. Their shepherds are a small group of teenagers with a few too many mutations for the tribes' comfort level, a boat captain and his crew, Alise, a young woman and dragon scholar who is temporarily escaping a very unhappy marriage, and weak Sedric, Alise's friend and her husband's lover (unbeknownst to Alise). it's going to be a tough journey but an adventure, to be continued in later books. Show Less
LibraryThing member suzemo
I really wanted to love this book.
I adored the Farseer Trilogy and I had a love/hate with the Liveship trilogy. One of the best parts of the Liveship trilogy, I thought, was the mysterious Rain Wilds, so I was hoping that this book would be awesome.
And it was OK. So far I like the series, and I
I like the premise - learning more about the Rain Wilds, the scholarly society woman doing the best she can to follow her passion while being trapped in a rigid patriarchal system, a whole bunch of not-so-majestic and damaged dragons trying to survive and find their home. The story starting finally moving interestingly towards the end, and I still look forward to the next book.
I adored the Farseer Trilogy and I had a love/hate with the Liveship trilogy. One of the best parts of the Liveship trilogy, I thought, was the mysterious Rain Wilds, so I was hoping that this book would be awesome.
And it was OK. So far I like the series, and I
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will be continuing with it, but the storytelling itself was a little grating. There was a lot of switching between perspectives within the story, without warning, and it detracted from the story, jolting me out of my happy reading immersion. A large portion of the book was slow, and not in a good "slow because we're having to set up backstories and story tell before the story can get going" slow, but "I think I'll skim this now because nothing important is happening" slow.I like the premise - learning more about the Rain Wilds, the scholarly society woman doing the best she can to follow her passion while being trapped in a rigid patriarchal system, a whole bunch of not-so-majestic and damaged dragons trying to survive and find their home. The story starting finally moving interestingly towards the end, and I still look forward to the next book.
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LibraryThing member infjsarah
Enjoyable beginning to this new series by Robin Hobb. I've been waiting to read it when the whole thing is published. This is the set up and introduction to the characters. I enjoyed it greatly and went straight on to the next book.
LibraryThing member KarenLeeField
The book started out slow and even a little boring. I almost turned it aside unfinished. However, Robin Hobb is known (to me) for slow beginning and brilliant endings so I persevered.
Once the place markers were set and the characters introduced, the pace picked up and I found myself entertained and
Thymara, touched by the Rain Wilds and born with claws and scales, should have been disposed of at birth, but her father could not allow that to happen and went against his wife’s wishes by keeping her. Alise, almost an old maid when she finally marries, had already set her mind to the study of dragons and refuses to let her new husband stop her studies. Lethrin, captain of a Live Ship, will do anything for money…and love. These three people are thrown together when the council are persuaded to move the young dragons to a place more suited to their needs. The problem is … none of them are expected to return to civilisation, as it’s a dangerous journey.
The three main characters are complimented by a great cast of secondary characters. Their individual stories are complex and real. This is compounded by external conflicts and danger. In my opinion, what the author lacks in being able to get straight into the story, she makes up for in character and world development.
This is a brilliant book, once you get past the first 50 or so pages. However, the story ended without resolution. Smack bang in the middle of the tension…it finished! To be continued in book 2. As my definition of a story is that it must have a beginning, a middle and an ending this was a great disappointment for me.
Once the place markers were set and the characters introduced, the pace picked up and I found myself entertained and
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thoroughly immersed in this world of dragons.Thymara, touched by the Rain Wilds and born with claws and scales, should have been disposed of at birth, but her father could not allow that to happen and went against his wife’s wishes by keeping her. Alise, almost an old maid when she finally marries, had already set her mind to the study of dragons and refuses to let her new husband stop her studies. Lethrin, captain of a Live Ship, will do anything for money…and love. These three people are thrown together when the council are persuaded to move the young dragons to a place more suited to their needs. The problem is … none of them are expected to return to civilisation, as it’s a dangerous journey.
The three main characters are complimented by a great cast of secondary characters. Their individual stories are complex and real. This is compounded by external conflicts and danger. In my opinion, what the author lacks in being able to get straight into the story, she makes up for in character and world development.
This is a brilliant book, once you get past the first 50 or so pages. However, the story ended without resolution. Smack bang in the middle of the tension…it finished! To be continued in book 2. As my definition of a story is that it must have a beginning, a middle and an ending this was a great disappointment for me.
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LibraryThing member stefferoo
The Dragon Keeper is the second book I've ever read by Robin Hobb, the first being Assassin's Apprentice, book one of the Farseer trilogy. My first thought after reading that one was that I liked it well enough; Robin Hobb is great storyteller, and Assassin's Apprentice was quite enjoyable. Still,
Now, I realize I should really make the effort to finish up young Fitz's story first, but then The Dragon Keeper landed on my lap. This first book of the Rain Wild Chronicles has gotten rave reviews from many of my fantasy-book-loving friends, so I admit I've always been curious about the series. That, and it's hard to resist the prospect of a good story about dragons.
The book begins with a group of sea serpents journeying upriver to cocoon themselves so that they might hatch into dragons. They are overseen by Tintaglia, the last known dragon. It is her hope that their efforts would reintroduce their kind to the world, with the help of humans on the Rain Wild Council. We are then introduced to our key characters: Thymara, a young girl marked by a birth defect that gave her scales and clawed fingers; Leftrin, captain of the wizardwood liveship called Tarman; Alise Kincarrion, a woman who weds a successful local Trader named Hest Finbok in a marriage of convenience for both of them; and Sintara, a dragon who has hatched from one of the cocoons mentioned at the beginning of the book. Their stories all come together when a group of human keepers must set out on a quest to escort a party of dragons to find the legendary city of Kelsingra.
I have to be honest; I found the first half or so of this book really slow, and it took me a while to figure out why. In the end, I determined it was the characters. While they each come from fascinating backgrounds and unique circumstances, I failed to drum up much interest for their personalities. Thymara, for example, came across to me as rather bland. Normally, Rain Wild babies with birth defects like hers would have been left for dead immediately after they were born, but she was rescued from that fate by her softhearted father. As a result, most people look upon her as a mistake that never should have happened. Don't get me wrong; while these little details about Thymara gave me insight into her character and I certainly enjoyed reading about them, the issue was that I found little else to set her apart from most young outcast protagonists in a lot of the other fantasy books I've read.
I felt much the same about Alise. Her story, however, was much more interesting to me. Her relationship with Hest is pretty sad, with him being a cold and emotionally abusive ass. To Hest, their marriage is just another business contract; Alise is only useful to him for her ability to bear him an heir, and in exchange he has offered his considerable assets for her to fund her dragon research. As it turns out, there's more to the reasons why he is incapable of ever returning Alise's attempts at affection, which made my heart go out to her. And yet, her personality was so unexceptional that I found it hard to truly root for her.
I think some of this stems from the dialogue. For instance, in the book is a minor character named Greft, a young dragon keeper who very swiftly and efficiently sways the others around him to set himself up as the leader of their crew. Often in his manipulations, he says things along the lines of "Surely, you must see this is the way..." or "I am sure you can understand..." I mean, do people really fall for patronizing verbiage like that? It all just sounds so forced and over the top. I know it's a minor gripe, but I didn't like how instead of actually giving the character a charismatic personality, the writing often falls back on dialogue choices like that.
Now, the dragons, on the other hand. Not magnificent and noble creatures, these. Robin Hobb's dragons in the Rain Wild Chronicles are weak, malformed and unable to take care of themselves, relying on humans to hunt for them and clean them. From what I read of them, they also seemed petty and squabbly, and Sintara annoyed me to no end with her arrogance and posturing. But still, the dragons here felt fresh and different for me, and I liked them a lot for that.
While the beginning was slow to pick up, the positive news is that once the characters were all set up and the adventure got going, the book just got better and better. In fact, I was quite irked when it ended, just as things were at their most interesting. It was actually pretty abrupt.
I have to say that in general I don't mind cliffhangers, not if they're executed deftly and with panache. Unfortunately, I can't claim that this was one of those endings. There was no real conclusion, no cooldown, not even any real attempt to wrap things up nicely. Without warning at all, everything just comes to a screeching halt.
However, to the book's credit, the way it ended was still very effective. I already have the next book on hold at my library. And that, at least, is more than what I did for the Farseer trilogy.
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while I was definitely on board to read the rest of the series, nothing about it excited me enough to make me want to drop everything and rush out for the sequel, if you know what I mean. In fact, it's been almost two years since I read the first book, and I still haven't gotten around to Royal Assassin. Shameful, I know.Now, I realize I should really make the effort to finish up young Fitz's story first, but then The Dragon Keeper landed on my lap. This first book of the Rain Wild Chronicles has gotten rave reviews from many of my fantasy-book-loving friends, so I admit I've always been curious about the series. That, and it's hard to resist the prospect of a good story about dragons.
The book begins with a group of sea serpents journeying upriver to cocoon themselves so that they might hatch into dragons. They are overseen by Tintaglia, the last known dragon. It is her hope that their efforts would reintroduce their kind to the world, with the help of humans on the Rain Wild Council. We are then introduced to our key characters: Thymara, a young girl marked by a birth defect that gave her scales and clawed fingers; Leftrin, captain of the wizardwood liveship called Tarman; Alise Kincarrion, a woman who weds a successful local Trader named Hest Finbok in a marriage of convenience for both of them; and Sintara, a dragon who has hatched from one of the cocoons mentioned at the beginning of the book. Their stories all come together when a group of human keepers must set out on a quest to escort a party of dragons to find the legendary city of Kelsingra.
I have to be honest; I found the first half or so of this book really slow, and it took me a while to figure out why. In the end, I determined it was the characters. While they each come from fascinating backgrounds and unique circumstances, I failed to drum up much interest for their personalities. Thymara, for example, came across to me as rather bland. Normally, Rain Wild babies with birth defects like hers would have been left for dead immediately after they were born, but she was rescued from that fate by her softhearted father. As a result, most people look upon her as a mistake that never should have happened. Don't get me wrong; while these little details about Thymara gave me insight into her character and I certainly enjoyed reading about them, the issue was that I found little else to set her apart from most young outcast protagonists in a lot of the other fantasy books I've read.
I felt much the same about Alise. Her story, however, was much more interesting to me. Her relationship with Hest is pretty sad, with him being a cold and emotionally abusive ass. To Hest, their marriage is just another business contract; Alise is only useful to him for her ability to bear him an heir, and in exchange he has offered his considerable assets for her to fund her dragon research. As it turns out, there's more to the reasons why he is incapable of ever returning Alise's attempts at affection, which made my heart go out to her. And yet, her personality was so unexceptional that I found it hard to truly root for her.
I think some of this stems from the dialogue. For instance, in the book is a minor character named Greft, a young dragon keeper who very swiftly and efficiently sways the others around him to set himself up as the leader of their crew. Often in his manipulations, he says things along the lines of "Surely, you must see this is the way..." or "I am sure you can understand..." I mean, do people really fall for patronizing verbiage like that? It all just sounds so forced and over the top. I know it's a minor gripe, but I didn't like how instead of actually giving the character a charismatic personality, the writing often falls back on dialogue choices like that.
Now, the dragons, on the other hand. Not magnificent and noble creatures, these. Robin Hobb's dragons in the Rain Wild Chronicles are weak, malformed and unable to take care of themselves, relying on humans to hunt for them and clean them. From what I read of them, they also seemed petty and squabbly, and Sintara annoyed me to no end with her arrogance and posturing. But still, the dragons here felt fresh and different for me, and I liked them a lot for that.
While the beginning was slow to pick up, the positive news is that once the characters were all set up and the adventure got going, the book just got better and better. In fact, I was quite irked when it ended, just as things were at their most interesting. It was actually pretty abrupt.
I have to say that in general I don't mind cliffhangers, not if they're executed deftly and with panache. Unfortunately, I can't claim that this was one of those endings. There was no real conclusion, no cooldown, not even any real attempt to wrap things up nicely. Without warning at all, everything just comes to a screeching halt.
However, to the book's credit, the way it ended was still very effective. I already have the next book on hold at my library. And that, at least, is more than what I did for the Farseer trilogy.
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LibraryThing member GaryBabb
I got into the story ... good plot. Unfortunately, I found it to "chicky", and I got tired of all the repeating identical details over and over. But, I learned to skim the slow parts and get to the story, which I loved. I was about a third into the book before I discovered Hobbs was a female. This
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I realized when she went on and own about rolls of petticoats and female attire. But, I do recommend the book, and did read the second book and will read the third when it comes out. Show Less
LibraryThing member ShannaRedwind
Robin Hobb's characters are very real. They have strengths and failings and the ability to overcome their failings with effort.
Dealing with dragons is difficult at the best of times. But when they are misformed and need help that they are resentful for, it makes life even more difficult for those
I enjoyed reading this book. I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more had I read the sets of series in their intended order rather than starting with this one, but I'll go back and read the others in her series when I can.
Dealing with dragons is difficult at the best of times. But when they are misformed and need help that they are resentful for, it makes life even more difficult for those
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contracted to take care of them.I enjoyed reading this book. I'm sure I would have enjoyed it more had I read the sets of series in their intended order rather than starting with this one, but I'll go back and read the others in her series when I can.
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LibraryThing member paperloverevolution
I grew up on a toxic waste dump. I realize that sounds melodramatic, but technically it's accurate. My childhood home was ringed by no fewer than five Superfund sites - and, as we like to say, those are just the spots they've cleaned.
When I was a kid people weren't so concerned about the
Now it's been spruced up. They sealed off the slag heaps and built fancy condos on top of them, planted new grass along the edges, dug up people's lawns and replaced them with new, cleaner topsoil. The smelter company offered a cash settlement to the people living closest to the plant, and they took it, even though the surveys hadn't been completed. They worked hard to restore the bay, and now when you stroll through the new grass and out along the docks you can look down to see bright colonies of starfish and sea anemones clinging to the piers, and deeper down, the quick dark shapes of fish.
Later, of course, we learned that the pollution went farther and deeper than the smelter operators had admitted to. Too late for the people who had settled, and too late for all of us who grew up splashing in that water and breathing that air. Statistics are readily available about disease rates in my hometown, telling us that you're much more likely to die of obscure cancers or get heart or lung disease there. I haven't seen anything on autoimmune disease, except that it's a hotspot for diabetes. I'm curious mostly because everyone I know, just about, has something crazy and unlikely wrong with them. Lupus, MS, celiac disease, autism, Crohn's disease, asthma - you name it. We're a sickly bunch.
We're not alone. All over the planet, people grow up in the shadow of industrial toxins, watch their kids and their friends get sick and die, watch their own bodies with wary concern. What can you do? You go on. Sometimes your pain and your poison can be transmuted into something beautiful, into art, into action, into something meaningful. Sometimes you just have to learn to accept your limitations and endure the pain.
And so this is a story for us. Here is a world where profit has trumped issues of morality and health, where generations grow up living with the legacy of pollution. It's sort of a counterpoint to the sunny ending of the Liveship books, where dragons and men are reunited and the deformed people of the Rain Wilds are transformed into something better. In this new series, we meet the people who were left behind, still deformed, without the hope that some magical intervention will save them from themselves. How they go on, and how they learn to transform themselves, is nothing short of inspirational.
This is what fantasy is best at, and this is why it's necessary.
When I was a kid people weren't so concerned about the
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pollution. Arsenic was in the dust we kicked up on the playgrounds, on the berries we picked in the woods, in the small ponds where nothing lived and no birds ever stopped. The waterways were lined with gray heaps of slag from the copper smelter, in some spots enlivened by oil-slick rainbow stains made by unknown chemicals seeping out from the rocks. We were told not to fish or swim in the bay, which seemed to us kids to be hilarious: looking down off the docks into the still, metallic depths, we couldn't picture fish living down there at all, let alone anything you'd think of eating. And that was just the water. I still don't know what the mills were belching into the air, or what they're still churning out - sometimes, when the wind is right, you can both smell and taste the air: a sulphuric grit which stings your eyes and irritates your throat. Now it's been spruced up. They sealed off the slag heaps and built fancy condos on top of them, planted new grass along the edges, dug up people's lawns and replaced them with new, cleaner topsoil. The smelter company offered a cash settlement to the people living closest to the plant, and they took it, even though the surveys hadn't been completed. They worked hard to restore the bay, and now when you stroll through the new grass and out along the docks you can look down to see bright colonies of starfish and sea anemones clinging to the piers, and deeper down, the quick dark shapes of fish.
Later, of course, we learned that the pollution went farther and deeper than the smelter operators had admitted to. Too late for the people who had settled, and too late for all of us who grew up splashing in that water and breathing that air. Statistics are readily available about disease rates in my hometown, telling us that you're much more likely to die of obscure cancers or get heart or lung disease there. I haven't seen anything on autoimmune disease, except that it's a hotspot for diabetes. I'm curious mostly because everyone I know, just about, has something crazy and unlikely wrong with them. Lupus, MS, celiac disease, autism, Crohn's disease, asthma - you name it. We're a sickly bunch.
We're not alone. All over the planet, people grow up in the shadow of industrial toxins, watch their kids and their friends get sick and die, watch their own bodies with wary concern. What can you do? You go on. Sometimes your pain and your poison can be transmuted into something beautiful, into art, into action, into something meaningful. Sometimes you just have to learn to accept your limitations and endure the pain.
And so this is a story for us. Here is a world where profit has trumped issues of morality and health, where generations grow up living with the legacy of pollution. It's sort of a counterpoint to the sunny ending of the Liveship books, where dragons and men are reunited and the deformed people of the Rain Wilds are transformed into something better. In this new series, we meet the people who were left behind, still deformed, without the hope that some magical intervention will save them from themselves. How they go on, and how they learn to transform themselves, is nothing short of inspirational.
This is what fantasy is best at, and this is why it's necessary.
Show Less
Awards
David Gemmell Legend Award (Shortlist — 2010)
Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year (Science Fiction and Fantasy — 2010)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2009-06-25
Physical description
560 p.; 6.26 inches
ISBN
0007273746 / 9780007273744
Local notes
Thymara, an unschooled forest girl, and Alise, wife of an unloving and wealthy Trader, are among the disparate group entrusted with escorting the dragons from the Trader Cities to their new home.
Ex-library.
Ex-library.