- Book written by Robin Hobb
- Published in 2009
- Part 1 of The Rain Wild Chronicles
Dragons have hatched in the Rain Wilds, and they are nothing like the elegant creatures the Rain Wilders expected to crawl from the cocoons they had tended for so long. The Rain Wilds Council decides that they have to be escorted somewhere they can thrive. The destination is the legendary City of Kelsingra, where Dragons once lived in harmony with the Elderlings, who groomed and praised them.
Among the travelers we find Thymara, a young girl who is recruited to care for the Dragon Sintara, as well as Alise Finbok, a wealthy woman stuck in an unhappy marriage to a cruel man. Their journey is just beginning, and many hardships lie on the road ahead.
I am a big fan of Robin Hobb’s characters and style of storytelling. This book, however, is a little slower than her previous trilogies. I’ll admit I wasn’t a huge fan of the characters. Alise is a little annoying, and the Dragon Keepers are all basically children so that gets a little exhausting after a while. However, Hobb’s style of writing is pleasant, and the investment I have already made in her world by reading the last nine books made me more willing to invest my time in this series.
I would absolutely recommend starting The Rain Wilds Chronicles if you are a big fan of Robin Hobb’s books and have read the previous trilogies. In this book we get another glimpse of parts of Hobb’s world that we have not seen before, and the series will likely shed some light on its history, which I find really exciting.
However, if you have never read a book by Robin Hobb, I’d strongly recommend you start by reading Assassin’s Apprentice.