Here Comes the Groom!
***Spoilers for The Rain Wild Chronicles through chapter 17 of Dragon Keeper. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, and The Tawny Man Trilogy are fair game, too.***
Like the dragons, I just keep marching my way through the Realm! Another book down and another step closer to completing my RotE journey. With the tenth book complete, there are just five left to go- say it ain’t so!
I quite enjoyed Dragon Keeper. It’s something of a new beginning, which means we don’t hit the ground running with the same emotional investment we’ve developed with Fitz and our prior Cursed Shores main characters. Still, I liked getting to know our new cast, the complicated dynamics that unfolded, the setting, and the story developing thus far.
It also isn’t the most complete of stories, as we leave off fairly abruptly. I haven’t heard much about the Rain Wild Chronicles, but I have heard the rumor(?) that Dragon Keeper and Dragon Haven were initially intended as one book. That would make sense to me- Hobb setting out to write trilogies. Regardless, it doesn’t have a huge impact on me, 2025-26 reader, just tapping my way through on my Kindle.
Okay, enough preamble. Let’s just get into it. And predictably, today’s headline focus goes to my favorite dynamic duo: Sedric and Alise.
Sedric
I have to start with Sedric. As someone who initially seemed like a background character, he steps into the spotlight and doesn’t give it up. Sidepiece no more!
He is the embodiment of a great Hobb character to me: complicated, sympathetic, beaten down- selfish at times and strong and protective at others. We’ve heard a bit of Sedric’s backstory with his father and familial expectations (giving real Hermey the Elf of Bingtown Traders vibes).
But here, we get the origin of Sedric and Hest’s relationship. It’s hard to encompass the complexity of it. It’s certainly devastating as we witness Hest take advantage of a young, vulnerable Sedric, grooming him into what he wants him to be. Sedric escapes being trapped by his father’s expectations only to be molded into Hest’s instead.
As a young Sedric attends the wedding of his tutor and unrequited crush, he’s confronted with all that’s being denied to him: a happy marriage, open love, a life of his choosing. Being a good emo-Hobb boy, he takes his emotions out into the middle of a snowstorm, into a copse of pines. Older, more experienced Hest follows his prey and takes advantage of Sedric’s tumultuous state.
I won’t feign knowing what it’s like for a young man to come to grips with his sexuality in a closed-off society, but this scene gripped me.
“Sedric had shut his eyes tight then, and again as he recalled it. Every moment of that wild night under the cold and stormy sky was clear in his memory. It was etched into him, defining him. Hest had been right. It had been easier when he’d admitted what he wanted.
Hest had been merciless. He’d teased him, and hurt him, then soothed and smoothed him. He’d been rough and then gentle, harshly demanding and then sweetly urging. The storm swept around them, making the trees bow and dance, but the cold couldn’t reach them.”
We know what’s happening isn’t right, but we are in Sedric’s POV – and in a snowy, secluded setting – so it’s also intense and, in a way, romantic. Sedric is coming directly off a heartbreak he can hardly articulate to himself, let alone acknowledge, and is suddenly being given a taste of affection and acceptance he didn’t even think was accessible to him.
So here we are with him: a man who has never made his own way. Molded by the expectations of one man and then another. He thinks it’s Alise’s first time out experiencing the world on her own, but it’s just as much that for himself. He wants to seize the opportunity to make something of himself on his own. It’s just that his current plan – stashing away highly valuable (and highly illicit) dragon parts to be sold for a fortune – is deeply misguided. And it culminates with a possible dragon murder at his hands, followed by panic as he feels the walls beginning to close in around him.
He seizes on the increasing (and inappropriate) closeness between Alise and Leftrin to insist they cut this “vacation” short and head back to Bingtown ASAP. But I don’t think the mysterious forces of the Rain Wild River are done with Sedric yet.
Alise
Well, I suppose we can’t talk about one side of the coin without the other. The juxtaposition of their stories is absolutely brilliant.
I may have briefly cooled on her romance with Captain Leftrin last post, but we are so back, baby!
Through recollections the next day across various characters, we learn about a pretty romantic evening interlude for these two on the deck of the Tarman. I previously worried that Leftrin was more into Alise than she was into him, but with lines like-
“She longed to kiss that mouth, and to feel those calloused hands clasp her close. She missed sleeping in his bunk, missed the smell of him in the room and on the bedding. She wanted him as she’d never wanted anything or anyone before.”
-I think we can put that concern to bed.
It’s going to take some time for Alise to get comfortable with the idea of shedding her former life and breaking her word/contract, but seeing things clearly is a good first step. She has no more illusions about what her marriage can be or who Hest truly is. And I loved her spelling out for Sedric the abuse she’s endured at Hest’s hands, pushing forward his disillusionment as well.
Robin Hobb really connects all the dots here with this aching reflection from Alise:
“…she closed her eyes and thought of Althea, wife to the captain of the Paragon. She’d seen that woman dashing about the deck barefoot, wearing loose trousers like a man. … She and the captain had moved without even looking at each other, like a needle drawn to a magnet, their arms lifting as if they were the halves of the god Sa becoming whole again. She’d thought her heart would break with envy.”
Warning: Earnest Observation Alert. At the end of Liveship Traders, I wrote about Althea’s desire to live authentically, and the toll to be constantly told you’re wrong to do so. That throughline lives strongly here in RWC with both Sedric’s and Alise’s storylines. It’s a subtle, beautiful reminder that living authentically can embolden others to do the same, even without your awareness. Althea may never know the impact she’s had on Alise (or maybe she will!), but either way, she influences others simply by being true to herself.
Hear, hear!
Musings!
Dragon Temperament and Time Passage
I’ve certainly enjoyed ragging on Tintaglia’s bitchiness throughout the series. But with our introduction to new dragon personalities, it’s clear that this isn’t a singular trait so much as a common dragon… cuntiness. And I like that, while the dragons are certainly personified, they still feel distinct from humans. It’s subtle, but it’s there.
Likewise, as the humans keep commenting on Tintaglia abandoning the dragons and her contract with the traders, I keep recalling how differently time passes for dragons than for humans due to their elongated lifespans. Tintaglia dipping out for a few years feels immense to our puny human friends, but it’s nothing for her. Let a gal enjoy her honeymoon – sheesh!
Keeper Beef
The tensions are ramping up. After Thymara takes down a elk with her bow (slay queen, literally), Greft happens upon her and offers his assistance transporting the meat back to camp, hoping to share in her spoils. After telling him, essentially, “yeah, no thanks- I can handle this myself and will get my real friends to help,” she returns with Tats and the other young keeper girl (truly sorry, but I’m not committing to remembering all the keeper names at this point), only to encounter Greft and his goons heading back with meat from her kill.
She is enraged and ready to burn this whole operation to the ground over the perceived slight. What I loved is Tats, socialist king, playing devil’s advocate and suggesting that pooling resources and sharing with the group might actually be the better approach. And if he is semi-siding with Greft, you know there’s probably some merit to his argument.
I like that, although we’re clearly positioned to be anti-Greft (don’t worry, still am), our leads aren’t infallible. Thymara makes some interesting choices here. With evening approaching, the smartest move probably would have been to let Greft to bring some meat back with her, rather than wasting time going solo to fetch help. But I understand Thymara, too. She hasn’t been treated generously by the world, so it’s no surprise her instinct is to protect her bounty and keep it for herself and her friends.
I’m not going to spin off on a tangent on the economics of dragon keeping and uncharted river journeys (surely enough has been written on that topic, right?), but I enjoyed how the script flipped in this confrontation, and how the pot continues to simmer within the group.
Bad Prediction Corner
As we wrap up Dragon Keeper, this feels like an excellent spot for some terrible predictions of what’s to come.
In Our Agatha Christie Era?
There’s going to be some big, awful event on this journey. We end with one dragon on death’s doorstep, but I don’t think the misfortune stops there. I suspect we could have a few more dragons – and travel party members – to lose before we reach the promised land.
Could this turn into a murder mystery, à la Murder on the Nile? I think I’d dig that vibe.
The Fool/Amber Enters the Fray
With three entire books still ahead of us in RWC, I found myself wondering who we might encounter from the broader RotE world when – bam! – it hit me: we already have a series-leaping character in the Fool/Amber.
If (and that’s a big if) my understanding of the timeline is correct, the events here are happening somewhat concurrently with, or just after, Tawny Man. In that case, we know the Fool peaces out post-Icefyre freeing. Don’t think you’re sneaking into another series unnoticed by me, Fool. I’m watching.
Even More Crossover!
Along similar lines, as I examined what broader world elements could make their way into this story, I immediately thought of the Skill pillars. I have no clue exactly how they might come into play here, but they were teed up pretty heavily at the end of Fool’s Fate, and we know they offer a path to Kelsingra.
I see Rapskal riding Heeby and accidentally falling through one into the Skill abyss.
Pretty Prose Prize
You know I will always make space for it when a piece of Hobb prose stops me in my tracks. The blue ribbon in Dragon Keeper goes to this line:
“The sounds of the forest changed too, as the rushing of the river was hushed by the intervening of the layers of foliage.”
Love is in the air
It wouldn’t be a wizardwordship post if I weren’t placing a disproportionate amount of focus on romantic narratives that may or may not exist. Let’s examine our top contenders:
- Alise and Leftrin – Well covered and the obvious choice. These two are down bad. I’m placing my hope on some major event (intense storm, mystery killer) thrusting them into each other’s arms for safety and comfort… and more!
- Sedric and ?? – Recent questionable choices aside, I’m still pulling for Sedric to find genuine love on equal footing. Earlier I floated the idea of Selden making an appearance and teaching our wayward Sedric to revere the dragons (if anyone is up for that job, it’s Selden). I’m willing to play the long game with Sedric’s redemption – we’ve got three books ahead of us, folks! – so I’m holding on to this possibility.
(Though I’m very open to a new character swooping in and stealing Sedric’s heart. Wasn’t it alluded to that one of the new hunters might swing Sedric’s way? I do love the idea of both Alise and Sedric coming home with rugged river men.) - Thymara/Tats/Rapskal – I was pretty all-in on Thymara and Tats, and with Greft disgracefully exiting as a romantic contender, their path seemed clear. But don’t think I didn’t notice Thymara pointing out how good-looking Rapskal is multiple times in this section.
We also get a curious little scene of Captain Leftrin pondering the laws of the Rain Wilds as they pertain to heavily marked persons notboning downprocreating. He wonders whether he’ll be responsible for stepping in to enforce the rules if things start heating up among the keepers, which:
A) Methinks it’s bit late to be starting that line of inquiry. We’ve got a bunch of young people isolated on a river journey- this is not an if, it’s a when.
B) I don’t think we get this moment if our little freaks (affectionate) aren’t about to get freaky.
Obviously, count me in for all of it. Or give us nothing, and I’ll continue to fabricate narratives on my own as we go. (Also, that will be the last time I put “freaky” into the GIF search bar).
I might slow down a bit over the next few weeks with a family vacation on deck (literally not a soul is waiting on my posts – fake it ’til you make it 😆), but then I hope to pick up the pace again, because momma wants to know where all of this is heading.
Catch you soon!
wizardwordship 