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Reactions from the Realm: Blood of Dragons, Prologue – Chapter 11

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Hi ho, Silver!

***Spoilers for The Rain Wilds Chronicles through chapter 11 of Blood of Dragons. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, and The Tawny Man Trilogy are fair game, too.***

Friends, we are making the turn. I’ve reached roughly the halfway point of Blood of Dragons, so I’m pausing to reflect before the final push.

Quick blogger’s note: I’ve found recapping this series to be a bit more challenging than previous entries. I’m not sure if it’s me losing steam on this mission I’ve set for myself, or just the nature of this story. I keep feeling like a broken record when I sit down to reflect on plot progression, whereas with Fitz, I can wax indefinitely.

That doesn’t diminish my enjoyment, but I’m feeling ready to wrap this up and head back north.

I see two core threads to this series:

  1. the immense worldbuilding and expansion of lore
  2. abuse and power dynamics

Let’s get into them.

The Lore of the Realm

If nothing else, a Hobb enthusiast should appreciate just how much lore the Rain Wild Chronicles adds to our understanding of magic, dragons, and Elderlings. And this opening half of Blood of Dragons delivers some of the most significant reveals yet.

The biggie: Silver.

We’ve been dancing around this mysterious silver substance – familiar from Verity, Fitz, the Fool – throughout the series. But here, the discussion shifts from coded and ambiguous to explicit, as the dragons charge the keepers with finding the Silver well.

Carson and Sedric step out of their episode of House Hunters: Kelsingra, and find the well – yippee! – setting us up with front-row seats to see how it will be used in the back half of this story.

We learn that Silver is the key to Elderling magic.

Dragons naturally have trace amounts of Silver in their blood, but they are strengthened by supplementing it from external sources.

We’ve long known Silver’s tie to Skill magic – Verity’s arms, Fitz’s link to the Fool – but these reveals sent me back to earlier hints about Fitz’s connection to dragons and Elderlings. (I mean, c’mon – beauty and allure that potent don’t come from nowhere.)

There’s also a nice callback to the touch of Silver on Malta’s neck. Which is totallllly something I recalled and was extremely aware of. 🤥

So yes: Silver really is the key to it all.

“This is the Silver well, the whole reason Kelsingra was first built. Remember, a long time ago, you wondered why they’d built such a grand city here. What was the reason for it, what trade, what industry, what port anchored it? Why build a city for dragons in a place so chill and damp in the winters? Why did the Elderlings stay here? And here’s our answer. The Silver well. The secret heart of Kelsingra.”

“It’s dragon Silver. The source of all magic.”

Power and Abuse

I may be more comfortable breaking down an afternoon romp between Fitz and a hedge witch, but that doesn’t mean we shy away from heavier themes here at WWS.

And if there is one thread tying all RWC storylines together, it is power- and the abuse of it.

We’ve seen this across nearly every major arc:

  • Alise, Sedric, and Hest
  • Thymara, Tats, and the keepers’ place in society
  • The down-and-out dragons themselves, once powerless and dependent

But those dynamics are shifting dramatically as we approach the end.

Hest – one of the story’s most persistent abusers – is now at his absolute lowest. Stripped of power, enslaved aboard the Chalcedean ship, and suffering tremendously.

When the Chalcedean first arrived on the scene, I was enjoying the comeuppance for Hest. But what’s transpired of late has become deeply disturbing.

It’s not that I feel particular sympathy for Hest, but it’s a tough read. It’s like Hobb flipped the script from Liveship Traders – where Kyle Haven’s imprisonment and suffering happen mostly off-page, his horrors left to our imagination – here, we fully experience Hest’s misery.

And the power dynamic has flipped completely. Instead of arriving in Kelsingra to reassert control over Sedric and Alise, it’s looking more and more likely he’ll arrive needing their help. It will be interesting to see how they wield the upper hand.

(Okay, let’s be serious, Hest is still going to be a complete dick on arrival.)

We also have our newest storyline plunging us directly into the depravity of abuse with Selden and Chassim.

I won’t get too deep into it, but Chassim’s rape – witnessed helplessly by Selden – leads to his own confession of abuse in a deeply emotional scene.

Everything that has happened to Selden has been heartbreaking. One of the harder arcs in the Realm – and there have been some doozies. But I am intrigued by this pairing and the bond forming between them.

I would never make light of their situation, but while writing this, the thought did occur to me that there is a path where Selden ends up as the Duke (or consort?) of Chalced.

Now that would be quite the ending for the Vestrit-Haven siblings:

  • Malta: Queen of the Elderlings
  • Wintrow: consort to the Pirate Queen (deeply need a novella of what they’ve got going on)
  • Selden: ruling Chalced.

And Kyle not around to see any of it.

And finally – if we’re talking about power shifts – we have to talk about our most glorious ones, the dragons.

They have taken flight. Hallelujah.

We have come a long way from the serpent struggle bus, my friends. I got genuinely emotional when they took to the skies. They were never meant to rely on humans, and seeing them reclaim their autonomy – and literally launch into their power – is incredibly satisfying.

We’ve come a long way. But we’re not at the finish line yet.

The Duke is still in power.
Alise and Sedric are thriving, but haven’t slain their final demon, Hest.
And we still have some Vestrit-Haven kiddos to get back on track.

Musings!

While some of our faves are on the rise, others are struggling mightily.

Malta and Reyn are getting their asses handed to them in the fourth trimester. Poor baby Phron – he’s barely hanging on and needs a dragon’s help to fully integrate his Elderling changes and survive. Luckily, dragons are known to be super caring and sympathetic to humans 😬.

They’ve made it to Kelsingra, now teeming with dragons, but are told he specifically needs the help of Tintaglia, since he is in her Elderling downline.

Good news: Tintaglia is right around the corner, unbeknownst to them.
Bad news: No one knows she is there – and she’s currently on death’s door, being hunted by the Chalcedeans.

I think at this point we can comfortably say that Rapskal was a fleeting moment of passion, and Tats is coming out on top in the battle for Thymara’s heart.

It’s been a pretty rocky road to get here – with some not-so-great moments for all parties involved (though, honestly, Rapskal hasn’t really done much wrong) – but I do find the Thymara-Tats pairing genuinely sweet. He’s been into her since way back in the treetops of Trehaug. And if he loved her at her humble beginnings, I think he’s earned her in all her winged Elderling glory.

“When you’re with me, Thymara . . . if you ever decide to be with me . . . I won’t be thinking of anyone else except you. I won’t call you by someone else’s name, or do something to you because it’s what someone else liked a long, long time ago. When you finally decide to let me touch you, I’ll be touching you. Only you. Can Rapskal say that to you?”

It’s been nice folding some of our Liveship friends back into the story, but we’re still missing some pretty notable figures. So I was delighted to get even the briefest touchpoint with Ronica and Wintrow (mostly Wintrow) via the messenger birds.

Cliff notes:

Ronica is PISSED at the bird guild tomfoolery occurring.

Wintrow has heard rumors about a dragon-man traveling show and is, thus, very concerned about Selden.

Wintrow! Time to flex those pirate powers and get on this.

I mentioned the emotions of the dragons taking flight after all we’ve been through together – and I have to say, I was really charmed by the Spit and Relpda of it all.

A few of the dragons had already taken to the sky, but it was time to get the rest airborne. Thymara stumbles across the remnants of the bridge crossing (after a thrilling wolf! chase) and cleverly realizes the platforms can serve as launch pads.

Which leads to a scene where a stubborn Relpda refusing to scuttle down the hill, gets goaded by Spit, and then launches triumphantly from atop the crest. Spit takes off after her, they both successfully take to the skies, and naturally, a mating chase ensues.

We get our second instance of dragon mating needing to be explained to the more innocent members of our earthbound, and the whole scene made me smile.

Spit and Relpda were among the most deformed and undragonlike at the start of the series, so it’s extra satisfying to see them flourish. May they be infinitely happier than Tintaglia and Icefyre.

I previously remarked that I would not be taking the time to distinguish between the random Chalcedeans in this story. I also couldn’t commit to locking down all of the keepers and dragons outside the main crew. So when Robin started tossing out names from the extended roster, it really stopped me in my tracks.

“Dortean was still recovering from crashing to the earth through some trees.”

Dortean. Brand new information. Welcome to Team Not-Sintara-Mercor-Tintaglia.

Sometimes we are confronted with our own idiocy.

I have to admit, my feeble brain has struggled a bit to picture the scale of the Rain Wild River. In my ding-dong mind, it’s basically giving:

Which makes the whole “stuck on one side of the river” situation a little hard to take seriously.

But on a drive this past weekend, I crossed the Susquehanna River (shoutout WWS land of origin, Maryland) and was struck by just how wide it was.

It’s not that I didn’t know rivers can be massive, the visual proof just really helped my brain actually process it.

I’ve already covered Hest pretty extensively, but I’ve gotta say, this Hest-Chalcedean storyline is wild as hell. The stakes have been high since the moment the Chalcedean arrived (I know his name was revealed in this section, but I’ve made my stance on learning the names of characters from Chalced pretty clear), but I really loved the moment it finally sunk in for Hest.

He leaves Redding to do his dirty work in delivering the message (and severed hands!). When he returns to see how things went, the Chalcedean is there – surprise! – and everyone else is dead. Noticing Redding’s limp form on the bed, we get this exchange:

“Is he hurt? Will he be all right?”
“No. He is all dead.”

No, Hest. He’s not okay. Things are not going to be okay. I know your mommy has told you you’re special and perfect your whole life, but the chickens have come home to roost this time. So now it finally clicks: the Chalcedean isn’t playing around, and the stakes are truly life and death.

But in case you’re worried these dire circumstances have inspired even an ounce of accountability- don’t be.

“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen,” he had told the dying flames. “It’s not my fault. If Sedric had never made his insane bargain, I wouldn’t be here now. It’s all Sedric’s fault.”

Incredible stuff from our king of accountability.

Okay. I was about to publish this sucker when I realized I hadn’t given any space to Alise and her reunion with Leftrin. Even more important is her continued personal development – particularly in her time apart from him.

I’m tired, so I’ll save my more extensive musings on Alise for my concluding post. But given that her journey toward self-discovery and autonomy is arguably the lead storyline, I wanted to give her a quick shout.

That said, watching her fight off a mountain cat was deeply gratifying. Girl power!

This has been fun. See you at the conclusion of our Rain Wilds journey!

Reactions from the Realm: City of Dragons, Chapter 9 – Epilogue

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Paging Dr. Frankenstein

***Spoilers for The Rain Wilds Chronicles through City of Dragons. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, and The Tawny Man Trilogy are fair game, too.***

City of Dragons – ✅ One more book to go in our Rain Wilds Chronicles adventure, and then it’s time to buckle the fuck up and dive into the final trilogy of this RotE experience.

So with that, I’m going to jump right in with a character who proves likability has nothing to do with being compelling.

Hest

If Hest is a monster (and he is), here we finally meet his maker. And of course, it’s the final boss of boy moms: Hest’s mother. She enters the story as coddling and enabling as you might expect.

Robin Hobb isn’t called the queen of character (not sure anyone calls her that specifically, but still) for nothing. Hest is already one of the richest characters in the story, even without much direct page time. But the chapter we get to spend with him and his parents, especially his dynamic with his mother, adds even more depth to an already vivid portrait.

And he makes such a great villain. For me, he’s right up there with Kyle (and maybe Chade?) in the RotE loathsome-men rankings.

What makes him so terrifying is how real he is. He’s not a pale, ethereal magical woman in an ice palace. He doesn’t steal souls or chop up his foes. He’s just an asshole. A charismatic, entitled, deeply spoiled man taken to the extreme.

We see him encouraged to reclaim Alise and Sedric as if they’re property – and to secure any claim they might have to Kelsingra (good luck with that). But we also get to watch him taken down a massive peg when the Chalcedean mercenary he tried to have killed shows back up.

And listen, I don’t think of myself as sadistic, but I can’t lie, watching Hest get literally walked like a dog while writhing in poisoned-induced agony? Worked for me.

“He had licked the man’s boot. Not once or twice, but like a dog, lapping at it over and over until the Chalcedean had stepped away.”

But instead of taking even a shred of humility from this experience, Hest vows to pay it forward:

“There was, he decided, only one way to purge himself of the terror and humiliation that the Chalcedean had forced on him.
He would pass them on to Sedric.”

😬 Healthy.

I can’t wait for this storyline to culminate. OF COURSE, I care deeply about the dragons and Elderlings 👀, but Alise and Sedric vs. Hest is the heart of the tension in this series for me.

And while I would like to see Hest get eaten by a dragon (which is still very in play), I do suspect this comes down to a more human conclusion. Man vs. man (man in the universal sense, Alise can get in on this payback too).

I want to see Hest forced into direct comparison with his replacements, Carson and Leftrin, and watch him come up painfully short. That’s not to reduce Sedric and Alise to damsels in distress, but Hest needs to face some real men and see what true partnership looks like.

Hest side note: he has such strong Gaston energy. This is all I can picture when I think of Hest bopping around Bingtown:

Just as everything culminated with our Liveship battle back in Ship of Destiny, it feels like all our pieces are now converging in Kelsingra. A lot of Rain Wilds Chronicles has been setup – very fun and satisfying – but setup nonetheless.

It’s time for shit to go down.

As I like to do, here are a few things I’d like to see settled as we wrap up our dragony quartet:

  • Hest goes down (see above)
  • Selden gets rescued and reunites with Malta and Reyn (and maybe some new Elderling friends 👀)
  • Sedric and Carson part amicably (sorry Carson, but I still think you’re more a “good time, not a long time” situation)
  • The dragons and Elderlings claim Kelsingra, fend off treasure hunters, and restore the city
  • I would say Sintara gets a mate and chills tf out, but we see how well that’s worked out for Tintaglia so…

MUSINGS!

With Selden heading to Chalced, and Tintaglia just deciding to depart the region, I’m curious how we are going to get him out of this pickle.

And so help me God, if I have to witness the Duke of Chalced take a bite out of that sweet boy – it is on sight.

Staying here for a moment – Tintaglia mentions she lost the ability to perceive Selden while he’s been out on his dragon search, which raises questions.

How far does dragon telepathy extend? Are we talking strong walkie-talkie range? What’s the deal here?

And how far is Chalced from Kelsingra?

This is opening some major “how far is the flight time between King’s Landing and Dragonstone”-type questions for me.

Of course I’m going to talk about Rapskal and Thyamara getting it on. But to be frank? I’m tired. The uncertainty from Thymara is never-ending.

So, Thymara and Rapskal find themselves in a very comfortable bathhouse in Kelsingra. It turns out all she needed to get over the hump was a clean body and a comfy bed- which I get. Don’t make a move on me after months of camping either. Blech.

We get part two of sensual wing play 🫦, and then they go all the way.

But then – in a shocking turn of events – the very next morning, we are right back to square one.

And I do empathize. She’s young, confused, scared. This isn’t simple, and she shouldn’t be pressured to know what she wants. That’s not how things work.

Still… it’s maddening.

Have sex with Rapskal. Have sex with Tats. Start a sexy Elderling throuple. Devote yourself to the Elderling clergy and a life of celibacy.

At this point, I just need forward motion.

Oh, have I forgotten to mention Malta’s birth scene?

Probably because I blocked it from my brain in a vain attempt at self-preservation.

Because, DAMN. It was absolutely bonkers. If somehow you’re reading this (weird) without having read City of Dragons (even weirder), Reyn leaves his heavily pregnant wife to navigate rickety rope bridges back to their Cassarick accommodations in the middle of a treacherous storm (lowkey the least believable thing that has happened in RotE so far).

She gets lost. Goes into labor. Gets kidnapped by a Chalcedean thug and dragged to a brothel. Gives birth on the dirty floor while the Chalcedeans actively discuss dismembering her and passing her off as dragon parts to the Duke.

Malta – our ultimate survivor – gives birth unnoticed, kills one of the creeps while the other leaves for supplies (you know, the dismembering and preservation supplies), and escapes back into the storm with her barely alive baby.

But the queen persists. She makes it to Tarman, who is able to keep the Rain Wilds-touched baby alive temporarily, but notes he will need the aid of a dragon to transform into an Elderling and survive.

You know, even in a series that doesn’t center on Malta, she still manages to steal the show. A true star 💫 .

(Also, Reyn: I know Malta is a force and you were getting dog-walked a la Hest following her lead, but how about walking your heavily pregnant wife to the fucking door next time? Still love you, boo.)

I will not be distinguishing between the various Chalcedean spies/merchants/mercenaries/etc. until I am absolutely forced to. Begasti Cored, Sinad Arich – potato, potahto.

(Side note: I went back to the “Cast of Characters” at the beginning of my eBook to find those names (this isn’t a bit, people!!) and saw this listing: “THE CHALCEDEAN: Hest’s nemesis.” GTFOH. They are all “The Chalcedean” to me.)

What in the fuck is happening with these bird handlers?

Of course I dutifully read the correspondence chapter-end interstitials and semi-absorb what’s going on. But at a certain point, there’s only so much I can keep track of. We’ve got memory stone revealing the history of a lost city, Chalcedean spies and politics, tertiary keeper romances – it’s a lot!

That said, I did enjoy when this side drama briefly bled into the main story, as Leftrin returns to Cassarick with messages from the keepers and crew to be sent off by bird.

The Cassarick bird handler is the troublemaker, right? Trehaug is where Erek and Detozi (newly married – mazel!) currently reside, with Erek’s (?) nephew(?) holding down the birds in Bingtown (???). Something like that.

So I’m wondering if these messages from the Kelsingra crew routing through Cassarick are going to have ramifications in the near future.

Good thing I have suffered through enjoyed each and every correspondence we’ve been treated to 😵‍💫.

No one skeeves me out more than Hest’s new manservant/fuck buddy, Redding. Though advised by his father to make the trip to the Rain Wilds alone, he of course brings his little lap dog along.

It does amuse me how annoyed Hest is by him, but their boat scene was nauseating.

“Redding smiled at him and with the tip of his tongue licked the sausage suggestively.”

Realizing I should probably touch down on Chalced – the Duke, the murders, his daughter, the schemes, etc., etc. But…

Let’s just say the Duke sucks, his Chancellor-turned-heir-apparent sucks, and they better keep their grubby paws off Selden.

I am intrigued by his feminist poet daughter, though. Burn it down, sister!

Onward we march! Blood of Dragons coming shortly. 🫡

Reactions from the Realm: City of Dragons, Prologue – Chapter 8

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Ooh I’ve been waiting for this…

***Spoilers for The Rain Wilds Chronicles through chapter 8 of City of Dragons. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, and The Tawny Man Trilogy are fair game, too.***

I never rarely nail a prediction (see: Chade, still kickin’). But the predictions and wish list I left off with at the end of Dragon Haven, in relation to where we pick things up in City of Dragons, were pretty spot on.

Let’s check in:

The fallout: Hest.  ✅

He hasn’t discovered the full story yet, but we do get a visit with the rage monster.

More ties to the broader RotE: Malta and Reyn. Selden. Amber/the Fool. Tintaglia. What is Wintrow doing? Let’s get some old friends back in the mix. ✅

No Wintrow or Amber/the Fool yet, but we do get significant time with Malta and Reyn 😍 , Selden 😬, and Tintaglia as we open the story.

Chalced? ✅

We got our first POV from Chalced proper. And boy, that Duke is a real dickhead!

Re: Kelsingra, I asked: will we discover remnants of Fitz’s time there? ✅

Yuppers! Just as I was seriously starting to doubt that this was even the same place, Alise finds Verity’s city model and evidence that “Fitz wuz here.”

All in all, a very satisfying start to the back half of our penultimate RotE series.

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Reactions from the Realm: Dragon Haven, Chapters 16-Epilogue

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It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane…

***Spoilers for The Rain Wilds Chronicles through Dragon Haven. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, and The Tawny Man Trilogy are fair game, too.***

It’s HEEBY AND RAPSKAL!

My heart.

They mocked silly Rapskal and his “slow-witted” dragon. They scoffed at their daily flight practices. So sure it was futile. Well, who’s laughing now?!

Rapskal and Heeby make their triumphant return – IN THE SKIES.

Not only is Heeby the first dragon to take flight and Rapskal now a majestic Elderling- they also found the lost city of Kelsingra while the rest of you were busy fucking around in the reeds.

Triumph indeed.

And it couldn’t go to a more deserving pair.

It’s punctuated beautifully when Alise tries to extract Rapskal’s tale for the history books, but our restless hero can hardly sit still for her. He just wants to return to the friends he’s been missing throughout his separation from the group. Our boy was lonely. 🥺

Welcome back, Rapskal. I knew your story wasn’t over.

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Reactions from the Realm: Dragon Haven, Chapters 12-15

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Fork in the Road

***Spoilers for The Rain Wilds Chronicles through chapter 15 of Dragon Haven. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, and The Tawny Man Trilogy are fair game, too.***

I found it hilarious to jump into this section of chapters – directly after my groundbreaking speculations regarding Elderling transformations – only to have it all immediately laid out in the open.

At first, I felt a little silly for framing the possibility of Elderling transformations as some grand prognostication. But the more I sat with it, the more it felt like a testament to Robin’s masterful storytelling.

You see, I hit the point of needing to comment on the hints and signs we’d been fed at almost the exact moment she chose to bring the discussion fully into the open. That is some impeccable timing and buildup on her part.

It’s not that the information was hidden, or that I had cracked the Da Vinci Code. Robin’s brilliance isn’t in covert plotting and shocking reveals. She will often tell you exactly where the story is heading, and still blow your mind on the way there.

Which is what makes this Elderling lore reveal so satisfying.

Elderling transformations happening isn’t the interesting part; it’s the depth and detail that bring this world to life and place Robin among the all-time world-building greats.

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Reactions from the Realm: Dragon Haven, Chapters 6-11

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Where things ratchet up…

***Spoilers for The Rain Wilds Chronicles through chapter 11 of Dragon Haven. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, and The Tawny Man Trilogy are fair game, too.***

I knew these post-flood chapters would deliver, and boy did they. With so much action taking place, it feels only right to start with a character who has not physically appeared on the page since very early in the previous book: Hest. And while Hest may not be physically present in our story, his shadow certainly looms large- never more so than in this stretch of chapters.

Both Sedric and Alise cannot escape his insidious specter. Even as they’re finally free from his direct control – and experiencing real personal growth and self-awareness as a result – his influence still lingers in absentia.

But good news! They’re both making some serious progress.

For Alise, it’s a case of one step back, two strokes steps forward.

Caught in a liminal space – unaware of Sedric’s fate (and not loving the odds) – she discovers a locket bearing Hest’s image tucked inside Sedric’s pillow. I almost shrieked with joy that she was finally being let in on the “secret.”

That joy, however, was short-lived when it became clear we were not getting a moment of realization at all. She had instead reached peak delulu. I’ll let Alise’s thought process speak for itself:

“What did it mean? What could it mean?…
There could be but one explanation. Hest had had the locket made and entrusted it to Sedric to give to her. Why had he done such a thing?”

But one explanation indeed. 😑

If that’s our one step backward, a mere few chapters later Alise takes a giant leap forward by bedding Captain Leftrin in the very bunk of her presumed-dead friend – the same place the locket was discovered.

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Reactions from the Realm: Dragon Haven, Chapters 1-5

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Snakes on a Dragon

***Spoilers for The Rain Wilds Chronicles through chapter 5 of Dragon Haven. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, and The Tawny Man Trilogy are fair game, too.***

Ahoy, friends! I’ve returned from vacation and am delighted to jump right into book two of the Rain Wilds Chronicles with Dragon Haven.

After a week in the World of Disney, I found myself deeply relating to Sintara’s inner monologue regarding humans in the prologue:

“She would not have minded human sounds so much if they did not persist in spouting out their thoughts at the same time they tried to convey them with their squeaking. The dual annoyance sometimes made her wish she could just eat them and be done with them.”

Don’t get me wrong – we had a wonderful family trip – but Disney adult, I am not. (And as an adult who operates a blog with a fairly large focus on dragon mating, I am not yucking anyone’s yum either. Just different strokes.)

If you’ll allow one more personal update before I descend into my crazed ramblings literary analysis, I’d like to share some exciting news.

Now, devoted (theoretical) WWS readers will recall that at the end of my Tawny Man journey, I said goodbye to my longtime animal companion, Scampi the cat. I’ve since spent several months unmoored- a cat lady with no cats. Like Fitz without Nighteyes, it just wasn’t right.

With our January vacation on the books, we knew the only rational decision was to wait until we returned before adopting new animal companions. This created a hilarious dynamic in which our dream Disney vacation became less a vacation and more an obstacle between us and kittens (exactly what you want when you’re spending the equivalent of Igrot’s lost treasure on a trip).

A winter storm further delayed my return to my beloved blog – and new kitties…

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Reactions from the Realm: Dragon Keeper, Chapters 10-13

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Like A River

***Spoilers for The Rain Wild Chronicles through chapter 13 of Dragon Keeper. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, and The Tawny Man Trilogy are fair game, too.***

It might just be that I am writing this on December 26th, but the Island of Misfit Toys vibes have never been stronger.

There are two elements really jumping out to me so far:

  1. how rapidly my feelings keep shifting, and
  2. the amount of mirroring happening, on both a micro level within the story and a macro level across Hobb’s entire body of work.

Let’s start with my emotional whiplash.

Shifting Feelings:

In my last post, I had a lot of pep in my typing fingers. After Dragon Keeper’s bleak opening, the story started gaining momentum. Then I dove directly back into a Sintara POV and realized it was the lack of dragon experience that lightened things up. I mean, with lines like:

“And now they were masters of nothing, doomed to mud and carrion and, Sintara did not doubt, a slow death by slog up the river.”

… it’s hard to be buoyed by optimism.

As counterbalance to the dreary dragons, we have Captain Leftrin floating in the clouds with his crush on Alise. Sir- you are a grizzled, murdering (only once, but that counts), ruthless river man. Get ahold of yourself! As hard as I rode for their meet-cute, I have to admit I developed a smidge of an ick this time around. Leftrin is fucking gone for our girl, and Alise is relishing the attention, but it doesn’t feel like they’re on equal footing. Alise seems more lost on the sauce of someone being into her (rightfully!) than genuinely attracted to Leftrin, so surprisingly, I’m finding myself a bit worried for the captain’s heart.

It’s not just them- my feelings across the board have been shifting as rapidly as the Rain Wild River itself. Part of Liveship Traders’ brilliance is how Robin Hobb not only develops characters, but actively reshapes our perceptions over time. Most notably, of course, with Malta- going from the absolute worst to the Elderling queen we worship. In Malta’s case, it’s a long arc, but here in Dragon Keeper, I’m finding my opinions shift chapter to chapter.

Take Sedric. Sympathetic one moment, near-villainous the next. We learn he doesn’t care for animals (red flag), so Alise’s hackles are raised at his interest in assisting the dragons. She doesn’t know his actual motivations like we do, but she’s right to sense something is off:

“Oh, he shared some of her scholastic interest in dragons, but she had never seen him pet a dog or talk to his horse. And now he was going to assist this girl in doctoring a dragon? There was something here, and she felt she stood at the edge of a strange and perhaps dark current. Could he possibly be interested in the girl? She was so young and so peculiar looking. It would be very inappropriate.”

Alise’s ability to read a situation, as ever, remains unmatched.

Mirror Mirror

One of the clearest structural throughlines in Dragon Keeper is mirroring. In the overt sense, we have the dragons and their keepers; Alise and Sedric; Tats and Thymara. But there are lots of smaller examples too. My favorite odd pairing is Sedric and Thymara.

These are two characters who, outside the premise of this story, would never cross paths. Yet thanks to Sedric’s underhanded goal of bringing home dragon specimens (the little shit), he buddies up to Thymara with his sudden interest in veterinary medicine, offering to help tend one of the unpaired dragons. But the real gem of this combo comes when they are walking together and Thymara vents to him about the keeper dynamics:

“‘He behaves as if he can’t stand for me to have a friend, like it makes him less important. It’s almost as if he tries to drive a wedge between Tats and me. Why are some people like that?’
She hadn’t expected him to have an answer, but he looked startled, as if she had asked him something of great significance. When he answered, his words came slowly. ‘Maybe because we let them be that way.’”

Which triggers:

“It had snapped a stinging realization into his mind. Hest didn’t like him being friends with Alise. Hest didn’t want him to have conversations with her or have opinions about her…
He didn’t like thinking of all the implications of that. He pushed aside the thought of other friendships he’d neglected for Hest’s, even how he’d alienated his father by taking the position with Hest…”

It’s a tidy little lightning bolt of self-awareness. I maintain that Sedric has a lot of growth ahead, and I’m excited to watch it unspool.

The Gang’s All Here!

Our main characters have congregated in Cassarick. I’m enjoying how Dragon Keeper blends elements of Liveship Traders and our Fitz-centered series. We have a Liveship-like ensemble, but instead of scattering them across the map, Hobb drops them all into Cassarick to join a central mission. (The sort of shit quest we’re usually watching Fitz get sent on.) That doesn’t mean, however, our group is unified. Let’s examine:

Keepers/Dragons

There’s a lot of meat on the bone (not literally for the dragons, of course) when it comes to the dynamics of the keepers and their dragons.

Last post, my commentary on Thymara’s experience of becoming part of the keeper cohort got left on the cutting room floor. Her joy at feeling part of a community was so endearing. I mean:

“She looked from face to face and named them to herself, counting them off as if they were jewels in a treasure box. Her friends.”

Don’t get excited- the kumbaya camp vibes didn’t even make it to the next page. Fractures almost instantly materialize, and rivalries and power struggles continue to widen the gaps as we prepare to set off upriver.

But it’s not just the keepers facing division. There are a lot of fascinating social dynamics at play.

Sedric-Leftrin

They don’t trust each other, but these two have more in common than they realize beyond just caring for Alise in their own ways. Both are harboring secrets: Leftrin with his blackmail resurfacing via a mysterious note, and Sedric with his quiet mission to collect dragon specimens. Oh! And of course they hate each other.

Alise-Thymara (and Sintara)

Alise strolls in armed with Selden-level dragon flattery and immediately forms a bond with Sintara, stoking Thymara’s jealousy. Add Sedric slinking around, and there’s a lot simmering here. At first, I imagined a big sister/little sister dynamic developing between Alise and Thymara, but I think we’ve got some ground to cover before we get there. I’m hopeful that these castoff women (Sintara included) have a lot to teach each other about their worth.

Tats-Greft

Our clearest emerging conflict. Greft is wanting to assert leadership over the group, and while some are happy to fall in line, Tats (with Thyamara) is not especially keen to accept his authority.

Add in the fighting over Thymara, and these two are a real tinderbox. I haven’t even mentioned the other keeper chickadee simpering over Tats and fueling Thymara’s jealousy. Ahhh, the social politics of youth. Let’s make things as complicated as possible and then send everyone on a brutal river journey with ill-tempered dragons. What could go wrong!

Of course, we’re firmly Team Tats as a good-guys-versus-bad-guys dynamic seems to be taking shape. And I would like to go on the record that I am getting extremely bad vibes from Greft. Major concerns for what he’s capable of as the story progresses.

Musings!

Alise is the epitome of book-smart, not street-smart.

She interprets Sedric’s protectiveness around Leftrin as possible jealousy. She reminisces on her youthful crush on Sedric and muses:

“Was it possible that he had once cared for her? Was it remotely possible that in some corner of his heart, he still did?
Oh, it was a silly fancy, as silly as her timid flirtation with the captain. Silly and absolutely delicious.”

Oh, girl.

Her rise is going to be satisfying, but I fear she has a rough road to walk before we get there. Or Sintara is just going to bluntly spill the beans: he’s just not into you.

But for now, a girl can daydream (and hope she’s transformed into an Elderling with the power of gaydar).

For those who rode with me on my Liveship journey, you’ll know how important this line was to me:

“But the deal had been struck. Kalo had pressed his muddy, inky foot to a piece of parchment…”

I’m here for the talking ships. I’m here for the animal bonds. I’m here for carving giant stone dragons with one’s fingernails. I’m here for prophets, catalysts, forging, unforging- I’m here for it all.

But dragons signing contracts with muddy dragon footprints is pure absurdity.

I loved our time with Malta. She enters chewing the scenery in all her bitchy, Elderling glory. And if, during her arguments about why the dragons need someone advocating for their interests, you found yourself wondering why she isn’t down in the swamp tending them herself, we learn that after struggling to conceive and carry a pregnancy to term, she’s once again pregnant. 🤞

Last post I asked, where’s Wintrow? But the better question is: where the fuck is Reyn? Why is my gal spending hours advocating for the dragons alone? There may have been a passing line about what business he’s attending to, but it clearly wasn’t a good excuse because it didn’t stick with me.

Reyn- I want you present and doting, stat!

Protect Rapskal and Heeby!

They didn’t seem quite significant enough to mention in our list of most interesting dynamics, but I love these irritating little sweeties. Yes, Rapskal is endlessly annoying, but also deeply endearing.

(Greft is going to murder Rapskal, isn’t he? FUCK.)

Hard to believe, but we are approaching the end of Dragon Keeper. I’m sure all the issues will be ironed out and we will set off on our journey upriver smooth sailing.

‘Til then!

Reactions from the Realm: Dragon Keeper, Prologue – Chapter 5

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Suffering Succotash

***Spoilers for The Rain Wild Chronicles through chapter 5 of Dragon Keeper. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, and The Tawny Man Trilogy are fair game, too.***

Well, well, well. Here we are. It took me a month to recover from my life-altering Tawny Man journey, but I am finally ready to return to the realm. And where does Robin send me? Right back onto the motherfucking serpent struggle bus. And guess what? If you thought the suffering in Liveship Traders was bad, it’s even worse now! Sa almighty.

Hearing secondhand in Fool’s Errand that the dragon hatching didn’t go well wasn’t enough. We jump straight into the prologue with a new serpent POV of the harrowing trip up the Rain Wild River and the cocooning process. And let me tell you: shit. is. bleak. Dragging their exposed, chapped bodies through shallow water. Eating their fallen brethren along the way. Finally arriving at nesting grounds with neither the reserves nor the support needed to craft proper cocoons.

As the story gets underway, we witness an incredibly depressing hatching day where deformed dragons emerge unfit for survival. It’s hard to even crack jokes (though I’ll try, because I’m a pro) – it’s really just that sad. I actually struggled to keep reading at points because the scene is so relentlessly dreary. It’s like we’re being punished for the hopeful note Robin left us on at the end of Ship of Destiny. The pain man is here to collect!

After the excruciating hatching sequence, we jump a few years forward to check in on our cocooning serpent from the prologue, who now goes by her dragon name, Sintara. Hold on to your hats, folks- things haven’t improved.

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Reactions from the Realm: The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince

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No Stone Left Unturned

***Spoilers for The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince***

Everyone, buckle up… I’m going to say something shocking: Robin Hobb has once again impressed me. Ok, yes- me praising Robin is as guaranteed as the sun rising in the east. But with each expansion of the Realm, she continues to deliver awe.

And The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince is no different. With this installment, it’s not the story or characters themselves that particularly dazzled me – though they’re compelling on their own – but the immense color and context this tale adds to the world and the arc unfolding in Fitz’s story.

At the end of Fool’s Fate, I noted that I was getting answers to questions I didn’t know I had. Likewise, TWPATPP provides the deep clarity on the climate surrounding the Wit in the Farseer and Tawny Man storylines. It leads me to suspect there are no plot holes in RotE, only gaps in my own Realm-specific knowledge.

We’re given this story in two parts, related by Felicity, a Buckkeep servant with unusually close proximity to our titular royals. Let’s dig in…

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