writing

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

/ wizardwordship / Leave a comment

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…

Continue reading →

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

/ wizardwordship / Leave a comment

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.

Continue reading →

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

/ wizardwordship / Leave a comment

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.

Continue reading →

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

/ wizardwordship / Leave a comment

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…

Continue reading →

wizardwordship Programming Update! November 30, 2025

/ wizardwordship / Leave a comment

The Keyboard Calls

Ahoy, mateys!

It is I, wizardwordship, checking in after a slightly extended post-Tawny Man trilogy break. While I’ve been enjoying some time focusing on life responsibilities without the gnawing desire to get back to reading and reacting my way through the Realm of the Elderlings, it hasn’t been a full abandonment: I’ve popped in for small maintenance tasks- cleaning up some early posts, tidying the archive, etc. But overall, it has felt a bit like sending my blog to overnight camp: I’m touching base from time to time, but taking a break from the heavy lifting of day-to-day care.

The recharge is working, though, and lately the call to return to my keyboard has been intensifying. I also completed a few reading side quests (more below) during my time away, but now I’ve found myself with nothing queued up, and the Rain Wild Chronicles are beckoning.

Yesterday, I noticed that my last Tawny Man post was published on October 29- almost exactly one month ago. I didn’t set out with a specific hiatus length in mind, trusting my body would tell me when it was time to pick the quest back up. And apparently, one month was the time I needed. So here I am – November 29 – back at my laptop and ready to quip, cry, and break down dragon mating rituals.

No Blog November is no more!

Continue reading →

Reactions from the Realm: Fool’s Fate, Chapters 27-29

/ wizardwordship / Leave a comment

Everything Everywhere All at Once

***Spoilers for the Tawny Man Trilogy through chapter 29 of Fool’s Fate.***

I fear it’s not the most compelling analysis for me to come to the keyboard each week just to say that was the most incredible thing I’ve ever read. But what the fuck else am I supposed to say? The way this story continues to weave and build is truly unreal.

These chapters had me… affected. In every way possible. From an emotional parting and death that somehow gets relegated to a footnote, because everything else that happens overshadows it, to what I would argue is the most erotic scene I have ever read.

It feels like we’ve reached the crescendo of Fool’s Fate, so I’m curious what’s left for us in the remaining eight chapters or so. The way this volume culminates so many storylines begun all the way back in Farseer also makes me wonder what’s in store for the Fitz and the Fool trilogy. I know we still have some story left to tell, so I’ll save my reflection for the end. But are we going to get Molly before we close out Tawny Man? Or is Robin going to dangle her on the other side of an entire quartet? (I’m assuming Rain Wild Chronicles, like Liveship Traders, will be a separate storyline from the Fitz trilogies, with a little world-building overlap.)

Ok, enough filibustering. I need to get into what actually happened so I can get back to reading posthaste! It’s going to be hard for me to not just copy in 50% of Robin’s words, insert bow-down GIFs, and hit publish. The writing is that incredible. But I shall do my best to share actual thoughts.

Good news: The Pale Woman did not cut off the Fool’s head.
Bad news: She did mercilessly torture him and deliver him to an undignified death.
Great news: Fitz, with the wisdom of Yoda, realizes that death is life, and, possessing the magic of life, he can work with this.

Continue reading →

Reactions from the Realm: Fool’s Fate, Chapters 22-26

/ wizardwordship / Leave a comment

Me Want Dragons, Me Get Dragons

***Spoilers for the Tawny Man Trilogy through chapter 26 of Fool’s Fate.***

So let me get this straight: I am supposed to just go about my regular life – work my full-time job (sadly, blogging for an audience of none doesn’t pay the bills), make dinners, drive my kids places, etc. – while Burrich is reuniting with Fitz on Aslevjal?

Oh, Robin, you sneaky little Hobb, you. When I saw the chapter title “Reunion,” I assumed it would be Fitz reuniting with Dutiful, Chade, and the rest of the dragon expedition gang. Never in a million years did I expect him to hobble back into camp and straight into Burrich’s strong embrace.

Did I have some questions about how Burrich – mostly blind and crippled – managed to make the harrowing journey across sea and glacier on his own? I did. But Burrich is the embodiment of “where there’s a will, there’s a way,” so I’m willing to go along with the “yada yada, he bumped into Longwick and made it to base camp” explanation and keep it moving. (I did at least appreciate Fitz questioning this seemingly impossible feat as well).

Their reunion is incredible, but there’s not much time to sit down and catch up, because, partially thanks to Web using his bird to tattle the slaying plans to Tintaglia, the situation with Icefyre has turned into a full-on pressure cooker. And when that cooker’s lid blasts off (barely a metaphor), it is on.

After attempting a controlled demolition of the ice encasing Icefyre, Fitz’s forgotten cask of explosive powder goes off unexpectedly, getting the job done (and taking out a few of those extraneous characters I’ve previously mentioned- RIP Eagle). Suddenly, we go from zero dragons to three in a matter of moments. First, Icefyre emerges in rough shape. Second, Tintaglia, punctual queen, arrives on the scene to collect her man. And third, because things can never go smoothly, the Pale Woman’s animated stone dragon, embodying the unhinged soul of Kebal Rawbread, awakens and clunkily hauls itself from the excavation pit.

Dragon Rawbread is given a clear missive from the Pale Woman: defeat at least one of the “real” dragons to prevent their procreation. (Gotta say, it’s handy having Fitz tuned into all the Skilling and dragon communicating throughout the battle. He’s basically our personal CB radio, picking up all the signals and keeping us in the know.) And so, a dragon battle ensues.

It was impossible not to think of Drogon and Rhaegar vs. the Night King’s undead Viserion during the Battle of Winterfell while reading this scene. (A rare Game of Thrones Season 8 bright spot. Well… not literally bright, but you know what I mean. I digress.) Icefyre is depleted but enormous; Tintaglia is comparatively tiny but fierce; and Dragon Rawbread is malformed but vicious. It’s quite the battle.

Continue reading →

Reactions from the Realm: Fool’s Fate, Chapters 18-21

/ wizardwordship / Leave a comment

In Our Horror Era

***Spoilers for the Tawny Man Trilogy through chapter 21 of Fool’s Fate.***

Holy shit. Is this the peak of modern literature? I know we have a ways to go, folks, but this section of chapters blew my fucking mind.

Up until now, events on our dragon-slaying journey had been unfolding fairly mundanely. Something had to give. And that thing – as I so deftly predicted – was the ice. And once it broke, everything went nuts. The tonal shift that accompanied Fitz and the Fool’s fall from the glacier’s surface into the hidden world beneath was magnificent. Suddenly, we were in a horror story, and I was on the edge of my seat.

I know I am constantly glazing my lord and savior Robin Hobb and her mastery, but the culmination of storylines in this section was on another level.

So what all went down? (You know, aside from Fitz and the Fool, literally going down.)

Continue reading →

Reactions from the Realm: Fool’s Fate, Chapters 14-17

/ wizardwordship / Leave a comment

Bad Trips

***Spoilers for the Tawny Man Trilogy through chapter 17 of Fool’s Fate.***

We are in it now, friends. I don’t even know where to start. We’ve got the intense drudgery of traversing the glacier; Fitz getting drugged and tweaking out; a charged Fitz-Fool confrontation; the Black Man of Aslevjal creeping around; a Skill attack; and an awakening Wit-awareness of Icefyre under the ice.

We are just around the halfway point of Fool’s Fate, and I don’t think I could possibly be more excited for the conclusion of this trilogy. I have no idea what’s coming, but that won’t stop me from speculating!

I’m typically more of an in-the-moment sort of reader, but as the glacial expedition got underway, a few things started to click. All of a sudden it dawned on me that of course Fitz would have some sort of Wit/Skill connection with Icefyre that would impact his looming decision regarding the dragon’s fate. And then we get this brief moment after Civil and the Fool’s fight, when Fitz has a flash of clarity about his ability to Skill-heal the Fool:

“I cannot say how I knew what it was I had glimpsed. Perhaps something in that closed circle of touching told me. I drew a shaky breath and reached recklessly toward his face with outstretched fingers.

‘I can heal you,’ I told him, amazed and breathless with the discovery. The knowledge of my newfound power rushed through my blood, hot as whiskey. ‘I see what is wrong, the bits that are broken and how the blood pools under your skin where it should not. Fool, I can use the Skill and heal you.’”

Continue reading →

Reactions from the Realm: Fool’s Fate, Chapters 5-9

/ wizardwordship / Leave a comment

Dream On

***Spoilers for the Tawny Man Trilogy through chapter 9 of Fool’s Fate.***

Sailing is such fun… just ask Thick!

As our characters embark on their Out Island journey, Thick is having a rough go of it- to say the least. It’s not just the physical challenges (which are formidable) he faces at sea, but also his sheer terror of being taken from home and thrust into an utterly unfamiliar environment.

Not to use Thick as a prop, but filtering the sea travel through his experience gives us two opportunities.

First: we get to tap into Fitz’s paternal side.

As a parent, I can really connect with Fitz’s experience (of course in very different circumstances). There are times when we desperately want to keep our children safe at home, tucked in and comfortable, but we know we can’t always do that. We have to navigate the world with kids who are at times scared, unwilling, uncooperative, or sick. Now, none of that is to say that forcing Thick on this sea voyage is humane – and we can debate the necessity of his presence – but it does highlight a very human experience unfolding on the page.

And through it, we see this beautiful side of Fitz: caring, protective, steadfast. He knows what they are putting Thick through is wrong. He feels regret, and he does his best within the circumstances.

Not to keep playing the parent card, but the weariness of caretaking for a sick Thick is painfully relatable.

“I had been on board for two days. Already it seemed like six months.”

I’ll have to check my textbook, but I’m pretty sure this is Newton’s Law of Time for International Travel While Parenting.

(I hope I’m not being insensitive with my comparisons between Fitz’s guardianship of Thick and the experience of raising children. That’s not my intention. I think it’s fair and possible to draw parallels without demeaning Thick. One of my favorite thematic throughlines of Tawny Man is the many father-like roles Fitz is forced to navigate, and his relationship with Thick is a big part of that.)

Continue reading →