Immerse your head in the clouds...
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Unlike many other reviews that appear to dethrone this trilogy in comparison to the Assassin and Liveship Traders books, I view them all with reverence. There seems to be a seductive charm, a whimsical innocence to Robin Hobb's literary portrayal of the main protagonist Nevare Burvelle - an ingenuous noble man's son adorned with the burden of expectation from birth, yet also resisting an insidious germ of malevolence as his soul is smitten with fate's merciless sceptre, rending his essence into two warring entities sharing the same body (a typically stereotype for a psychological thriller - e.g. schizophrenia).
Whilst admittedly simple in plot structure, characterisation is poignant as ever - a prevalent attribute to Hobb's storytelling. Themes of pain, retribution, ignominy and exile were of resounding significance and palpability.
Nevare soon finds himself adrift in the world at large, an outcast of his previous life of aristocracy and nobility. Through such ordeals, Hobb deconstructs what may be perceived as abhorrent/radical, e.g. the way she lays bare the superficial hauteur of Nevarre's father as he bitterly reprimands his son for committing gluttony and backsliding, whilst Nevare is lauded with praise and adoration in his alter-ego realm of magical puissance. Locked within the soul/s of Nevare is an inner strength that shines forth with ever-increasing zeal as he matures and reels within spheres of reflective remonstration e.g. questioning who he is and why he is treated as a an object of repulsion and condemnation (typical victimisation narrative), whether fate destined him for a future of greater benevolence etc... This latter postulation is upheld upon his discovery of genuine love (woefully scarce from his father and his first engagement as a youth) as he helps a woman in distress to rebuild her decrepit and shattered life. It is simple themes such as these (e.g. pain, retribution, self-esteem, ambition, aspiration, adolescence, rapture, seduction - corporal and mystical, progression to maturity etc...) that are of such striking semblance to reality.
What other reviewers seem to think as its Achilles heel (one-dimensional plot progression) I view as being a triumphant and disparate facet - it provides the groundwork for sentimental threads of emotion, embellishing Hobb's gloriously descriptive and reflective prose. It may be maudlin and simplistic at times, evidencing a considerable dearth of believability and complexity that her other major works flaunted, but this trilogy depicted for me an inflated portraiture of life, magnifying the prepossessing comfort of dreams and happy endings. This trilogy is subordinate to Hobb's other major works in terms of originality and sophistication, but nonetheless deserves renown based on its individual merits - rhapsodical, grandiloquent and honest writing that ensnared my heart and imagination. Well worth a read as long as you don't generate unfair expectations based on her insurpassable Assassin books!
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Mildly disappointed
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I really enjoyed the Farseer and Tawny Man Trilogies and devoured all the books in these 2 series. So my disappointment was all the greater with the Soldier Son books. I "soldiered" through the first two volumes (pun intended), Soldier's Son and Forest Mage, and am slogging through the third, Renegade's Magic, but it's heavy going. In all three, the pace is slow, the dialogue turgid, and the message top-heavy. I understand what the author is trying to do, but it was done much better in the preceding series. I've not said anything new here, most comments seem to agree (although I do wonder also if we might be prejudiced against a "fat" protagonist? Was there an agenda here on the part of the author? ).... I'm hoping for more from this writer, but better written than this last effort. I could say the same for Guy Gavriel Kay, whose books I adore, except for his last which was wimpy and derivative, much like the last double CD of Red Hot Chili Peppers which I also bought, unfortunately....
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I hated it.
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i am a great fan of Robin Hobb. I have enjoyed her work immensely and I am just re-reading the Live Ship Traders with such a delight again, after having put it away for a few years, it is like meeting an old friend and enjoying the company again.
I also loved her other series, and have for a long time considered Robin Hobb to be one of my very favourite authors during a long life of love for Fantasy, so I have read a few, but this one - NO! it was a great disappointment. Boring - Waring I gave it up and have never finished the first book.
It almost put me of fantasy, I thought I had tiered of it, but now I see I am not alone in my judgement and it has given me the urge to read again.
I hope the new book from Robin Hobb will prove as good as all the books under the name of Robin Hobb has been before this.
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An atypical setting but an absorbing novel.
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This is the first volume in the Soldier Son trilogy (before Forest Mage and Renegade's Magic).
Starting in Widevale, far East on the shores of the Tefa river, the story is Nevare's account of his life. Born second son to Lord Burvelle, a former cavalla soldier promoted to nobility for good service rendered in the recent colonisation of the plains and the bringing of civilization to the native nomadic tribes, he is destined to become the soldier of the family.
To toughen him up, Nevare's father sends him to spend time in the desert with a Kidona warrior, Dewara, because he thinks there are some things that can only be learnt from an enemy. During his stay, Nevare experiences a trance in which Dewara asks him to kill whom he meets... but Nevare discovers an old and mysteriously powerful Tree Woman. Following his soldier's code of honour, he refuses to slay her. Barely escaping death, he is returned to his father with a scalp wound, and a latent magic bond that will plague his dreams.
When Nevare reaches eighteen, it is time to go to the capital, Old Thare, and the strictness of its Cavalla Academy. The thickest part of the book describes his life on the campus, making friends with his fellow students as well as enemies, enduring the pranks played on them by the older cadets, walking the demerits they earn, facing many an injustice... against a backdrop of political jealousies between Old and New Nobles.
At first I was a bit unsettled by the atypical setting (for a Fantasy novel), more "Civil War" than "Mediaeval", and I was afraid the retelling of the hero's school life would feel too much like Harry Potter... but as all those mishaps culminate, with Nevare the victim of unfair decision upon unfair decision (when you think nothing worse could possibly befall him, well you're on for another surprising twist), as further characters come into play and further pieces fall into place, the book becomes more and more absorbing. Again, Robin Hobb's extraordinary storytelling talent transports you to another world full of fascinating characters and enchanting sceneries.
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Not bad but not good
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I love the robin hobb books they are some of my favorites, however as with all the books there is a problem with them as stand alone books this was no exception. on its own it is a little dull, the story is very simplistic and doesnt have the emotional impact her books usually have. But with the complete trilogy the story becomes far more interesting and the story works much better.
My reccomendation is to make sure to read them all together, i think in future I'll wait for any trilogys to be complete before i read them rather than being put off by a lack-lustre start
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