Customer Reviews

Dragon Haven: Volume Two of the Rain Wilds Chronicles

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Another incredible edition to my library of Hobb! I didn't want to put this book down. I was kicking myself for not ordering both books at the same time. Do yourself a favour and get both!

These books take place around the same time as the Tawny Man series and add another piece of the puzzle to the history of that world. It isn't necessary to read the previous 3 trilogies related to this story first, but there is a small spoiler to Tawny Man and another for Liveship Traders within, so I would recommend going in the order I've written below (you won't regret it!)

1)Farseer Trilogy
2)Liveship Trilogy
3)Tawny Man Trilogy
4)Rain Wilds Chronicles

(Soldier's Son Trilogy can be read at any point as it's relatively unrelated)

Originally the Rain Wilds duology was one massive book, so unsurprisingly "Dragon Haven" feels like jumping into the second half of a book. It's also something of a coming-of-age tale for at least half the characters -- Robin Hobb painstakingly chronicles the way that both dragons and humans change as they approach the ancient dragon city of Kelsingra, right down to the last grimy, bloody, unflattering detail.

The liveship Tarman is still heading towards what was once Kelsingra, but it has plenty of problems -- the dragons are being tormented by parasites, the captain is being blackmailed, and the keepers have a little soap opera going on. And then the ship is hit with a flash flood that sweeps dragons and keepers alike down the river -- including Sedric, who has been mind-linked to the sickly copper dragon and finds himself alone with her.

And things don't improve when almost everyone (though not all) get back to the liveship. While the dragons are growing stronger and more powerful, they're beginning to bicker amongst themselves; and with Greft causing trouble among the keepers, Sedric, Thymara, Alise and some other people must figure out what they want for themselves. Oh yes, and they also have to find Kelsingra, if it still exists...

"Dragon Haven" is basically a book about growing up, taking responsibility for your actions, behaving selflessly, and how the rules are there to "make life a bit less unfair to everyone." While technically the book is about the second half of the journey to Kelsingra, the real focus here is on the characters and their relationships -- which sounds boring, but it's actually quite fascinating to see what the journey turns them into.

Only problems are that the book moves VERY slowly, and the ending is satisfying, but abrupt. Fortunately if you can take the slowness, Hobb's writing is sumptuously detailed and full of atmosphere, even in an unglamorous world of acid rivers, rainforests, mud and barge travel. And she weaves together many smaller plot threads -- there's lots of romance, some tragic deaths (and one not-so-tragic death), and some unrest because of Greft constantly undermining the captain.

Hobb also painstakingly develops her large cast of characters -- grizzled sailors, naive teenagers, and the occasional rotten guy who wants to slaughter the dragons for parts. Thymara and Alise have to figure out what they want for their futures -- they have problems with love, rotten men, and the whole question of what the world thinks of them. And Sedric's innocent, sweet dragon forces him to reassess... well, pretty much everything he ever thought or wanted. And, of course, he has to reconsider what he wants in a lover.

The best part is the dragons -- as Hobb makes them more beautiful and powerful, she also rounds out their characters. There's the feisty Spit, the vaguely paternal Mercor, and the adorable little Relpda (who is almost dead at the story's start). The only one who doesn't really grow is Sintara, who's still as snotty and demanding.

The world of the Rain Wilds Chronicles is still gritty and messy, but things begin to turn in a more positive direction in "Dragon Haven." And it leaves you wondering what's going to happen next.

I would not recommend this series. At the beginning, I had high hopes. The setting is enchanting and the overarching plot intriguing. The book's written by a woman and contains plenty of female characters striving for agency. But the sheer amount of skeeviness, rape culture and outright rape was enough for me to loathe the read. The flat, self-absorbed characters didn't help any either. If the author's intent was for the novel to be skin-crawlingly creepy, she succeeded.
Unless you're sure that the world is compelling enough to slog through a story seemingly designed to slap you in the face every time you start to get comfortable, save yourself the trouble and leave this on the shelf.