Dragon Keeper

3.0 out of 5 stars – see this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.

It's always difficult to leave Fitz behind, especially for a tetralogy that is regarded as the weak point in the Realms of the Elderlings series. I was hoping that a story devoted to several dragons would be big, bold, and thrilling; unfortunately, the dragons found in this opening tome were weak, malformed, and helpless. Obviously, this is just the beginning and things will likely change in the forthcoming books, but it was a disappointing revelation that Tintaglia and dragons like her were nowhere to be found.

That's not to say that there is nothing to like about this book. Compared to the Liveship Traders trilogy, this story is much more focused, the cast is less sprawling, and the characters convergence more quickly. The main characters are complex, likable, and varied. From Alise, the erudite Bingtown trader's daughter, to Thymara, the societal outcast seeking a place in the world, and to Leftrin, the shrewd ship captain with a heart; each character seems to have virtuous aims with realistic faults, and that makes them easy to root for.

Overall, though, this novel was mostly character introduction and set-up; it never captivated me like Hobb's other works, but I will push forward to the next book to see if the story picks up.

Executive Summary: This one may only be for big Robin Hobb fans, and those who didn't read/like Liveship Traders need not apply.Full ReviewI tore through the first 9 books of Ms. Hobb's Ederlings world last year. This series wasn't complete however so I wasn't in a rush to start it.After almost a year away, it's good to be back. There is some overlap with the events of Tawny man, so I'd recommend you have read those as well as Liveship before tackling this one.That said this book is slow. Any fan of Ms. Hobb will be used to this by now. She tends to meander at the start of her stories and takes her time before the main plot begins. This book might be the worst of the bunch. If that aspect of her writing bothers you, this series may not be for you.I think in any other author I might give up in frustration, but for me Ms. Hobb's writing is such that I seem to enjoy myself even if very little action is taking place. I can't really put my finger on why either. Maybe she's skilled me or something..Things do finally get going however and we're introduced several new characters along the way that we know pretty well by the time they do. For fans of Liveship there are some appearances by old friends, who make me smile and cheer when they showed up however briefly.I think this is where Ms. Hobb shines best. I've rarely love or despise characters as much as I tend to with hers. This series adds a few new ones that I may come to love, and certainly has several that I already can't stand.My only real complaint here is that the book sort of stops rather than ends. Just as things are really getting good too. I really just want to jump right into [b:Dragon Haven 7011403 Dragon Haven (Rain Wild Chronicles, #2) Robin Hobb https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1263769185s/7011403.jpg 21457174], which thankfully I can do if I want to, but if I had to wait, or if you didn't want to read the whole series at once, could be annoying.I think Ms. Hobb's done a much better with ending her other early books in a series than this. That said I'm eager to continue on and see where things go from here now that the stage has been set.3.5 Stars rounded up because I love Ms. Hobb.

As per usual with Robin Hobb's start of trilogies, or in this case quadrilogy (?), this series is off to a slow start. A lot of what happens is this book is strictly setting up the characters and the situation they find themselves in, and you can clearly see that this was originally supposed to be one big book that was cut in half.

That doesn't mean that it's uninteresting or boring though. I actually really like the dragons in this one, whereas before they were just a part of the story and not one of my main interests in it. The characters are great too, but they all have much room to grow and I can't wait to see what becomes of them.