The Rain Wild Chronicles Review: A Four Book, Dragon-Filled Journey to Uncover a Lost City
Dragon Keeper (Rain Wild Chronicles #1)
I don’t think that Dragon Keeper is necessarily a bad book, but when compared to Robin Hobb’s other novels that I’ve read so far in the Realm of the Elderlings (which are fantastic), it’s clearly the weakest of the bunch. This quartet of books finds us returning the Rain Wilds, a place we first ventured to in the Liveship Traders trilogy.
We follow a new cast of characters here, mainly focusing on a Bingtown woman named Alise, Liveship captain Leftrin, and a Rain Wilds teen, Thymara. As with her other work, Hobb’s biggest strength is her characters. Everyone feels extremely distinct, not only from one another, but also compared to others we’ve met in Hobb’s various novels.
Where the book really falls short is its pacing and overall story (or lack thereof). Hobb’s books often take time to really get going as she spends pages just developing her characters. Usually, I don’t mind this more deliberate storytelling, but Dragon Keeper takes way too long before our story really takes flight.
The entire book, in fact (which is around 500 pages), could really have been condensed down into three or four chapters. Though the pacing does eventually pick up, and I found myself more into everything as I got later into the novel, this story just doesn’t merit being a standalone book. This notion is further supported by the fact that the book sort of suddenly ends after a chapter without having anything resolved or having said chapter really stand out in any significant way. Hopefully, the next Rain Wild Chronicles book picks up – we definitely have all the background information we need now.
Grade: 5/10
Dragon Haven (Rain Wild Chronicles #2)
Dragon Haven picks up right where we left off at the end of Dragon Keeper and is basically the rest of the story started in that earlier book. It’s pretty clear after reading the first two novels in the Rain Wild Chronicles that Hobb originally intended for these volumes to be one book but then decided she had too much content. Instead of cutting some of that first novel (which would’ve been a wise choice), she split her work into two separate books.
Dragon Haven, while definitely not being amongst Hobb’s stronger stories, is still a major improvement off of Dragon Keeper. Largely, that’s because there aren’t any chapters that feel as though they should’ve been completely cut.
As with most of Hobb’s books, we still move along at a methodical pace. What actually happens over the course of Dragon Haven plot-wise can be summed up in a couple of sentences; the bulk of the book is about watching characters (human and dragon alike) mature and change.
I enjoyed the characters here enough to appreciate the novel. Sure, they’re not as strong as Fitz or Althea Vestrit from earlier books, but they still feel interesting enough.
In some ways, though there are still mature elements, Dragon Haven feels almost as if it skews towards being written for a younger audience. It’s not quite YA fiction, but it does sort of feel between that and a book for adult readers. Overall, it’s an improvement compared to Rain Wild Chronicles #1 – good, but not great.
Grade: 7/10
City of Dragons (Rain Wild Chronicles #3)
I enjoyed City of Dragons more than I did the earlier books in the series. These books are far from being as good as Hobb’s earlier work, but this one is totally serviceable as something fun to read.
When I think back to what actually happened in City of Dragons, it feels like a lot of set up – the book seems very much like it’s serving as a precursor to the final book of this series. We also get a bit more of characters not on the expedition to Kelsingra (since that journey wrapped up with the conclusion of Book #2).
I enjoyed having chapters bouncing around between characters not all on the same quest. It made the book move at a faster pace, and that’s a quicker pace than not just the earlier two Rain Wild Chronicles books, but compared to the majority of Hobb’s library. Chapters centering on Malta, Reyn, and Selden, prominent figures from Liveship Traders, also added more importance to this story while also making these particular characters (Malta specifically) feel important in the entire Realm of the Elderlings that Hobb has built.
Our story still largely feels more focused on Leftrin and Thymara here and definitely spends less time with Alise. I’m fine with that though, she’s gotten a little boring for me, and she just doesn’t have much to do in City of Dragons.
Hopefully, the final book in this series continues the trend of these improving as they go along. After a lackluster first book, I’m happy to say I’m excited to see how this adventure ends.
Grade: 7.5/10
Blood of Dragons (Rain Wild Chronicles #4)
Blood of Dragons is the best book in Hobb’s Rain Wild Chronicles. This is the fourth series in Hobb’s Realm of the Elderlings that I’ve read. In every prior case, the final book in each series wasn’t my favorite of the group. Oftentimes, I think Hobb begins a set of books with a bang and then the ending doesn’t quite live up to how fantastic the story was early on.
With Rain Wild Chronicles, the opposite is true. A lackluster story spread across two books (that should really, really have been condensed to one), then followed by a better third book, ultimately wraps up with a fulfilling and worthwhile conclusion.
Blood of Dragons builds off of the events of City of Dragons. This book, similar to that third one, feels more adult than the two earlier entries in this series. I think this is largely because in Dragon Keeper and Dragon Haven we’re following mostly young adult characters, as well as fledgling dragons.
At this point in the story though, those characters (human/Elderling and dragon alike) have matured, making for a less YA-feel of a read. Concentrating more on Liveship Traders characters, like Malta, Reyn, and Selden, also continues here.
In addition, we get a bit more of villainous characters, like the Duke and Hest, in this one, and I appreciated that. Hobb sometimes focuses less on her villain/just pure evil characters and more has our protagonists just overcoming obstacles, but we get some good antagonists here.
Blood of Dragons might not be as good as your average FitzChivalry adventure, but I was still glad I read it. The Rain Wild Chronicles as a collective are pretty widely considered the worst books in Realm of the Elderlings. I’ll admit, they definitely start off a bit rough with that first book. However, I felt very fulfilled with where Hobb chose to take the story and how everything wrapped up. This tetralogy is still worth reading for others, such as myself, journeying through the Realm of the Elderlings novels.
Grade: 8/10
Other reviews of books in the Realm of the Elderlings series: