On my Bookshelf: The Dragon Keeper

The rational side of myself knows that I shouldn’t start a new fantasy series just now. It’s no surprise the book nerd side won.

Also, since neither George R. R. Martin, nor Patrick Rothfuss seem to be planning on publishing a next installment in their series (if you like fantasy and haven’t read those yet, go and do it. You’ll lose days of your life reading, but it’s worth every second), and even Diana Gabaldon had to push back the release date for the eagerly awaited Written in my Own Heart’s Blood, what can it hurt. Also, Robin Hobb has been recommended to me several times. And I had a gift voucher. There really was no other option at all.

            The Dragon Keeper is the first book of Hobb’s Rain Wild Chronicles and alternates between 4 main characters, that of the dragon Sintara, the Rainwilder Thymara who has been “touched by the wilds” (meaning that she has scales and claws), Alise Finbok a scholar in dragon lore, Leftrin captain of a liveship and Sedric, a member of Alise’s household (or rather her husband’s).
            Changing between their different point of views, the book starts out with the cocooning of sea serpents, the last stage before they become dragons. The problem, as becomes clear when they hatch, however, is that all of them are too old and/or too emaciated from their travels upriver and do not turn out quite right. For example, Sintara’s wings are not fully developed, keeping her earthbound. All the other dragons suffer from similar conditions and have to be fed and supported by the humans of the neighboring city Trehaug. What is worse, however, is that their memories of how to be a dragon are not complete. When the dragons become too dangerous, it is decided that they will start out in search for the Elderling city Kelsingra. And this is when the different threads of the narrative, which has been switching between Trehaug where the dragons and Thymara are and Bingtown where Alise lives, unite, bringing all the characters together.

            In such a short summary, the plot does not sound spectacular, but it is very well carried out. And, what is more important in my opinion, it gives Hobb ample space to develop her characters and their different struggles. Thymara, for example, should have been killed as a child due to her scales. Alise is struggling against her husband’s contempt and the fact that she, being a woman, is not recognized as a serious scholar. The dragons obviously struggle with their bodily and mental shortcomings. Add to this some political intrigues and you’re all set for an entertaining and thought-provoking adventure.

            During the reading I realized that some of Hobb’s other series, are set in the same world, so it might have been smarter to start with, for example, The Liveship Traders. But Hobb manages to introduce the necessary backstories without stalling the flow of her narrative or boring the reader. Once I manage to read all the other books (might take me a while, though), I will be able to say whether the details she has to include in The Dragon Keeper spoil them – but right now I’d guess they don’t. She’s been in the business for a while, after all. This also explains how she manages to take well-trodden fantasy ground (let’s be honest, a series about dragons is not necessarily the newest idea in the fantasy canon) and transform it into a blooming, beautiful garden of imagination that is all her own.

            I for one cannot wait to read the series’ second installment Dragon Haven and see how the characters’ journey toward Kelsingra progresses. And if you’re a fantasy-lover and looking for a new series, go and check it out! (Or any of Hobb’s works, if dragons aren’t your thing.)