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Science Fiction and Fantasy Association of New Zealand |
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Blood Of Dragons: Rain WIld Chronicles Book Four by Robin Hobb HarperVoyager Supplied for review by Harper Collins New Zealand |
Reviewed By: Jacqui Smith |
| It is said, "Do not meddle in the affairs of
Dragons, for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup!" – and
Hobb is not afraid to let her characters prove this quite literally. There is a scene
around p428 where one particularly nasty individual is bitten by a big one in a manner
distinctly reminiscent of the fate of a certain lawyer in Jurassic Park. Absolutely
brilliant! But if you think that makes this an especially violent novel, you’d be wrong. Hobb does not even go into detail about her climactic battle, but prefers to skip the gory bits, cleverly telling the story through the characters retelling of events. And it is the climax of not just one book, but of what is described as a four-volume novel, and that resolves issues that have been brewing across more than one series. Yet it works. As does Hobb’s world. I’m not sure which, if any, of the Rain Wild Chronicles I’ve read, though I do remember enjoying all of the Liveship Traders. Missing a few books wasn’t really a problem. Hobb draws the reader into her world with consummate skill. No dodgy continuity here, but solid plot development instead. That same skill is applied to the construction of that world, and hers are maps that work. Her characters are complex and interesting, and as they evolve and come into conflict they very much drive the story. And as for her dragons… Not since the days of McCaffrey’s best work have dragons been so cool! Suffice it to say that I thoroughly enjoyed Blood of Dragons and that I’m seriously tempted to go back and find the earlier books in this series! |
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