Reviews with content warning for Ableism - Dragon Keeper

Here we are, starting the fourth series of Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings series. Interestingly, these books have been sitting on my shelf for the longest out of all of them; my friend got them either for my birthday or for Christmas years and years ago.

Like all of Hobbs' books, it's beautifully written, if slow. A lot of themes surrounding ableism in this one. I don't have a lot to say about it overall though; it felt as though there was something missing that I love in the Fitz books, which was even present in Liveship Traders. I couldn't begin to say what though.

Even still, this was an excellent way to start March.

I listened to most of it, and once again, Anna Flosnik does an excellent job.

Content Warnings

theaceofpages's review against another edition

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challenging slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Dragons are a dying breed. Alise has spent her whole life studying them from afar and can't wait to finally see them in person one day. Stuck in a loveless marriage of convenience, she can't wait t escape and join the dragons in their long journey to a hopefully better future of safety and no prosecution.

Okay. So I wanted to love this book. I love dragons and I've heard great things about Hobb. This however... Well. I usually don't mid slow paced books but I don't think very much happened? Looking at other reviews, this doesn't seem to be her best book and mainly just sets things up for later on. Although it could also just be because I stopped to read other thins in between as I wanted something a bit more exciting at times.

That being said, I loved the dragons and the concept of the dragon keepers. I would love to be one of them and just be able to study dragons. Although there are definitely some rather shady members amongst them. Although that's always to be expected when there's money to be made. I loved reading from their perspectives as well as what the dragon keepers viewed them as. I enjoyed the more scientific minded ones the most. The biologist in me could definitely relate to the desire to understand them and learn everything they could about them. I also loved the world building. Learning about other worlds has always been one of my favourite parts of fantasy novels.

I'm not sure if I'll go and read the next book. I'd love to see more of this world, but I would like something with a little more plot. Will I give the author another chance? Yes. But I think I'll go read some other books first.

Content Warnings

gracecrandall's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

mariebrunelm's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Despite reading a lot of fantasy, I haven't been that attracted to dragon stories because the creatures have always felt a little too perfect and fantastical for my taste. But that's not the cause with Robin Hobb's dragons. These are sick, pitiful creatures who, yes, may gulp down a human in a heartbeat, but also need their help to survive. Yet the humans don't see kindly to them. When the dragons don't fill the roles they'd been ascribed by legends and folk tales, when they keep to the ground and only consume precious resources, the Rain Wild Traders decide to drive them away. A group of misfits is hired to accompany them, just as undesirable as the dragons.
Dragon Keeper opens the Rain Wild Chronicles and shows another facet of Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings. Where Fitz's books are about identity and Liveships about freedom, I find this series to be about ableism & free will. Dragon Keeper is more like Liveships than Farseer because of the wide array of narrators we get, but here they're all traveling together and so I find it easier, upon first reading it, to get one's bearings and dive in the story. While it's not my favourite of Robin Hobb's stories, I love how her characters interact and how she makes us love some of them and absolutely hate others. My favourite may be the quiet dragon scholar lady...
Rep: one of the MCs is gay, but the atmosphere of the book feels quite queer in general.

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