Reviews

The Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb

shakespeareaddict's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

m_mentu's review

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adventurous dark emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes

3.0

amamiles's review against another edition

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relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

davehershey's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-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

3.5

With this fourth series in the Realm of the Elderlings, we return to the location of the Liveship Traders trilogy. That may have been my favorite fantasy trilogy of all time, and Hobb is becoming one of my favorite writers. She ought to be mentioned alongside the top fantasy writers today (though maybe she already is). 

As usual, Hobb excels at characterization. Her characters jump of the page and are quickly and easily distinguished from one another. The world in which the story is set continues to build on layers of previous books.

The one negative is plot. Hobb’s stories are not plot-driven page-turners. The plot here is simply that the dragons, born at the end of the Liveship Traders trilogy, go in search of a lost city where they can live and flourish. The climax of the story, if you want to call it that, is kind of meh - one character steals some dragon stuff to hopefully sell off, the dragon keepers realize they need to work together. Rather than standing on its own AND starting a series, this book just starts a series. There’s not really an arc to the story.

But you don’t read Hobb for the fast-driven plot. Knowing that, this is a solid entry that makes me want to read the next one.

ancako's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.75

yellpxy's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

wranglerofwords's review against another edition

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adventurous dark informative reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

christianaxoxo's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

allygogo's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious slow-paced

4.0

bigbear73's review against another edition

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3.0

This audio book had possibly the worst narrator I've ever listened to, and as some of the other reviews indicate (malformed and handicapped creatures), the subject matter was sort of hard to swallow at times.

That being said...it was well written, the characters are all very well fleshed out, and when I got to the end, and I wanted to read the second one. Immediately.

It's absolutely worth reading, just avoid the audio book if you can help it.