Renegade's Magic - possible spoilers

[greylin]

Well, since nobody's talking about it, I'll ask ... what did people out there think of Renegade's Magic? I can't believe I'm the only person who has read it.

Without giving spoilers, it was certainly less depressing than Forest Mage and all credit is due to Robin Hobb's fertile imagination and elegant style. There were LOTS of parallels with the Assassin books - hero who is an outsider, voices in head, telepathic skills, warfare etc. But I'm afraid Nevare will never be Fitz's equal in my heart.

 

[Talysia]

I haven't read Renegade's Magic yet, as the first two books didn't appeal to me when they first came out. Perhaps it was the wrong time to read them, so I might try picking them up soon. Especially if this book is less depressing.

And I agree about the whole Nevare/Fitz thing, too.

 

[Somebloke]

I didn't like it that much, although I read it largely to finish the series. It lacked Hobb's earlier charm. I did like the way the matter was resolved though.

 

[HiddenTiger]

Like Somebloke said, I only read it to finish the series. I do like the way it ended (is there a possibility of a continuation of Navare's story?) but it seemed to drag a bit in the middle. Still I am a fan of Robin Hobbs writing and will be interested in reading her next book.

At the moment I am reading StephSwainsonsCastle series (Year of our War and No Present Like Time) if you are after a story with a tortured hero then this is one to read. Very similar to China Melville’s writing as well.

 

[greylin]

What struck me in Renegade's Magic was that there was absolutely no sense of a resolution until the very, very end ... and then I started to realise that she's done this before. Just as you think you're on the downhill slope, she brings in another twist or turn to heighten the suspense again. It got to the point with RM where I was looking at the number of pages left and thinking she would never be able to do it, never wrap things up. But she did, of course. I think this is perhaps what has made me feel, in the past, that Hobb's endings seem a touch contrived - everything is resolved so fast.

 

[Mouse]

Not read it yet, but as soon as I get chance to go to the library I'm gonna pick up a copy.

 

[Tansy]

*SPOILERS*

I read it last week and I enjoyed it but hated the way.. that at the end everything worked out wonderfully, totally ruined it for me, the god of balances just seemed to be there so she could put all the pieces back together again nice and neatly. Also the way she neatly tied up the reason for stopping the road was so unrealistic, even if the King was happy in his new wealth he wouldn't stop a project that gave him access to the coast and new trading possibilities and cost him so much for so long.

 

[Sar]

I'm sorry but I got really sick of Nevare fighting with his other self. It was almost the same way my two sisters fight. Other than that it was pretty good.

 

[nixie]

Oh I hated the ending. I've said it before, this series had so much potential but was overall a let down

 

[Ningauble]

I haven't read it yet, but it's very high on my "To Read" list and I will get to it in two or three books or so.

However, I'm royally p**sed off at the British publisher for switching the cover art for the third book in paperback. If I had known they would do that, I would have bought the American editions! It looks like h*ll on my bookshelf!

 

[ratsy]

I finally finished the Soldier Son series this weekend. I really liked the first book with the academy and his friends and then it totally took another direction, almost like Hobb didnt know what was going to come next. The second book was depressing but I still found myself drawn to it. The third book in retropect didn't really seem to have anything happen...I was 300 pages in and I realized that nothing had happened. There was a run in with Epiny and he quick walked back and forth a few places all the while stuck in this own head....

I found myself just wanting to finish the book to get it out of the way so I could read something else. Of course Hobb tends to make us happy near the end and I did enjoy the part where Nevere danced around doing what the magic wanted...I didnt feel the connection to Amzil and I pictured a toothless leathery woman. I am sure she wasnt supposed to be as old as I thought but she did have three kids and Nevere was really just a kid himself even though they don't comment on that much.

I was slightly dissapointed but at least there is a happy ending and isnt that what we all want sometimes. I will continue to read anything Hobb writes and I can't wait until Hobb's Dragon Keeper which is now going to be released as 2 books because of its length.

 

[hammerhead]

I read it and I had to struggle to get through it.
I personally did not like it at all but that is just
my opinion and I am looking forward to her newest book

 

[Quokka]

I think I struggled with Soldier's Son more than the other two. I thought Renegade Mage was ok but agree the ending was too neat and tidy (but so was Fitz's imo) and I can forgive it as it's all of about 10 pages long.

In the end I felt the series as a whole was ok without being really memorable and there were some nice idea's throughout, I wonder what Hobb would have done with it had the series been put aside for a year and then given another look before publishing. And in the end I did want to go back and reread Soldier's Son to see if Nevare's introduction to the spirit/magic world flows better.

 

[Elbo]

I just finished Soldier's Son yesterday. I was quite impressed with it. I thought it looked at the issues of colonial politics in quite an interesting and refreshing manner.