Product Description

The first book in a brand new trilogy from the author of the Farseer, Liveship Traders and Tawny Man trilogies. When the two-hundred year war between the kingdoms of Vania and Landsing ended the Landsingers were left in triumphant possession of Vania's rich coal and coast territories. When young King Troven assumed the throne of Vania thirty years later, he was determined to restore her greatness, not through waging another assault upon their traditional enemies, but by looking in the opposite direction and colonising the wild plains and steppes to their east. Over the next twenty years, cavalry forces manage to subdue the rolling plains formerly wasted on nomadic herders and tribesmen.Troven's campaign restores the pride of the Varnian military and to reward them, Troven creates a new nobility that is extremely loyal to their monarch. Beyond the grasslands lies the current frontier of Varnia, the heavily forested Barrier Mountains, home to enigmatic Specks: a dappled, forest dwelling people, unable to tolerate the heat and full sunlight of the plains. The new settlers find the Specks slightly dim-witted and overly placid, and yet strangely difficult to control. There are tales that they are 'blood-drinkers' and their nature worship of ancestral trees has presented difficulties for those who wish to harvest the forest's exotic timber. They also harbour strange diseases, ones that cause the Specks little more than a week or two of discomfort but which frequently kills those settlers and soldiers who fall victim to it. For that reason, prolonged contact, and especially intimate contact with the Specks is judged both fool-hardy and disgusting. Nevare Gerar is the second son of one of King Troven's new lords. Following in his father's footsteps, a commission as a cavalry officer at the frontier and an advantageous marriage await him, once he has completed his training at the King's Cavalry Academy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #220693 in Books
• Published on: 2005-07-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 400 pages

About the Author
Robin Hobb was born in California in 1952 and majored in Communications at Denver University, Colorado. Assassin's Apprentice was her first novel, and was followed by the equally successful Royal Assassin and Assassin's Quest. She lives outside Seattle, Washington.

Customer Reviews

Crossing boundaries
Robin Hobb is well known, in fantasy circles at least, as being a writer of fiction with a more serious bent. In her Farseer Trilogy, her theme was that of a coming of age; in her Liveship Trilogy, she addressed the issue of how people deal, or fail to deal with life's lessons. Her aim is both higher, and broader here, as she tackles boundaries and differences, between cultures, within cultures, between classes, and within classes.

Like in the Farseer trilogy, she writes in the first person; her protagonist, Nevare, is the second son of a newly appointed noble who was a colonial style trooper. Nevare can be likened to her Farseer hero's shadow, being restrained where Fitz was passionate; willingly constrained by authority and tradition where Fitz was not. There are essentially three peoples in his world - the Gernian, who can almost be likened to the British colonials, the plainspeople who are an allegory for the Native Americans, and the Speck, a people more alien and wild. The way Hobb sets up the interaction between these three cultures is thought provoking in a way that typical fantasy writing is not; the theme of cross cultural segregation shapes the people in this world and significantly directs their fate. Within this context, Nevare himself wrestles with a class divide that echoes the cultural segregration.

One of the most pleasing aspects about this book is how well it can be read as a stand alone novel, despite it being the first in a trilogy. The ending is satisfying, although it is a happy fact that there are another two books to come. Her hero is a sympathetic one, and her usual deft touch ensures that the reader feels some sympathy for the her antagonists as well. Above all, what I liked most about this novel was how little it resembled any of Hobb's previous novels; in this genre it is all too easy to churn out pulp fiction.

Hobb does an excellent job of evoking Nevare's world; her writing is sound, if not overly lyrical. The book does flag slightly in the first few chapters in that Nevare initially seems more a cipher than a real person, but once her groundwork is set firmly in place, the story rapidly gains a page-turning tangibility, and Nevare becomes a very likeable hero indeed.

The plot is not at all easy to predict: Hobb leads the reader to predict the outcome of many events in the novel, and then neatly turns events on their head with a light-fingered touch, with not a hint of contrivance.

Thoroughly recommended. More please!

literary excellence
I have been quite a fan of Robin Hobb for some time and having read all her previous work I had looked forward to the release of this new trilogy. I was of course a little disappointed at first to see a move away from the world of the farseer's, as I had enjoyed all three of the previous series' and the short stories set in this land, however the more I thought about it the more enthusiastic I was about a new world and a fresh story. After reading just a fraction of the book I could see that my enthusiasm had not been misplaced as I could hardly put the book down and although similarities between certain characters in the story can be drawn with characters in previous stories these similarities are only superficial and do not in anyway detract from the experience. The world and the characters are beautifully crafted and completely believable, as always. It is hard not to find yourself totally immersed in the story and many times whilst reading this book I wondered where the hours had gone. I do not intend on writing a detailed analysis of the plot and characters in this book as for one I don't like spoilers, so refuse to write them, and two this is a review not a book report. However I will say that this book was a delight to read, so much so that I have already pre-ordered the second book in the trilogy, and I would recommend it to fans and casual readers alike and even if they receive just a fraction of the pleasure that this book has given me it would still be well worth a read.

Damn Good Book
I've long been a fan of Robin Hobb and I think this book ranks among her best. Its originality, insight and characterisation make it far above such books as the latest offerings from Jordan, Martin and Feist. While these authors are continuing with a slowily drying concept, Hobb pushes the borders of fantasy, using it to critique Western-cenricism, class discrimination and imperialism in a fascinating and important way for the genre as a whole.
The book is full of lovely sociological type situations, particularly when the hero lives in a dormitary; Hobb really captures what it is like to live in a closed community with power balances and the tension that people can feel. I really enjoyed the book, it seems like she could have ended the series at the end of the first book as it was complete in itself and has a lovely ending, somethnig that seems to be Hobb's speciality.
I can't understand why anyone would deter others from reading this book, it's fantasy that's thoughtful and interesting, filling the genre's potential for social critique that's inherent in Fantasy. Yet it's far removed from this world and still very escapist, Hobb has to be commended for striking such a balance.
The magic component is lacking, it's true, but the book was an introduction to the world, and the main character was in denial through the book so it's naive to judge that at this stage.
It's a very interesting and engrossing book and I encourage anyone who's enjoyed her books in the past, or enjoyed fantasy books to read this ground breaking world.