Product Description

The second book in the brand new trilogy from the author of the Tawny Man trilogy, following on from the bestselling Shaman's Crossing. The King's Cavalla Academy has been ravaged by the Speck plague. The disease has decimated the ranks of both cadets and instructors, and even the survivors remain sickly. Many have been forced to relinquish their military ambitions and return to their families to face lives of dependency and disappointment. As the Academy infirmary empties, Cadet Nevare Burvelle also prepares to journey home, to attend his brother Rosse's wedding. Far from being a broken man, Nevare is hale and hearty after his convalescence. He has defeated his nemesis, Tree Woman and freed himself of the Speck magic that infected him and attempted to turn him against his own people. A bright future awaits him as a commissioned officer betrothed to a beautiful young noblewoman. Yet his nights are still haunted by dreams of the voluptuous Tree Woman, dreams in which his Speck self betrays everything he holds dear in his waking life. Has the plague infected him in ways far more mysterious than the merely physical? Despite his fears, Nevare will journey back to Widevale in high spirits, in full expectation of a jubilant homecoming and a tender reunion with his beautiful fiancee, Carsina. But his life is about to take a shocking turn, as the magic in his blood roars to life and forces him to recognize that his most dangerous enemy, an enemy that seeks to destroy all he loves, might dwell within him.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9650 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-02
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 400 pages

Review
'Hobb is one of the great modern fantasy writers! what makes her novels as addictive as morphine is not just their imaginative brilliance but the way her characters are compromised and manipulated by politics.' The Times

George R R Martin
‘Even better than the Assassin books. I didn’t think that was possible’

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. Her website is: www.RobinHobb.com.

Customer Reviews

Laboured...but worth it.
Shaman's Crossing was the first Robin Hobb book I had read, so I was very much a latecomer to her writing. However, it hooked me in to the extent that I read The Farseers, Liveship and Tawny Man Trilogies and found them to be far superior titles.

That said, "Forest Mage" is a huge improvement and a very good book. From the sumptous cover and positive ending to Shaman's Crossing, the novel could trick you into thinking better things are just ahead for Nevare. Wrong.

Forest Mage is a book steeped in misery. As many have stated, the after-effects of the Speck magic unleashed into Nevare in Shaman's Crossing cause him to lose control of his outward appearance and be shunned by his own people. The first four or five chapters of this book can make for incredibly uncomfortable and upsetting reading. And it only gets more miserable from there.

Piece by piece, Hobb decides to remove what Nevare holds dear. A lot of Forest Mage takes place on the Gernian frontieer, which is miles away from the lawful school setting of the first book. The glorious vision of the King's Road and imperialist expansion in the first novel gives way to the reality - a barren wasteland subject to martial law, angry mobs, starving and dead children, where the military has no faith remaining and desertion and suicide are high.

As forlorn as Nevare often is, by the end of the book you really begin to fight for him. One of the main attractions towards his character comes with the realisation that neither the prejudiced, ignorant Gernians nor the completely alien Specks (the main "civilizations") are genuinely sympathetic entities worth fighting for. Yet Nevare, in his own way, doggedly persists to uphold what he believes is right.

Overall, Forest Mage is to be considered an extremely dark fantasy novel. Still, Hobb maintains her wonderful descriptive talent and fluidity of prose throughout. Never have I seen a character been put through so much in any genre of book I've read before. Only bad things happen in Forest Mage, and there is no light at the tunnel at the end.

Bring on Renegade Magic.

PLEASE remember that this isn't Farseer!
reading through the reviews i was a bit disheartened to hear so many people deploring the fact that Nevarre just isnt Fitz... well, he isnt, so of course he's going to be different!
the first book in this series, i admit, left me feeling a bit disappointed. Now i have finished this book, however, i am much reassured. because of the fact that this is quite a hefty trilogy, it's only right that the fist installment should set the scene.
i was dubious about starting this one, but as soon as i sat down with it i knew that Robin Hobb had done it again! without rehashing the plot (you can just read other reviews for that) let me assure you that Forest Mage pulls out all the stops and i wish it was already july 07! i cannot wait for the final installment, not least to find out what the hell he has to do for the magic!

Thank you Robin!
I've never really been into fantasy all that much but Robin Hobb came highly recommended so I thought "why not?". The Farseer books blew me away and since then I have read pretty much everything of hers I could get my hands on.
I've read a few reviews of her newest Soldier Son trilogy and have been disappointed by the inability people have to let go of the old and embrace the new. Yes Fitz, Nighteyes and the Fool became the loves of my life whilst I was reading the books and I was quite frankly devastated when I read the final page of the last book in the series but I've kept my mind open and allowed Hobb to entice me with something different.
Shamen's Crossing is a slow mover (as was Assassin's Apprentice) but this is key to why Hobb's characters are so beautifully developed. The main character in this book is not immediately likeable but this is to show just how inhibited he is by the world his father has created for him. He does not understand what it means to love someone of his own accord, to choose a path for himself which is not predesigned. I think the reader feels alienated from him because we no longer live in a world where our decisions are made for us. I will never forget Fitz but his story is over (thankfully a happy ending) and Nevare's is only just beginning.