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Rain Wild Chronicles

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The Rain Wild Chronicles is a quartet of fantasy novels by American author Robin Hobb, published from 2009 to 2013. It chronicles the re-emergence of dragons in the Rain Wilds, a setting in Hobb's fictional Realm of the Elderlings. It is her fourth series set in that world, following after the Farseer, Liveship Traders and Tawny Man trilogies, and features an entirely new cast of characters. The quartet features ecocentric themes, as it examines the reaction of humans to a new predator in the world.

Rain Wild Chronicles
UK edition
AuthorRobin Hobb
Cover artistJackie Morris
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
GenreFantasy
PublisherVoyager (UK)
Published2009–13
Preceded byTawny Man trilogy
Followed byFitz and the Fool trilogy

Reviewers welcomed Hobb's return to the setting of the Liveship Traders, and writer Lisa Goldstein called the Rain Wilds a "strange and fascinating place".[1] Hobb's characterization of dragons received praise. Her human characters in the first book drew mixed reactions, but the sequels fared better; the second book in particular was described by Elizabeth Bear as "highly successful".[2] Scholar Lenise Prater noted the series' depiction of gay relationships and wrote that Hobb promoted queer themes, but felt that her writing was conservative due to its negative portrayal of promiscuity.[3] The first book's pacing was criticized by several reviewers, but the plot of the sequels and the conclusion of the series were well received.

Background

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Hobb said that in writing about dragons, she was motivated by a "what-if" scenario: "What if the human race had to contend with another set of intelligent beings, ones that would compete with them for territory [...] What if they didn't respect our claims to own things any more than we respected the claims of elephants or wolves or – dare I say it? – indigenous, so-called primitive people?"[4] She originally conceived the story as a single, standalone book, but due to its length, it was published as two volumes: Dragon Keeper (2009) and Dragon Haven (2010). Hobb then planned to write one more title in the same setting, but a similar issue occurred with its length, resulting in the release of two further entries, City of Dragons (2012) and Blood of Dragons (2013). All four books were published by HarperCollins Voyager in the UK, with covers illustrated by Jackie Morris. The series is variously titled as the Rain Wild Chronicles and the Rain Wilds Chronicles.[5][6]

Plot

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The series is set in the Rain Wilds, a forested region where people live in houses built in the branches of trees. Below the trees runs the Rain Wild river, whose acidic waters make the region inhospitable; disfigurement and scaly skin are commonly experienced by the residents of the region. As the series begins, a set of dragon eggs given to the people hatch, but the dragons turn out to be stunted, with ill-formed wings, and are unable to fly. A group of dragon keepers is tasked with transporting the eggs to a mythical, long-lost city: Kelsingra, the ancient home of dragons and their servants, the Elderlings.

Style and themes

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Memory is a recurring motif in the magic system of Hobb's world: the dragons, in particular, retain memories of all their ancestors.[7] The series explores ecological themes, as the return of the dragons is seen as important to maintain the natural balance.[8][9] Mariah Larsson writes further that the series is ecocentric in nature, as while the dragons help enable the utopian civilization of the Elderlings, they also deplete natural resources, have an adverse, mutative effect on the humans around them, and are a stronger and more intelligent predator than humans.[10] She argues that the thematic role of dragons in the Elderlings world is to "give competition to the human drive to dominate", and thus the series challenges anthropocentrism, or the supremacy of man's place in the world.[11]

Reception

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Hobb's return to the setting of the Liveship Traders was welcomed by reviewer George Williams, who referred to her as "the modern queen of the fantasy trilogy" and felt that the Liveship Traders was her best work.[12] Writer Lisa Goldstein found the Rain Wilds a "strange and fascinating place", highlighting its treetop dwellings set above the deadly Rain Wild River, and said that the setting differentiated the series from the typical fantasy novel.[1] Nisi Shawl agreed, writing that Hobb's world was "delightfully complex", and commented that readers would be drawn in by its "marvelous interplay of power, magic and beauty".[13]

Dragon Keeper's "flawed characters" drew praise from Williams, who suggested that their weaknesses made their victories "all the more remarkable and precious".[12] Goldstein took a more mixed view, writing that while Hobb's human protagonists were interesting, they repeatedly emulated "the Cinderella story" in being unhappy outcasts.[1] Author Elizabeth Bear criticized the first book's characters as "self-absorbed and static" and felt that it had a young adult tone,[14] but praised their evolution in Dragon Haven, which she described as "highly successful" and centered around character development.[2] The Contra Costa Times' Clay Callam agreed, writing that the second book in particular saw Hobb "on top of her craft".[15] Reviewing the third book, Shawl commented positively on the protagonists' "appealing stubbornness and bravery",[13] and a Free-Lance Star review of the fourth book added that Hobb's talent lay in creating "characters that feel real".[16] Bear also highlighted the conversations between pigeon keepers in the background of the series, calling it a "deeply entertaining political gloss".[14]

According to fantasy scholar Lenise Prater, while the Rain Wild quartet "promotes acceptance of queer relationships", it is limited by "conservative impulses".[17][18] She notes the existence of several gay relationships in the series and remarks that the gay couple Sedric and Carson have a bond that deepens over the course of the books. Sex between gay characters is described as explicitly as with heterosexual couples. Yet she concludes that the series is conservative, because all its relationships – whether gay or straight – are "monogamous and based on romantic love"; characters who stray from this notion, such as the promiscuous Jerd, are portrayed negatively. She also comments that child rearing is limited to heterosexual couples and that gay women are absent.[3]

Hobb's portrayal of dragons was well-received. Bear expressed delight at their snarkiness, and their "crabby, whiny, self-centered, vain, and generally unprepossessing" nature.[14] The Monroe News-Star commented that Hobb's dragons were different from the ones typically seen in fantasy, as they blended dragon-like "mystical grandeur" with human flaws arising from their stunted nature, which made them unable to fly.[19] The reviewer found their growth in the second book interesting, writing that they had progressed closer to the beings of myth but retained flaws which he compared to "the chink in Smaug's armor".[20]

The pacing of the first book was criticized by multiple reviewers.[14][21] Williams faulted its unresolved nature, suspecting that it was part of a larger story that had been cut into two parts.[12] In a more positive review of the second book, Bear praised Hobb's "sheer inventiveness" in consolidating plot threads, and highlighted how changes in the setting mirrored internal developments in Hobb's characters.[2] Goldstein agreed that the pacing had improved and labelled the second book "exciting, full of adventure", but found the ending predictable and concluded that it left her with "a vague taste of disappointment".[22] Callam praised Hobb's "command of narrative" in the third volume,[23] and a review in The Age remarked on her "talent for action sequences".[24] Reviewing the concluding volume, the British Fantasy Society reviewer Elloise Hopkins called it a "superb end" to the series.[25]

The first book's prose was critiqued by Bear, who said that Hobb was typically a "fine stylist", but felt that her writing in Dragon Keeper suffered from too much exposition.[14] Goldstein agreed, describing Hobb's prose as "a little tired" in Dragon Keeper,[1] but commented that the second book featured tighter writing.[22]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Goldstein, Lisa (February 8, 2010). "[Review of] Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb". Strange Horizons.
  2. ^ a b c Bear, Elizabeth (June 2, 2010). "Facts Universally Acknowledged, Being a Review of Robin Hobb's Dragon Haven". Tor.com.
  3. ^ a b Prater 2016, p. 31–32.
  4. ^ Jewell, Stephen (March 18, 2013). "Robin Hobb Interview". SFX.
  5. ^ Hopkins, Elloise (March 7, 2013). "An Interview with Robin Hobb". British Fantasy Society.
  6. ^ Clute, John (October 29, 2021). "Hobb, Robin". In Clute, John; et al. (eds.). The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction (3rd ed.). Gollancz.
  7. ^ Larsson 2021, pp. 134.
  8. ^ Waller 2022, p. 496.
  9. ^ Larsson 2021, pp. 127.
  10. ^ Larsson 2021, pp. 135–138.
  11. ^ Larsson 2021, pp. 124, 129–130.
  12. ^ a b c Williams, George (July 25, 2009). "Fantasist Hatches Clever Plot". The Weekend Australian. ProQuest 356262565.
  13. ^ a b Shawl, Nisi (February 18, 2012). "Robin Hobb's 'City of Dragons': Trouble in the Rain Wilds". The Seattle Times.
  14. ^ a b c d e Bear, Elizabeth (February 5, 2010). "The Golden Age of Epic Fantasy (a Review of Robin Hobb's Dragon Keeper)". Tor.com.
  15. ^ Callam, Clay (September 4, 2011). "Everybody's Reading Martin's 'Dance With Dragons'". Contra Costa Times. ProQuest 893404041.
  16. ^ Hedelt, Rob (May 12, 2013). "Lost City Finds Answers". The Free Lance-Star. ProQuest 1349988437.
  17. ^ Melville 2018, p. 301.
  18. ^ Prater 2016, p. 30.
  19. ^ Phillips, Fred (April 18, 2010). "Hobb Offers View Rarely Seen in 'Dragon Keeper'". Monroe News-Star. ProQuest 440229806.
  20. ^ Phillips, Fred (August 1, 2010). "'Dragon Haven' Leaves Questions Unanswered". Monroe News-Star. ProQuest 734543146.
  21. ^ Callam, Clay (February 8, 2010). "Worlds Beyond: The Pace is Draggin' in Robin Hobb's 'Dragon'". Oakland Tribune. ProQuest 352457671.
  22. ^ a b Goldstein, Lisa (May 10, 2010). "[Review of] Dragon Haven by Robin Hobb". Strange Horizons.
  23. ^ Callam, Clay (April 8, 2012). "Hobb's Latest a Credit to the Series". Contra Costa Times. ProQuest 1000447908.
  24. ^ Woodhead, Cameron (February 25, 2012). "[Review of] City of Dragons". The Age. Gale A281117896.
  25. ^ Hopkins, Elloise (March 7, 2013). "Blood of Dragons. Book Review". British Fantasy Society.

Works cited

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  • Larsson, Mariah (2021). "Bringing Dragons Back into the World: Dismantling the Anthropocene in Robin Hobb's The Realm of the Elderlings". In Höglund, Anna; Trenter, Cecilia (eds.). The Enduring Fantastic: Essays on Imagination and Western Culture. McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-1-4766-8012-5.
  • Melville, Peter (2018). "Queerness and Homophobia in Robin Hobb's Farseer Trilogies". Extrapolation. 59 (3): 281–303. doi:10.3828/extr.2018.17. ProQuest 2156322163.
  • Prater, Lenise (2016). "Queering Magic: Robin Hobb and Fantasy Literature's Radical Potential". In Roberts, Jude; MacCallum-Stewart, Esther (eds.). Gender and Sexuality in Contemporary Popular Fantasy. Routledge. doi:10.4324/9781315583938. ISBN 978-1-317-13054-3.
  • Waller, Rhian (2022). "Fantasy and Ecofeminism". In Vakoch, Douglas A. (ed.). The Routledge Handbook of Ecofeminism and Literature. pp. 490–499. doi:10.4324/9781003195610-49. ISBN 978-1-003-19561-0.
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