DRAGON HAVEN takes off where book one, DRAGON KEEPER, left
off. The dragons and their keepers continue their arduous
journey along the Rain Wild River to the fabled and perhaps
mythical land of Kelsingra. The dragon's collective hive,
like memories, aren't as much help as was hoped for, since
the landscape has changed and evolved over the centuries
and the beasts and their human caretakers stumble about in
the wilderness trying to survive disaster and starvation.
The small company must also survive each other. Secrets
come to light one-by-one including a doozy near the end of
the book that leaves Alise reeling, but also makes her
stronger and more determined to live life on her own terms.
Thymara and Sintara come to terms, but not without
incident. Sedric finally makes peace with Alise and with
himself. And the company makes one final brilliant
metamorphosis that will bring a smile to the face of the
most seasoned fantasy reader, even the ones who saw it
coming.
The Rain Wilds Chronicles are as fascinating and compelling
as anything Robin Hobbs has ever written.
Centuries had passed since dragons last roamed the war-torn
world of the Rain Wild River. But as peace once again
settled upon the land, a lost generation of sea serpents—
ancient, half-starved, and weary—returned to cocoon,
certain that they would be reborn as the beautiful and
powerful dragons of legend. But their arduous journey
exacted a heavy toll, and the proud serpents emerged as
sickly, half-formed beasts, unable to fly or hunt . . . or
thrive. For years now they have been trapped on a swampy
riverbank between forest and river, hungry and barely
alive, reliant on humans to provide for them.
With their survival at stake, fifteen dragons—among them
the wise golden Mercor, the haughty and dazzling silver-
blue queen Sintara, and the delicate copper beauty Relpda—
have set off on a dangerous trek into the unknown, up the
Rain Wild River, in hopes of rediscovering the ancient
Elderling city of Kelsingra, the lost haven for dragons and
Elderlings alike. The dragons are accompanied by a
disparate group of human keepers, rejects from Rain Wild
society. They, too, yearn to find Kelsingra and create a
home of their own, one in which they may make their own
rules and decide their own fate. But is Kelsingra real or
merely a fragment of a glorified past buried deep in the
dragons' shared memories? No map exists to guide them, and
the noble creatures find their ancient recollections of
little use in a land changed by generations of flooding and
seismic chaos.
As the dragons, the humans—including the strong and defiant
Rain Wild girl Thymara; the wealthy dragon scholar and
Trader's wife, Alise; and her companion, the urbane Sedric—
and their magical supply barge, captained by the gruff
Leftrin, forge their way ever deeper into uncharted
wilderness, human and beast alike discover they are
changing in mysterious and dangerous ways. While the bonds
between them solidify, starvation, flashfloods, and
predators will imperil them all. But dragons and humans
soon learn that the most savage threats come from within
their own company . . . and not all of them may survive.
Returning to the territory of her beloved Liveship Traders
and Tawny Man trilogies, New York Times bestselling author
Robin Hobb creates a lush and ultimately triumphant tale
set in an imaginative world of magic and wonder as
compelling and emotionally resonant as our own.