• Source: Rain Wild Chronicles

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.
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". 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". 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. 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


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?" 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.




Plot



The "Rain Wild Chronicles" is set in the Rain Wilds, an inhospitable swampy region encompassing the Rain Wild River. After centuries, following the disappearance of the Dragons and their Keepers, the Elderlings, together with their Magic, the Rain Wild River has become polluted, turning the waters acidic and deadly to the people of the Rain Wilds Forests. The river and it's many tributaries have flooded, overflowing the previously fertile meadows and ancient forests, which are now a poisonous boggy swamp. The deadly acidic waters have forced the Rain Wild people to rebuild their cities and towns into the upper branches of the ancient monolithic trees of the Rain Wild Forests.
Sadly, the poisoned environment now afflicts many of the Rain Wilders with dragon-like disfigurement, including scales and claws, and very short lifespans. The newborn are particularly afflicted, and these babies are often abandoned to the forests at birth and left to die, in a supposed act of mercy.
The story opens after the apparent abandonment of the region by the Dragon Queen, Tintaglia, and her newly discovered mate, Icefyre, thus leaving the Bingtown and Rain Wild Traders to care for the newly metamorphosed Dragon-lings, all of whom have emerged from their cocoons malformed, weak, unable to fly or hunt, and therefore, not able to provide for themselves.
Seizing an opportunity to free themselves of their two most troubling problems, the Bingtown and Rain Wild Trader's Council devise a plot to rid themselves of the costly burden of caring for the sickly young Dragons, and, at the same time, dispose of the most afflicted young Rain Wilders who, having escaped death at birth, are now young teenagers approaching adulthood.
The afflicted Rain Wild youngsters, who are able to communicate with the fledgling Dragons, are recruited as "Dragon Keepers" and tasked with the care of the Dragons during the forced expulsion, cleverly disguised as a search expedition for the mythical Elderling city of Kelsingra. The Council, disbelieving the existence of Kelsingra, anticipate the deaths of both the Dragons and their Keepers, thus freeing the Council from the terms of their agreement with Tintaglia, who had defeated the Chalced Armies, saving both Bingtown and the Rain Wilds from Chalced occupation, in exchange for the care and protection of the Dragon-lings during their metamorphosis from Serpents to cocoons to Dragons.
However, in a crafty turn-about, the young Dragons, having inherited the memories of their Ancestors, including the knowledge of Kelsingra, "glamoured" the members of the Council who are now, unknowingly, fulfilling the desire of the Dragons to be returned to their ancient homeland and it's capital city, Kelsingra.
The Rain Wild Chronicles is the story of this perilous journey undertaken by the Dragons, their Keepers and a few dedicated Humans, as they risk everything, traveling northward along the Rain Wild River, in the hope of freedom in the ancient city of Kelsingra.
However, before their perilous journey is concluded, and before the glory of mystical Kelsingra is revealed, not one of the intrepid travelers will remain unchanged.
For the Dragons, their ancient magic will emerge in full power, glory and majesty;
For the Rain Wild Dragon Keepers and the Bingtown Humans, the same ancient magic will transform them into the mystical Elderlings;
But, for all of the intrepid Travelers, nothing will remain unchanged. Their deepest strengths, darkest fears and secret weaknesses, will be openly revealed to all. Their recognition and, subsequent, acceptance or denial of whom they really are, will become a transformative force of change - some for the better, some for the worse; but, for all, the change will be forever.




Style and themes


Memory is a recurring motif in the magic system of Hobb's world: the dragons, in particular, retain memories of all their ancestors. The series explores ecological themes, as the return of the dragons is seen as important to maintain the natural balance. 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. 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.




Reception


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. 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. 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".
Dragon Keeper's "flawed characters" drew praise from Williams, who suggested that their weaknesses made their victories "all the more remarkable and precious". 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. Author Elizabeth Bear criticized the first book's characters as "self-absorbed and static" and felt that it had a young adult tone, but praised their evolution in Dragon Haven, which she described as "highly successful" and centered around character development. The Contra Costa Times' Clay Callam agreed, writing that the second book in particular saw Hobb "on top of her craft". Reviewing the third book, Shawl commented positively on the protagonists' "appealing stubbornness and bravery", and a Free-Lance Star review of the fourth book added that Hobb's talent lay in creating "characters that feel real". Bear also highlighted the conversations between pigeon keepers in the background of the series, calling it a "deeply entertaining political gloss".
According to fantasy scholar Lenise Prater, while the Rain Wild quartet "promotes acceptance of queer relationships", it is limited by "conservative impulses". 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.
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. 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. 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".
The pacing of the first book was criticized by multiple reviewers. Williams faulted its unresolved nature, suspecting that it was part of a larger story that had been cut into two parts. 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. 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". Callam praised Hobb's "command of narrative" in the third volume, and a review in The Age remarked on her "talent for action sequences". Reviewing the concluding volume, the British Fantasy Society reviewer Elloise Hopkins called it a "superb end" to the series.
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. Goldstein agreed, describing Hobb's prose as "a little tired" in Dragon Keeper, but commented that the second book featured tighter writing.




References






Works cited






External links


The Rain Wild Chronicles series listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

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