HardcoverI purposely waited until I was a little bit "ahead" in my book-a-week schedule so that I could savor this story properly. I didn't want to rush through it -- I wanted to make it last. Since the third book of the trilogy has yet to be released, it was going to have to hold me over for a while. I complained about the last book ending in the middle of a scene and worried that this would do the same. I'm glad to report that the story got to an honest-to-goodness stopping point and I can make it to the next one's release without losing my mind.
Hobb is just so good. The wide variety of characters, each vividly realized, doesn't get as confusing as it easily could have in a lesser author's hands. The dragons, the young adults working as their "keepers", and the adults serving as guides and hunters all inhabit their own sphere and I was happy in any one of them. There could easily be a trilogy with any of these factions taking on all of the action on their own, but she juggles them nicely and brings the reader in with ease.
Can't wait for the next one. Dragon Rising? Dragon People? Oh, I'm sure she'll come up with a better title than either of those.
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