City of Dragons

Volume Three of the Rain Wilds Chronicles

By: Robin Hobb

Narrated by: Anne Flosnik

Length: 13 hrs and 25 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best-selling author Robin Hobb - "one of the most important writers in 21st-century fantasy" (Contra Costa Times) - continues her enthralling fantasy saga of dragons and their keepers.

Once, dragons ruled the Rain Wilds, tended by privileged human servants known as Elderlings. But a series of cataclysmic eruptions nearly drove these magnificent creatures to extinction. Born weak and deformed, the last of their kind had one hope for survival: to return to their ancient city of Kelsingra. Accompanied by a disparate crew of untested young keepers, the dragons embarked on a harsh journey into the unknown along the toxic Rain Wild River.

Battling starvation, a hostile climate, and treacherous enemies, dragons and humans began to forge magical connections, bonds that have wrought astonishing transformations for them all. And though Kelsingra is finally near, their odyssey has only begun.

Because of the swollen waters of the Rain Wild River, the lost city can be reached only by flight - a test of endurance and skill beyond the stunted dragons’ strength. Venturing across the swift-running river in tiny boats, the dragon scholar Alise and a handful of keepers discover a world far different from anything they have ever known or imagined. Immense, ornate structures of black stone veined with silver and lifelike stone statues line the silent, eerily empty streets. Yet what are the whispers they hear, the shadows of voices and bursts of light that flutter and are gone? And why do they feel as if eyes are watching them?

The dragons must plumb the depths of their ancestral memories to help them take flight and unlock the secrets buried in Kelsingra. But enemies driven by greed and dark desires are approaching. Time is running out, not only for the dragons but for their human keepers as well.

©2012 Robin Hobb (P)2012 HarperCollinsPublishers

Fill of action

This book was very fast moving. It went by so quickly! I love this narrator. She does such a great job!

Love these books

There are some weird boomer things going on in this series- but over all it’s such an amazing fantasy series!

Robin Hobb is a genius of storytelling

An amazing piece of fantasy. The epic tale of the 6 duchies and the rain wilds is one to enjoy over and over

Safe to call it Rain Wilds Chronicles Part 3A

I think some of the other reviews for this have been a little unfair.

City of Dragons is the third book in Robin Hobb's Rain Wild Chronicles. According to Hobb, the first two books (Dragon Keeper and Dragon Haven) were actually intended to be one book, but were split due to length. And the third and (forthcoming) fourth books were the same. City of Dragons is not a standalone book—it has no climax, virtually no resolution to its myriad storylines, and in fact where you would expect things to be wrapping up it only spawns new plot threads. In a genre where Pat Rothfuss can publish The Wise Man's Fear and we get innumerable Wheel of Time doorstops I'd question whether splitting the story was really necessary, but, regardless, my rating and review are with the understanding that I'm only looking at part of a whole.

Hobb's trademarks are all there: an immersive setting, lush prose, and deep, sympathetic characters. But this book doesn't feel as dark or as desperate as Hobb's other writing. There are threats, such as the fear that with Kelsingra known it will be overrun by treasure seekers, and the mysterious Chalcedean conspiracy. And problems, like the shortage of food and supplies, or the fact the dragons can't fly and so are completely dependent on their keepers. But none of these things feels particularly urgent or unmanageable. Disaster is not imminent. There are a few exceptions, such as one very desperate scene on the dark branches of the tree city of Cassarick (you'll know it when you read it)—but even that scene feels brief and truncated.

The result is that City of Dragons isn't focused on the dragons and keepers like the earlier volumes. It is a much broader book, showing the rippling consequences of Kelsingra's discovery and setting into motion all the forces that will no doubt clash in the finale.

But not every book needs to ratchet up suspense to unbearable levels. The book is a process of discovery, learning about the past and hoping for the possibilities of the future. Will the ancient society be restored, Elderlings and dragons living in symbiosis? And it is very much about relationships (romantic and otherwise). People are constantly forced to make choices about who to trust, who to be with, and then dealing with the consequences of those choices. Combine that with all the threads Hobb left in motion, and the final book promises to be an exciting conclusion to the series!

Good Continuation of the Story

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

This narrator reads way too slow! I speed it up to 1.5x!

Any additional comments?

I liked the continuation of the story. I didn't care for the new character point of views, it seemed a little like just fillers. I can't wait to get more in to Kelsingra.

Great story

I’ve really enjoyed these books. The narrator improved on the second book on. I’m looking forward to four.

Weak sounding females

I love Robin Hobbes' wold and books. I like this particular series, but not as much as the Liveship or Fitz and Fool segments. I think unfortunately the rendition of all the female characters by the narrator turned me off. Every exclamation is delivered with a tone that is helpless or pathetic, rather than annoyed or forthright. I think some segments I would have interpreted as sarcasm, she interpreted as victimized. Maybe I have more expectations for strong women than she does, but I like my interpretations better. I will not buy more audio books with this narrator.

I hope you have some time off!

A wonderful series sequel from one of my favorite fantasy writers! In order to really enjoy this series and avoid spoilers, you need to have read the Liveship trilogy first. And by several references, i suspect that the Tawney Man trilogy also ties in between Liveship, The Royal Assassin trilogy, and this one. I'm checking those out next time i can escape to another world for a while.
As several other reviewers have commented, the narrator has an unusual accent which i found distracting at first, although once captivated by the story i no longer noticed it.
There is a fourth book in the series, Dragon's Blood, which i haven't reviewed here since i read the book rather than listened to it.
Don't start Dragon Keepers until you have Dragon Haven, City of Dragons, and Dragon's Blood on standby. Each book ends on a cliffhanger and leads directly to the next.

Can’t get over calling Malta’s father Ephran… hello KYLE HAVEN

Malta and Reign named their son Ephran. Which is great. Except Malta says “after my father?” And Reign says “I heard he was a good man” then she even says “my father went by Phren when he was a boy” HOW COULD SHE GET THAT DETAIL WRONG. The whole last book was based on Malta trying to rescue her father Kyle Haven. Ephran was her Grandfather. That so very wrong detail makes me irrationally angry haha. Otherwise great story. I don’t like how the narrator made Althea sound like a dowdy old woman in this one when she was the ultimate badass adventure women but whatever.

Ever expanding world

Robin Hobb keeps growing her universe and it is ever more interesting. The narrator does a good job at differentiating the cultural accents to make the story more vivid.