Pre09:

This comment goes for the whole trilogy:

Characters: Just loved the cast. I loved the troubled family. I loved the aspiring pirates. They all were real and touchable.
Plot: Very solid. Political upheaval. Reasonable family strife.
Style: So epic yet relateble. Not sure how the author made that juxtaposition work. ( )

A solid continuation of the trilogy. Hobbs' strength as a writer is her ability to create complex political and social structures which are just different enough to be intriguing. Her characterisation is certainly strong; yet I never found myself as wrapped up in the characters she depicted here, as strongly drawn as Kennit and the others are, as I did with the Farseer Trilogy. Perhaps it does feel a little too much like a side-trip from the 'main' books, so to speak, since there are definite hi...more A solid continuation of the trilogy. Hobbs' strength as a writer is her ability to create complex political and social structures which are just different enough to be intriguing. Her characterisation is certainly strong; yet I never found myself as wrapped up in the characters she depicted here, as strongly drawn as Kennit and the others are, as I did with the Farseer Trilogy. Perhaps it does feel a little too much like a side-trip from the 'main' books, so to speak, since there are definite hints of how this all ties back to what's occurring in those books. ( )

Man, I'm really enjoying this series. When the connections between the sea serpents, the dragons, the liveships and the Rain Wild began to dawn on me, I just got a chill up my back. I love how Hobb slowly develops these fascinating ideas. Such detailed and intricate world building.

Another thing at which Hobb excels is character. All the characters are well drawn, but at the same time, they change over time according to their circumstances and situations in ways that ring true to actual human beings. This is a rare, rare thing in any form of fiction, and I can't praise it highly enough.

I immediately picked up the next volume in the series and I'm loving it as well. The only downside I have found with these books is they seem to bog down somewhere in the middle, as characters suddenly seem to want to talk everything to death or endlessly argue or psychoanalyse each other. It's almost as if Hobb doesn't trust the reader to get everything that is going on, so for the slow readers she takes a break midway through to explain it all. You've already shown it, just keep going with the story. ( )

My Bookspotcentral review ( )

Solid follow-up to the first volume; intriguing characters (including the ships!) ( )