I love Robin Hobb, but this book never catched me. I didn't even manage to finish the book. ( )

One of Robin Hobb's weakest books.
None of the characters are particularly sympathetic. I never felt drawn into the story. I couldn't quite tell who I was supposed to be cheering for, which makes it hard to care who wins. The ending was unsatisfying, and left me with no desire to read the rest of this series.
Disappointing, after how fantastic her other books have been. ( )

Shaman's Crossing, and the Soldier Son trilogy, definitely leans toward the more brooding and introverted end of the fantasy spectrum. As such, the story needs an introverted, brooding, slightly stick-in-the-mud narrator: a role which Nevare fills rather nicely.

Set in an expanding, imperialist Gernia, Nevare exhibits all the traits of a Good Gernian: loyalty, faith, a willingness to follow the path set for him by his birth-order, and an internalized obligation to 'westernize' the conquered savages. It is through his growth and encounters with others throughout the series that the Good Gernian will be criticized.

I find the amount of "Nevare is far too different from Fitz" criticism from some Farseer fans frankly surprising. I don't think it's an entirely fair comparison; the stories and worlds are drastically different, and therefore require different characters. Transplanting Fitz's brain and personality into a Gernian body and slapping on a vanity name-tag would have been a cheap ploy. Not to mention a disservice to readers, ( )

First off, Robin Hobb is a very good writer. With that said, while I did finish the book, it left me with a sense that I did not really enjoy the book.
I think the problem was that I could just not connect with the protagonist. The poor guy seemed to have no control over his life as was just pulled along throughout the book. That may have been Hobb's point but it just was not enjoyable for me.

I cannot recommend except to die hard Hobb fans. ( )

Could not get into this at all. I wonder if Hobb is too characer-driven for my tastes now? Action isn't high on her list of priorities. Its a shame as I enjoyed the Farseer books so much. I wonder if the novelty of being into a fantasy novel for the first time kept me motivtaed throughout that trilogy...? ( )