Delving deeper into the forest.

Delving deeper into the forest. (written on 12th June 2011)
This is the first book in The Rain Wild Chronicles duology (before Dragon Haven).

The story takes place more or less simultaneously with the events of The Tawny Man, during the years following Selden, Reyn and Malta helping the dragon Tintaglia hatch from the last wizardwood log. In return, the dragon had assisted Bingtown in the war against Chalced.

Centuries after the last dragons disappeared, the sea serpents of The Liveship Traders have finally made their way up the Rain Wild River to their cocooning grounds. But few have made it alive, and their late arrival has severely reduced their incubation time. As Thymara, a black-clawed young Rain Wild girl, and her father witness the hatching perched on an branch on a nearby tree, the new dragons emerge as deformed weaklings, with puny legs and stunted wings.

Further South, in Bingtown, Alise Kincarron has gotten used to the idea that she'll end up a spinster and decided to dedicate her life to the study of dragons and Elderlings. Until Hest Finbok, a handsome and wealthy Traders son surprisingly starts to court her. And even when she realizes Hest is actually proposing a marriage of convenience, she accepts the deal with the promise that she will be allowed to continue her studies. After several years of enduring domestic harshness and her failure to produce an heir, Alise decides to travel to the Rain Wilds. Hest sends Sedric, his secretary and her childhood friend, as chaperon.

Arriving in Trehaug, she soon realizes the dragons are but a pale shadow of the noble creatures of legend. Indeed, the poor beasts cannot even hunt for themselves, and the Rain Wild Traders are starting to think of them as a nuisance. An expedition is mounted to escort the dragons upriver, with hunters and sailors, and a bunch of Rain Wild misfits, among which Thymara and her Tattooed friend Tats, to take care of the them. When Malta Khuprus and the Traders Council ask for Alise's help and expertise, she agrees to join the crew.

In this new installment, Robin Hobb introduces us to a new crowd of likable characters, each with their own stubborn tempers and endearing flaws, some with shameful motives and secrets, and delves deeper into the boggy Rain Wilds and into the history of the universe she's been creating since Assassin's Apprentice. Blissfully, I dive in with her.

10/10