Renegade's Magic: Book Three of The Soldier Son Trilogy (Soldier Son Trilogy, 3)

Book Two moved in such a painfully slow circle, I almost skipped this last book. But I'm glad that I plodded onward, because it has some good moments and offered a very satisfying conclusion. This is the ninth Robin Hobb book I have read. She's especially good at world-building and creating multi-faceted characters. Her weakness, I'm afraid, is pacing, and this trilogy definitely suffers from a sluggish pace. Information is repeated multiple times, the characters have the same arguments over and over, and every other page is a list of what Nevare eats. Looking back, I realize that her other trilogies also suffered from repetitive scenes and conversations (how many times did Chade made herb tea?), but I didn't mind as much because the characters were so likeable and the plot so interesting. In this series, the characters are less likeable (the protag was downright boring in Book Two) and the plot plays one annoying note over and over again (save the trees!). So overall . . . this is not Robin Hobb's best work . . . but worth reading if you don't mind a slow pace and endless descriptions of strange menu items. I still give it four stars because Robin Hobb is a very gifted writer. Her writing style is very easy to read and I'm always pulled into it. Unfortunately, in this series, I felt like I'd been pulled into a slowly swirling pot of mossy stew . . . which made Nevare happy, but not me.

I find myself spilt between the other two reviews. Robin Hobb is a gift to the fantasy community but this is not her best work. The reason Robin Hobb's books have spoken so clearly to me is the internal struggle her characters usually go through. I find, I can indentify with the protagonist's internal struggle. In the Solidier Son Trilogy there is internal struggle but I just don't care about the resolution. Even though I didn't love the trilogy there are moments that must be experienced by any fanstasy lover. Not her best work,(Not that I could even come close!) but still better then the majority of fantasy out there today.

Renegade's Magic (2008) is the third fantasy novel in the Soldier Son trilogy, following Forest Mage. In the previous volume, the court found Nevare guilty on all counts and sentenced him to hang. Yet he used the magic to bring down the wall of his cell. On his way out of town, Captain Thayer and his men recaptured Nevare. But he used the magic to convince them that Thayer had beat him to death. Then he escaped from Gettys. In this novel, Nevare Burvelle had been divided into two spirits, one living as a Gernian with magic and the other lurking within the same body with little access to the magic. Nevare is still capable of visiting Lisana in the dream world. But now he is an outcast from the Gernians. Soldier's Boy is the Speck spirit within Nevare's body. Unlike Nevare, he is unable to commune with Lisana. While Nevare has tried to destroy him, Soldier's Boy survives and influences Nevare in subtle ways. Lisana -- Tree Woman -- is a Speck Great One, a user of the magic. Her body is long dead, but she still lives within a sapling that is growing from her fallen kaembra tree. Nevare talks to her occasionally by dream-walking. Olikea is the daughter of Kilikurra and the younger sister of Firada. She is the feeder of Nevare and Soldier's Boy. Her child is Likari -- a young boy -- who also becomes a feeder of Soldier's Boy. Jodoli is a Speck Great One in the same kin-clan as Olikea. His feeder is Firada. Epiny is Nevare's cousin. She has a bit of magic, enough to commune with spirits. Epiny is married to Spink. Spink is a Cavella lieutenant stationed with the regiment at Gettys. He has been a friend of Nevare for several years since they were cadets together. Now he is the husband of Epiny. In this story, Nevare returns to the forest. First he visits the cabin at the cemetery. He finds Kesey there and tells him about the escape. After eating some dry hardtack, he replaces Kesey's memories and takes a few supplies with him as he departs. Nevare leaves Clove behind at the cabin, but the horse follows him into the forest. Nevare travels the King's Road to the worksite. Then he slips past to Lisana's tree stump and notices a new sapling growing from the barely attached tree trunk. Nevare then expends his magic covering the roadhead with grass, vines, moss and other forest life. He also pulls down trees whose roots have been cut by the roadway. He blocks enough of the road to delay the road crew until the snow falls. Yet a kaembra tree stump chastises him for the effort. The stump tells him that the road crew will only be delayed. The trees could have lived for centuries, but now they will live only for a few seasons at most. All his hoarded magic has gone for nought. After his great expenditure of magic, Nevare falls asleep on the forest floor. Upon waking, he is being tended by Olikea, with help from Likari. Jodoli is nearby with his feeder Firada. Then he feels a tingle throughout his body and Soldier's Boy t

A fantastic conclusion to one of the top trilogies in recent memory. Each book has its own cadence, themes, and era, making each book an exciting and new adventure, rather than repeats through 600+ pages. This final book is exhilarating, with complex plot points seemingly resolving, while tattering apart moments later. The book resolves itself extremely well, with a satisfying end of the book (as opposed to an abrupt end). The descriptions of the land, forests, and people are exquisite - and I found her vein of "magic" to be intriguing, yet frustrating in a good way. I definitely recommend starting from the first book, but think that you'll enjoy the beautiful tale.

This is the third and final volume in the Soldier Son trilogy (after Shaman's Crossing and Forest Mage). Barely escaping Gettys and its angry mob with his life, Nevare flees into the forest. Realizing that the King's Road is planned to go right through the part where Lisana's tree stands, he makes one last attempt at stopping its construction with the Magic. Alas, it doesn't work as expected and Nevare's Magic is all be depleted. Finding him in this poor condition, Olikea and her son Likari need to feed him again until he regains a respectable girth, so they can present him as Great One to their kin clan at the Wintering Place, on the other side of the Barrier Mountains. As time passes and Nevare tries to find out what the Magic expects him to do, his Speck self, Soldier's Boy, becomes more and more powerful, until he finally takes control of his body. Nevare is then nothing but a helpless witness of Soldier's Boy's actions: when he tattoos his skin with the dapples of the Specks, or when he plans a raid on the Gernians in Gettys to stop their Eastward progression. Only on rare occasions can Nevare surreptitiously tap Soldier's Boy Magic and dream-walk to his cousin Epiny, to try and warn her of the impending attack. A major part of the book takes place in the forest with the Specks, and even though I'm a tree-hugger, sadly I must admit that their culture failed to intrigue me. I felt close to Nevare but not to Soldier's Boy. Probably because the "Gernian-bred" me was taking sides, and I found myself constantly waiting for signs that things would look up for Nevare, that the scales would finally tip in his favour and reunite his split personality without too much loss and sacrifice. But that's also why I found the last third of the book tremendously exciting. As a whole, the Soldier Son trilogy was a more than excellent series, and Robin Hobb's storytelling surpasses everything I have read. However, I still have a preference for her precedent trilogies (The Farseer, The Liveship Traders, and The Tawny Man). I do hope it grows on me with time, though. I'm sure it will.