Shaman's Crossing: Book One of The Soldier Son Trilogy (Soldier Son Trilogy, 1)

Sometimes you want to smack Nevarre for being a bonehead. I felt the same way about FitzChivalry a lot of the time. Nevarre stubbornly refuses to believe that his life is being affected or influenced by the magic. FitzChivalry refuses to admit he's a Catalyst, and refuses to believe in the Fool's prophecy. Anyway, you do want to smack Nevarre. Because sometimes he's being stubborn, sometimes he reacts emotionally, and sometimes he insists on living in his narrow life-view - molded by his upbringing as a little soldier, religion, and rural, sheltered upbringing. This is a realistic character. His patrol mates at the academy are realistically portrayed - Gord, fat & picked on, but patient and thoughtful; Spink, the poor New Noble boy who struggles at math; Trist, the handsome charismatic type; etc. His uncle, Epiny, etc are also well portrayed. For folks complaining that this is slow compared to the Farseer, they apparently haven't read "Assassin's Apprentice" 6+ times like I have. It moves with the same sort of pace - almost all character driven storytelling and setup, little action.

Several previous reviewers have stated that they didn't like this new series (Soldier's Son trilogy), especially compared to Robin Hobb's earlier works. My wife and I have disagree greatly: while we loved Robin's earlier works (the Assassin series, the Liveship Traders, and the Tawny Man books), we felt Shaman's Crossing was an excellent book, and were sad to reach the end of it. Shaman's Crossing is the beginning of a trilogy, so don't expect everything to be wrapped up by the end. As others have noted, it also starts somewhat slowly, as you learn the background and makeup of the protagonist, Nevare Burvelle. Even this background, however, is an enjoyable read, with the story throwing you into an "adventure" of sorts within the first few pages. The characters in the novel are very believable, each with their own backgrounds and points of view, and the situations and locations keep the story moving along, while also providing a real depth to the world. By the time we finished this first novel, we felt we really understood Nevare's world, and were eager to continue the story. What more can I say -- it's a great book, doesn't require any previous series knowledge, and should be picked up and read immediately! :)

The thing I like about Robin Hobb is that she avoids the usual fantasy stereotypes. This book is no exception. I think I must be one of the few people who approached this book NOT looking for another Fitz. One of my biggest complaints (and many others will agree) with latter books by Eddings, Jordan etc, is that all the characters seem the same. I feel an author fails when they create a new series and you can easily place all the characters from the previous series, with new names. Nevare is a fresh character. His world is a new setting. He's an ordinary person, which I feel in a Fantasy genre that has no shortage of lost kings, all powerful magicians, and beautiful princesses, is a very rare and interesting thing. At first I found it a bit strange a premise for a story. At first look, it does seem like it would be dull. But I found the story of his days at home and his training at the academy engaging and interesting. Expect this book to be different. Don't expect to find Fitz dressed up as a Soldier's Son. This isn't a story of kings and princesses and dragons. It's a lovely tale of a person's strengths and doubts.

I'm a fan of Hobb's other books, but I avoided reading this book for a while due to the negative reviews I read here. But I finally decided to try it, and I just finished it last night, having stayed up four hours past my bedtime to do so. The main criticisms that other reviewers have brought up so far have been that the book is slow and dull, that nothing really happens, that it's only a setup novel, and that the main character, Nevare, is uninteresting. I find none of these to be true. Actually, based on the negative reviews, while reading the book I kept expecting to get bored or bogged down. I didn't. In almost every chapter there's something happening, something changing, something moving forward. You'd have to be blind not to see it. Other reviewers have remarked on Nevare's lack of uniqueness. I really do not understand this. Sure, there's the distinct absence of a stereotypical prophecy saying that he's destined to save the world, but there's no dearth of interesting things about Nevare. One reviewer said that "Nevare does not question his society, his role, his society's racism or destructive policies; he is as stuffy as most of his kind." Another noted that he is "shallow and accepts things as they come." I must disagree. I feel that there is tension in Nevare's personality stemming from his being disgusted with the state of affairs (e.g. the way Plainspeople are treated; the destruction of the forest), and not understanding why things are the way they are, yet being commanded by people he respects to accept those things. This polarization of his character -- on the one hand, firmly believing in the rightness and immutability of his place in the world, and on the other, deeply questioning it -- is at the heart of the story, and is a theme that surfaces again and again and again. What is the right thing to do? When should one have faith, and when should one question? When is it right to obey, when to rebel? When do you accept and when do you question authority? There is a place for both; how ought one choose to do each? What do you do when doing the right thing will lead only to punishment? Like any of us -- like FitzChivalry -- Nevare forgets or denies what he knows to be true -- quite often, in fact. This frustrated me in the Fitz novels as well as this book, but it's realistic. I found Shaman's Crossing much like Assassin's Apprentice. They are both character studies at heart, following a protagonist through a variety of different, quirky experiences that come to shape who he is. In all of Hobb's stories, the character is what shapes the plot more than vice versa. These character-driven plots tend to meander into places that violate the conventions of standard fantasy because there is no grand prophecy to fulfill; the chips fall where they will. I find this to be no different between Fitz's story and Nevare's. One difference between Fitz and Nevare is that Fitz started out with more overtly interesting qua

This novel was not what I was expecting from Robin Hobb at all, which is probably why so many readers are giving it low marks. I am sure that most expected your basic medievel type fantasy novel with tons of mysterious magic and action heavy plot. That just doesn't happen here. Instead, the reader is treated to a unique world, where medieval characteristics are combined with an expansion of a country similar to the United States in the 1800s. I know the first mention of firearms in the novel shocked me, but quickly I could get a great feeling of the land and the politics surrounding the main character. As for the academy setting, I was reminded of John Jakes' style of writing, where mundane activities will color the story from here on out, and it is important to establish them. Granted, this is a "Set-up" novel as others have mentioned. However, I found the politics and situations to be interesting on their own, and know that in the next two novels, they will have a distinct impact of the story. Now for the "Tree-woman", here is the true heart of the novel, for you can tell that the struggle of the expanding country verses the natives well-versed in the lore of the land, is the focus of this trilogy. Will the expanding nation devastate the land with no regard for nature and conservation? Or will the natives succeed in saving their way of life only by murdering the newcomers with the plague ? I, for one, can hardly wait for the next installment of this trilogy. Summary of review - if you are looking for blood and guts action and intense suspense, this is not for you. However, for a good story about the building of a man, and a nation with a slight fantastic flair, I highly reccommend this novel.