Renegade’s Magic (The Soldier Son Trilogy - Book 3)

I enjoyed the trilogy, although I did struggle to get into it at first, it is a very different trilogy to Hobb's other trilogies (based around the world of the Golden Fool) but makes for a good finish to a standalone trilogy.

Had read the Farseer and Tawny Man trilogies and was anxious to try more Robin Hobb. Was very disappointed, the writing wasn't bad, there was just never anything interesting happening. This book was 90% teenage angst and 10% fantasy. And the 10% fantasy part I thought was weak, kind of a reverse Stephen King's "Thinner."

Not sure if anyone else has experienced this with Robin Hobb books, but I always seem to loose interest with her stuff during the third books. Happened withe assassin apprentice series also, probably has something to do with the book never really reaching a climax very well in the plot. Couldn't put this series down until the third one, maybe I was tired of reading how the main character was insanley fat, kinda ruined it for me I guess.

I enjoyed the books. The following review is largely a quick comparison between the Assassin books and Soldier Son.

Yes, Nevare is a different character from Fitz, but he is very well drawn out and consistent throughout. And you know what, I wouldn't want the repetition of the same character!

The plot itself was very imaginative. There were several parallels with the Fitz stories and the turns of events were a little more predictable, but that did not spoil the story at all. I thought these books were a great deal lighter than Hobb's previous works. As a result, it does not imprint on you as much as the Assassin/Fool, but I still stayed up late at night and did not want to put the books down.

Like a lot of the other reviewers mentioned, this book is terribly boring. I enjoyed the first two books in the series which were pretty slow paced, but the third book is just plain terrible and takes slow pacing to an entirely new level. And, regardless of the pacing, the story just isn't even that good. Even if you cut the book by half or two-thirds, it would still be slow and boring.

I would not recommend this book to anyone.

A rare miss for Hobb. I found the book frustrating and trying to finish it just for the sake of finishing the series. The conclusion is relatively straight forward and it's painful to get there. I'd skip it and just leave the series unfinished.

robin went right along till ALMOST the end......i stopped and looked up the reviews ...i was not going to read more without hope,. the ending was O K ...writters need to be aware that we work through three books having a real investment in the story and the people. i wanted some joy.

Since my first novel from Robin Hobb, I have been hooked. This woman is incredible. She brings to life worlds in such a way that you are drawn in and captured for the entire length of her tales. I highly recommend her when people ask me who my favorite authors are.

I have enjoyed Hobb's previous work, but this whole series is just terrible and I cannot recommend it to anyone. The main character(s) is utterly unlikable. He whines throughout all 3 books, and it reaches epic proportions in this final volume. Just when you think he might die, go away and let you conclude the series (the only reason to read this book is if you are foolish to read the first) . . . he just becomes even more whinny.

The writing is pedantic, explicitly forcing concepts and ideas with no attempt at subtlety. Hobb does raise interesting and challenging issues of morality and ethno-centricity, but then batters the reader over the head with the idea using the most annoying main character I have ever encountered. Apparently, the reader is intelligent enough to consider the ideas, but not intelligent enough to consider them without lecturing.

Hobb's previous work also contained complex characters and, while perhaps those works were not as challenging as the Soldier Son trilogy, I find it hard that Hobb could not create one, single character that the reader can actually enjoy reading about.

Instead, for 2000 pages, we are stuck in the head (the trilogy is written completely in first-person omniscient) of a bleating, pathetic Soldier Son.

I am very disappointed after enjoying her previous work so much. My advice: stay away unless you are a relative of friend of Robin Hobb, or you are stuck on a desert island and are looking for a more painful way to die than starving to death.

Robin Hobbs is surpassing Samuel Donaldson in writing about characters that do nothing but agonize and don't do anything. I suffered through 9 books of S Donaldson, but enjoyed the first 3 or 4 of Hobbs' apprentice series (all 6) although the more she wrote, the slower things went. the last two were agonizing for me. It took so long for something to happen, and you wanted to shake the characters and tell them to suck it up and do something. The first in these three was interesting, compelling, and worth reading. The second and this one are infuriating. I didn't buy the second, after reading it for two hours in a Barnes and Noble, but hoping that it would come to some conclusion, I bought this one, but threw it on the floor in disgust after 250 pages. He's dead, he's not dead, he disappoints his cousin, he agonizes, he bothers everyone, but NOT ME ANY LONGER. I don't care why he does what he does, and I don't care how much he ways or which of his personalities is doing what at what time. IT IS TOO MUCH agonizing, and he doesn't even have leprosy. Ms. Hobbs should write half as much and twice as much action.

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.

This more properly might be considered a review or perhaps better an appreciation of the trilogy rather then a review of the final book in the series.

I agree with many of the criticisms made against this series in others reviews. The main character is indeed not the most sympathetic person I have ever encountered, nor is either side in the war particularly likable. The pacing is not fast though you do get to know the character quite well by the end of the story.

We tend to look for certain things in epic fantasy. A clear division between good and evil with an epic struggle occurring between the two sides. In addition we tend to expect the protagonist to be a strong, inspired, decisive individual.

None of these elements are present in this series. Neither the Specks who in a more conventional fantasy world would be the good guy nature loving aboriginals, nor the Gemnians who represent an aggressive expansionist imperialism, are particularly likable. Both cultures lack respect for others and consistently underestimate each other. Both engage in cruel acts with scarcely any qualms of conscience. The protagonist is a conflicted ineffectual man who reacts to his plight by a flight to obscurity. He ends up truly caught between two worlds and a puppet of "the Magic".

So why do I like it. The answer is simple. I believe it honestly portrays the moral ambiguity that exists in any clash of civilizations. Such clashes result in misery for all involved. Neither side is truly virtuous with clean hands, although some individuals are more enlightened then others. It also shows individuals influencing events but rarely if ever controlling them. In the end things are shaped and resolved by the magic and the god of balances. Not in any way that any of the protagonists intended or expected, but instead through an apparantly random series of events that resulted in a de-facto truce without a decisive victory by either side. Under the circumstances that might be the best result that could be hoped for. Nevere may not have been the most likable or dynamic individual but he did soldier on as best he could and that in the end resulted in the end of the conflict and killing. Nevere's personal woes apparantly come to a close at the end of the story along with the end of the war.

I do not think things will remain that way, and that at some point the expansionist forces which drove the original threat to the Specks will revive. I would not be surprised to find that the "Magic" has more in store for Nevere and/or his new family. I look forward to any additional interesting miseries that may be forthcoming as a result. I hope that in future stories in this world that we will learn more about the nature of the "Magic" and the "Old Gods". This story left me hungry for more.

A rare miss for Hobb. I found the book frustrating and trying to finish it just for the sake of finishing the series. The conclusion is relatively straight forward and it's painful to get there. I'd skip it and just leave the series unfinished.

This was an awesome finish to "The Soldier Son" trilogy. I found myself re-reading passages in much the same way you would rewind a movie to take a second look at a cool part.

The author is extremely verbose and did an awesome job of setting scenes and describing characters. I found myself staying up way past my bed time on many occassions to finish the story and though my sleep suffered it was well worth it!

Great book that I would and have recommended to anyone.

Great story, outstanding characters. I couldn't put the second book down and am now on Renegade Magic. However, I seem to draw a parallel between this story and Avatar. Magic, a savior not of the persecuted race, magic trees. Don't get me wrong, I love both stories and it's only an opinion. 'Berd

His lover, Lisana enabled Gernian soldier Nevare Burvelle to escape incarceration when she split his soul enabling him to become a Speck mage Soldier's Boy. However as a nasty by-product, two personalities conflict over who controls the host body.

His Soldier's Boy's mage skills lead Nevare to try to destroy the Gernian road that has begun to devastate the Specks' woodlands. His failed efforts leave him near death, but Speck female Olikea uses her healing skills to save his life as is her duty. As he recovers he finds his two sides in conflict as each has a demand. Nevare knows that he must prevent the Gernia from demolishing the Specks' forest while at the same time he also must stop the Specks from distributing their deadly plague that has slaughtered the Gernians. He begins to believe that to succeed he must unite his warring split personalities.

The final Soldier Son tale (see FOREST MAGE and SHAMAN'S CROSSING) is an entertaining fantasy that looks deep at the issue of development vs. environment. The story line is fun to follow although the pace at times is turtle like especially when the complicated Hobbs magical structure is logically but boringly elucidated (only a fool would read this entry before the previous two books). Still this is a fine trilogy that showcases the importance of finding win-win solutions to complex social issues as the two sides seem to only employ lose-lose methods.

Harriet Klausner

A little internal conflict in a character is a good thing but an entire book of internal conflict was wearying. I ended up slogging through just to finish it. The happily ever after ending is also a little contrived.

I found the first two books more depressing. This was a brilliant way to interweave all the loose threads and conclude the story arch. She brought it all home with the richness and depth that it deserved. As always, she's an excellent student of human nature, culture, politics, and myth. I stayed up until 5AM finishing this book. Highly recommended.

Robin Hobb is a great author, but this particular series (Soldier Son) has been a geat disappointment to me. I finished the series out of some sort of sense of morbid obligation for the previous work she has done; but I could not in good consience recommend this book or this series to anyone who has anything better to do. Sorry Robin!

Robin Hobb has been one of my favorite authors for years. One of the few I actually check to see when her newest books are due out. This series was good, not her best - but she sets the bar awefully high. If you are a Hobb fan, it's worth the read.

The pace of this trilogy is glacial, and although I like the concepts introduced and the characters are interesting, I do not see the point of the story.

When an author paints a picture with words it is true magic. Unfortunately I didn't see much of this in this trilogy.

I loved her other works, and was enjoying this trilogy. This trilogy was more a story of how much pain can one person take. It was a long way to go for a satisfying ending. Almost didn't finish. In the end, it was barely worth it.