Dragon Keeper by Robin Hobb

Title: Dragon Keeper
Author: Robin Hobb
Type: Novel
Genre: Fantasy
Series: Volume One of The Rain Wilds Chronicles 
Copyright: 2010
Publisher: EOS an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers
Rating: 4 to 5


Summary:  from Good Reads.
Enter the spellbinding world of dragons . . . and those who tend them

One of the most gifted fantasy authors writing today, "New York Times" bestselling author Robin Hobb has dazzled readers with brilliantly imaginative, emotionally resonant, and compulsively readable tales set in far-flung realms not unlike our own. In this enthralling new novel, she returns to the territory of her beloved Liveship Traders and Tawny Man trilogies with a story of dragons and humans, return and rebirth, and the search for meaning, belonging, and home.

For years, the Trader cities valiantly battled their enemies, the Chalcedeans. But they could not have staved off invasion without the powerful dragon Tintaglia. In return, the Traders promised to help her serpents migrate up the Rain Wild River after a long exile at sea--to find a safe haven and, Tintaglia hopes, to restore her species. But too much time has passed, and the newly hatched dragons are damaged and weak, and many die. The few who survive cannot use their wings; earthbound, they are powerless to hunt and vulnerable to human predators willing to kill them for the fabled healing powers of dragon flesh.

But Tintaglia has vanished and the Traders are weary of the labor and expense of tending useless dragons. The Trader leadership fears that if it stops providing for the young dragons, the hungry and neglected creatures will rampage--or die along the river's acidic muddy banks. To avert catastrophe, the dragons decree a move even farther up the treacherous river to Kelsingra, their ancient, mythical homeland whose mysterious location is locked deep within the dragons' uncertain ancestral memories.

To ensure their safe passage, the Traders recruit a disparate group of young people to care for the damaged creatures and escort them to their new home. Among them is Thymara, an unschooled forest girl of sixteen, and Alise, a wealthy Trader's wife trapped in a loveless marriage, who attaches herself to the expedition as a dragon expert. The two women share a deep kinship with the dragons: Thymara can instinctively communicate with them, and Alise, captivated by their beauty and majesty, has devoted her life to studying them.

Embarking on an arduous journey that holds no promise of return, the band of humans and dragons must make their way along the toxic and inhospitable Rain Wild River--an extraordinary odyssey that will teach them lessons about themselves and one another, as they experience hardships, betrayals, and joys beyond their wildest dreams.

Feelings:
Someone suggested I read one of Robin Hobb's books. I can't remember who at the moment just that when I went to look her up I almost wrote her off as another generic writer of Fantasy. I think the suggestion was for a different series but the library didn't have that so I thought I would give Dragon Keeper a try and see if I liked it. I did. I enjoyed the characters in the book and the dragons have their own personality as well.

When I first started it and there was a Cast of Characters at the beginning I wondered what I was getting into and if I should stop there. I don't really think it was needed but it was nice occasionally to look back at to remind myself of who someone was. Not every character is included nor all the characters include major characters.

The dragon below Thymara was still tearing sticky strips of wizardwood from her case and devouring them. A gray swathe of it stuck to her muzzle. She pawed at it with the small claws on her stubby front leg. To Thymara, she looked like a baby with porridge smeared on its cheeks and hair. (p.31)

This is the first real introduction to the new dragons around which the story will take place and one of our main human characters, Thymara. The dragons while they should be dangerous are not described as such and this is just the beginning of the troubles the Rain Wilders must undergo to care for them. Thymara is not a normal human and because she is more touched by the Rain Wilds at birth than others she is an outcast to everyone except her father.

Her father had black nails. ... Sometimes it seemed such a small difference to her, that her father had been born with black nails on his hands and feet and that she had been born with claws, like a lizard. Such a small difference on which to base a life-or-death decision. (p. 39)

Captain Leftrin is the owner and captain of the liveship Tarman. The Tarman, a barge, is one of the fastest and oldest wizardwood ships. Because of this it is not hurt by the acid waters of Rain Wild River when other ships are.

Alise a Bingtown woman who has given herself up on marriage and decided to become a scholar on Dragons and Elderlings. When Alise is married it is unexpected and she is upset by her new husbands lack of interest in her and his unwillingness to let her go to study the Dragons.

"Dear husband, do you infer that I am not 'well-bred'? For I would agree with you. Some women of my acquaintance would think me absolutely 'unbred' were I to share the details of our private life with them." .... "You would not do that." ... "It would be easiest not to do that if I were away from my usual companions. If, for instance, I went off on a journey to the Rain Winds, to observe the dragons." (p.185)

For most of the book Alise is timid but she does learn grow as the story progresses. All of the characters do to some extent.  This is not a complex book. The setting takes a little getting used to as do all of the different character stories. However, it is all intertwined and done well.

My one complaint is that he book doesn't really have an ending. Be warned if you decide to pick up this book and read it the ending is more like the end of the chapter than the end of the book. Maybe that is why it is considered volumes.