| Author: Robin Hobb | Series: Soldier Son Trilogy |
| Rating: 8.5 | Reviewer: Valashain |
| Genre: Fantasy | Publisher:Eos |
| Pages: 662 | Orig Pub Date: January 8th 2008 |
| Binding: Hardcover | Cover Illus.: Steve Stone |
Renegade's Magic is the third part of Hobb's fourth trilogy and quite a change from her works in the Realm of the Elderlings. Hobb places the Soldier Son Trilogy in a more technically advanced world than her previous works. If you like your fantasy in a medieval or renaissance setting this is probably not your cup of tea. Personally I think that the setting contributes to this trilogy being less well received than her previous books. And perhaps to it being underrated to an extend. I thought it was a fitting conclusion to the series but I will admit the trilogy as a whole is less accessible as her other books.
At the end of Forrest Mage Nevare has made the difficult decision to leave Gettys and let the world believe he has been killed. Magic enables him to make his escape and he runs for the protection of the forest, the only open to him. Before he turns his back on society however, he makes one last attempt to succeed at the task magic demands of him. In a spectacular but ineffective show of magical power, he undoes some of the work on the road. In the process he wastes all his stored magic, buying perhaps a season for the threatened ancient trees. Magic has had enough of Nevare's half-hearted attempts and his Speck self takes over. The Gernian Nevare can only watch as the side of his personality carefully groomed by Lisana to perform the task magic demands of him, takes control and sets him on a path that must mean betraying his country.
Nevare winters with the Specks on the other side of the mountains and learns a lot about their culture. His Speck self is busily planning to strike at the Gernain invaders but Nevare is not about to let it happen. He still has one card up his sleeve. His cousin Epiny doesn't believe his is dead and his magic provides him with the means of reaching her. A cat and mouse game between the Gernian and Speck sides of Nevare's personality unfolds. To make matters worse for Nevare he seems to have offended a god too.
As I mentioned in my review of Ship of Destiny, I think the third book in her previous three trilogies were not the strongest of the series. Assassin's Quest ends very abruptly. Ship of Destiny has an awful lot of story lines converging towards the end of the novel. Wrapping the story up was an effort. The climax of Fool's Fate finally, is too early in the book. Or some people would say it was too long, personally I think she had enough interesting things to say but it made the book a bit unbalanced. Renegade's Magic has none of these shortcomings. From a technical point of view it is probably one of the best novels Hobb has written.
For much of the book Nevare, our narrator is relegated to a bystander which is an unusual approach to take when you are writing a first person narrative. With Nevare largely passive things could have gone boring. In fact, a lot of people will think the first half of the novel a bit slow. Characterization is Hobb's speciality though, Nevare's internal struggles are portrayed masterfully. Where in the fist two novels Nevare is conservative, stubborn, sexist and quite unwilling to face reality, his other self forces Nevare to see the world in a different light. It makes him a more interesting character.
As Jay already mentions in his review of Shaman's Crossing, the first book of this series, one of the major themes in the Soldier Son trilogy is the environment. In the third book we get to see things from the "primitive" forest dwelling Speck side. Hobb gave a lot of thought on how they adapted to their environment and how much Gernian influence would threaten their way of life. The question how much change a people can adapt to in a short time has already been illustrated by the Plains People in the previous books. This book asks how much resistance the Speck can put up against what is generally believed to be inevitable Gernian expansion. Read between the lines and it doesn't look hopeful.
This book contains a lot of things I enjoy reading. Hobb's first person narrative is wonderful, I like environmental themes in a book and the characterization in Renegade's Magic is brilliant. Nevare can be infuriating at times, but when he is, it is entirely in character. If you are looking for a swords, dragons and magic sort of fantasy this is not your book though. It is definitely the most "fantastical" of the three but not a typical fantasy novel. The subject, themes and setting will be less appealing to a lot of readers than her other trilogies. Still, the writing is very much Robin Hobb. For her fans this book is a must, especially if you have already read the previous two instalments, but if you are new to Hobb's work I wouldn't start with this trilogy.
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