Where have you been?

I finished reading Robin Hobb's Renegade's Magic awhile ago, and I had every intention of writing a detailed review. What stopped me though was how disappointed in the book and in an author who I have come to respect I became after finishing it. The book was good, but not great. And I didn't want to write a negative review. The finale dragged at points. The protagonist whined and postured and did nothing for so long that it was tedious to read him debate with himself (literally) for pages and then chapters. And then, in the end, everything resolves with a tight and shinny bow and life has a story book ending.

Well, Renegade's Magic really is no fairy tale and the overly convenient ending topped with the slow pace of the finale puts a bit of tarnish on an otherwise good trilogy. Hobb still has an ability to delve deeply into characters and expose their motivations and flaws in ways that the characters do not realize. I wish she hadn't felt the need to end this trilogy with a sweetness that ultimately fails to balance the overall bitter tone of the story.

In the end, I would still recommend the Soldier Son Trilogy as a satisfying speculative fiction trilogy. A story that combines exploration with magic and falls a bit outside the medieval tropes of most fantasy-fiction, the trilogy is a good read, even if the ending falls a bit flat.

Renegade’s Magic? 3.5 Ms out of 5
The Soldier Son Trilogy? 4 Ms out of 5