Part of Series
Dark mysticism and primordial natural magic clash with the ever-expanding boundaries of the "civilized" world in the second volume of Robin Hobb's Soldier Son trilogy, Forest Mage. The sequel to 2005's Shaman's Crossing finds protagonist Nevare Burvelle—the second son of a nobleman and destined for a career in the military—with his world turned upside down. After surviving a plague that wiped out many of the students and instructors at the king's military academy, Nevare returns home for his brother's wedding, only to learn that he has been medically discharged from the school. The plague usually leaves its survivors skeletally thin, but Nevare, inexplicably, has begun to gain massive amounts of weight. With his family believing he's a glutton, Nevare is disowned by his father and eventually ends up finding work as a lowly cemetery guard in a frontier town near the border with the Specks, a race of dapple-skinned forest dwellers who possess powerful natural magic. But in a world where technology never stops advancing, can the Specks survive? And what does the suddenly bloated Nevare have to do with their struggle?
Author
** I am shocked to find that some people think a 2 star 'I liked it' rating is a bad rating. What? I liked it. I LIKED it! That means I read the whole thing, to the last page, in spite of my life raining comets on me. It's a good book that survives the reading process with me. If a book is so-so, it ends up under the bed somewhere, or maybe under a stinky judo bag in the back of the van. So a 2 star from me means,yes, I liked the book, and I'd loan it to a friend and it went everywhere in my jacket pocket or purse until I finished it. A 3 star means that I've ignored friends to finish it and my sink is full of dirty dishes. A 4 star means I'm probably in trouble with my editor for missing a deadline because I was reading this book. But I want you to know . . . I don't finish books I don't like. There's too many good ones out there waiting to be found. Robin Hobb is the author of three well-received fantasy trilogies: The Farseer Trilogy (Assassin’s Apprentice, Royal Assassin, and Assassin’s Quest), The Liveship Traders Trilogy (Ship of Magic, Mad Ship and Ship of Destiny) and the Tawny Man Trilogy (Fool’s Errand, Golden Fool, and Fool’s Fate) Her current work in progress is entitled Shaman’s Crossing. Robin Hobb lives and works in Tacoma, Washington, and has been a professional writer for over 30 years. In addition to writing, her interests include gardening, mushrooming, and beachcombing. She and her husband Fred have three grown children and one teenager, and three grand-children. She also writes as Megan Lindholm, and works under that name have been finalists for the Hugo award, the Nebula Award, and the Endeavor award. She has twice won an Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Readers’ Award.
