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    Blood of Dragons (The Rain Wild Chronicles, Book 4)
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    Blood of Dragons (The Rain Wild Chronicles, Book 4)
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    Blood of Dragons (The Rain Wild Chronicles, Book 4)
    Audiobook16 hours

    Blood of Dragons (The Rain Wild Chronicles, Book 4)

    Written by Robin Hobb

    Narrated by Anne Flosnik

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

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    About this audiobook

    The final instalment of Robin Hobb’s Sunday Times best-selling series The Rain Wild Chronicles.

    Dragon blood and scales, dragon liver and eyes and teeth. All required ingredients for medicines with near-miraculous healing powers. The legendary blue dragon Tintaglia is dying of wounds inflicted by hunters sent by the Duke of Chalced, who meanwhile preserves his dwindling life by consuming the blood of the dragon’s poet Selden Vestrit.

    If Tintaglia perishes, her ancestral memories will die with her. And the dragons in the ancient city of Kelsingra will lose the secret knowledge they need to survive. Their keepers immerse themselves in the dangerously addictive memory-stone records of the city in the hope of recovering the Elderling magic that once allowed humans and dragons to co-exist. In doing so they risk losing their own identities, even their lives.

    And danger threatens from beyond the city, too. For war is coming: war between dragonkind and those who would destroy them.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins UK Audio
    Release dateApr 11, 2013
    ISBN9780007509072
    Author

    Robin Hobb

    Robin Hobb is one of the world’s finest writers of epic fiction. She was born in California in 1952 but raised in Alaska. She raised her family, ran a smallholding, delivered post to her remote community, all at the same time as writing stories and novels. She succeeded on all fronts, raising four children and becoming an internationally best-selling writer. She lives in Tacoma, Washington State.

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    Reviews for Blood of Dragons (The Rain Wild Chronicles, Book 4)

    4/5

    345 ratings14 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Blood of Dragons wraps up the Rain Wilds series very nicely. I did still have issues with pacing in the first half of the book, but it definitely gets more interesting in the second half, which I ripped through very quickly.I enjoyed the resolution of all the plotlines, especially Hest's, although I do still feel that his perspective was not entirely necessary to this series. Still.I'm looking forward to revisiting Fool's Assassin next. As much as I've enjoyed the Rain Wilds and Liveships books, I definitely feel most at home with Fitz and the Fool!
    • 5/5
      I waited for ages for this final book in the series to arrive at the library - but it was well worth the wait!! Loved, loved, loved it.. and a very fitting end!! The dragons come of age.. there is fighting on the ground and in the air and on the water.. the new City comes alive.. edge-fo-the-seat thrills too!
    • 4/5
      Blood of Dragons is the fourth and final book in the Rain Wilds Chronicles by Robin Hobb. It's getting hard to write a spoiler free review so I'm not going to try. The keepers and their dragons have finally made their way across to the city of Kelsingra. Memories return as both groups explore the city, filling in the puzzle of what it means to be both Dragon and Elderling. Yet one final mystery remains. What is the Silver and where has it gone? All anyone knows is it must be found quickly as it is the key to the survival of both species. Leftrin returns to the city with much needed supplies and some unwanted guests. Meanwhile tensions with Chalced continue to escalate as the Duke becomes desperate to escape his fate.The dragons and their keepers have come a long way. I love that we spend a great portion of the book continuing to explore their relationships and the depth of how much each group needs the others. All of this while continuing to learn more about Kelsingra were my favorite parts of the book. While I think she has farther to go, I quite enjoyed how Thymara stayed true to herself and didn't cave to peer pressure around pairing up with another keeper. She also shows great courage when she faces down her fear and climbs into the well, an act that just may save everyone. She really comes into her own. Rapskal has a surprising change in character. His continued use of the memory stone alters his personality drastically. I was sad to see the carefree boy replaced with Elderling warrior. It is both tragic and turns out necessary later on given how events end up. Alise, after some soul searching, also finds a place for herself and embraces her new life fully. I was very proud of both her and Sedric when they finally faced down Hest. And while I think it was a tad unbelievable, I have to say I loved Hest's ending. Thank you Kalo for doing everyone a huge favor!And then there's the Chalced story line. After all the wonderful build up, the ending felt rushed. I definitely wanted more time with the final confrontation in Chalced instead of most of it being done off screen. It was anticlimactic to say the least. That major disappointment aside, it was a nice ending. The story lines are wrapped up just enough, the bad guys get what they deserve and there are Dragons and Elderlings in the world again. While I think this was the weakest series in the Realm of the Elderlings it was still an enjoyable read that adds some extra detail to the world and many memorable characters.
    • 5/5
      An excellent finale to the series, although it still leaves a few questions hanging for the reader to wonder about. Hobb's dragon life cycle is unique and fascinating, and her character development is always a delight to behold - we literally watch her characters grow up throughout the books, learning and changing. I found the "main character" (of the dragon keepers), Thymara, to be the most irritiating and least likeable of the PoV characters. My favourite, I would have to say, is Cedric, who has grown so much through the books and the relationship he holds with his dragon, Relpda, and in turn her friendly rivalry with Spit.

      Overall, a highly enjoyable series, but if you like dragon books, I recommend that you start this series with The Liveship Traders book 1: Ship of Magic because it truly establishes the world and the whole biology of the dragonkin.
    • 4/5
      This review is based on an advance reading copy.I very much enjoyed the conclusion of this series, particularly the amount of time that we got to spend inside the heads of the dragons. There was also a gentle nod to and explanation of a bit of magic that takes place in some of the Six Duchies books in the Realm of the Elderlings universe. However, I had to dock this one half a star because although the ending of the series felt right overall, there were a couple of things that felt like perhaps they could have been executed a little differently to the same result and better effect. It's difficult to explain without spoilers. I'll do my best. 1. There's one character whose fate remains a mystery to the other characters as of the end of the book, although the reader knows. It seems to me that two of the other characters would have been in a more secure situation of they knew what happened. 2. One character was rather more passive than I was hoping at the very end of the book. I wasn't disappointed with what she accepted but I wish she'd actively sought it out.
    • 5/5
      Great finish to this series.
    • 4/5
      This is the fourth and final book of the Rain Wild Chronicles series, bringing a close to the story of the dragons and their keepers...for now. In the last book, we saw the characters arrive at the legendary Elderling city of Kelsingra, only to find it accessible only by flight. At the start of Blood of Dragons, many of the dragons have managed to learn to fly, with the rest well on their way to achieving it. The dragonkeepers have also been transformed, becoming beautiful Elderlings. Expeditions have been made into Kelsingra; every day more artifacts are discovered, and more memories are lifted magically from the city's stones. It'll all be for naught, however, if the one thing the dragons and their Elderlings need to stay healthy and survive cannot be found -- silver, a substance that has the power to heal and rejuvenate, among other mystical properties. I think I've finally gotten into the flow of Robin Hobb's writing. I love her style, but what I've discovered is that her books are not so traditionally structured, which can sometimes make them feel lacking in direction. But unlike the three previous books in the series, this is the first one where I can distinctly identify a climax and a definite ending. Well, this being the last book and all, I would have certainly hoped so.As a series conclusion, I was pretty satisfied. Still, maybe it's just me, but so much of it felt driven by pure relationship drama. Of course, there's a positive side to this; I was extremely looking forward to see how this book will end up dealing with Hest Finbok, for one. Despite being jilted by Alise, he's still a despicable human being and needed to get his due. There were also the usual conflicts, but the love triangle between Thymara, Tats, and Rapskal seemed to dominate a lot of it. Even the dragons were are getting into the action with their mating quarrels. And on the topic of the dragons, even after four books I have to say I still haven't managed to find much sympathy for the arrogant, belligerent creatures (with only a couple exceptions). Take the least flattering stereotypes about cats, and dragons are like that but about a hundred times worse. Is it horrible of me, that I actually wanted to see doom come to Tintaglia when she was caught in the trouble with the human hunters? I definitely wouldn't fault this against the book though; it's to Hobb's credit that she was able to give her dragons such severe qualities and evoke these reactions from me.My main issue, however, was probably with the subject of the silver wells. I don't remember them being an important factor in this series at all until this book. All of a sudden, there's this need for silver, and why is this matter just coming up now? Wouldn't something like this have been helpful for everyone to know earlier in the expedition? Seems weird that it only came up once the characters are actually in Kelsingra. It's possible I'm missing something because I haven't read all the books in the Realm of the Elderlings, but the problem with the search for silver still feels like it came out of nowhere, thrown in as a conflict at the last minute. Speaking of which, I probably should read the other books. I definitely have the interest and the desire to after reading this series, plus I should really try and finish off the Farseer Trilogy since the second book has been in my to-read list for almost two years. However, Liveship Traders probably interests me more at this point.
    • 4/5
      [3 and 1/2 stars]A little more stolid than I like from Hobb, but nevertheless, this was a fairly satisfying conclusion to the Rain Wild Chronicles. While nothing will repeat the power and complexity of the Assassin and Liveship trilogies and their conclusions, here we had some decent wrap-ups to character arcs, loose plot ends all tied up (too neatly? Was it a little too pat, too happy? I'm undecided!), and we got more insight into the mechanics of the magic and workings of dragon/Elderling societies (some of this hearkening back to things we learned in the Assassin and Tawny Man books, which I quite appreciated).
    • 4/5
      This review is based on an advance reading copy.I very much enjoyed the conclusion of this series, particularly the amount of time that we got to spend inside the heads of the dragons. There was also a gentle nod to and explanation of a bit of magic that takes place in some of the Six Duchies books in the Realm of the Elderlings universe. However, I had to dock this one half a star because although the ending of the series felt right overall, there were a couple of things that felt like perhaps they could have been executed a little differently to the same result and better effect. It's difficult to explain without spoilers. I'll do my best. 1. There's one character whose fate remains a mystery to the other characters as of the end of the book, although the reader knows. It seems to me that two of the other characters would have been in a more secure situation of they knew what happened. 2. One character was rather more passive than I was hoping at the very end of the book. I wasn't disappointed with what she accepted but I wish she'd actively sought it out.
    • 4/5
      Just started looking forward to seeing where the book is going ..the reader reads with a jarring staccato rhythm
    • 4/5
      The last book in the Rain Wilds Chronicles ends the story in a satisfying way. It continues to progress as expected in the last book. The dragons continue to mature and the great cast of characters continue to develop. The conclusion is good and where I expected it to go. My only complaint about this series is that it could have been condensed into 3 books, instead of 4. But overall I really enjoyed this series and look forward into continuing the Realm of the Elderlings series.
    • 4/5
      This is the last volume of Robin Hobb’s Rain Wilds series and now I’m all caught up again on her bibliography. I’d be more upset about that if she didn’t have another book coming out this fall, Fool’s Assassin, which I’m just dying to get. I’m sure that book will be just as good as this book and series, if not better since I’m so in love with the character Fitz. I’ve loved everything I’ve read of Hobb’s and I doubt that will change anytime soon. Hobb has a tendency to write some depressing material because of the honest way she depicts human greediness and deceit, etc, but I thought this series had less of that than normal. But even when she does give the nitty gritty, she gives us good endings. In this last book of the Rain Wild series, it was a good ending. I admit I thought it could have been drawn out a little more but still it was a good ending to the series. In the end I didn’t like this series as much as the Farseer series. I do like that it’s connected to her Liveship series, one I am going to have to go back and reread soon. This book and series are recommended if you like fantasy and especially if you like Robin Hobb.
    • 5/5
      General but wildly enthusiastic SPOILERS below:


      ALL the payoffs, after 13 books! Triumph to the heroic! Awkward, sullen, outcast, and/or broken adolescents grown into unexpected and glorious adulthood! Defeat to the villainous! Mysteries unraveled, histories illuminated! I don't know if this is the conclusion to this series, but if so, I'm satisfied. (if not, I will happily read more, of course.)
    • 5/5
      Satisfying end to the series and a happy ending for mostly everyone. There was a lot more romance in this series than Robin Hobb usually has but luckily it matched my mood so I enjoyed that aspect.I actually found the attack on Chalced rather boring and was glad it was over quickly. I suspect it is meant to reflect what characters like Alise say at times - that the return of dragons to the world has changed the future dramatically even if the humans haven't quite grasped it yet. Chalced is the first exercise of that power.This series reminded me why fantasy remains my favourite genre of novel.