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Forest Mage
Forest Mage
Forest Mage
Audiobook31 hours

Forest Mage

Written by Robin Hobb

Narrated by John Keating

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

()

About this audiobook

A luminary in SF literature, Robin Hobb continues her marvelous Soldier Son trilogy with part two, Forest Mage. Nevare Burvelle has survived major combat and is making a quick recovery from a disease plaguing his fellows in the King's army. He also believes he is free from the Speck magic that held him under its sway. Now traveling home to rendezvous with his fiancEe, Nevare suffers haunting visions and soon realizes that malicious magic still resides within him-and is intent on destroying everything he holds dear.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateJul 17, 2009
ISBN9781440718878
Forest Mage
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 Forest Mage

Rating: 3.422889599675324 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

616 ratings20 reviews

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  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Reviewing the whole Soldier Son trilogy in one review, since it's one ongoing story.
    (Shaman's Crossing, Forest Mage, and Renegade's Magic)
    I consider myself to be a fan of Robin Hobb. I've read everything published under her name, with the exception of the two most recent 'Dragon' novels. I've given every single on of those books 4 or 5 stars. I've also read about half of what she's published as Megan Lindholm, and loved most of that as well.
    Unfortunately, I feel that the Soldier Son trilogy is her least successful work to date.
    It's not terrible, but it didn't hold up to my high expectations.

    I think that part of this is that while her previous epics have shown the reader a rich tapestry of a world, with multiple important characters and settings, this story follows one person, Navare (the Soldier Son) for over 2000 pages. And, to be honest, he's rather a tiresome person. I don't demand that characters be likable, but I just didn't find him interesting. He's a bit of an annoying prig. I wished that some of the more minor characters in the book had been fleshed out more, and that we had a chance to see things from their point of view. (Epiny! And her magic! It just gets dropped...) The third book is largely concerned with the conflicts of Navare's suddenly-split-personality. It's him arguing with himself for hundreds of pages. (Tiresome vs. annoying!) I feel like it's partly because other characters weren't developed enough.

    The story also moves very slowly. I felt like Navare's journey could have been condensed into one book, one-third of the length, and it would have been improved. I love long books, but this story seemed to have two main themes: the problems of cultural imperialism, and the importance of not judging people based on their physical appearance. Now, these are two very valid and important themes, but part of the reason that I do really like long books is that they have room in them for lots and lots of different ideas and themes. Not just two, repeated frequently. I also felt that these two themes weren't dealt with very satisfactorily: OK, it's bad and wrong to disrespect another culture, regard them as primitive when they aren't, and to destroy their native lands. I'm with that. It's also inevitable that, due to economic and other factors, peoples move, expand, and come into conflict with each other, bringing about cultural change. I also agree that is true. So the solution? Cause an economic distraction somewhere else causing everyone to run off elsewhere. Eh, well, maybe. Not terrible, but not really a full analysis of the problem, either.
    However, I had a bigger problem with the other issue. After a million or so pages of Navare being prejudiced against because of his magically-induced obesity, and having it pointed out ad infinitum that what one culture may consider reprehensible and disgusting, another culture may respect, etc, the story ends up with Navare (again magically) being restored to his former thin, handsome appearance. It really undercuts the whole message of the book.

    However, like I said before, it wasn't terrible. Hobb is still an excellent writer, and I did like that each of the cultures in the book was portrayed as having both positive and negative qualities. It was interesting and thoughtful enough to get me through all three very long volumes. It just wasn't as good as I'd expected.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    main character doesn't work. bit of a problem in first-person voice in a 736 pp book. i think i'll give up reading this author, her books never do seem to quite work for me.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    I got about 250 pages in and couldn't force myself to go further as the pace slowed to a crawl. I'll probably give this author another chance, because I liked the first book, but I can't bring myself to finish this series.

  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Even with all the negative I found with this book it was better than Shamans Crossing. Nevare didn't whine quite as much and I got to meet 2 more interesting characters that I actually liked (his "love" interest, Amzil, and a scout, Buel Hitch). By the end he is finally forced to make a decision about his own life instead of constantly living his live as the Good God or his father want him to. Of course it could be said he still didn't make the choice and that the "magic" made it for him.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is the sequel to the book I read as part of the publisher’s reader review program. I picked it up out of curiosity mostly because, though I enjoyed the first one, the first was more about setting up a world than the story. It’s what follows in that world that determines whether the author has taken advantage of the work.The answer in this case is clearly yes.Not only did she take advantage of the world she’d built in a grand way, but she even made me cry. I can say that without any spoilers at all, because the moment would not be what you could expect as a tearing up moment, but all the same it was. As usual with her books, the dense description took some time to get into.I have to remember that about Robin Hobb because first impressions would have me turn away from her books. They start out as they go on, however. The difference is not in the text or style, but in me.When I first start reading, I’m coming out of my busy, multitasking world and my hand is already rotating in the family signal of “get to the point already.” Then, as if I’ve been walking through a muddy swamp, suddenly my foot comes free, lands on solid ground, and I’m completely enveloped in her forest. It’s a change in state, in mindset, that doesn’t come easy to me, but a talented author (and Robin Hobb has proved so twice now) can take me from my normal rush into complete absorption so that I want to stay in her world, heavy in detail and all, to become a part of it.I wrote this review in 2006, but the same holds true about her writing, and her skills. The only thing of note is because of those two books, I introduced my youngest to Robin Hobb. Even at 18 now, he hasn’t bought in to the rush rush rush of modern society. He enjoys reading the old French authors in their full, 1000 page or longer versions. My son as no difficulty falling into her worlds, and adores her books.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I didn't enjoy this book nearly as much as I'd hoped I would. My least favorite Robin Hobb.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I spoke to a fellow fantasy fan, who said that of all the Hobb trilogies, Soldiers Son Trilogy was her least favourite. While I cant really say which of Hobbs trilogies are my favourite I can see why this one may not be her best. It is not as action packed as some of the others. Even still, I am loving this trilogy and highly recommend it to fantasy readers. Hobb, Hobb, Hobb.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I started this series twice. And then hadn't even remembered that I'd finally finished the first book. It took skimming it to realize I had. I feel like the series had a slow start. It picked up once the main character got to the military academy. I like military academy books.Unfortunately, he's not in the academy for long in this book. But it wasn't a hard read anyway. This is the third book I read on my new Sony E-Reader, and one I borrowed from the library through Overdrive. So the 646 pages number was always sitting at the bottom of the screen. Either mocking me or urging me on, I'm not sure which.An interesting feature of this book is that the main character gets fat, in a society that doesn't see a lot of that. He has to learn not only to cope with the fat, but with how his family, friends, and society as the whole views him now. At first, inside, he feels like he always has. But then as people react differently to him, that forces a change in him in reaction to the reactions.And, well, I just found that really interesting.This is part 2 of a trilogy, so while the book did have an ending point, it wasn't a very satisfactory one. But I don't dread reading the third book. Though as I expect it to also be long, I will need to take a deep breath first.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    The whole premise of the world's magic as something external with its own goals and values that uses people as it sees fit, was disturbing. The idea of stuffing people with food so that they can better serve this magic is also disturbing. The politics I was enjoying in the first books was abandoned here.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Beautifully written. Very nice flow to the story and it keeps you wanting to read more. Not a great deal happens though and you end up very frustrated at the main character.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Nevare Burvelle has survived the Speck plague that has decimated the ranks of the King's Cavella Academy. He starts to gain weight, without him actually trying. When he returns home to his family home to attend his brother's wedding he finds nothing but condemnation and a letter following him stating that he has been thrown out of the Academy due to this weight gain. This throws his father into a rage that cascades for Nevare, almost killing him. The story is quite interesting but from time to time there was almost too much information and I just wasn't quite engaged enough to care deeply about some of the characters. I'm looking forward to book 3 in the series to see how this resolves.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Nevare has the life he's always dreamed of lined up for him and ready to go. He's handsome and strong, he's in the academy to become an officer in the cavalry, he has a family that's proud of him and he has a beautiful young lady waiting to become his wife. But then, as this book, the second in a trilogy, opens, his entire life begins to slowly unravel and turn inside out. This is an interesting story filled with characters I could easily empathize with, but I think at over 700 dense pages it was just too long for its own good. Most of the action in this story takes place within Nevare's mind as battles of will power and trips into the dream world. It's a powerful cautionary tale of the evils of intolerance with a heart wrenching ending that makes me want to read the final book in this trilogy no matter how much slogging I had to do to get through the first two. If you didn't enjoy the first book in this trilogy, you probably won't enjoy this one either. This one is even slower but much deeper.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I was disappointed in this book partly because my expectations of Robin Hobb are so high. Her characterisations are excellent, her plots full and thought provoking. She writes with a passion, and makes you think about your own assumptions and actions.But in this book, Nevare Burvelle IS Fitzchivalry Farseer. The protaganists are so similar that it quite spoiled the book. Both are procrastinators. Bith are cursed with an unacceptable magic. Both are forced to break all ties with their family and end up being believed dead by the ones they love. Both share a similar morality. The list goes on. Robin Hobb has simply recreated a character that she lovingly brought to a conclusion once before.I still enjoyed the book enough to read it and the next one. But this will not be one of my all time favourites - unlike her previous works.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Although it takes a while to get there, I really enjoyed the development of the magic system and the initial peeks into the Speck society. The gorier moments also appealed to my horror-fan side.Nevare's introspection and inertia features heavily in the second book of the Soldier Son trilogy.I think the degree to which a reader will enjoy the book depends a lot on their ability or willingness to, for lack of a better term, inhabit the character: to sit inside Nevare's head and let him think/act as he will, without letting external preconceptions of what he should or shouldn't think or do.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I've gotta say, I'm hella disappointed.This was a decent book. That's all. It wasn't breathtaking or engaging or mindblowing, or anything else that Hobb's books usually are. There were a few stunningly beautiful moments where I felt for Nevare with every fibre of my being... but they were too few, and there was far too much Other Stuff between them. In the end, this was just a book about a guy who had some magically-motivated problems.Hobb opens with summary. Pages and pages of summary. We hear, once again, exactly what happened in Shaman's Crossing. Having finished the book the night before, I found this tedious. And then, just as things were starting to pick back up, Hobb shifted the tone completely. This was no longer the book I'd expected to read, and the transition was completely jarring. Nevare doesn't undergo a slow change; instead, his world flips upside down overnight, with minimal buildup. I didn't feel like it was handled well at all. It shook me straight out off the story and made it difficult to sink back in.As was the case with the first book, I had trouble figuring out just what I should be rooting for here. Did I want Nevare to regain his former physique, get a swank commission and marry some vapid bimbo? Not really... but he wanted it so badly that I thought perhaps I was way off-base. Did I want him to give in to the magic and betray his country, then? Again, not really. I'd have been disappointed in either outcome I sort hoped he'd find a happy medium between the two, but I didn't really have enough invested in it - or in him - that I read on at a frantic pace, desperate to see how things would turn out.Instead, I plodded along. I read perhaps ten pages over the weekend. I couldn't seem to read quickly once the next week came. I just wasn't engaged. With the exception of those few moments I mentioned above, I just couldn't care enough about Nevare to devote my time to this book. Even the world became considerably less engaging as Hobb moved away from the gorgeously depicted upper classes into a rather pedestrian poor sector and a sketchily described forest culture. Blah.The book does have some good points, though. Nevare finally makes some progress on a personal level, and his ethnocentrism fades slowly and organically in response to his experiences on the frontier. The food writing is phenomenally good; it made me want to cook! I personally feel that romance is one of Hobb's weak points, but I do like how she dealt with the one herein. And there really are some beautifully realized scenes in which Nevare's whole world just crashes into the reader like a ton of bricks.But in the end, that wasn't really enough to redeem the book. I can't say as I'm really looking forward to the next one now. I normally prefer to read Hobb's books back to back, but I'm just not sure if I can launch straight into Renegade's Magic.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Another book in this series I find it really hard to review. The story is fairly straightforward, indeed often rather predictable, I just struggle with too many of the characters.We're supposed, fairly obviously, and if we don't get the idea, it's spelt out several times, to believe that the magic alters people around Nevare to get him to the end of the road so he can save the Specks. This might be plausible, but we don't really see and understand enough of the characters that we need to to see this as a change - it just seems random and frankly poorly written.However it happens, Nevare gets there and... vacillates some more. In his defence he protests that the magic never tells him what he should do. This is fair comment, we see everything else and not that, and he's right. There is, in the penultimate chapter a comment that if he'd done the right thing and joined the Specks he'd have been fed right and maybe it would have been OK. Perhaps that's true.He changes so abruptly between lots of magic, save the People, the forest is great, and must do my duty, must be a soldier and back it's frankly dizzying. It's quite clear that Nevare is meant to be showing the tug between his old life and dreams and the life the magic wants for him, but ARGH he needs to commit one way or the other.DESPITE all this, there are good points. There are times he's a likable, honourable fellow in both codes, more or less. His relationship with Amzil is nicely drawn out and works because of the rough bits the missteps and all the rest.No idea if I'll bother with book 3 though and that's a shame. I'm guessing I will, just because I want to see how's it finally all finished.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    Sigh. Unfortunately this book was mired in repitition. It seemed like the main character would figure something out on page X, then AGAIN figure it out on page X+20, ad naseum. The inherent plot was not that bad, I just think we could have cut out around 200 pages..
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This is the first book by Robin Hobb that I have ever had to force myself to go back to. I don't know why Nevare's suffering bothered me so much, when I've read about Fitz's suffering and the Fool's suffering. I had a very hard time with the book. I think the problem was that I liked Nevare, that I liked his ambitions and his neat life, and I did not like the magic. I preferred his life at the academy. It was even harder to read because I'm not sure when I'll be able to read the conclusion, whereas with each of Hobb's other trilogies, I had all of the books at once. Many of the issues that Hobb brought up in this book were painful and question many of our society's prejudices. I do have to say that I think this is not her best work and I'm hoping that the last book of the trilogy really redeems this one in my eyes.She still has excellent characterization, excellent writing, excellent everything else, so perhaps if you are not as sensitive to those issues as I am, you will enjoy this book a great deal more.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Second book. She could have left out about 150 pages of fat woes. Otherwise it was good and I look forward to the conclusion.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I can understand why some people don't like this series, as it is heavy on the introspection and light on the action, but I'm enjoying it. I probably should have reread the first book, or at the very least reread a synopsis somewhere, as book two takes up immediately after book one and, while there is some exposition, it's spread out and light handed. That is, of course, a good thing, but when it's been a year since the first book you tend to forget things.I enjoyed it, but it's not her best series. I should probably give thanks daily that I'm not a protagonist in one of her stories 'cause she is -brutal- to them. It wasn't as bad as Fitz, (I never prayed for Nevare's death as a kindness) but there were still twists that seemed...exceptionally harsh.I see a lot of parallels between the overall story-arch of Farseer and Soldier Son, particularly in the nature of the Gig Obstacle the protagonist has to overcome.