City of Dragons

✍ Scribed by Hobb, Robin

• Book ID: 108128599
• Publisher: Harper Voyager
• Year: 2012
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 353 KB
• Series: Rain Wilds Chronicles 3
• Category: Fiction
• ISBN-13: 9780061561634

✦ Synopsis

New York Times bestselling author Robin Hobb—“one of the most important writers in 21st-century fantasy” (Contra Costa Times)—continues her enthralling fantasy saga of dragons and their keepers

City of Dragons: Volume Three of the Rain Wilds Chronicles

Once, dragons ruled the Rain Wilds, tended by privileged human servants known as Elderlings. But a series of cataclysmic eruptions nearly drove these magnificent creatures to extinction. Born weak and deformed, the last of their kind had one hope for survival: to return to their ancient city of Kelsingra. Accompanied by a disparate crew of untested young keepers, the dragons embarked on a harsh journey into the unknown along the toxic Rain Wild River. Battling starvation, a hostile climate, and treacherous enemies, dragons and humans began to forge magical connections, bonds that have wrought astonishing transformations for them all. And though Kelsingra is finally near, their odyssey has only begun.

Because of the swollen waters of the Rain Wild River, the lost city can be reached only by flight—a test of endurance and skill beyond the stunted dragons’ strength. Venturing across the swift-running river in tiny boats, the dragon scholar Alise and a handful of keepers discover a world far different from anything they have ever known or imagined. Immense, ornate structures of black stone veined with silver and lifelike stone statues line the silent, eerily empty streets. Yet what are the whispers they hear, the shadows of voices and bursts of light that flutter and are gone? And why do they feel as if eyes are watching them?

The dragons must plumb the depths of their ancestral memories to help them take flight and unlock the secrets buried in Kelsingra. But enemies driven by greed and dark desires are approaching. Time is running out, not only for the dragons but for their human keepers as well.

Review

“A master fantasist.” (Kansas City Star )

“The Soldier Son [trilogy] can be read as a political satire on American military aggression, but on a more personal level it is profoundly perceptive about the challenge faced by the honorable, brave and good. Nevarre is a true hero.” (London Times on SHAMAN'S CROSSING, FOREST MAGE, and RENEGADE'S MAGIC )

“A satisfying story” (The News-Star (Monroe, LA) on DRAGON HAVEN )

“fast action, deep emotional bonds and a great ending...[I] encourage you to check out Dragon Haven” (Blogcritics.com )

“Hobb’s strength has always been her ability to create compelling characters to inhabit her richly detailed worlds. The Rain Wilds Chronicles is no exception.” (Shroud Magazine Book Reviews on DRAGON KEEPER and DRAGON HAVEN )

“Full throttle…[a] thrilling conclusion…Hobb’s writing unfurls here with muscular and self-assured bravado, the characters fascinating and three-dimensional.” (Realms of Fantasy Magazine on RENEGADE'S MAGIC )

“[W]e suspend disbelief with complete abandon as the pages turn and turn...Robin Hobb is one of the most important writers in 21st century fantasy.” (Contra Costa Times on RENEGADE'S MAGIC )

“Hobb creates a completely alluring portrait of dragons and their culture.” (Bellingham Herald on DRAGON HAVEN )

“Hobb has a deft hand with accessible and sympathetic characters, regardless of their fantasy trappings, and he makes effective use of the divide between what the reader knows and what the characters know to build tension.…A quick and fun read.” (Miami Herald on DRAGON HAVEN )

“In a novel as good as it is massive, the first of two Rain Wilds Chronicles...Hobb continues to occupy a perch at or near the top among contemporary fantasists. This book is imaginative, literate, and compassionate from first page to last.” (Booklist (starred review) )

About the Author

Robin Hobb was born in California but grew up in Alaska, where she learned to love the forest and the wilderness. She has lived most of her life in the Pacific Northwest and currently resides in Tacoma, Washington. She is the author of the Rain Wilds Chronicles, the Farseer Trilogy, the Liveship Traders Trilogy, the Tawny Man Trilogy, and the Soldier Son Trilogy. Her books under the pseudonym Megan Lindholm include Wizard of the Pigeons , The Windsingers , and Cloven Hooves. She is also the author of The Inheritance , a collection of stories written under both names. Her short fiction has won the Asimov's Readers' Award and has been a finalist for both the Nebula and Hugo awards.