Renegade’s Magic was a well crafted story, but not as riveting as Hobb’s previous novels. Nevare just doesn’t compare to Fitz. The stories are all very similar (serving the magic–and the toll it takes, but for the greater good)… but what I liked about the Soldier Son trilogy is the more obvious parallels that can be drawn to our world today. It seems as though the cutting of the ancient trees was directly correlated the the issues with the redwoods (I assume it’s the redwoods because Hobb lives on the west coast). This trilogy is a well conceived statement about our current environmental issues if nothing else.
Robin Hobb is my favorite fantasy author, and I highly recommend everything she’s written to other fantasy fans. In my opinion, this trilogy is better than most fantasy you will find today, it’s just hard to compare with the Liveship, Farseer, and Tawny Man trilogies. If you haven’t read those you are missing the best fantasy available!
A Writer's Reading Room 