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A review by brittney_tyler
Forest Mage by Robin Hobb
5.0
Star Rating: 5 stars
Note: This is the 2nd book in the Soldier Son trilogy so this will not be an in-depth review.
I have made it a goal this year to finish a lot of the author’s back catalogs that I have been working because I have a lot more that I want to start. (I really like older science fiction and fantasy so the authors that I tend to read have lots of books to make my way through.) The one I was most recently able to make progress on was Robin Hobb’s by reading Forest Mage, the 2nd book in the Soldier Son trilogy. This book continues the story of Nevare Burvelle as he struggles to adjust with his new life as a survivor of the Speck plague and to everything that changed or happened as a result of his survival.
The first thing that I liked about this book was the themes that Hobb used to craft her plot, especially since they were ones that I don’t tend to see all the time. Although a lot of authors look at colonization through a variety of different lens, Hobb decides to look at it thorough a lens of manifest destiny, which at least in my experience, is unique. The Gernians think that they have a right to build a road through the homelands of a myriad of different natives simply because they have, what they feel, is advanced technology and culture. If this sounds familiar, you’re probably remembering the advancement of the transcontinental railroad and how it affected the native peoples of the Americas, although there are other examples. Due to my autism and anxiety, I love natural places because they don’t tend to have large crowds and I feel comfortable to be myself without judgement, and my favorite places are forests, mostly because all my favorite books have forests on them, and since reading is how I experience the world, forests have become special to me, and that includes this book. The Specks live in this giant ancestral forest and their culture and respect for nature are another of the reasons why I loved this book so much.
Another thing that I really liked about this book was the troupes she decided to use since just like her themes, they are unique. We all know that a regular argument that people tend to have with literature is women who can’t stand on their own and need men to do everything for them, but not in this book, as all our female characters are capable and strong. Also, the magic in this book comes with consequences, which is also something that you don’t see very often, but that needs to be a more regular thing as nobody should be that powerful without reason.
Basically, what this book did well was to take troupes and themes that we are used to and look at them through lens that we aren’t. This made this book both hard-hitting and refreshing and I can’t wait to read the last book to see how Nevare’s story wraps up. 5 stars!!!!!!!
Note: This is the 2nd book in the Soldier Son trilogy so this will not be an in-depth review.
I have made it a goal this year to finish a lot of the author’s back catalogs that I have been working because I have a lot more that I want to start. (I really like older science fiction and fantasy so the authors that I tend to read have lots of books to make my way through.) The one I was most recently able to make progress on was Robin Hobb’s by reading Forest Mage, the 2nd book in the Soldier Son trilogy. This book continues the story of Nevare Burvelle as he struggles to adjust with his new life as a survivor of the Speck plague and to everything that changed or happened as a result of his survival.
The first thing that I liked about this book was the themes that Hobb used to craft her plot, especially since they were ones that I don’t tend to see all the time. Although a lot of authors look at colonization through a variety of different lens, Hobb decides to look at it thorough a lens of manifest destiny, which at least in my experience, is unique. The Gernians think that they have a right to build a road through the homelands of a myriad of different natives simply because they have, what they feel, is advanced technology and culture. If this sounds familiar, you’re probably remembering the advancement of the transcontinental railroad and how it affected the native peoples of the Americas, although there are other examples. Due to my autism and anxiety, I love natural places because they don’t tend to have large crowds and I feel comfortable to be myself without judgement, and my favorite places are forests, mostly because all my favorite books have forests on them, and since reading is how I experience the world, forests have become special to me, and that includes this book. The Specks live in this giant ancestral forest and their culture and respect for nature are another of the reasons why I loved this book so much.
Another thing that I really liked about this book was the troupes she decided to use since just like her themes, they are unique. We all know that a regular argument that people tend to have with literature is women who can’t stand on their own and need men to do everything for them, but not in this book, as all our female characters are capable and strong. Also, the magic in this book comes with consequences, which is also something that you don’t see very often, but that needs to be a more regular thing as nobody should be that powerful without reason.
Basically, what this book did well was to take troupes and themes that we are used to and look at them through lens that we aren’t. This made this book both hard-hitting and refreshing and I can’t wait to read the last book to see how Nevare’s story wraps up. 5 stars!!!!!!!