Featuring easily the most painful start to any of Hobb's books I've read, I very nearly quit Forest Mage 20% in. The plot of this one is that Nevare gets fat through no fault of his own and everyone is a total dick to him. Once he breaks free of his estate it gets a little better, but there's a lot of just hanging around a graveyard waiting for things to happen and feeling sorry for himself. Bumped up to three because the last 60% is much better than the first 30, and Hobb has set up for a finale that could possibly be entertaining.

Based on the first two books, though, I recommend the Soldier's Son series to no one.