I've read all of Hobb's other books and was looking forward to this new-to-me trilogy as I loved everything else she has written. These three books are unrelated to her others, and that much is fine, just don't expect a continuation of those stories. I found the Soldier Son trilogy to be quite ponderous and very slow going. I suppose I would rate the books a little higher that two stars, but not quite three. They probably could have been edited down into one novel of much better quality.