Dragon Keeper

The Rain Wild Chronicles, Book 1

By: Robin Hobb

Narrated by: Saskia Butler

Length: 17 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

Return to the world of the Liveships Traders and journey along the Rain Wild River in this standalone adventure from the author of the internationally acclaimed Farseer trilogy.

Guided by the great blue dragon Tintaglia, they came from the sea: a Tangle of serpents fighting their way up the Rain Wilds River, the first to make the perilous journey to the cocooning grounds in generations. Many have died along the way. With its acid waters and impenetrable forest, it is a hard place for any to survive.

People are changed by the Rain Wilds, subtly or otherwise. One such is Thymara. Born with black claws and other aberrations, she should have been exposed at birth. But her father saved her and her mother has never forgiven him. Like everyone else, Thymara is fascinated by the return of dragons: it is as if they symbolise the return of hope to their war-torn world. Leftrin, captain of the liveship Tarman, also has an interest in the hatching; as does Bingtown newlywed, Alise Finbok, who has made it her life's work to study all there is to know of dragons.

But the creatures which emerge from the cocoons are a travesty of the powerful, shining dragons of old. Stunted and deformed, they cannot fly; some seem witless and bestial. Soon, they become a danger and a burden to the Rain Wilders: something must be done. The dragons claim an ancestral memory of a fabled Elderling city far upriver: perhaps there the dragons will find their true home. But Kelsingra appears on no maps and they cannot get there on their own: a band of dragon keepers, hunters and chroniclers must attend them.

To be a dragon keeper is a dangerous job: their charges are vicious and unpredictable, and there are many unknown perils on the journey to a city which may not even exist…

©2009 HarperCollins Publishers (P)2009 HarperCollins Publishers

Reader reads far to quickly had to listen on 0.75

Would you be willing to try another one of Saskia Butler’s performances?

Only if I have too!

Any additional comments?

Please to see this narrator isn't used for the whole series

A definite keeper

Robin Hobb never disappoints - continuing with a story thread related to her brilliant Farseer, Liveship and Tawny Man trilogies, she weaves a magical tale that also comfortably stands alone. It will keep you up into the wee hours .... and anxious for the next installment. Here's hoping her other trilogies soon make their Audible debut - Robin Hobb is on of the rare gems of fantasy fiction with original concepts and plots that grab you and don't let go. I've read more than my fair share of the genre, and have found few that can compare.

Not a complete unit

Good book but the story ends in the middle. Each book should be complete in itself. If its going to be divided into parts then it should be clearly stated on the cover - part 1.I have always loved Robin Hobb. The Assasin series and the Mad Ship series kept me spell bound. She has not disappointed me with this book.

Great story

This continues in the same world as the author's "Live Ships" trilogy, and includes some of the same characters, a few years on. The narrator voices the fine mix of interesting characters, human and inhuman, with convincing skill. The only minor annoyance is that it ends somewhat abruptly, albeit after 17 very enjoyable hours - a story that is very clearly "to be continued". Soon I hope!

Great narrator & incredible story

If you like Robin Hobb’s other books, this one will not disappoint you. The narrator did an incredible job reading the book as well. She voiced the characters excellently. Nothing she did pulled me out of the story. Highly recommend!

ASMR narration warning

Saskia Butler is obviously a really talented voice artist. The characters are great and the performance is great. But - and this is very much a me thing - there is so much dry mouth sounds happening that I can't stand listening to this book. I tried to come back to it so many times but I just can't stand it.
So if you're like me and you just can't stomach ASMR-y type mouth sounds, maybe steer clear of this one. I finished this on kindle and enjoyed the story a lot more that way.

Story wise, it's good! Not quite up there with the first trilogy but better than the Mad Ships. I wish there was more tie in with the other books in the universe though. I thought we were going to get more storylines colliding but so far it's very much a separate narrative.

Fantastic

Loved this book. I listen to a lot of books but found this story and the characters quite addictive and immediately bought the rest of the series. I am only sorry, devastated in fact, that although Amercian readers can get Robin Hobbs other books on audible I, in the UK, currrently can't. I live in hope and in the meantime have had to resort to buying the written books!

Good listen

Once again new voice, but she makes the material her own and provides personal touch and softness to the characters. Book was enjoyable as well

Very good

A slow start after previous triology. When it finally got exciting, as i expect of this author, the book were nearly finished. The villain men in this book feels very alike, and though very well written we dont have their backstory yet, so as a stand alone book it feels a little shallow this time around. Im sure it will become clear in the next books. As the book was this short and the story felt cut short unnaturally i wonder why this one and the next is not combined.

The performance was very good. Making the young women very believable and lets you truly focus on the story

Fantastic Narrator

I loved this book. Saskia Butler has done a fantastic job as narrator - all the different voices/accents for so many characters. It is a pleasure to listen to. I haven't listened to the second book in the series yet but I'm a bit disappointed they haven't used the same narrator.