From the Bookshelf of The Robin Hobb Collection…

Shaman's Crossing (Soldier Son #1)

Robin Hobb

Start date: April 1, 2014

Discussion: SoldierSon #1: Shaman's Crossing

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SoldierSon #1: Shaman's Crossing

Shaman's Crossing - 2017 buddy read
By Silvana · 43 posts · 20 views

last updated Jan 04, 2018 09:04PM

Shaman's Crossing Re-Read SPOILERS
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last updated Jan 04, 2018 09:01PM

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What Members Thought

Nov 24, 2010 Kevin Xu rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, re-read

I loved the school in here, so much like modern boarding school to me, not fantasy at all because it has no magic.

10 likes · Like · see review

Apr 01, 2014 Ctgt rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

I've started this review three or four times only to become disgusted with my effort, slam the laptop closed and storm away. There are several authors who do this to me, Hobb and GGK are two who for whatever reason make it difficult for me to explain why I enjoy their work so much.( I'm reading Under Heaven right now and can see myself heading in the same direction with that review.) It's all about the characters with Hobb, if you are looking for an action packed book you need to look elsewhere. I've started this review three or four times only to become disgusted with my effort, slam the laptop closed and storm away. There are several authors who do this to me, Hobb and GGK are two who for whatever reason make it difficult for me to explain why I enjoy their work so much.( I'm reading Under Heaven right now and can see myself heading in the same direction with that review.) It's all about the characters with Hobb, if you are looking for an action packed book you need to look elsewhere. If you enjoy watching characters develop and you want to peer over their shoulders as their lives intertwine with each other as well as the society around them then you might want to give this a try. Granted this is the first book in the series so we are still waiting to see how or if these characters fully grow and change but already we can see Epiny change within this book. She tests the boundaries of the society in which she lives by upsetting almost every social norm. I started out thinking she was just an obnoxious twit looking to get a rise out of people for the fun of watching them squirm but there is much more to her than that shallow first impression. Of course we have Nevare, the main character no one likes. Born as the second son (soldier) he can be extremely frustrating to read about as he irritates you with his almost mindless adherence to societal norms, to the point of wanting to flick his ear and scream "WAKE UP". I guess Hobb is using Nevare as an instrument(very blunt at this point) to examine the society in which he was raised, we don't necessarily have to love him at this point but we need to understand how he was raised and why he reacts the way he does. It's easy to get your audience to fall in love with a character who has all those fantastic traits, wisdom, courage, strength, compassion but how many people actually have all those traits and use them when needed? Very few. Hobb sets up a world that has fairly strict guidelines in regards to family and class. She also looks at stereotyping and pokes a finger in the eye to those of us who tend to believe secondhand information without applying critical thinking.

This is definitely a slow burn and there were some tedious moments in the first third of the book but by the end I was completely invested and couldn't put it down. ...more

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Apr 02, 2009 DivaDiane SM rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy

I was really looking forward to this book, being a completely different world and story than all the rest of Hobb's books. Unfortunately, it didn't live up to my expectations. I think it had a lot of potential, but for what happens and what is written it is just too long. I dare say, the editor didn't do his/her job very well. There was so much which Hobbs wrote over and over. The book could've been easily half as long and would've been more powerful that way. As it is, I found it tedious and bo ...more

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May 16, 2017 Andi rated it liked it

So, after finishing all of Robin Hobb's other series (*sniff*), I decided to jump to her other works. This and those under her real name. Chose this first because it's three books and I like getting invested in her series. The reviews for this series have been not so kind and at the most, well, mixed.

How did I do this round? Would I mourn for Fitz, The Fool, and the Six Dutchies?

Sure I miss them, and sure this book isn't up to the standard of that series, but damn... it's dark and different.

How So, after finishing all of Robin Hobb's other series (*sniff*), I decided to jump to her other works. This and those under her real name. Chose this first because it's three books and I like getting invested in her series. The reviews for this series have been not so kind and at the most, well, mixed.

How did I do this round? Would I mourn for Fitz, The Fool, and the Six Dutchies?

Sure I miss them, and sure this book isn't up to the standard of that series, but damn... it's dark and different.

How to wrap this all up in a summary? This is how I took it: In a fantasy world, almost like an AU US, the world is very religious-bound. There is a set of rules made up for families. When a family gives birth to a son, this 'first son' becomes the political son. The 'second son' becomes the soldier son. The third son, if a third son is born, becomes a priest. The main character is a soldier son because he is the second born. He is to go and train in the military school so that he can become part of the Calvary. Now. there are a group of people that they have been kicking out of their native lands, Plainspeople. These people once fought against the Calavry but have now succeeded to them and is slowly becoming overtaken by their rules/laws. There is, however, a group that have splintered off from the Plainspeople, they're called Specks. They are in tune with the forest, nature, and despise everyone who stands against them.

The solider son had a run in with the great Speck goddess and unknowingly tendered part of his soul to her... there, in her mystical world, she creates a duplicate of the main character who will one day replace the main character and use her magic (that was given to the duplicate) to destroy everyone who is their way for the sake of their world.

... It's a strange book, and it's a dark one. It has a lot of themes that sway very close to that line of racial issues. I hear a lot of people have further issues with the other two books because the main character undergoes some changes (physically) and people deemed it as if the author was picking on those who shared the similiar traits.

I'll make the judge when I get to it. Right now, I can see that Robin had something in mind when this book came into play. I haven't figured out if it was some type of 'save the trees/nature/rainforest' thing, but it seems like that's what I'm gonna call this first book.

The character reminds me a lot of Fitz, though instead of harboring Fitz' moody and 'chance to jump into situations without thinking', this one is cautious, timid at times, and wants to be the best in a world that has been decided for him since birth.

I've already marked my place in the second book. So, my review for that one will tell where I stand on the series. ...more

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Jul 15, 2009 Ann rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, colonial-revisionist

This is my first Robin Hobb novel, and despite several reviews suggesting that newcomers avoid this series and go check out the Farseer trilogy, I am quite engrossed in Navare's world so far. I look forward to reading Hobb's other works.

The Good: I absolutely love Hobb's attention to detail, her character interactions, world building, explorations into the heart of a contradiction, mix of fantasy and post colonial tropes, etc. Epiny and Spink are excellent characters.

The Bad: Carsina and sever ...more

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Feb 26, 2008 Gilly rated it did not like it

Shelves: fantasy

I love all of Robin Hobb's previous books (Assassin's Apprentice, Liveship Traders, Golden Fool) but I absolutely hated this book. It was incredibly boring and Nevare is the most annoying character I've had the misfortune to read about. ...more

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