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Book I of The Soldier Son trilogy. Nevare Burvelle, second son of a new-made lord, is getting ready to enter the Cavalla Academy, serve on the frontier and then on to an advantageous marriage. At the Academy he will encounter prejudice from the old aristocracy as well as injustice, discrimination and foul play in a hostile and competitive environment. His world view will be challenged by his unconventional girl-cousin Epiny and by bizarre dreams which come to him at night. He will learn about the Speck people - dapple-skinned forest dwellers, who worship trees and retain the last traces of magic in the progressive and technologised world. Sexual congress with Specks is regarded as filthy - they harbour disease. And then, on Dark Night, the carnival comes to Old Thares, bringing with it the first Specks Nevare has ever seen. Cover art by John Howe. -
Nevare Burvelle, second son of a new-made lord, is getting ready to enter the Cavalla Academy, serve on the frontier and then on to an advantageous marriage. At the Academy he will encounter prejudice from the old aristocracy as well as injustice, discrimination and foul play in a hostile and competitive environment. His world view will be challenged by his unconventional girl-cousin Epiny and by bizarre dreams which come to him at night. He will learn about the Speck people - dapple-skinned forest dwellers, who worship trees and retain the last traces of magic in the progressive and technologised world. Sexual congress with Specks is regarded as filthy - they harbour disease. And then, on Dark Night, the carnival comes to Old Thares, bringing with it the first Specks Nevare has ever seen. -
Book I of The Rain Wild Chronicles. Guided by the great blue dragon Tintaglia, they came from the sea: a Tangle of serpents fighting their way up the Rain Wild River, the first to make the perilous journey in generations. For Thymara, a Rainwilder born with black claws and scales, the return of dragons symbolises 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 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 to all and it is decided they must be moved. Far upriver, so far it isn't shown on any map, lies the legendary Elderling city of Kelsingra and perhaps there, the dragons will find their true home. But if the dragons are going to reach there, a band of dragon keepers must be recruited to attend them. None are expected to return,m or even survive - but Thymara is certain it is her destiny. Cover art by Jackie Morris. https://cosmiccauldronbooks.com.au/p/city-of-dragons-robin-hobb/ https://cosmiccauldronbooks.com.au/p/dragon-haven-robin-hobb/ -
Book II of The Tawny Man. Fitz has been persuaded back to court, posing as a servant to the decadent Lord Golden (who is the Fool in disguise). In secret, he will train Prince Dutiful in the magic known as the Skill. The peace remains fragile, so the diplomatic wedding between Dutiful and the Outislander princess is a crucial alliance. But when Elliania arrives she challenges the prince to undertake an impossible quest before she will accept him. He must kill Icefyre, one of the last true dragons. And Fitz and the Fool must go with him…Cover art by John Howe.
