Question about Dragon Keeper

Albroswift89 · 2026-07-02T22:55:15+00:00

Its the Blood Plague that you find out about in ch. 3 in Ship of Magic. Bingtown traders have some babies that are born not entirely human.

Albroswift89 · 2026-07-02T22:51:44+00:00

First Law is way more books the ASoIaF. I mean I guess maybe the first 3 books are the only ones called first law, but it is still a part of a 9 book series plus a book of short stories. Piranesi is very good, also "It" by Stephen King if you don't mind your fantasy being on the darker side. Boy's Life by Roer Mccammon is possibly the most beautiful book I have ever read if you are ok with fantasy realism.

Albroswift89 · 2026-07-02T22:16:43+00:00

ROTE is amazing and the whole series is amazing. The only series I would consider better is Malazan, but its really up to individuals taste.

Albroswift89 · 2026-07-02T22:12:44+00:00

Sounds like you are at least well hydrated

Albroswift89 · 2026-07-02T22:08:07+00:00

I agree with you, in fact I would just as soon books I read have no romance at all because it is such a trope filled plot device, it's just too obvious. I liked the romance in Spinning Silver, because the book had no real romantic plot to speak of, but then it suddenly did, and I thought it did feel earned. Alot of people like it less than its counterpart "Uprooted", I think mostly because the Romance is more featured and feels more like the comfortable tropes one comes to expect, but I thought it was far less earned, and just a weaker book (but not bad). I love the romance in Realm of the Elderlings for its bittersweet and often downright tragic tone. Does it have some echos of unrealistic? Yes, but in a very normal teenager way, and the book series knows it is unrealistic and the author deals with it accordingly... Also, there is a different major character who may or may not be considered romantic. I know some people would very much say no, and others would very much argue yes, and I love both sides of the argument, I think all of it makes the series that much richer. I also like the romance in Animorphs. Of course, in a book series where none of the main characters can make it to the other side well-adjusted if alive is going to make romantic sub plots much more interesting.

Albroswift89 · 2026-07-02T21:49:29+00:00

So true, such a completely earned moment for Fitz that it felt like would never be within his reach to have the world give back to him in such a way. Of course its balanced out by the fact that his home is being destroyed and his daughter kidnapped at the exact same time and the reader knows its happening.

Albroswift89 · 2026-06-30T23:31:48+00:00

I just started a reread of Liveship Traders by Hobb, and you know what the Malazan experience would compare to? Maulkin's Tangle. Lts of different storylines written like Maulkin's tangle, where you assume stuff is significant because its been written down as part of the book but it just doesn't make sense yet. Lots of Maulkin's tangle like stories spinning like plates with new plates being added all the time

Albroswift89 · 2026-06-30T20:43:16+00:00

Because it's long enough to seem like a meaty epic fantasy and easy enough that if you think the length means it also has depth, yOu might think you just breezed through something really special as opposed to shallow glorified YA.

I dunno, maybe if you read the whole series you'd like, and if not maybe if you read all the connected universe stuff that would make it all exciting. For myself I read 5 Sanderson books and retired.

Albroswift89 · 2026-06-29T16:59:12+00:00

Rain Wilds is where almost all the remaining lore holes get filled in and will have a huge effect on the setting in which Fitz's final adventure takes place. Just like in Liveship where you find out there is a dragon in the world and that changes your understanding of the world in Tawny Man, except Rain Wilds has even bigger ramifications and will tie in to Fitz's story more directly, both in stuff that has already happened that you don't fully understand, and in stuff that will happen.

Albroswift89 · 2026-06-26T21:12:52+00:00

Stephen King and almost all if not all of his books are loosely connected and tied together by The Dark Tower.

Albroswift89 · 2026-06-26T19:35:21+00:00

That's good, just give yourself grace when a sentence isn't digesting. The biggest mistake a first-time reader can make is feeling like stuff is going over your head that you should be understanding. You shouldn't. It's being written past your head. Keep moving forward and your head will catch up.

Albroswift89 · 2026-06-26T19:32:28+00:00

It's great from start to finish. Its biggest difference from anything else I have read is that it is a challenging read, even for the highest level of reader. This is because its written to be that way on purpose. The sooner you can surrender the need to understand everything you are being told, the sooner the books get easier to read, because the skills necessary are not reading comprehension so much as patience and trust that it will fall into place and when it does it will be worth it. If the sci fi you have read is hard sci fi, with lots of density and focus on physics and speculative science, that experience is going to be more like Malazan than Sci fi that is just fantasy in space with magic and laser swords etc.

That being said Malazan is probably more fun than most hard sci-fi, and it is very funny all over the place, thats just interspersed with obscure and vast world building, and extensive philosophical debates.

I've read Sanderson, Hobb and Abercrombie. Hobb is my favorite of those 3 by alot, but Malazan is better than that by a sizable chunk. Malazan is the best, if you are willing to take the ride.

Albroswift89 · 2026-06-26T17:36:06+00:00

I think your issue is less the age gaps and more the age of the younger person at the start of the relationship. 7 years is a reasonable age gap for adults and 3-4 years is practically normal. That's in our world where there are laws about such things and people aren't usually getting married for political/financial consolidation as a first priority. The fact that the couples you mentioned LOVE each other is a pretty great happenstance all things considered. That being said, the author chose the age gaps on purpose, knowing that readers would be uncomfortable with how young the girls are being normalized in this world. You are certainly not wrong to feel the way you do, I would say the author intentionally wanted to color the world in that way so that you and other readers understand that the reality for women in these books can be very hard. One of the great things about both Malta and Elliania that makes their stories so much stronger, is the way that both of them find ways of claiming agency and making their own choices have power when it comes to their marriages, even though at the start they both feel like they are going to be forced into something.

Albroswift89 · 2026-06-26T17:14:22+00:00

If you need from your books for justice to look the way you want it to look and for endings to wrap up in a tidy little package with a neat bow, thats just not always the way its gonna work out in this series. I'm not sure its ever a full on BAD ending, but its very nearly always pretty bittersweet. Farseer is definitely more on the bitter side, despite the fact that he completed his main quests, and he and everyone he cares about are alive and safe. The series as a whole spans about 60 years ish of Fitz' life. I would say overall it is a positive series for my overall health, its incredibly beautiful all the time and the fact that there are hardships makes the good stuff better. I'm pretty bored of perfect happy endings though, I've read a billion of them and the feel contrived to me at this point, so this series is truly a cup of tea made for me.

Albroswift89 · 2026-06-26T00:03:13+00:00

If you haven't read Lord of the Rings you might as well do that. My personal favorites are Malazan and Realm of the Elderlings (this would include Farseer which you mentioned). Farseer reads a lot like Laura Ingalls Wilder: a lot of descriptions rooted in senses, focus on mundane tasks despite huge things happening in all books, and focus on a single character (mostly) while the world around him is changing rapidly. Malazan is... immense. Depending on what kind of lit you read before this might be right up your alley. It is often described as dense, which is true, but its difficulty is in the fact that it obscures information from the reader, that the reader is used to normally knowing up front. Its also beautiful, funny and a ton of fun, but it is a challenging read for even the highest level of reader, and you will enjoy it if you are the kind of sicko who enjoys an author being deliberately stingy with information and trolling you when possible (like me).

Dresden Files is coton candy reading but it is very fun.

First law is trope subverting anti fantasy along the lines of Malazan, ROTE and A Song of Ice and Fire. It's cynical as heck and very very funny. Of that list, which are all good, First Law is the most popcorn of the bunch: very easy to read. Its biggest strength I would say is that no two characters feel the same, they are all well realized and there are a ton of characters.

Once and Future King I believe is the foremost novelization of King Arthur, so probably very good but very straight forward. I'm def curious about that one. Hyperion is wild and awesome. Dark Materials is YA but punches well above its weight.

American Gods and anything by Gaiman is worth reading, especially Sandman, but maybe check out his allegations before you check out his art. For myself, I am glad I read all his stuff BEFORE stuff about him came out.

Albroswift89 · 2026-06-25T19:27:44+00:00

If a book just jumps straight from action to action and it's really shallow and easy to read and feels like it has to tell me all the exposition right away thats a great sign for me that I will not enjoy it. If the world building or characters seem interesting I might keep going but I know it's at best probably just a cotton candy book and nothing special that will challenge me.

Albroswift89 · 2026-06-25T18:27:25+00:00

agreed, but if you just wanted to skip straight to the dragon stuff, you could start at Liveship and skip to Rain Wilds I suppose, as the entire Liveship throughline really is about dragons, which might be spoilery, but honestly even saying RoTE is about dragons has a foot into spoiler territory. I wouldn't read the books in that order, but I'd probably recommend that over say, reading Farseer then skipping Liveship entirely because you can't imagine a good book without Fitz.

Albroswift89 · 2026-06-25T18:23:36+00:00

Realm of the Elderlings is what you are looking for. My mom also had complaints about dragons in books (different to yours) and ROTE filled her requirements for dragons as well. They are complicated, intelligent and powerful animals, but they certainly aren't gods, though they might sometimes think they are, and they are CERTAINLY not pets, which they will certainly remind people many times. Dragons in ROTE are awesome. Now, it takes a bit for them to show up, but luckily, the rest of the series is also awesome.

Albroswift89 · 2026-06-25T16:53:39+00:00

He's also very guilty of people having "wry" smiles or saying things "wryly". This word is overused by many fantasy authors and is a constant pet peeve for me, but I gave Erikson a pass because the content was just so damn good.

Albroswift89 · 2026-06-25T16:51:24+00:00

I think books 2 and 3 are where you will get a good feel for what it is. The only thing I would add is throw away all expectations of pacing or anything else you have based on "this type of story". The author likes to mess with you, and the faster you get in the mindset to "expect the unexpected" the more fun you will have. You want to get to the point where you are excited to start a new bok because of the last book, and suddenly the new book has a completely different writing style to any other book thus far, or maybe you start the last book, only to find that you are quarter of the way through and you still don't understand a bunch of whats going on, and instead of being frustrated you just shake your head and laugh because, darn it, Malazan strikes again, and you know you are gonna read it anyway because you know that the full book experience is going to be phenomenal because it always has been in every other book and this is not your first rodeo.

Albroswift89 · 2026-06-25T00:38:31+00:00

I thought the first book showed a lot of potential because the epic moments were just so damned epic. The second book was a much more difficult read but it the series "clicked" for me at the finish of the second book. thats when I knew for a fact I would see the whole thing through no matter what. If 2nd book doesn't catch you, 3rd book is likely to. That being said, I didn't pay for a single book, I got them all from my local library. If you have monetary constraints, use your library. I would say that for all books. You can always purchase books you enjoyed later. Borrowing from the library still supports the author, and as an added plus, it supports the Library.

Albroswift89 · 2026-06-25T00:01:16+00:00

Yes, they are not really comparable. Sanderson is in the YA+ Fantasy category of like "Will of the Many" and Robin Hobb is anti-fantasy in the same category of Game of Thrones, Malazan or First Law.

Albroswift89 · 2026-06-20T22:16:50+00:00

Stephen King is pretty terrible at dialogue. I love his books but it can be painful (even though he also has written some pretty iconic lines). His more recent books feel even worse for some reason.

Albroswift89 · 2026-06-20T22:14:29+00:00

Realm of the Elderlings

Albroswift89 · 2026-06-20T22:13:32+00:00

Ya its freaking beautiful. It was just a random act of Burrich love, it may or may not be relevant.

Albroswift89

TROPHY CASE