Worlds Beyond: The pace is draggin' in Robin Hobb's 'Dragon'

[Blowfeld]

Worlds Beyond: The pace is draggin' in Robin Hobb's 'Dragon'
By Clay Kallam
Contra Costa Times correspondent
Posted: 02/08/2010 05:33:13 PM PST
Updated: 02/08/2010 05:33:13 PM PST

AFTER a three-book detour to write "The Soldier Son" trilogy, Robin Hobb has returned to the world where nine of her books have been set — and "Dragon Keeper" (Eos, $26.99, 496 pages) picks up where the "Liveship Traders" trio left off.

Hobb is a wonderful writer, perhaps my favorite on the scene today, and one reason is that her books try to deal with real-world issues in a fantasy setting. In this one, she continues her focus on how environmental changes can affect even the most powerful species, as well as indirectly addressing racism and prejudice against the different. That said, "Dragon Keeper" is too sedately paced for my taste, as it's pretty clear where things are going at about page 150 (even sooner if the reader foolishly glances at the list of characters). By then, we know that the all-new cast is destined to try to save the dragons by undertaking a dangerous journey, and the next 200 pages oh-so-slowly make that happen.

Hobb had similar issues with pacing in "The Soldier Son" trilogy, but she picked up the tempo in book three. Hopefully, she'll shift gears in book two of this trilogy, but even if she doesn't, a less-than-perfect Hobb is much better than the best of almost all other fantasy writers.

And now, in the grand tradition of reviewers making sweeping statements almost impossible to support, here's my latest outlandish claim: The "Dune" books are the most overrated series in the history of science fiction.

Yes, "Dune," the book, is wonderful, and Frank Herbert built a universe that still can fascinate — but his own sequels faded into a pale imitation of the original as the plot twists became more fantastic (one hero became an all-but-immortal, very large worm) and the characters faded into caricature.

Herbert's son Brian and sci-fi veteran Kevin Anderson finally finished the series a couple of years ago, with resurrections of all the main characters and even more somersaulting plot machinations that echoed forward and backward over thousands of years of history. Still, the pair continue to mine the sands of Dune for more revenue, er, stories, and the latest is "The Winds of Dune" (Tor, $27.99, 448 pages).

Because the overarching narrative is complete, not much really can happen — and in fact, not much does. Only those truly fascinated by the motivations and maneuvers of Lady Jessica, mother of the hero of the series, and various other familiar characters will find "The Winds of Dune" worth the time or money. The writing is professional, if pedestrian, and little is revealed. But just in case there are a few more dollars to be made, yet another book is coming out soon, proving that even in the 21st century, P.T. Barnum still has something to say about the world.

It will give you an idea of how ancient I am to realize that I read the James Bond novels when they first came out — and as a teenager, I loved how Bond managed to always handle every difficult situation perfectly, and always have exactly the right response. Of course, I skimmed right over the numerous brushes with death that were averted by the barest of margins and instead marveled at Q's clever inventions that time and again saved the day.

Mark Chadbourn is a lot younger than I am, but he must have a James Bond jones as well, for Will Swyfte is introduced at the beginning of "The Silver Skull: Swords of Albion" (Pyr, $16, 422 pages) as Elizabethan England's greatest spy — and then proceeds to embark on a serious of improbable escapes, bloody battles and remarkable strokes of luck as he helps the Queen fight off the Spanish Armada and the evil designs of the fairy magicians of the Unseelie Court. Unfortunately, Chadbourn's hero is even more implausible than James Bond, and the book relies too much on Swyfte's continued ability to escape certain death — thanks in part to the clever inventions of Dr. John Dee, a historical figure (as are many in "The Silver Skull") who was reputed to be an alchemist and magician, and the incredibly stupidity of his adversaries, who simply refuse to kill him when they have the chance.

In short, this book (which promises to be the beginning of a series) goes too far over the line of believability to match Ian Fleming, and thus becomes just another dark, bloody, grim exercise with an unkillable hero who has a soft spot for the woman he loves.