The speech between one character and the next is almost identical sometimes, and conversation tends to repeat another character's thoughts from a mere one page earlier. 211 pages in, and I cannot recall any ordinary conversations- they are all super long, almost formal, and seem to talk about the same town issues/ over and over again, with no distinct differences in the perspective from different characters. I think her Liveship series was somewhere in between the others and this book in quality. And her wide variety of characters, and in particular her representations of women, were excellent. I adored the Farseer & Tawny Man series from Hobb, and her writing style was perfectly fine in those. This is a good story, but the writing does it absolutely no justice. I'm only about a quarter through this book, but it is frustrating me so much that I have to vent my feelings. So, though I stand by my low rating and negative review of Dragon Keeper, I would recommend you push through it and read the rest of the series, because I adored the second book.***** The improvement from the first book is almost miraculous. *****I just wanted to say that I have finished the second book, Dragon Haven. Chapter 25: Day the 2nd of the Plough Moon.Chapter 24: CAST OF CHARACTERS: THE RAIN WILDS CHRONICLES.Chapter 21: CHAPTER SEVENTEEN: DECISIONS.Chapter 17: CHAPTER THIRTEEN: SUSPICIONS.
Chapter 16: CHAPTER TWELVE: AMONG DRAGONS.Chapter 11: CHAPTER SEVEN: PROMISES AND THREATS.Chapter 10: CHAPTER SIX: THYMARA’S DECISION.Chapter 9: CHAPTER FIVE: BLACKMAIL AND LIES.Chapter 7: CHAPTER THREE: AN ADVANTAGEOUS OFFER.Chapter 1: Dragon Keeper: Volume One of The Rain Wilds Chronicles.