If you are looking for an escape, love dragons, or want to read a triumphant saga brimming with fully realized characters then I recommend the Rain Wilds Chronicles by Robin Hobb. Dragon Haven, the second in this four volume series picks up where Dragon Keeper left off. The crew of the Tarman, Alise and Sedrick of Bingtown and the outcast dragon keepers take the long and hazardous journey up the dangerously acidic river of the Rain Wilds to find a place where their charges, a group of immature dragons can find refuge in the mythical city of Kelsingra. Everything that Hobb built up in the first volume, a rich cast of characters, dramatic and tense situations, and an intricately constructed fantasy realm with its own rules, comes to fruition in this fraught journey to find a haven for the remarkable dragons in the story.
Never have I so enjoyed and marveled at dragons as I have in this work. These telepathic and rounded characters are filled with the complexity, pride and wrath one can expect from dragons, and their evolving relationship with their keepers and the crew of the Tarman will keep you turning the pages. For the lovers of romance there is a 750 page “will they or wont they” situation between the captain of the Tarman and the noble character of Alise. And although I thoroughly enjoyed the Assassin’s Apprentice series Hobb wrote earlier in her career, I prefer this marvelous journey through uncharted regions. She has once again created a wondrous world which becomes real for the reader of this superb series. Perhaps most fascinating is the mythology of dragonwood, liveships and the mythical race of elderlings, and how they come to be.
I can’t recommend this book more. This series had risen in my esteem with every page to be one of my all time favorites. I am saving the final two volumes as long as I can to prolong the wonder and satisfaction of being immersed in this lovely series. Take the journey, you won’t regret it.
5 stars (out of 5)
T. L. Barrett 
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