Shaman's Crossing (The Soldier Son Trilogy, Book 1) - Hardcover

Hobb, Robin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060757620 ISBN 13: 9780060757625

Publisher: Harper Voyager, 2005

Synopsis

Nevare Burvelle is the second son of a second son, destined from birth to carry a sword. The wealthy young noble will follow his father—newly made a lord by the King of Gernia—into the cavalry, training in the military arts at the elite King's Cavella Academy in the capital city of Old Thares. Bright and well-educated, an excellent horseman with an advantageous engagement, Nevare's future appears golden.

But as his Academy instruction progresses, Nevare begins to realize that the road before him is far from straight. The old aristocracy looks down on him as the son of a "new noble" and, unprepared for the political and social maneuvering of the deeply competitive school and city, the young man finds himself entangled in a web of injustice, discrimination, and foul play. In addition, he is disquieted by his unconventional girl-cousin Epiny—who challenges his heretofore unwavering world view—and by the bizarre dreams that haunt his nights.

For twenty years the King's cavalry has pushed across the grasslands, subduing and settling its nomads and claiming the territory in Gernia's name. Now they have driven as far as the Barrier Mountains, home to the Speck people, a quiet, forest-dwelling folk who retain the last vestiges of magic in a world that is rapidly becoming modernized. From childhood Nevare has been taught that the Specks are a primitive people to be pitied for their backward ways—and feared for their indigenous diseases, including the deadly Speck plague, which has ravaged the frontier towns and military outposts.

The Dark Evening brings the carnival to Old Thares, and with it an unknown magic, and the first Specks Nevare has ever seen . . .

About this title

About the Author:

Robin Hobb was born in California but grew up in Alaska. It was there that she learned to love the forest and the wilderness. She has lived most of her life in the Pacific Northwest and currently resides in Tacoma, Washington. She is the author of five critically acclaimed fantasy series: The Rain Wilds Chronicles (Dragon Keeper, Dragon Haven, City of Dragons, Blood of Dragons), The Soldier Son Trilogy, The Tawny Man Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, and The Farseer Trilogy. Under the name Megan Lindholm she is the author of The Wizard of the Pigeons, Windsingers, and Cloven Hooves. The Inheritance, a collection of stories, was published under both names. Her short fiction has won the Asimov's Readers' Award and she has been a finalist for both the Nebula and Hugo awards.

From Booklist:

A big, splendid novel opens the Soldier Son trilogy. Nevare Burville has spent some time as a cavalry officer on the kingdom of Gernia's frontier, engaged in expanding it against the wild nomads of the plains. He has been successful as a soldier, he is happily engaged, and he is the scion of one of the new noble families. Unfortunately, now he has to complete his military education at the King's Cavalry Academy, which is dominated by scions of the old nobility, who have no use for upstarts like Nevare. Also, it appears that Nevare has been too long within range of the powerful magic of the shamans of the western tribes, and their influence has converted him into a sort of sorcerous Typhoid Mary--and he may not be the only one. The consequences for Nevare personally are grim, and for Gernia potentially grimmer, if a way to fight the "barbarian" magic isn't extracted from civilized knowledge. Oh yes, Hobb's characterization, especially anent the ethical dilemmas, and world building are again superb. Roland Green
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About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Voyager
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0060757620
• ISBN 13: 9780060757625
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 592