Dragon Keeper discussion (WARNING: CONTAINS UNMARKED SPOILERS)

[BelovedFool]

I just spent the whole day reading Dragon Keeper, and I've finished it with mixed feelings. I absolutely adore the assassin, liveship and tawny man trilogies but after reading the first Soldier Son book I was so disappointed I couldn't bring myself to read the others. So, I looked forward to The Dragon Keeper with mixed anticipation and dread, eager for another installment in the realm of the elderlings but afraid it would fail to meet the standards of the earlier books. As it is, on finishing Dragon Keeper, I have to say that I found it an enjoyable read if not quite as impressive as the liveship books. I found the first half of the book pretty slow and filled with lengthy descriptions and not enough action, the book finally got going about half way through and from there on I did find it quite gripping although there was still relatively little happening: it pretty much dwelt on Alise deciding again whether she should stay or go every second page and Thymara realising that Greft isn't a nice guy. So I have to say that overall I think this book could have been a lot shorter than it was, I enjoyed the characters but got a bit tired of the repetition of the same thoughts over and over again (Poor Alise never expected to marry and then it was such a let down, does she have the courage to follow her dream? Thymara should not have survived but can she be accepted now?.). Don't get me wrong, I'm a major Hobb fan and I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment but I just feel that this book, though satisfying, doesn't live up to the likes of Ship of Magic or Assassin's Apprentice.