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  • Renegade's Magic

  • The Soldier Son Trilogy, Book 3
  • By: Robin Hobb
  • Narrated by: Jonathan Barlow
  • Length: 24 hrs and 19 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (248 ratings)
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Renegade's Magic cover art

Renegade's Magic

By: Robin Hobb
Narrated by: Jonathan Barlow
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Summary

The final book in the Soldier Son series, from the author of the Tawny Man and Farseer trilogies, following on from the best-selling Shaman’s Crossing and Forest Mage.

The people of Getty's town remember the death of their cemetery soldier vividly. They remember believing him guilty of unspeakable crimes, condemning him, and then watching as other men of his unit beat him until he no longer drew breath. But Nevare Burvelle didn't die that day, though everyone believes they saw it happen. He was cornered by a power far more intractable than an angry mob. When he was a boy, the magic of the Specks - the dapple-skinned tribes of the frontier forests - claimed Nevare as a saviour; severing his soul in two, naming his stolen half Soldier's Boy and shaping him into a weapon to halt the Gernian expansion into their lands and save their beloved ancestor trees. Until now Nevare has defied the magic, unable to accept his traitorous fate. But the magic has won: It has extinguished his once golden future, devastated his family and has now turned his own people against him. Faced with endangering the only loved-ones he has left, Nevare has no choice but to surrender to its will and enter the forest.

But surrendering to his Speck destiny is only the beginning of his trials. Before he submits completely, Nevare makes one desperate last attempt to deter the Gernians from the Barrier Mountains without causing them harm. But the magic accepts no compromise. Exhausted, Nevare can no longer suppress his traitorous Speck self, Soldiers Boy. Losing control, he becomes a prisoner in his own body; able only to watch helplessly as his other half takes Soldier's Boy is determined to stop the Gernian expansion at all cost, and unlike Nevare, he has no love, nor sympathy for his spirit-twin's world.

©2007 Robin Hobb (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"Hobb is one of the great modern fantasy writers… what makes her novels as addictive as morphine is not just their imaginative brilliance but the way her characters are compromised and manipulated by politics." ( The Times)

What listeners say about Renegade's Magic

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    2 out of 5 stars

Thank goodness it’s over!

I love a Robin Hobb but this series, especially this last volume went on and on! What a load of pointless drivel padding it out! I had to up the speed because of the droning, almost monotone voice and skipped huge chunks of the eating descriptions and several other parts. The writing was far to ‘high’ for modern listening too. Not a single character endeared themselves to me either. In fact I could seriously slap a few of them!! So disappointed in the whole thing.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Absolutely exceptional ❤️

Loved every moment. A spellbinding story of love, redemption and living one's true purpose

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

a good end

a suitable conclusion to an epic trilogy, gripping and frustrating, and edge of the seat story with lots of highs and lows.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Thank god its over

Struggled to finish it, what a load of rubbish. Liked the first two books enough. But this just went on and on about nothing.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Tiring.

This is the last of the robin hobb books I’ve read and by far the most onerous. Story was long. Painful and not as interesting as all her others.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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Not up to Hobb's usual standard...

I’ve persevered with this story to the third book as it has some very good characters, but maaaaannnn this book is so slow. It’s incredibly repetitive, nothing seems to happen for the first two thirds.

I think at least half of it could be edited out and it would read better (and this coming from someone who thinks the bigger the book, the better!) I haven’t finished yet as still listening but I think if I’d been reading this in the traditional sense I’d have given up by now, or sped through it just to see how it ends.

Even being a massive fan of Hobb’s amazing writing I can’t help but be a bit disappointed. The narrator is excellent however, loved him throughout all three books. Just a shame the plot is a so stale.

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Fanbloodytastic

Well read and well written, thanks for the casual listen and occasional laughs and turns

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Odd for Robin Hobb

I struggled a bit. It was ok but not as good as most her work.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Worst Book in the Trilogy

I really, really enjoyed book 1 and book 2 was ok although the main character was starting to become quite moany, Book 3 however is terrible. For some reason the whole story is told as an inner monologue of the schizophrenic main character, who shares his body with his alter ego and has no control over his actions throughout. I have to say the story drags, unfortunately the specs are the most uninteresting species and I find I don't care for their world which makes the book somewhat boring. The first book was more of a coming of age book and this is nothing like that at all, it is as if all three books are from a completely different series. The narrator is ok and that is about all, if i had known the direction the books would take I don't think I would have bothered with any of them. Its such a shame because the first book was so well written and the story was so well told, it could have gone in a different direction and the story would have been good but to isolate your main character within his own body for the whole book is just depressing and doesn't immerse me in the fantasy world. Also Solders Boy, what a rubbish character.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Gripping but torturous

To keep it brief:
- I greatly enjoyed the Fit's series and would recommend this Trilogy as well.
- This trilogy does have a slow pace, but I found the experience very immersive.
- The setting is unique and very interesting. Definitely not another medieval fantasy setting.
- The misery and strife in these books can be oppressive. It remember struggling with it in the 2nd book. But it has a point and I wouldn't want it toned down.
- The main characters journey and how he shifts from cultural perspectives; comparing, contrasting, and eventually integrating their ideas into his identity, was my favourite part of the trilogy.
- Not sure how I feel about the happy ending.

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