The Soldier Son trilogy by Robin Hobb

The Soldier Son trilogy by Robin Hobb (click on the image for more info)

This is not Robin Hobb’s best-know or even best-liked work, but I liked this a lot more than her popular series.

The main character is male. He goes into the army because he is expected to, and starts off the series as a typical soldier, trying to do his best.

But things happen that change his perception in a very subtle and realistic way. At the beginning of the series, you will feel his pride in doing well as a soldier, and then you feel the pride slip and doubts set in. Robin Hobb is a master of character, and the character of Nevare is well-done, and most importantly, feels authentic for the type of world that the story is set in (this is, by the way, one of the issues I have with some of her other work–the character’s opinions feel too modern and anachronistic).

Nevare has the sole POV in this series. The book is in first person. I love both first person and single-POV books. First person narratives tend to be more personal, and since you can’t change POV at the drop of a hat, the story is often much more efficiently-crafted.

First person/single character POV is quite rare in fantasy, and maybe this is the reason that people haven’t warmed to this series. I would definitely recommend that you check it out.