Dragon Keeper

Dragon Keeper
Robin Hobb

‘Fantasy as it ought to be written’ George R.R. MartinReturn to the world of the Liveships Traders and journey along the Rain Wild River in this fantastic adventure from the author of the internationally acclaimed Farseer trilogy.Guided by the great blue dragon Tintaglia, they came from the sea: a Tangle of serpents fighting their way up the Rain Wilds River, the first to make the perilous journey to the cocooning grounds in generations. Many have died along the way. With its acid waters and impenetrable forest, it is a hard place for any to survive.People are changed by the Rain Wilds, subtly or otherwise. One such is Thymara. Born with black claws and other aberrations, she should have been exposed at birth. But her father saved her and her mother has never forgiven him. Like everyone else, Thymara is fascinated by the return of dragons: it is as if they symbolise the return of hope to their war-torn world. Leftrin, captain of the liveship Tarman, also has an interest in the hatching; as does Bingtown newlywed, Alise Finbok, who has made it her life's work to study all there is to know of dragons.But the creatures which emerge from the cocoons are a travesty of the powerful, shining dragons of old. Stunted and deformed, they cannot fly; some seem witless and bestial. Soon, they become a danger and a burden to the Rain Wilders: something must be done. The dragons claim an ancestral memory of a fabled Elderling city far upriver: perhaps there the dragons will find their true home. But Kelsingra appears on no maps and they cannot get there on their own: a band of dragon keepers, hunters and chroniclers must attend them.To be a dragon keeper is a dangerous job: their charges are vicious and unpredictable, and there are many unknown perils on the journey to a city which may not even exist…

ROBIN HOBB

Dragon Keeper

COPYRIGHT (#ulink_b027b55c-f750-54f5-9094-96c61afe5901)

Harper

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First published in Great Britain by HarperCollinsPublishers 2009

Copyright © Robin Hobb 2009

Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd 2016. Illustration © Jackie Morris.

Calligraphy by Stephen Raw. Cover photograph © Shutterstock.com (background)

Robin Hobb asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

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Source ISBN: 9780007342594

Ebook Edition © SEPTEMBER 2014 ISBN: 9780007290253

Version: 2015-12-01

CONTENTS

Cover (#u50b0bdf1-381c-5078-a23e-a6124ba3d966)

Title Page (#ue70c8446-7e78-5471-a706-652f6469e414)

Copyright (#ulink_cbd60af1-fbf3-5cee-a4ca-aaecd90b7184)

Dedication (#ulink_804ddd48-9105-5191-a72f-08bf78c37289)

Prologue: Serpents’ End (#ulink_9a00a955-358d-555d-96ad-b479898c3b1d)

Chapter One: The Riverman (#ulink_9637a814-6d17-5da7-9c49-e121191bf8cb)

Chapter Two: The Hatch (#ulink_98694984-6485-5fef-9777-a6642b2d0032)

Chapter Three: An Advantageous Offer (#ulink_ad7db1a2-b2ef-5bc7-9c46-0f77dafd4eed)

Chapter Four: Vows (#ulink_d4a42493-2965-5ef5-9d27-7d8c68a8124b)

Chapter Five: Blackmail and Lies (#ulink_0253f74b-e8bd-5f51-876a-50a9ab8b536a)

Chapter Six: Thymara’s Decision (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seven: Promises and Threats (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eight: Interviews (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Nine: Journey (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Ten: Cassarick (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Eleven: Encounters (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Twelve: Among Dragons (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Thirteen: Suspicions (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fourteen: Scales (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Fifteen: Currents (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Sixteen: Community (#litres_trial_promo)

Chapter Seventeen: Decisions (#litres_trial_promo)

Keep Reading (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

Also by the Author (#litres_trial_promo)

About the Publisher (#litres_trial_promo)

DEDICATION (#ulink_7fda6b90-3d8d-5922-9971-507893d60337)

To the memory of Spot and Smokey,