Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #76533 in Books
• Published on: 2006-09-01
• Released on: 2006-08-29
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 736 pages

From Booklist
Continuing adventures begun in Shaman's Crossing (2005), Nevare Burvelle comes home to find that the plague from which he was magically healed has stricken his homeland and family. (First-person narration heightens the impact of his guilt and horror.) He returns to the forest to find a cure in ancient magic that is extraordinarily demanding to employ and can wreak more havoc than healing. The forest is drawn in delicate, vivid language reminiscent of Hobb's treatment of the rivers and ocean in the Liveship Traders trilogy. A fine example of how to avoid middle-book slump. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Just OK
So far this trilogy is not as good a read as the Farseer or Tawny Man series. Too much repitition with no payoff as a literary device, Nevare is just a little too slow in realizing his potential, and there are too many long periods in which he marks time. Others talk about Robin Hobb's ability to create cultures, however, there are really only two masters at that: Tolkien and LeGuin. That said, I rated this a 3 rather than a 2 because I have enjoyed this well enough so far to keep reading.

A strong effort, but haven't I read some of this before?
A gifted story-teller, Hobbs here rehashes some themes she's already explored elsewhere: unwanted or tabu magic that characters can't turn away from; physical transformations from human to something not quite human; well intentioned people who are unfairly misjudged by society and wrongly punished by authority. So on occasion parts of the book, if you're familiar with her other works, seem a bit too familiar. This can get in the way of what is a richly crafted and unique world and Hobb's solid, comfortable prose.

A long shot better than most fantasy fare out there today, but frustrating because it seems to fall short of what it could be. She's good, and I'll keep reading her -- in the hope that she gets better.

AKA - Diary of a Depressed Fat Man
I consider the `Assassins ` series one of the top ten fantasy series I've ever read, and I've read a lot. Therefore it was with keen interest that I picked up the `Forest Mage', especially after reading the first book `Shaman's Crossing'.

This book should have been titled `Diary of a Depressed Fat Man'. Yes, I like complex character development - it's one of the reasons why the Assassins series was so good, but give me a break! I stayed up till 2:30am finishing this book, not because it was so captivating but because I couldn't believe it wouldn't somehow get better and justify the time I wasted reading it.

Let me save you the time:

He gets fat.
Everyone hates him.
He discovers that he has magic but doesn't know how to use it.
He is still fat.