Hobb, R. (2006). Forest mage. New York: EOS.

06/17/08 to 06/23/08
***

It was all so meaningless when I looked at it that way. It was meaningless in the same way as when I stood up from a game and then looked down on the scatter of playing pieces, and realized that they all were just bits of polished stone on a wooden board marked with squares. All the meaning they'd had moments before when I'd been trying to win a game were meanings that I'd imbued them with. Of themselves, neither they nor the board had any significance

This is the second in the Soldier Son trilogy. I had serious doubts about the first one, but found this second to be much more palatable. The main character is forced to break with this traditional beliefs/goals in a much more significant way within this book when he is expelled from the military academy for his ever-increasing weight. Hobb made a good choice in making her hero obese (or probably morbidly obese). At times I wanted her to be a little more clear-cut in the message that prejudice exists and that it should be fought against, particularly in cases like our heroes in which the obesity is a sign of his growing magical powers. However, I think it's fair for her to portray the complexity of the situation, as well as the hero's self-disgust. Nevare has had to shift his perceptions away from those of his mainstream culture in a step-wise fashion throughout the series thus far and having body image play a role in that process provides a thought-provoking theme.

The complaints I had in the last book re the role of women within the story also decreased within this second novel. (Perhaps with Nevare's changing perceptions), the primary female character became less annoying and more forceful in her brief appearances in this story. Additionally, the presence of strong female characters in the culture at odds with Nevare's presented a nice contrast to the way in which women are judged in Nevare's dominant culture.

In general, the characters felt more nuanced in this story, again perhaps this was written-in intentionally to reflect the growing maturity of the characters. However, Hobb's descriptions often continue to feel halting and the flow of the story lurches a bit as well. All in all though I very much enjoyed this novel and have ordered the third.