Description:

From Publishers Weekly

Nevare Burvelle is the second son of the New Lord Burvelle of the East. Destined and trained from birth to be a soldier, it's all he knows. His one dream is to do his duty and be a good soldier. In this captivating tale of a world where honor, obedience and a thoughtless adherence to rules have prevailed for generations, Hobb (The Farseer and Tawny Man trilogies) pits Nevare's beliefs against an unseen, unknown chaos that will transform his world. Nevare, through no fault of his own, becomes an agent of change and a pawn in the magical struggle of the Plainspeople against the hide-bound and selfishly destructive Gernians. Hobb excels at constructing worlds and people who are fully fleshed out. The pace is more leisurely than in previous books, but the build-up of suspense reverberates throughout the pages, pulling the reader relentlessly forward. Here is a master storyteller out to make a point and succeeding beautifully.
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From Booklist

A big, splendid novel opens the Soldier Son trilogy. Nevare Burville has spent some time as a cavalry officer on the kingdom of Gernia's frontier, engaged in expanding it against the wild nomads of the plains. He has been successful as a soldier, he is happily engaged, and he is the scion of one of the new noble families. Unfortunately, now he has to complete his military education at the King's Cavalry Academy, which is dominated by scions of the old nobility, who have no use for upstarts like Nevare. Also, it appears that Nevare has been too long within range of the powerful magic of the shamans of the western tribes, and their influence has converted him into a sort of sorcerous Typhoid Mary--and he may not be the only one. The consequences for Nevare personally are grim, and for Gernia potentially grimmer, if a way to fight the "barbarian" magic isn't extracted from civilized knowledge. Oh yes, Hobb's characterization, especially anent the ethical dilemmas, and world building are again superb. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Nevare Burvelle is the second son of a second son, destined from birth to carry a sword. The wealthy young noble will follow his father - newly made a lord by the King of Gernia - into the cavalry, training in the military arts at the elite King's Cavella Academy in the capital city of Old Thares. Bright and well-educated, an excellent horseman with an advantageous engagement, Nevare's future appears golden.

But as his Academy instruction progresses, Nevare begins to realize that the road before him is far from straight. The old aristocracy looks down on him as the son of a "new noble" and, unprepared for the political and social maneuvering of the deeply competitive school and city, the young man finds himself entangled in a web of injustice, discrimination, and foul play. In addition, he is disquieted by his unconventional girl-cousin Epiny - who challenges his heretofore unwavering world view - and by the bizarre dreams that haunt his nights. . . .