The Rain Wild Chronicles 1: Dragon Keepers, Robin Hobb

J'envie tout ceux qui n'ont encore jamais lu Robin Hobb, ou ceux qui ont tout juste entamé la lecture de ses livres, car je sais les merveilleux voyages qu'ils ont encore devant eux (mais qui sont à présent derrière moi). Heureusement mon auteur préférée est prolifique et m'a dernièrement à nouveau transportée jusqu'au périlleux et subjuguant Désert des Pluies. La parution de chaque nouvel ouvrage est un plaisir renouvelé. J'aimerais pouvoir encore me nourrir des écrits de Barjavel, autre grand favori chez les écrivains chers à mon coeur.  Je me demande quelle vision du futur il nous proposerait aujourd'hui du bout de sa large palette poétique à la fois apocalyptique et optimiste... mais je m'éloigne de l'objet de ma dernière lecture.

Avec Dragon Keeper Robin Hobb retourne sur des lieux déjà évoqués dans L'Assassin Royal et Les Aventuriers de la Mer et situe l'action à la fin de ces deux séries. C'est le premier tome d'un diptyque dont la suite sortira le mois prochain. (vivement!!!)

Le Désert des Pluies (Rain Wilds) est un endroit tout aussi enchanteur qu''il semble maudit, vibrant de mystère et bruissant de magie. On y vit dans les arbres dont les imposantes ramures forment des villes suspendues au dessus des rivages aux eaux empoisonnées.

"The Rain Wilds night was deepening around them. Lamps were being kindled in the little dangling houses. As far as she could see, the scattered sparks of thhe upper reaches of trehaug sparkled through the network of branches and leaves. She shifted onto her belly and looked down; there, the lights were thickers and brighter in the more prosperous sections of the tree-built city. The lamplighters were at work now, illuminating the bridges thatt spanned the trees like glittering necklaces strung through the forest (...)

The Cricket Cages, as the district of tiny homes perched high in the upper reaches of the canopy was called, relied on lightweight bridges ans fine trolley lines to ferry its populace from branch to branch. Her mother hated living in such a poor section of trehaug, but the dangling cottages were affordable. Almost everything was cheaper  up here in the higher reaches of the canopy (...)

'When I was little, we lived in four rooms, built so close to the trunk that they scarcely swayed even in storm winds' Those were the best houses in the Rain Wilds. The closer one lived to a trunk, the sturdier everything was, and the less wind and rain found them. The trunk markets were closer, and if one went down the trunks, there were taverns and playhouses. It was also true that there was less sunlight close to the trunk (...)

'The last place we lived before we came to the Cricket Cages was the Bird nests. Those used to be the poorest part of Trehaug. But then the Tattooed came and then other newcomers and we got pushed out of there'The Houses in the Bird Nests had consisted of small rooms woven of vine and lath, with airy narrow pathways that led down severy levels before one reached the good wide walkways and branch paths. 'We lived in the Birds Nests for only a couple of years before we saw a flood of artists and artisans moving in. A  lot of them were Tatooed, new to the Rain Wilds and needing cheaper rents and neighboorhoods where their neighbours would not complain about noise and parties and strange lifestyles.'Thymara smiled to herself. She had loved living in the Bird Nests as much as her mother had despised it. Artists displayed their creations on every branch. The poorest section of the city because rich in beauty. Wind chimes hung at every crossroads, the safety walls along the paths ere tapestries of coloured string and beads, and faces were painted on the rough bark of the tree branches that supported the flimsy homes. Even her family's chambers became bright with colour, for her father often was offered only bbarter for the small crops he managed to grow. Long before Diana earned a reputation as an inspired weaver, Thymara wore a sweater ans scarf made by her clever fingers and the carved chest that held her clothing had been made by Raffles himself. She lved those things, not because they were valuable, but because they were daring and new. It was only later than her mother would be able to sell them for prices that amazed them all, but did not console Thymara for their loss. As always happens, or so her father said, the wealthy patrons of the artists begain to frequent the Bird Nests. Not content to purchase merely what the artists made, the patrons began to buy their lifestyles as well. Soon the sons and daughters of the wealthier Rain Wild trader families were living among them, behaving as if they were artists but creating nothing save noise, traffic and a wild reputaiton for the Bird Nests. Their families were able to pay much higher rents than her father could afford. The wealthy folk who had holiday homes among them demanded safer walkways and wider branch roads, and so they were taxed accordingly (...) 'The high rents pushed us right out (...) She craned her neck and looked up. A few yellow lights in tiny cottages flickered. 'I suppose the next time we get pushed out we'll end up in the Tops. You get light everyday up there, but I hear the rooms rock in the wind almost all the time (...) 'I like it here in the Cricket Caages. We get plenty of rainwater, so we don't have to haul it ourselves or buy it from the water-carrier. My mother wove us a bathing hammock when we first moved here, and it's lovely in the summer when the water is naaturally warm. Moss grow along the edges, and we get visits from little frogs and butterfliess and basking lizards. And it isn't  so far to climb to find the flowers that reach for the sunlight. When I can get those, my mother takes them down trunk to sell, in the markets where they hardly ever see the flowers from the Tops.'

et puis, il y a les dragons...

Je n'en dévoilerai pas plus pour ne pas gâcher le plaisir de la découverte à ceux qui seront intéressés. Remarquez cependant le magnifique travail d'illustration de l'artiste Jackie Morris.
Ces nouvelles couvertures me donnent envie de remplacer toutes mes anciennes éditions, mais je ne le ferai pas car j'y reste cependant attachée, elles gardent  la trace de mes lectures passées et les ancre dans le temps et l'espace.

autres coups de pinceau de Jackie Morris:

Comments

[Galop d'Fée]

Je fée partie des chanceux qui ont juste poussé la porte de l'univers de Robin hobb... et c'est vrai que, quelque part, tellement je connais l'émotion et le voyage qui m'attendent lors de la lecture, je garde ces livres comme un trésor..
pour l'instant je n'ai lu que L'assassin royal, me reste même le prélude !
et tout le reste, tu me donnes des frissons je sens que ça va être bon !
sur le blog, j'ai une amie que j'appelle Morrigann sn blog c'est labigfamily.sky
une accro comme nous de Robin hobb qui a déjà lu l'assassin royal et entame la fin des aventueriers de la mer je crois!
son poney s'appelle Aragorn, tout un monde fantastique !
bizzzz

[Sophie]

I love the last picture with the polar bear ans the hares, I want one !!!!!!