About Robin Hobb and her new book

Robin Hobb has previously, on that name, published nine books, three trilogies (she wrote several books under her own name, Megan Lindholm, but they didnt sell that well). First one was The Assasin trilogy, or Farseer trilogy (Im not entirely sure) about FitzChivalry Farseer, a bastard prince, who gets trained to be the royal assasin, and how he gets tangled in the politics in time of crisis, and how small stone can change the direction of great stone, though it wont feel pleasant to the stone. Her second trilogy is the Live Ship trilogy. Far south of the Six Duchies where Farseers rule, there lies Bingtown, where Traders of old families rule. Their wealth is based on Live Ships, and their ability to navigate a river whose acid water destroy's normal ship hull. Up the river there is a village where you can get magical items not available anywhere else in the world...
The third trilogy is return to the life of Fitz, now hermit far from humanity and politics, and how he has to return to teach the new prince, while keeping his identity hidden - for his reputation is ruined, and everyone thinks he is dead..

In the new book, Hobb creates a new world, where a kingom is expanding it's territory to east. The protagonist is the second son of a "new noble" - a man who earned his title and lands trough exeptional courage and wisdom in army, and so destined to be a soldier (like all second sons - the first son is the heir). The first book tells his life from about eight years old to his early twenties, from his own personal point of view, as he would personally have written it down. The book is pretty serene, like other Hobb's books, it is about small things, that reflect the big changes in the kingdom and in the world. The protagonist is not a important man - just one of hundreds of nobility kid's in the same position. Most of the book is situated in the Academy, where he is learning to be an cavalry officer for the army. His life is made hard by the general view in the Academy of the new nobles being less worthy than the old blood - and therefore the life in the Academy is hard for him, and getting kickt out by the unsymphatic teaching body a very probaple change. But to be kickt out is to be doomed to the short and hard life of a foot soldier...

Another subplot comes from the dreams of the protagonist, Navaje, as he dreams of a fat woman who has control over him - and she is not a nice person. But all in all, the book is about the daily life of one normal man - who lives in times most particular. Maybe it would be easy to say the book is like diary of a countryman studying in New York, who dosent get along with the headmaster, nor with general attitute of the city. Changed to fantasy world, where culture is very victorian by nature.

Good, if somewhat slow book. I will definetly read the sequel, the second part of the trilogy.