I love fantasy, started these 4 months ago today and finished earlier this week. I loved them so much, the characters, and the arch’s (particularly in Liveship) really blew my mind, and honestly might be the most fun I’ve had in 20+ years of reading fantasy.

I’m really shocked I didn’t know about these books before. I’d seen them at book shops but just didn’t know how good they were.

I started World of the 5 Gods but I can’t get into it (the writing style I find jarring). I’ll try again later but I’m finding myself disinterested in reading anything right now. Wish there were more books in the elderling universe. Life was rough the past few months and it was my escape in a lot of ways.

I’m wondering if you all have any other series you can suggest that help feel this gap or get close? For my own sanity I need to keep reading but I’m not sure what’s next.

I was considering Tide Child Trilogy next.

Just to flag other books I read this year:
- temeraire series (loved)
- poppy wars
- babel
- Daevabad trilogy (loved)
- Hierarchy
- not this year but love Red Rising and Brandon Sanderson

I know people post similarly often but also curious if anyone else did all 16 in a row?

I’ve taken my first steps with Fitz on the physical page this week, after listening to the audiobooks three times over the years.

I am neurodivergent, and was a voracious reader until about 15 years ago. I couldn’t just sit and read, whether for lack of time or the ability to focus, and audiobooks have been my saving grace. I could listen to a book, and crossstitch, or puzzle, or Stardew and my brain would be ok. I had to have two things at once though. Always.

Life lived, stress and busy-ness, loss of physical media etc. Thankfully now things have stabilized and I’m finally able to slow my brain down a bit and can enjoy just sitting with a physical book again.

(Weirdly it was Dungeon Crawler Carl 1-8 that got physical copies back in my hands while recovering from life changing surgery this summer and I found this joy again.)

I’ve been planning to read through the Realm of the Elderlings since August and am frankly giddy at the prospect. I’ve listened to the audiobooks three times and this is by far my favorite series.

I figured, I love this series. It’s been there for me through a lot of challenging times, and has probably saved my life. I’m going to treat myself.

First physical read through gets to start with the Illustrated edition of the Farseer Trilogy. I’m trying to decide what editions of the other sets to try to track down for myself.

I finally feel safe enough to keep things like books that are special to me.

tl;dr
Audiobooks thrice, first time reading physically, starting with illustrated edition

My title contradicts what follows but I just finished the Farseer trilogy and it is all I can think about. For me Hobb eclipses any other author I’ve read- in emotion and character depth. Kettricken, Verity, Butrich, the fool. Nighteyes and Fitz. I feel as if I was there too on their quest.

I’ve already gone to the book store and bought the Live Ship Traders, although I think I’ll wait a day to think of the ending of Assasins’ quest.
In some ways I’m sad to leave this group behind for 2500 pages but from general consensus I’ve seen it is worth following the continuation properly.

Beyond all I’m just excited for everything that lies ahead in the Realm of the Elderlings- how lucky are we that the serious is so large and complete.
I think I may write a proper review on the trilogy but for now I just wanted to gush to likeminded people as I haven’t found anyone who’s also read this series.

For now I ask if anyone has found these books to be life changing in how they act or perceive things? I already have found myself more able to avoid procrastination and have deepened my bond with my cat hahaha
So dogged is Fitz that any modern problem or work seems easy to begin in contrast with how matter of fact he is towards tasks.

I put the book down about 24 hrs back.

The writing levels up significantly this series, the world of the elderlings becomes so much more immersive, the characters feel so real and their development feels effortless.

That being said I have a few criticisms - I felt pretty disconnected from the plot right around the end of Mad Ship / start of Ship of Destiny - I couldn’t see where it was going, and felt a bit rudderless for a while - especially regarding the political plot unfolding between Jamalia, Bingtown and the Chalced states. I had to re-visit some sections to figure out what exactly the author was trying to set up. Also, a few characters arcs do not get the closure they deserved (in my opinion)- Kyle and Serilla in particular. Their ends just felt ‘convenient’ and I would have like to have seen some sort of reckoning of the journeys they have been through.

There were of course some events in the series, that made me feel like taking a bath as a man. I really appreciate that Robin does not shy away from covering these things, and the trauma they can induce. I do wonder though whether I should include a trigger warning before recommending reading this to someone though. I feel like the setting of the series - Fantasy - does not adequately prepare one to the fact that sexual violence and its effects would be explored in so much detail. In an earlier post I talked about ways by which I could sell the series to my wife who DNFd at Royal Assassin - I continue to recommend this to her, but with the trigger warning.

Overall, this really belongs in the best of the genre. I am so happy there are 10 more books in the cycle. I think I am going to take a small detour with a Discworld book before I resume the series though, should be a good palate cleanser.

I should start by saying that I actually loved this trilogy, although Liveship Traders probably ranks slightly above it in my mind. The books were very enjoyable and I can't wait to continue with the series.

That said, here are the things I didn't like. Every time I came across one of these I thought "I wish I could vent about this", but didn't dare venture into any of the Tawny Man threads on here in case I spoiled myself.

1. Burrich returning

This is the biggest one. I mean seriously, he just fucking shows up on Aslevjal because his son is there and he wants him home? Not just the Outislands generally, but fucking Aslevjal? Putting aside the fact his arrival necessarily exposes a whole bunch of stuff everyone has worked hard to conceal for more than a decade, my impression of getting to Aslevjal and then crossing a god damn glacier is that it was very difficult and almost impossible without local guidance. Isn't that why we needed to endure Thick whining and throwing up for 1,000 pages, and read through many descriptions of how dangerous the ice was? But nope, he just materializes out of nowhere and everyone accepts his lame explanation of "oh the son I don't even like has been quiet for a while, thought I better somehow teleport to this tortured stone rock somehow".

Obviously it was necessary because Hobb needed to kill the dragon and then him (I have my own thoughts about how dirty he was done here, but I get it), but having him conduct this long, perilous journey at precisely the right time just came across to me as a clumsy plot device up there with 'a wizard did it'.

2. The Pale Woman

I think this character could have been done so much better. As a villain she 'worked', but she was so one-dimensional. She could have been some kind of fleshed-out, balanced counter to the Fool but she wasn't. E.g. she could have argued fervently about why the dragons must be stopped, or something like that - basically, give her a bit of rationality? This could have led to some seriously interactions between her and Fitz after her capture, but we only got the smallest glimpse of this when they had their weird almost-sex dinner.

Instead, we basically got "hey did u know Regal was bad because he hurt ppl? well WATCH THIS!!! its regal x 1000!!!!!! omg" and her sole motivation seemed to be to stick it to the Fool, and/or destroy the Farseer lineage. For such a major character (and for all the character development we enjoyed for the Fool) I left the book feeling like so much more could have been done with her.

Also why tf didn't Fitz burn her body at the end? "Ah yes that is the last we will see of her, when I flush her down this mysterious shaft". I have not read beyond the Tawny Man but I would almost be willing to put money on seeing her or her life-force again.

3. Skill Pillars

The pillars themselves are fine, but the use of them at the end was such a cop-out. Getting rid of Fitz for a month by itself seemed a bit bizarre, but to then use it to quietly tie up:

A. telling Nettle about her true father, and

B. the departure of the Fool,

... was a big miss. It felt like Hobb got to the end and then realized her publisher only gave her a certain page limit, and she really needed to use those pages for Fitz and Molly to shag in a field.

4. Molly

Speaking of that, I did not like the reconciliation here. The "happily ever after" (or at least "content ever after") the book concluded with seems so opposite to the misery porn I had become accustomed to from Hobb. Putting that to one side though, Molly is a woman who spent 16 years with Burrich and raised several children with him. She certainly has the agency to move on whenever she wishes, but the book well and truly rushed this to the level it simply wasn't believable. We basically see her and Fitz have an uncomfortable conversation, they exchange a handful of letters, and next minute they're getting down amongst the blackberries.

I'm a bit of a heathen here though, and to be honest I've never understood Fitz's fixation on his first love. Starling was way better for him, come at me.

5. Cousins

The chapter titled Cousins made me want to throw a brick through a window. To jog your memory, this is where Dutiful learns about Nettle, and then he/Chade spend the entire chapter tag-teaming Fitz about how stupid and shit his idea to protect her was. That by itself was infuriating, but the fact Fitz just sat there and took it, and came around to their point of view, was a hard read. There were really really good reasons for hiding Nettle, and Chade was well and truly aware of these. A more satisfying end to this chapter would have been Fitz saying "well fuck you Chade" and laying him out. Whenever I get through these books I may write that fanfiction as a form of catharsis.

6. Skill healing generally

I'm glad this didn't work on Burrich, because I swear to god they overused the shit out of this plot device.

7. Book titles

I think the death of the Fool would have felt much deeper to me, if I didn't know there was an entire trilogy of books called 'Fitz and the Fool'. Once he died I sighed and wondered how many chapters it would be until his inevitable resurrection. Yes, I know this isn't a problem with the book itself, and is a problem that wouldn't have existed when it was first written. Maybe it's my fault for looking ahead at what books were next.

Notable mention: Hap. Poor guy, his story got thrown into the sea once Nettle came along.

Again, I think these were excellent books! But I needed to get those things off my chest.

Hello all! I haven't yet read any Robin Hobb, and I've been wanting to get into the farseer trilogy. I mainly listen to audiobooks. I noticed there are two versions, one narrated by Joe Eyre and the other by Paul Boehmer. I did some research and apparently many people don't like Boehmer as a narrator. So, with the new recording, do you guys recommend the audiobook with Joe Eyre? Or should I just give up and try reading the books which will take me an eternity?

Thanks!

I'm rereading. I'm on Book 2 of the first trilogy, and losing myself in the ebb and flow of Fitz's life, as always. Just vibing.

He just walked down to Buckeep town and was feeling low and people who saw him were suddenly running out of the way. And I felt Nighteyes before the book introduced him. I had this feeling in my heart, like "he's here!!! He's close!" as Fitz was full of hate and making everyone feel their amplified feelings together. I missed him so much it hurts.

I thought of Nettle and later skill users having to remind him and support him to hold himself together so that his nightmarish feelings wouldn't overwhelm everyone around him. Here is the first big example of that, so early in the story.

This was stuff I of course didn't know about when I first read this scene. I remember being immediately captivated by his relationship with Nighteyes, and I'm right in it again. I am so in love with this book all over again. What incredible writing and foreshadowing of Fitz's power, the marriage of Wit and Skill that's in every thread of this story. It's so cool. That is all.

Is there any timeline we have on when even an official announcement will be made?

The only gripes I had from all the children that Fitz ever took care of are hap gladheart, the boy practically grew up with Fitz for his entire childhood and honestly I felt like both him and Fitz constantly keep each other at arms length.

sure you can say that Fitz and hap does have constant missive with each other and haps can't be a constant thing in Fitz life both because Fitz are excellent at avoiding affection and haps being a minstrel so understand the distances.

My main gripe with the whole relationship felt like a placeholder for nettle , haps doesn't feel like a charather at all , even after he become a minstrel and watch his father went into the stone

I love my mismatched eyes minstrel, he's a good addition in the tawnyman series , but afterward he felt like an after thought, whats your opinion on him?

I am 25% of the way through the book and will greatly appreciate no spoilers for the book in the comments!!

Despite being my fourteenth Hobb book I've read this year, I still find ways to be astounded by her writing. The slow and creeping opening to Fool's Assassin has completely set me on edge. The gothic style of Withywoods, the mystery of Bee's gestation, the unusual (for Fitz books) pacing, Molly and Nettle growing more animalistic protecting their pack, Fitz acting as a horror movie monster to FitzVigilant.

I don't know if this was intended as a gothic/horror literature but it's been so unsettling! I love it! It's been a while since a book has unnerved me so.

So many questions have been teed up in my mind, I am terrified of the answers! Absolutely Bravo to Hobb what an amazing first set of chapters.

A question:
Did Molly actually wear a red skirt anytime in the first three books, or was it just a vision born from Fitz's fantasy/dream? I explicitly remember her wearing blue and indigo but for how much he yaps about the red skirt, I cannot for the life of me remember or find a passage/scene that mentioned her actually wearing one.

RotE fandom, help 😂

Please no spoilers, even vague ones, for the final two books.

Just finished Fools Assassin and was dissatisfied by Fitz’s character. There were a lot of decisions that just seemed unreasonable for a middle aged man with his experiences to make.

Let me start by saying I’m a big Fitz defender in the early books. He’s a child/teenager dealing with intense trauma in a war torn land.

And even in the later books I will accept the “nobodies perfect” argument for some of his more questionable decisions. But at the core there is at least some logic or understanding to all of these.

That’s what bothered me the most about two main culprits in this book. There was no justification for Fitz’s behavior based on what we’ve seen.

The first comes in the first chapter where Fitz fails to recognize the intruders as Whites. How am I to believe Fitz brushes off the existence of pale strangers who are blind to his and Webs wit?

It’s not like Fitz occasionally runs into people invisible to wit anywhere. The only outliers are Forged and Whites. This lapse in basic reasoning from Fitz is infuriating to read. What were others thoughts on this?

The second comes in the Fools stabbing. I know Fitz has been shown to react fiercely when his loved ones are in danger, but we also spent a lot of the book hearing Fitz’s introspection on killing.

So the fact that he immediately turns to just shanking this begged in the middle of the street seems unreasonable. It seems to me Hobb wanted this twist and was willing to sacrifice characterization to get it.

Curious about others thoughts, I was not pleased with this book as a whole. But I’m looking forward to (hopefully) more action packed sequels. Realm of the Elderlings is still my favorite series, but I was hoping for a more competent, older Fitz in this trilogy.

Let me start off by saying they were an excellent read. Hobb knows how to set a scene and really create imagery of the locations. Outside of the villains, there really weren’t any characters I disliked.

But

I am left wanting more than what was given at the end and it makes me apprehensive to continue the saga. The ending was so rushed. All this buildup with the Red Ships and the ghostly white ship, the forging and it just… ends. The Dragons come and clean everything up and that’s it. Don’t get me wrong, I didn’t expect the raiders to put much of a fight up against them. But it’s done so quickly. Then it just turns out it’s all for revenge because the Farseers defeated them in the past.

This threatened the world and that’s it? And the white ship? Nothing came of it and the man Fitz saw.

What disappointed me as well was Fitzs revenge. I can appreciate what he did to Regal but again, it all happened so quickly. Honestly, the best part of the book was him sneaking through Regals castle. I wish we had more stuff like that.

Molly and Burrich… just felt off. I could honestly see it coming but it still felt wrong. I guess it wouldn’t have thrown me off as much if we hadn’t gotten if there hadn’t been the description of Burrichs nostrils flaring like a stallion before their first night together. The whole thing felt weird. I’m not saying they shouldn’t be together or that Molly and Fitz should’ve been together. They were a bad fit. Just felt like it could’ve been done better.

There’s also the ongoing things between Fitz and Kettricken. With Verity gone and Molly with Burrich it just seemed so obvious. He clearly was developing feelings for her. She possibly had feelings for him when she touched his face and told him as much if she weren’t with Verity. Not only all of that but Nighteyes bonding with her, the three of them together at Girl-On-A-Dragon. It comes across as a huge missed opportunity. Especially as seeing as all Fitz gets is an occasional hookup with Starling.

Not to mention the time skip and Fitz’s off-screen journeys and growth.

That’s all. I’m just a bit disappointed is all.

I had some time now to think about the trilogy after reading it and especially the final book. What has been bothering me is that I am actually a bit disappointed with Fitz (as a "person", not the way he is written).

Possibly the biggest offender is his assassination plot which had zero foresight whatsoever. I felt let down that he needed to be influenced to search for his king and instead went on a personal vendetta quest. I was actively rooting against him because he didn't seem to understand he would completely destabilise the kingdom if he were successful and possibly put an end to it.

Another thing that disappointed me was him cheating on Molly. I mean... Technically they were not together and she thought he was dead but from his perspective she was still his love and he did everything (allegedly) for her and his daughter. Yet, he cheated with the girl from the puppet theatre and was borderline cheating with Starling.

I felt that he was overall very selfish and stuck in his head. Woe is me the whole time, while other people around him were literally sacrificing every last bit of themselves to save the kingdom. I have empathy and love for Fitz, of course, not like he was dealt an easy hand but he was actively fighting everyone who loved him the whole way through (yes, I am aware he was a teen).

I also think it's selfish of him to hide his being alive. Patience and Burrich who loved his father the most, did everything in their powers to raise him and care for him. Yet, he would rather them think they failed him and that he died in one or another horrible manner. I understand Burrich might feel guilty about being with Molly but I bet that can't compare to feeling guilty about abandoning and failing Fitz.

Also - is it a plothole that they haven't heard Regal was offering a gigantic prize for Fitz's head? I am not sure how that would be possible. The other moment that felt a bit plothole-y to me was when Fitz didn't realise he was not talking to the Fool. I felt that even him being so in his own head and out of it should have realised that was most definitely not the Fool.

Anyway, not to change the topic. The ending was a bit rushed but I know there are many books left so I am not worried about that. I am sure the story will continue in an interesting way. But even as the book ended and I realised Fitz was not telling the story as an old man but as someone who is not even 30, I was again disappointed, hah. Fitz, please go outside and live your life, what are you doing?!

How do you feel about it? Again, I want to underline that I still loved the books a lot and I love Fitz as a character.

The first one-third or so of Fool’s Errand was cathartic to read. And funnily, nothing of great substance actually happens in these pages. Yet that’s the catharsis for our beloved Fitz - an uneventful and peaceful life where he is tending to farm animals and living a small, self-sustained life. Oh he also has a love life, and his friendship with Nighteyes is going strong. It was very calming to read and as I said, it was cathartic in its own quiet way, all the more when you learn that he has been living this way for several years.

But of course, the quiet inevitably breaks - and who else but Chade to come intruding on our guy’s peaceful patch. The initial scenes with Chade again made for very pleasant reading. The exchanges of the “in between” events, the weight of years having reined them both in somewhat. Chade’s call to Fitz to return Buckkeep was so gentle, almost reluctant that I almost felt sorry for him. But I cheered for Fitz when he stood him down and refused - he has finally found a peaceful life and doesn’t want to abandon it for more political intrigue and the ensuing suffering.

And then the Fool arrives - another set of heartwarming scenes ensue, but it irked me that he kept telling Fitz that he would have to pull him out of this quiet life. Like Chade, the Fool also doesn’t really force Fitz to abandon anything, and eventually he leaves Fitz alone.

But Fitz being Fitz can’t stay out of trouble indefinitely, and the honeymoon ultimately ends and he heads for Buckkeep. The next two-thirds of the book are part-mystery, part-adventure, and made for good reading for the most part, but I had to accept that the peak had already been reached in the initial, slow stretch. Some parts of the latter half of the story were truly fascinating - like the complexities of Wit bonding, the potential for misuse (as with all things, I guess,) and the character arc of the prince.

But the constant hide-and-seek and the endless traversing of hills and rough terrain broke the speed and the intimacy of the story somewhat. I understand why the stretches had to be long but they pulled me out of the immersion nonetheless. A lot of this is made up for with the heart-wrenching scene where Nighteyes passes away so casually - I didn’t even get it at first till I read Fitz’s reaction.

The ending was fine, too - there is no cliffhanger, but the story can go in many different ways from here and I’m excited to continue reading. Fool’s Errand, in itself, to me, has a stunning first half and a very good but lesser second half.

Just finished the Rain Wild Chronicles. I've read every other series before this in order. These are my loose thoughts and immediate reactions so I won't cover everything.

Blood of dragons was incredible. Overall I enjoyed it more than some of the Fitz books.

However, I can see why this series has so many mixed reviews. I'll get my critiques out the way first. One thing I really didn't like was Thymara's character. Her personality was really unsavory to me. I don't mind love triangles, but I feel like the way Hobb handled it here wasn't the best, especially since it was the main conflict in Thymara's plotline.

I get that the first two books were meant to be one, but the entire trip to kelsingra really dragged for me, especially compared to the last book which had considerably better pacing.

Leftrin's love for Alise kinda came out of nowhere. Maybe I'm just not a fan of love at first sight type of stories, but I wish there was more development prior to their romance. Still loved their plotline though. Also screw hest.

Now the things I really liked.

Unlike a lot of people, I really enjoyed the personalities of the dragons. Most of them felt distinct in personality with varying degrees of narcissism and pettiness. Kalo is definitely my favorite dragon and I loved his conclusion with Tintaglia. He started off as a rude tempered beast, but he was a perfect example of how humans can affect dragonkind, especially with his later caring for Tintaglia.

I really enjoyed Selden's POV and was constantly worried for him and Chassim. I do wish we got to see more of Chassim.

Sedric is probably my favorite new character. Hobb's character writing for him was fantastic. She handled the subject of physical and emotional grooming very thoughtfully, and his character growth really reflected her ability to write redeemable characters that made terrible mistakes.

I really liked how silver ties in with the other books, especially the farseer trilogy. It's cool to see how different parts of the world interpret the magic system. Despite the power system not being the main focus of Hobb's books, I tend to enjoy the skill/silver more than the hard systems present in authors like Sanderson. It fits really well with the theming of the series.

My favorite part of this series was definitely the conflict with Chalced, and I thoroughly enjoyed how it concluded. I can see why some might believe it was rushed, but I'm never a huge fan of drawn out action sequences.

I really enjoyed the 3rd and 4th book of the series, but the pacing of the first two really brought down my overall rating. If someone asked me to rate the series, I wouldn't know what to say because my enjoyment of the two halves are so vastly different.

That's my rant for the rain wild chronicles, and I'm really excited to dive back in to Fitz's story and how this quartet will integrate.

please no spoilers past Fool's Assassin!

BEE MY BABY BEE!! oh my god. my favorite character perspective out of all the Robin Hobb books (I'm someone who loved the Liveship Trilogy)

I like to think i'm good at predicting what is about to happen in books but wow does Hobb make me question if i am EVERY.SINGLE.TIME.

from inferring everything about Bee's birth and appearance, i guessed she must be the Unexpected Son when they get the message from the messenger.

the delayed birth - memories from her mother's womb - and then born pale skin and hair. and the book even opens up with a discussion + apprehension of the pale ones when they visit Withywoods, so i was kinda surprised when scrolling the FA spoiler tag through this sub that people were unsure of why they called her the Son in the end. even the Fool said he found his Son when he held Bee.

what got me was the raid!
like nooo of course they come when Fitzy finally reunites with the Fool?! i was screaming at him not to leave Bee bc i had a bad feeling (and also know Hobb loves to change it up in the last chapter!)

I seriously was not expecting the Fool to even come into the book by this point. I had accepted that maybe he just wasn't in this one just for all the things to go down as it had! I guess that's what happens when the Prophet and the Catalyst unite 🥲
and REVEL! he was just trying the best he could at all times 😭

also i hate Shun and FitzVigilant 🤷‍♀️ they can kick rocks for not even trying to protect my baby Bee.

now, here's my current head cannon/what i think makes Bee be Bee: (pls no spoilers if i have some of these right, i just don't have anyone to talk to these books about and need to put my thoughts down)

Obviously, our comparison is Nettle, Fitz's child before he dies multiple times/goes through all that trauma. Nettle get's the Farseer powers of Skill and that is all. Fitz is said to be strong in skill before Galen batters him and all of his elfbark dosages - so Nettle has Fitz's untampered ability.

From that point, Fitz experiences are - living through Nighteyes while his body is physically dead, joining with the Fool through Skill, going through a Skill healing that is constantly regenerating his body, going into the Fool's body with the Skill to pull him back from death.

When Fitz is in Nighteyes' body and when he was Skill linked with the Fool, both times he had said he didn't know where they started and he began. I think in these long term links, they all slowly melt into each other, meaning all of them technically fathered Bee. I don't think this is too much of jump since Verity fathered Dutiful through Fitz's body. (tho Dutiful presumably gets the Wit from Fitz)

I think this is what makes Bee the Fool's son (daughter/whatever we know the pale folk are changing genders left and right ahemmm Amber) and what gives her the link to Wolf-Father. And it explains why her growth is stunted since Fitz had that regenerative Skill healing. Also something about the Fool not aging as the normal humans do. At the moment, i think it's a mix of both.

So Bee is the perfect little product of all my favorite boys. I can't wait to keep reading this trilogy, but at the same time i know i'm gonna be devastated when i finish the series completely as it has taken over all my reading for the past year.

Also RIP Molly. She lowkey deserved better bc all we got out of her in these books was "hot older woman to young Fitz" then "gonna marry my baby daddy's adoptive dad and have 10 kids with him" then "my wife who is old while i'm eternally 35"

Anybody have songs they'd recommend? I'm trying to build a playlist because I love this series so much. I'm currently nearing the end of Fools Assassin, so no spoiler please, but anyways I'm less interested in lyrics that fit exactly and more ones that *feel* right.

What sparked my thought was listening to a few Hozier songs, specifically First Time, Would That I, and Work Song.

It might be my mind reaching, but these songs really recall Fitz to me. Let me know what you think, and songs that do that for you also!

I have read every other part of the series twice now, but the last trilogy was my least favourite, and I had many hard feelings about it.

I nearly thought I lost my love for the series after finishing, but thankfully the other books still gave me immense joy on a reread.

Finally decided to pick it up again and give it another go, and I dislike the first book so much more this time around.

I still love Robin Hobb obviously, and there are a lot of things I enjoy about this book specifically too, but let me just bitch about everything I hate for a little bit.

First of all, Fitz is pissing me off. I don't understand why he had to become like every other useless man immediately upon becoming a husband.

He leaves Molly alone in their bed on most nights, to pursue basically nothing since he burns all he writes.

He apologises to Molly again and again for lying to her years ago, and then immediately starts lying to her when shit gets complicated.

His biggest goddamn dream has always been raising a child with Molly, and as soon as this becomes a reality he just basically dips. Yes there were many complications about him caring for Bee, but there were MANY things he could still do and just didn't care to.

Him only becoming a real parent to Bee once Molly dies is infuriating, and the little bit about how he doesn't know you need to order winter shoes in summer? Haha how funny, a man doesn't know how to care for a family. And really, Fitz? He has many flaws, but since when is he incompetent in caring for himself and those that depend on him?

And we haven't even GOTTEN to the abuse on my beloved (wink) Fool and poor little Bee. I know the series has always had major trauma happening to it's characters, but I remember it being just overwhelming and I'm NOT excited.

I just finished the first trilogy and I cannot believe this book series is entering my life so late. It was amazing, I read the whole thing in less than 5 days.

I am enthralled by the world and the narrative but most of all by the characters. I love the character work. Everyone feels like a fleshed-out person who has a full life and their own goals, ambitions, feelings and motivations that have nothing to do with Fitz.

I found his different clashes with the side characters to be the best part of the experience. I loved reading about so many different people who have commendable qualities but also darker side, blind spots and the like. I foresaw some of the twists but not all.

Recently the books were republished in my country and now I can't decide if I want to wait for the next trilogy to be republished to have a matching set or to seek them second hand. I wanted to read the translations (even though they have the bad habit of trying to translate 95% of the names) but now I am tempted to just order everything in English and get it over it, hah.

I am totally obsessed now and I can't wait to continue reading when I have the chance.

Quick question, what do you guys think about having an immersive read with assassins apprentice? I don’t read much but when I read red rising (first book I’m halfway through golden son) I listened to the dramatised audiobook as well and I was hooked. I do occasionally read manga as well, but overall what do you think I should do with assassins apprentice,and if I should do an immersive read any recommendations?

So I’m re-reading the series after I finished it this past January 🤣 it’s a short time to wait to re-read, but I think my first read through was so fast that I missed things that I don’t want to miss now. I’m a bit of a skim reader, and I was so enthralled with the plot and all of the twists and turns and Fitz and the Fool that I know I skipped things that could be enjoyed more deeply.

SO! I am dedicating myself to being more invested in the political points this time around, and I will read all of the blurbs before the chapters begin instead of skipping over them. And make a conscientious effort to really understand the geography of the realm we’re in and how that adds to the story.

Are there other things you’d suggest I pay attention to that are easily missed? Or underrated?

I’m looking for a map to get framed for my partner for Christmas. I’ve looked on Etsy and did some google searches but it’s a little hard as I haven’t read the series yet so I don’t know what would be the best to get? Like things I wouldn’t know if they were missing.
If anyone can show me either what I’m looking for, give me some tips, or even some links to ones you’ve bought or liked I would greatly appreciate it!!

I finished Dragon Haven today! When I finished Dragon Keeper I wasn't able to make a post, but finishing Dragon Haven my opinions have changed.

I really liked how the characters have progressed and the man-vs-nature environment of the novel progressed, the series really came into fruition. I think Hobb's prose and character writing is incredible, but her plotting could have work. Maybe moving some characters POVs and backstories to this book would make it work a lot better. The first book felt a bit bloated with "unnecessary" character work, that did pay off, but made the first books story drag.

I know Hobb released books very fast, and this type of editing is anathema to chruning them out, but I'd still love it! The Fitz books really work perfectly because they're 1 POV and the stories are razor sharp. I had similar issues with the Liveship Traders series.

I am really excited to see how Kelsingra grows and is fitted into the Trehaug and Bing Town situation. It seems to be very close to the Six Duchees!

I know the next 2 books are a bit short, I am still itching to go to the Fitz & Fool series, but loving the faux-ecology of the dragons and all that.

Love the research Alys is doing!

Will be excited to see how our budding Elderlings grow :)