Opinions: Robin Hobb's Farseer World/Fiction

[JoeGKushner]

Well, I justed finished the Farseer Trilogy. I enjoyed it. Thought the third book, especially the ending, a little rushed.

I own the Live Ship series but haven't read it yet and was looking at the Tawny Man (?) series which has the main character (Fitza) from the first series.

Words of advice? Good? bad?

 

[Olive]

I think Hobb has dificulty finishing a series. I loved the first series, right up until the 3rd book. The first book was fantastic.

I hated the intro to the first liveship book, but really enjoyed the eries once I got past that.

I really have to tell you that you need to read the liveship books before the farseer ones. They are conected, more heavily than you realise until later.

I think that Hobbis good value, and I'd encourage people to give them a gho. It's a shame they start better than they continue. I do liek the Fitz character though, ven if I like him less as the books go on.

 

[Belen]

I just finished the new tawny man trilogy and I loved it! It was a very good read. I never read the liveship series, but I think that I may now that you see some of the big picture in the last trilogy.

 

[GSHamster]

I thoroughly enjoyed all the three series.

However, you should read the Liveship series before the Tawny Man series. It's like a trilogy of trilogies, and the Tawny Man series finishes everything.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

I've read only the liveship trilogy. I liked the first book, became skeptical when the second book (I think) featured the gratuitous rape of a new minor character, and then lost all enjoyment in the third book with the gratuitous rape of a major character who was then disbelieved, saw her rapist idolized and redeemed in death and then had the trauma "resolved" in the most insulting and demeaning way possible. Since I despise authors who 'punish' me for becoming emotionaly invested in a story, I won't be reading any more Hobb. Many people don't feel the same way about things like that, though, so I can't dis the books for everyone.

The books did have many very interesting ideas, some minor plot holes and a lot of very convinient convergence. Wizard wood in particular was an interesting concept which I have adapted to a couple of campaigns as Soul Stone with a similarly themed but different twist on its origen.

Kahuna Burger

 

[nikolai]

I have read the first two books of the Tawny Man series. And I then went back to the Assassin series and am now on the third book (Quest). For the record I had no problems starting on the Tawny Man series - though I was let in on some of what happened in the earlier trilogy.

I am stunned by the Assassin Series. The first and second books (the first in particular) were absolutely fantastic. I think the quality does dip off in the third, from what I've read of it. Assassin's Apprentice in particularly was terrific. I've read a lot of "growing up in a castle" fantasy books, a variation of The Lord of the Rings meets The Sword in the Stone is very common in lots of fantasy. Hobb manages to get it right, when most other miss the target.

The Tawny Man series (at least the first two books) doesn't reach the heights of the Assassin series, and takes some time to get going. But they are also good.

I've read only the liveship trilogy. I liked the first book... and then lost all enjoyment in the third book

[snip]

I won't be reading any more Hobb. Many people don't feel the same way about things like that, though, so I can't dis the books for everyone.

I have not read the Liveship trilogy. The idea of sentient ships doesn't appeal to me. I'd suggest you consider reading Assassin's Apprentice though. It really is exceptional.

 

[Particle_Man]

I liked the Hobbs trilogies. The assassin's one was the best, although it fell off a bit at the end of the third one. The liveship traders one suffered a bit with too many viewpoints, one of which was frankly a villain, and although I am not as anti- as KB on the liveship books, I think it was the weakest of the trilogies.

The tawny man was good, and had a few plot twists I was not expecting, even in the third book. I would suggest going straight from the assassin series to the tawny man series.

That said, I predict that there could be a fourth trilogy, going back to the liveships or starting in the slave lands.

 

[EricNoah]

Liked them all, and it's definitely worth reading the Liveship ones to get you ready for that last trilogy.

 

[Kahuna Burger]

The liveship traders one suffered a bit with too many viewpoints, one of which was frankly a villain,

His perspective was somewhat interesting, simply because the guy was so obviously a psycho. I liked his talisman which seemed

Spoiler

to be him, but without whatever chemical imballance made him the way he was. Like it had absorbed all his memories but placed them in a sane context.

Still, there were several characters I could have done without POV from.

Kahuna Burger

 

[JoeGKushner]

Well, sounds like the Liveship traders it is then.

I liked all three books in the Farseer series. I think Fritz was a bit of a whiner, but liked how they had some plot twists with that elf drug at the end there. Some of the writing was a little too obvious in foreshadowing (I think I picked like three big ones in book two that happened in book three) but I enjoyed it. The ending of the third book though... it's like he said, "Well, we're going to take 100 pages worth of material and make it... 15. Yeah, that should cover it."