Robin Hobb

[Badqueen]

I thought id start a thread to talk about the work of robin hobb (and any of her other work published under her other names if you like)

Favourite trilogy? For me it's the Liveships. Id never read anything like it. The way she weaves everything together was a cut above any fantasy id read before. Favourite book though - assassins apprentice because it's where it all started. Favourite character? Who else but the beloved fool?!

Any more fangirls here want to chat?

I do think they need to be read in the correct order. There's crossover in all 5 series. You won't understand the final Assassin series fully without reading Liveships or Rain Wilds. I'm sure they'll still be fantastic stories but you'll be missing some layers.

I was fortunate enough to read them in the right order.

oh how I wept at the end.

Yeah when I was reading the Liveships and Rainwilds one I kept going "Oh so that's why...!" and "ahh now I see!". If I could go back in time I'd read them in the correct order but nevermind.

I confess I did the same. I'm not very emotional usually, but I think they started, and were released, and I'd been reading them, over an approx 20 year period until the conclusion.

Though a quick Google search says RH hasn't ruled out another visit to the Realm of the Elderlings. That would be interesting.

I've just downloaded a kindle sample of the Tad Williams. Thanks!

I think I could be persuaded to read Assassins Apprentice, as I said, but I couldn't revisit any Dragonlance, or Salvatore, or any of that sort of thing. As much as I enjoyed them at the time!

I cried so often when reading the last series, my OH thought I was going nuts. He only reads non fiction so the idea of losing yourself so thoroughly in a fictional world that you genuinely mourn characters is a total mystery to him. I cried myself sick when we parted ways with Nighteyes...

Oh hello new friends!

Yes lady patience is such a great character. She genuinely loved fitz so much.

The only fantasy I've found that comes anywhere close to RH for me is Uprooted by Naomi Novik. That's a gorgeous book.

Ooh I've not read that one.
Has anyone read Scott Lynch "The lies of Locke Lamora"? I quite enjoyed it.

Hello, I have found my people!

Love Robin Hobb. I read the Liveships trilogy first and then went back to the first three but don't think I missed too much reading them in that order. I then went on to read the others in the right order. I have the Rain Wilds Chronicles in hardback - loved them. (I didn't enjoy the Soldier Son trilogy nearly so much, in fact I don't think I ever finished it.)

I also really love Naomi Novik and enjoyed the Scott Lynch Locke Lamora trilogy. Anybody else a fan of Patrick Rothfuss "The Name of the Wind"? Sadly he hasn't written the third book yet so be warned!

The other author I really enjoy is Guy Gavriel Kay though his more recent books are less "fantasy" and more "a quarter turn to the fantastic" - hard to describe but very well written. Most of them are stand alone though his most recent three are set in the same world.

This thread has made me want to go back and read RH's books from the beginning but I don't have all of them, some I got from the library. I remember buying the last one on kindle so I could easily take it on holiday and reading it on the plane and trying not to cry with my children looking at me wondering what on earth I was reading - that must have been five years ago!

Glad to meet another Rain Wild chronicles fan!
Soldiers Son is worth finishing, or was, for me. I almost gave up after the 2nd book, I so hated what RH had done to Nevare. I won't spoil it!

I remember Guy Gabriel Kay! The Fionavar Trilogy is the series I read.

These books are a part of me. I read the first one as a teen and have grown with them. Reading this thread beings back the devastation of finishing the last in the trilogy and realising the world was over... 4 times so far. Each time I haven't seen how there can possibly be another one as good again.

I would second Scott lynch and Patrick rothfoss (despite it the fact it will never be finished, the journey is more than the destination). I will also add less well known Carol berg lighthouse trilogy

The first rothfuss, name of the wind i thought was incredible. The second one was absolutely terrible - it was like bad fan fiction. Seem to remember the main character had a lot of sex with a fairy or something? But he will never finish the trilogy in any event.

I had all the liveships and the assassin trilogies with the John howe covers. God they are beautiful. Well, they were. They've been read so much they've pretty much had it so now I've got them all on Kindle 😆

I love a bit of beachcombing and every time i imagine I'm on the Others beach. I could read a whole book just about that to be honest!

Oh yes, the treasure Beach. I'd like a rummage round Rain Wilds Street in Bingtown too. I'd love to explore Kelsingra the most though, as long as I didn't drown in memories, so I'd need to be an elderling

I had to name change due to the latest data breach. 🙄i just restarted assassins apprentice this morning, forgot how much i love her writing style. Plenty of description but it's not too much, she gives you a flavour of a place and let's you fill in the gaps yourself. If only i could go back and read them all again for the first time!

Me too, Badqueeen. Although I puck up more about the characters each read, so the books just get richer over time (for me anyway).

I am such a Robin Hobb fan. I have all the Fitz books, and the first and last I have signed after she did a signing tour of the UK several years ago.

I love Fitz dearly, even though he's not as clever as he thinks he is. Nighteyes is probably my favourite character, but there are so MANY to choose from. The Liveship series I love more with each reading, it's so much more entwined with the Farseer books than it appears the first time around.

Second the recommendations for Patrick Rothfuss and Scott Lynch. Both of those have books still outstanding that have been a long time waiting, though.

If you fancy something darker/more violent, then read Joe Abercrombie and Mark Lawrence. Absolutely superb writers. Abercrombie in particular is excellent at characterisation.

I've read some Joe Abercrombie, and enjoyed them a lot. Definitely darker.

Has anyone read the Painted Man series by Peter V Brett? I've got the final book sitting waiting on my kindle, but I need to speed read the previous books again first, just to refresh my memory.

I also picked up the Left Hand of God series by Paul Hoffman in a charity shop and they were fairly entertaining, if a little confusing as so many of the names they use are places in our world. I'm not sure if it's set in a dystopian future or just an author who couldn't think of new names.

I intensely disliked The Painted Man. It felt like the author thought he was feminist but the feel was rather misogynist. Very jarring to read!

Left hand of God I read a long time ago. No idea if I even still have it or not 😂

I have read some Joe Abercrombie, I really enjoyed his slightly more YA trilogy Shattered Sea - first one is "Half a King" - not quite as dark as some of his other stuff.

I hadn't realised that there was supposed to be a 4th book in Scott Lynch's series, seems that I shouldn't hold my breath for it though!

The Fionavar Tapestry trilogy is Guy Gavriel Kay's most high fantasy (Tolkienesque) stuff (dwarfs, wizards etc). For one of his stand alone books I would recommend trying Tigana or A Song for Arbonne or The Lions of Al-Rassan but they are all good.

I've found my people! 😀Not read through Robin Hobb for a couple of years, but wow. She is a magnificent writer. I think I read out of order the first time, but my most recent was in order.

As for why I haven't re-read in a while (other than having kids) is mostly due to the prolific writing of Brandon Sanderson. Also working my way through Kristen Cashore and Leigh Bardugo.

I hate to say it, but the final book of The Painted Man series is genuinely bad. I might give The Desert Prince a chance, but The Core was such a let down.... It's a shame, but the series should have stuck to a trilogy. 5 is just too slow and too much padding.

Oh I love Robin Hobb! The illustrations in the recent hardback editions were done by Magali Villeneuve, an artist who also draws card art for magic the gathering (also happens to be one of my favourite mtg artists!). My DH took the book along with him to the last in person event before covid and got it signed by her so now I love my book even more!

I discovered Robin Hobb thanks to a thread on Mumsnet around 4 or 5 years ago (I discovered Peter Brett’s Demon Cycle the same way). I absolutely adore the world she has created and, like others, love it when one series has references to the events or characters from another. I enjoyed all of the Realm of the Elderlings books but I think I liked the Rain Wilds chronicles least - nothing wrong with them, but they grabbed me less than the others. I’ve never fancied the Soldiers Son trilogy and it sounds from this thread as though I’m not desperately missing out!

The Core really was terrible wasn't it. I'll give the series a reread in a few years to see if it improves as I mature.

The Core is terrible? Bugger, I was hoping for a satisfying ending. Oh well, I've bought it so I'll read it, but forwarned and all that...