Joey Crows Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 Just bought Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb. First time reading any of her work, but I've heard good things about this series. Any thoughts on the first book or the Trilogy as a whole? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The BlackBear Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 8 minutes ago, Joey Crows said: Just bought Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb. First time reading any of her work, but I've heard good things about this series. Any thoughts on the first book or the Trilogy as a whole? They're exceptional. My favourite thing is that, whilst Fitz's life is pretty much a never ending string of disasters, the world never seems that bleak, there's a love of life in the books that's really captivating. Also it isn't just a trilogy, there are five trilogies at this point, each leading on from the last, it's worldbuilding at it's absolute finest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Crows Posted December 19, 2018 Author Share Posted December 19, 2018 1 minute ago, The BlackBear said: They're exceptional. My favourite thing is that, whilst Fitz's life is pretty much a never ending string of disasters, the world never seems that bleak, there's a love of life in the books that's really captivating. Also it isn't just a trilogy, there are five trilogies at this point, each leading on from the last, it's worldbuilding at it's absolute finest. That's great to hear. Thanks! Thoughts on the level of fantasy vs. grounded story elements in the series? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The BlackBear Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 25 minutes ago, Joey Crows said: That's great to hear. Thanks! Thoughts on the level of fantasy vs. grounded story elements in the series? Pretty grounded really, there is magic, but it isn't like you have D&D wizards running around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esmenet Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 Only Hobb I've read so far is AA, I loved it. Plan to jump back in soon enough. There is a lot of character dynamic throughout the book that really made it seem suspenseful and added mystery and depth. Would recommend to anyone. I can see how Hobb has kept the story growing. Fitz is just a teenager in the first book and the world seems to have so much to explore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HexMachina Posted December 19, 2018 Share Posted December 19, 2018 There is a dedicated realm of the Elderlings thread actually. In terms of realism/fantasy, I would say the magical elements are less than ASOIAF but still present and play important plot roles. Always handled well imo though, it’s never really out of the blue WTF. Lots of politics and double crossings, plenty of nuance. Strong world building and characters. Beautiful writing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 Robin Hobb is best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myshkin Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 You’ll either love it or think Fitz is a whiny asshole. There’s really no in-between. But even if you hate Fitz you should still continue on to the Liveship Traders trilogy; Fitz isn’t in it, and it’s just an all-around better series. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LongRider Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 I liked LST better as well, and even enjoyed THE RAIN WILD CHRONICLES. She has some great characters, human, mostly human, dragons and animals. Good stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kuenjato Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 First two books are pretty good, though the title of the series is rather misleading, as there is very little "assassinating" going on. Lots of emotional porn, if that's your thing. The third book cranks this to 11 and is a major travelquest/woe-is-me slog, to the point that I checked out on reading future books. It has massive appeal to a select audience, which isn't me. Fairly well written for the genre. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 Blasphemy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Inkdaub Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 You should read all of Hobb's books, but I'm another one who prefers Liveship Traders over the Farseer stuff. They are all good, though. I liked Soldier Son as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkynJay Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 I loved the first trilogy over all but can be counted as one of those who didn't really like the third book. But Liveship Traders was amazing and Tawny Man was great from start to finish. So I can forgive one book being not quite as good as the other nine I have read. Hoping to read Rain Wild early next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The BlackBear Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 13 minutes ago, SkynJay said: Hoping to read Rain Wild early next year. Rain Wilds is easily my least favourite, primarily because of the characters, they're all navel gazers, the teenagers because they're naive teenagers, and the dragons because they're fucked up dragons. I finished it and liked what they brought to the world, and to see the Liveship characters a bit more, but found it a real slog. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joey Crows Posted December 20, 2018 Author Share Posted December 20, 2018 Thanks for all the info! Looking forward to diving in (as soon as I finish Fire & Blood haha). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedEyedGhost Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 If you've ever wanted to know how to tear a book in half, read the second book of the Soldier Son trilogy. It will come to you instinctively. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Which Tyler Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 18 hours ago, Myshkin said: You’ll either love it or think Fitz is a whiny asshole. There’s really no in-between. But even if you hate Fitz you should still continue on to the Liveship Traders trilogy; Fitz isn’t in it, and it’s just an all-around better series. Be fair, there's a huge middle ground of people who love it AND think that Fitz is a whiny arsehole. After all, he absolutely is a whiney arsehole, and books are fantastic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bastard of Bournemouth Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 Fitz is definitely self-absorbed, but he's a veritable Mr Spock when compared to Althea and Malta! Hobb always keeps at least one eye firmly on the navel, but she also crafts brilliant worlds, and rewarding plots - if you stick with them. In my youth I regularly cried at the end of books, and hardly ever do so now, but the end of Assassin's fate - the last Fitz and the Fool novel - had me in bits. Much of that might be ascribed to the emotional investment of reading eight previous Fitz/Fool novels, but I choked up again when listening to the audio book months later. I thought it was absolutely beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigei Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 On 12/20/2018 at 1:54 PM, kuenjato said: First two books are pretty good, though the title of the series is rather misleading, as there is very little "assassinating" going on. Lots of emotional porn, if that's your thing. The third book cranks this to 11 and is a major travelquest/woe-is-me slog, to the point that I checked out on reading future books. It has massive appeal to a select audience, which isn't me. Fairly well written for the genre. Really? I seem to remember a metric ton of assassinations. Mostly poisoning. There was that one time Fitz basically just went around all over the place poisoning people. And Rurisk was an on-screen assassination. Also, Fitz was the target of assassination twice (during the skill test and at the very end). His father Chivalry was also assassinated, wasn't he?, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derfel Cadarn Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 2 hours ago, Gigei said: Really? Reveal hidden contents I seem to remember a metric ton of assassinations. Mostly poisoning. There was that one time Fitz basically just went around all over the place poisoning people. And Rurisk was an on-screen assassination. Also, Fitz was the target of assassination twice (during the skill test and at the very end). His father Chivalry was also assassinated, wasn't he?, If it's not done with a hidden blade that succeeds in keeping the victim alive long enough to engage in a philosophical back-and-forth, then it doesn't count. Also, Fitz never does an eagle leap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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