JoannaL Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 The fact that nothing happens *and it is still interesting to read about* is why Hobb is such a fantastic writer. She can write a scene about people making tea, or arranging marriages, or whatever, and it is all 100% engaging. She's so great at creating characters you don't mind following them around their daily lives.Hobb is, I think, bar none the best character-author of modern fantasy writers. :agree: Actually she is much better at writing about nothing , like in Golden Fool -my favourite- than when she tries to advance the plot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pita Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 She wrote the second best series ending ever in Assassin trilogy, and one of the worst in Tawny Man. It pissed me off so much.But I think what people have said here sums up what I think: She's a brilliant author because she has you invest in her story and characters, and mostly, it pays off. She's a horrible author because of the times it doesn't. Like Fool's Fucking Fate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 Like Fool's Fucking Fate.Wonderful book, really very very good. One of the best books written this decade in the genre, it was a supreme culmination of the pevious 5 books' storyline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shryke Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 Wonderful book, really very very good. One of the best books written this decade in the genre, it was a supreme culmination of the pevious 5 books' storyline.It was terrible and even more completely fucking awful in light of the way it destroys the good stuff in previous books she'd done.The Tawny Man trilogy reads like fan fiction written by a Fitz/Fool-shipper.Even Soldier Son was better then that hunk of ass. It's a series destroyer that puts even TtH's to shame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortstark Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 It was terrible and even more completely fucking awful in light of the way it destroys the good stuff in previous books she'd done.The Tawny Man trilogy reads like fan fiction written by a Fitz/Fool-shipper.Even Soldier Son was better then that hunk of ass. It's a series destroyer that puts even TtH's to shame.Well the ending was kind of terrible, but the majority of the book was great imo.Saying all that though i could have lived happily without the tawny man trilogy, because assasins trilogy ending was the best ending ever, it should have remained that way..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liffguard Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 It was terrible and even more completely fucking awful in light of the way it destroys the good stuff in previous books she'd done.The Tawny Man trilogy reads like fan fiction written by a Fitz/Fool-shipper.Even Soldier Son was better then that hunk of ass. It's a series destroyer that puts even TtH's to shame.I haven't read the entire trilogy yet, but I thought Fool's Errand was great. The pacing was a bit imbalanced in its progression. The plotting was one dimensional but that simply made it easier to focus on one the characters and their interactions which are really the whole point of the book.assasins trilogy ending was the best ending ever, it should have remained that way.....Definitely have to disagree here. The ending of the Assassin trilogy was fairly weak IMO. In fact, the whole second half of Assassin's Quest didn't really do anything for me. The whole quest/journey ended up feeling kinda pointless and very anticlimactic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shryke Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 Well the ending was kind of terrible, but the majority of the book was great imo.It's not even the ending. The whole healing bullshit half way through the trilogy practically screamed of fan fiction bullshit.I haven't read the entire trilogy yet, but I thought Fool's Errand was great. The pacing was a bit imbalanced in its progression. The plotting was one dimensional but that simply made it easier to focus on one the characters and their interactions which are really the whole point of the book.Fool's Errand wasn't bad. It seemed a promising start. Golden Fool, of course, then throws all of that progress straight out the window.Definitely have to disagree here. The ending of the Assassin trilogy was fairly weak IMO. In fact, the whole second half of Assassin's Quest didn't really do anything for me. The whole quest/journey ended up feeling kinda pointless and very anticlimactic.While the ending was a bit weakly written, what actually happened was fabulously done. A very fitting end to the story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteHaven Posted October 2, 2009 Share Posted October 2, 2009 While the ending was a bit weakly written, what actually happened was fabulously done. A very fitting end to the story.I think the funniest thing was that the whole book was so slow, but at the end, I felt like Hobb took some Crystal, she was writing so damn fast.However, the ending was not bad at all, the idea was really good. She could have written a little bit more but maybe she just wanted to end the story. I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shryke Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 It reminded me of a Mercedes Lackey ending, where the whole conflict is executed and wrapped up in less then 10 pages at the end of the book.It's like her editor had told her "only 300 pages!" and she was at like 290 and was suddenly "Oh shit, I've gotta finish this story RIGHT NOW.". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Golden Fool, of course, then throws all of that progress straight out the window.Nonsense. Golden Fool was an excellent book, I rate it 9 out of 10. Splendidly written by one of the best authors in the genre.LiffguardDefinitely have to disagree here. The ending of the Assassin trilogy was fairly weak IMOAgreed. I can see how the trilogy's end was poignant, even memorable because you don't see that happen very often. But it was also very disappointing, it felt very unresolved for me, and given the ages of the characters at the time ( which is about 18/19) it seems likely that things might change going into the future. Hobb apparently felt the same, we got a new wonderful trilogy and I must say I found the end of Fool's Fate superb. I guess that is what happens when you really get invested in a book's characters, which is basically Hob''s major strength. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteHaven Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 It reminded me of a Mercedes Lackey ending, where the whole conflict is executed and wrapped up in less then 10 pages at the end of the book.It's like her editor had told her "only 300 pages!" and she was at like 290 and was suddenly "Oh shit, I've gotta finish this story RIGHT NOW.".Maybe it really happened that way. Who knows. Sometimes Hobb can write pages simply about NOTHING!Or about: "They are all stupid, I am Malta, the intelligent woman. Never mind that I am flat and annoying. They are all stupid, I am Malta, the intelligent woman. Never mind that I am flat and annoying. They are all stupid, I am Malta.."You get the idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pita Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Wasn't Malta the Sansa Captain Ersatz? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteHaven Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Wasn't Malta the Sansa Captain Ersatz?I am not through the whole trilogy yet. But yes, she wants to have partys all the time, dreams of shining heroes etc. And she sucks, like Sansa. (Though I started to like that evil-bitch Sansa in AFFC)Ha Pita, funny that yoz use German vocab =D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shryke Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Malta, like Sansa, is a very well done character. She just happens to be a like 14 year old girl, and is thus, annoying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Pita Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 I just hated her because she was pretty much the same character as AGOT Sansa. I preferred Sansa's character development to hers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galactus Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 I... don't think so. Malta always struck me as way more assertive (and in a sense way more *dangerous*) than Sansa. Malta felt like the kind of person who would go out looking for trouble she wasn't prepared to handle, while Santa was "merely" incapable of handling the trouble that came to her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhiteHaven Posted October 3, 2009 Share Posted October 3, 2009 Malta, like Sansa, is a very well done character. She just happens to be a like 14 year old girl, and is thus, annoying.Shryke. You know, I really like you (well I like most your posts, so I think I like you) and I hate it when you speak sense. Just don't do it, when I am in a rant :P@Galactus:I am going to re-read some Sansa Chapters, but I think you are right. While both of them are having stupid dreams, Malta forces misfortune upon her, while Sansa gets screwed by the Lannisters most of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaqen the FatManderly Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 Finished Royal Assassin.Not sure why people whine about the amount of self-pity in the book. Fitz is a teenager. He's less self-pitying than most teenagers, with far more reason.Hobb is at times hammy and hamfisted, and I would not re-read her, but overall a top notch series so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEvilKing Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 I've got mixed feelings on Hobb. She was the first fantasy author I read after Tolkien, and I pretty much credit her with making me a fan of fantasy. That was a long time ago, though. When I tried reading the second Nevarre book earlier this year it sucked hard. Boring as shit. But then I read Dragon Keeper and it was pretty good even though pretty much nothing happened. But I do see her flaws quite clearly now - especially the repetitiveness - and I wonder whether I'd like the Fitz and Liveship books so much if I re-read them now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galactus Posted October 5, 2009 Share Posted October 5, 2009 I've heard repitiveness argueda s one of her flaws a lot, but honestly, I don't see it at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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