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Robin Hobb


Debbie

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If you read fantasy at all, you must read Robin Hobb. She is the best and no other fantasy authors compare.

 

So far she has written 3 trilogies set in the same world.

 

The first one is the Assassin Trilogy, featuring the 'hero' Fitz from a child of 6 to a young man.

 

The second one is the Liveship Traders trilogy, not featuring Fitz but mentioning his part of the world, and with one common character.

 

Finally there is the Tawny Man trilogy, again featuring Fitz as a grown man in his 30s or 40s.

 

They are just fantastic. The characterisation is beyond belief, all the characters are complicated and well rounded - a character can be really cruel and evil, yet she still enables you to have compassion for them, and best of all she doesnt' treat you as an idiot but leaves you to work things out for yourself.

 

She has just written the first of a new trilogy, set in a different world. I have it but have not read it yet as I am reading Harry Potter.

 

Debbie

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 7 months later...

the assassin books and liveships etc were my absolute faves probably the closest i've felt to set of characters scince i read lord of the rings when was 12.this author is the best fantasy writer i've ever read-no exception.

bit gutted new series was set outside the six duchies but has potential to be just as good as original series with equally strong characterisation and bizare links to our own world...wheres that gonna go? :)

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  • 3 months later...

I read the first of the liveship traders about a year ago and i thought it was a beautiful book. i value any author that can make me feel. At points in this book i found myself,gleeful, indignant, angry incredibly sad and exitedly anticipating every page.

The characters for me worked with and against each other beautifully and felt just like robin hobb was describing the way any family interacts with temporary alliances and feuding all the way(well my family at least lol).

I will be reading more of these but i have a few books to get through before i get round to it.

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  • 5 weeks later...

I read the Farseer trilogy, and then i started reading the Tawny man trilogy, halfway through reading the first of the tawny man trilogy i found out about the liveship traders, which is set before tawny man. Ive finished the tawny man now, and i dont think i can go back and read the liveship traders because ive probably ruined the ending for myself, although i do know its actually quite seperate from the other two trilogys.

 

I thought the farseer trilogy and the tawny man books were really good! i was reading them practically non stop until they were finished. The last book, i think its called fools fate, was a bit tough to get through, because it felt like it was going to end, you know when it feels like the climax at the end of the book, but it felt like that about half way through, and it kept feeling like that for a lot of chapters, it was a bit exhausting. But i suppose in a story which has lasted three trilogys, its fair enough to have a long ending!

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have just read the second in Robin Hobb's new trilogy, Soldier Son.

 

This is set in a totally different universe from Liveships etc, and I was a bit disappointed with the first one, possibly because I wanted another in the six duchies etc, and also because it was a bit slow. The first one was called Shaman's Crossing. I bought the next one, Forest Mage, and it is fantastic! Robin Hobb at her best!

 

I really really enjoyed it, and even went back to Shaman's Crossing and reread it. It was much more enjoyable the second time round, as I now really identified with the characters.

 

Has anyone else read it?

 

Debbie

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  • 2 weeks later...

i saw the soldier son books on amazon, and i was going to buy them, but i was put off because the trilogy isnt finished yet, and i like to read them all in one go. I really can't stand waiting for books, such as harry potter, and the song of ice and fire books, because i usually have to re-read just in case i've forgotten something.

when the whole triolgy is completed, i'll definetly read them.

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  • 1 year later...
I read the Farseer trilogy, and then i started reading the Tawny man trilogy, halfway through reading the first of the tawny man trilogy i found out about the liveship traders, which is set before tawny man. Ive finished the tawny man now, and i dont think i can go back and read the liveship traders because ive probably ruined the ending for myself, although i do know its actually quite seperate from the other two trilogys.

 

The liveship traders stands alone I think. It's a separate story, although there are links in it to the Farseer stories.

 

I loved these 3 trilogies but haven't enjoyed the Soldier son books. I do like her writing as Megan Lindholm as well.

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  • 1 year later...

I'm resurrecting an old thread because I'm currently reading the first book of the Tawny Man Trilogy and I absolutely love it!

 

I read The Farseer Trilogy last year, but I haven't read The Liveship Traders yet. A friend recommended all of the books to me, and he read The Tawny Man and The Liveship Traders the wrong way round and said that he thought it actually worked better, so I've taken his advice!

 

I think Robin Hobb is the best writer of fantasy I have come across. She manages to make a fantasy world seem completely real, and she also manages to avoid a lot of the fantasy cliches and come up with original and interesting ideas.

 

I think the absolute best thing about her writing though is her characters. She creates wonderfuly complete characters that you really care about. In The Farseer Tilogy, she had me crying by page 30 of the 3rd book because you feel so much for the characters.

 

I'm currently half way through Fools Errand, and it is one of those very rare books that completely transports me. I can really lose myself in it, and I just want to read it all the time (which isn't like me at all!)

 

To anybody that hasn't read her books yet I wholeheartedly recommend them. I've already recommended her to my friend who loved the first Assassin book.

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I recall coming across The Liveship Traders trilogy first years ago. I read the Assassins trilogy next and The Tawny Man trilogy last. Robbin Hobb has also written under another name, Megan Lindholm. My favourite characters are Fritz's wolf and the Fool. The Fool is sort of traditional in some old books/plays. He's thought of as an idiot yet he is wise, a bit of a mystic and very diplomatic.

Edited by Kreader
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  • 2 weeks later...

Ive read some of her books and really enjoyed them, especially the Tawny Man series :lol:

 

But such as the Liveship series I couldnt connect with and I didnt like Soldier Son either

There is a new series out by her -Dragon Keeper being the first book

Has anyone read it?

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've just finished Fool's Errand (book one of The Tawny Man) and I loved it soooo much!!!

I cried bucket loads at the death of Nighteyes, I think it's one of the saddest things I've ever read! I knew it was coming, but the way it was handled was so beautiful that it just broke my heart! I was telling my friend about it the next day at work and I started welling up again.

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I loved the Assassin and The Tawny Man trilogies. Liveship traders was okay and I liked the general premise of the ships but didn't really grab me as much for some reason. Even so I would still recommend them to others.

 

I think what Hobb manages to do better than most is make you feel genuinely sorry for the situation characters find themselves in, often by circumstance rather than their own design.

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Robin Hobb has definitely been one of my favorite authors. I started with the Assasin books, and I really enjoyed them I wish we could have learnt more about the group who live with their wild partners, I was extremely curious about that and I wish there was a series just following them!

The farseer trilogy, and the tawny man trilogy were just amazing. Come to think of it I'm well due for a re-read! Yay!

The Fool/Lord Golden is my favorite character by a lot. I just love him, right through the whole set of books.

 

I also loved the liveship traders books. Hopefully she'll do more on them...

 

I did not enjoy the Soldier Son books at all. I bought and read all three, but I didn't think they were up to the smae level as the others I've read by her.

 

I've also bought and read the avaliable books in the dragon keeper series, and I am enjoying them. However I don't feel the story and characters are a rich as those in the assassin/farseer/tawny man books. Slightly disappointing.

 

Overall she's one of my favorite authors.

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I've been listening to Dragon Keeper and Dragon Haven, and it's my first introduction to Robin Hobb. It sounds as if the other trilogies may be even better? :) It was the dragons which attracted me to this series. Knowing now what the 'liveships' are, are dragons featured in any of her other books?

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