Post by amodman on May 24, 2005 21:05:39 GMT -5
Just started on her books awhile ago (I believe that Robin Hobb is just a pen name?), and have been quite enthralled. I'll just post my thoughts as I read some of the books that I posted elsewhere 
.
Quote 1 - "Just read Assasin's Apprentice. Good book. Really good, actually, as I usually don't expect much when it comes to first person narratives. Though, one of my other favorites, Song of Albion, is written first person as well. I don't know if I'll read all three trilogies of Hobb's in a row, though, considering there are some other novels I'd like to read..."
Quote 2 - "I just finished Royal Assasin and am moving onto Assasin's Quest. I don't know if I like the direction the books are going...
*spoilers*
The political intrigue and balance of power was half the fun or me in the books. I, personally, find the names of them oddly ill-fitting. There has been very little "assinating" been done. Mostly it's just been court intrigue, defense from the Red Ships, and Fitz's finding his relationship with his king and country. I also think the conversation that I've read so far between Burrich and Chade utterly ridiculous (the one after he had recovered and they decided to abandon him). How they decided he's been such a boy throughout Royal Assasin. IMO Royal Assasin was Fitz's coming of age story and him finding his relationship with King and country. *sigh* that's one of my big pet peeves in novels in when a character in the next novel is all of a sudden someone different. I daresay I would've liked to see how the story would have panned out had Fitz become the warden of the Coastal Duchies...for a time, at least.
*end spoilers* "
Quote 3 - "Finished the farseer trilogy and am well into ship of magic...On the farseer side the last book had a great story and was wonderfully written but was rather a dissapointement to me. Like I mentioned earlier, Fitz seemed almost a different person at times for no apparent reason and that just bugs me in a book. But I shouldn't be so critical, as I still think Hobb is an absolutely excellent author. I nigh flew through royal assasin and assasin's apprentice...they enraptured quite like the DET by Salvatore, SoS & CoK by Martin, etc.
*farseer spoiler*
One thing that really bugged me at the end of this trilogy is that Fitz just decided to wander off and live on his own. Not only would it seem obvious to me that he was still the catalyst and probably had more to do, but this didn't really seem to make sense to me for his personality. That is, I understand his going on travels through the world with Nighteyes (I wish that wolf didn't have to die so soon ), but he's kind of a needy person if you ask me and on top of that in Royal Assasin he solidifide in his mind his duty to the Six Duchies - bastard or no. Is Fitz just going to let "Verity's" son go un-trained in both Skill and Wit which he most likely posses in hefty amounts, and perhaps kill off the Skill entirely with no one besides him to be known left with any working knowledge of the skill?!
*end farseer spoiler*
On a Ship of Magic note, I'd seen the almost universal opinion that the book doesn't resolve anything, and about 3/5 of the way through it, I can see that. Thank God I never started it until now when all three are already written. Something else I notice in the book is that Hobb is so consistent in her style and storytelling that not until I was about 1/5 of the way into the book did it dawn upon me that it was drastically different in PoV than the farseer trilogy - written in third person in multiple viewpoints. I mean, I knew that, but it didn't register in my mind as it was still so similar to her first person storytelling. That's a talent in an author there."
.Quote 1 - "Just read Assasin's Apprentice. Good book. Really good, actually, as I usually don't expect much when it comes to first person narratives. Though, one of my other favorites, Song of Albion, is written first person as well. I don't know if I'll read all three trilogies of Hobb's in a row, though, considering there are some other novels I'd like to read..."
Quote 2 - "I just finished Royal Assasin and am moving onto Assasin's Quest. I don't know if I like the direction the books are going...
*spoilers*
The political intrigue and balance of power was half the fun or me in the books. I, personally, find the names of them oddly ill-fitting. There has been very little "assinating" been done. Mostly it's just been court intrigue, defense from the Red Ships, and Fitz's finding his relationship with his king and country. I also think the conversation that I've read so far between Burrich and Chade utterly ridiculous (the one after he had recovered and they decided to abandon him). How they decided he's been such a boy throughout Royal Assasin. IMO Royal Assasin was Fitz's coming of age story and him finding his relationship with King and country. *sigh* that's one of my big pet peeves in novels in when a character in the next novel is all of a sudden someone different. I daresay I would've liked to see how the story would have panned out had Fitz become the warden of the Coastal Duchies...for a time, at least.
*end spoilers* "
Quote 3 - "Finished the farseer trilogy and am well into ship of magic...On the farseer side the last book had a great story and was wonderfully written but was rather a dissapointement to me. Like I mentioned earlier, Fitz seemed almost a different person at times for no apparent reason and that just bugs me in a book. But I shouldn't be so critical, as I still think Hobb is an absolutely excellent author. I nigh flew through royal assasin and assasin's apprentice...they enraptured quite like the DET by Salvatore, SoS & CoK by Martin, etc.
*farseer spoiler*
One thing that really bugged me at the end of this trilogy is that Fitz just decided to wander off and live on his own. Not only would it seem obvious to me that he was still the catalyst and probably had more to do, but this didn't really seem to make sense to me for his personality. That is, I understand his going on travels through the world with Nighteyes (I wish that wolf didn't have to die so soon ), but he's kind of a needy person if you ask me and on top of that in Royal Assasin he solidifide in his mind his duty to the Six Duchies - bastard or no. Is Fitz just going to let "Verity's" son go un-trained in both Skill and Wit which he most likely posses in hefty amounts, and perhaps kill off the Skill entirely with no one besides him to be known left with any working knowledge of the skill?!
*end farseer spoiler*
On a Ship of Magic note, I'd seen the almost universal opinion that the book doesn't resolve anything, and about 3/5 of the way through it, I can see that. Thank God I never started it until now when all three are already written. Something else I notice in the book is that Hobb is so consistent in her style and storytelling that not until I was about 1/5 of the way into the book did it dawn upon me that it was drastically different in PoV than the farseer trilogy - written in third person in multiple viewpoints. I mean, I knew that, but it didn't register in my mind as it was still so similar to her first person storytelling. That's a talent in an author there."
