r/robinhobb

https://guide.lacon.org/id/5318d487-4299-4346-96e9-aa696f905df4

>"Robin Hobb is the author of The Farseer Trilogy, and the volumes that follow to make up The Realm of the Elderlings. She will read from an unpublished (as of yet) Hobb ROTE story. If time permits, she will do a brief additional reading from an unpublished Megan Lindholm short story."

No "short" in front of "ROTE story". Don't know about you, but I'm excited as hell.

This post also has spoilers for the Farseer Trilogy, and speculation for the Tawny Man series & the Rain Wild Chronicles, but I haven't read them.

I have finished the second series in the Realm of the Elderling universe, and I really enjoyed it! This was a nice change of pace compared to the relentless solo-POV Farseer trilogy, and on a meta level the ship-related combat married well with House of the Dragon season 3.

I didn't like the trilogy as much as the Farseer Trilogy overall, but book-by-book I enjoyed them more. The hyperfocus on Fitz and his life made me gulp those books eagerly, the multi-POV let me down sometimes, jerking the story along. Probably the greatest criticism I had was the pacing. The books endings were so oddly placed and jarring. The Mad Ship ending with Rain and his story, after what I felt the natural climax was. The extended Ship of Destiny epilogue. The books felt like one massive story with unnatural breaks. Maybe if Hobb had taken another year or so on each novel, the individual stories would have better narrative breaks.

Now I will go character-by-character and give my thoughts.

I was really scared that Althea would end the series carrying Kennit's child, and that was how she would get Vivacia back by proxy. For the last leg of SOD I was so scared. I really loved Althea and her story, she was the closest thing we had to a main character, and as she took massive blows it hurt. I liked her budding romance with Brashin, her establishing herself as a good crewmate. I loved that she got "beat down" repeatedly but only came up stronger and better.

Keffria & Ronica were great, I loved seeing Bingtown through their eyes. They were really established and gave a nice contrast to the constantly changing characters. They had great moments in the latter half of the series. I loved their maturity and stability!

Wintrow was someone who set my mind to spinning. The reveal that Amber was looking for him, and that he has some sort of prophetic destiny makes sense. When he rawdogged getting his fingers cut, that was hard as fuck, he had such power and aura. He had a really commanding presence similar to Paul Atreides. Initially I liked his insights into Saa, but eventually I loved him for himself. I was scared that Kennit would have him impregnate Etta so he could steal his child. I'm glad that didn't happen. Wintrow is maybe my favorite character in the series, his chapters were the best and most interesting.

I genuinely thought Malta would just die multiple times, or lead her family to destruction. The fact that she started as a spoiled 15 year old and ended as an Elderling Queen is fucking crazy!

Kennit was so interesting. Morality is so context dependant. A character freeing slaves but being immoral was so interesting. All charity is selfish, it feels good to help people. Exploring this with Kennit was great. I think I was a bit too charitable to him across the series, especially given the terrible things he did. But in fantasy books you often follow characters who are murderers, who use violence flippantly, why was Kennit's manipulation worse than that, other than narrative framing? Of course his emotional abuse was repugnant.

His arc in SOD was harrowing. The Paragon reveals and his history with child sexual abuse was hard to read, it really painted him in a different light. Was he psychopathic or did his deal with Paragon break his mind with magic (this seems to be a recurring theme). His charm asking him why he wanted Althea was so sickening. Just an overall tragic and disgusting character.

I love that Rain was presented through Malta. When we first met him he was vague and creepy. We empathized with Malta's childishness, but as Malta grew to love him, we learned more of him. It was a really effective writing technique. I was very mad his story was the climax of The Mad Ship, but for the trilogy overall I understand why it was done.

Serpents, Dragons, and Elderlings were the big lore drop from this series. I was so excited to finally learn what Elderlings were! I was so confused what they were in relation to Dragons. The serpent story was interesting but kind of got tedious, it was a lot of pages dedicated to a slow burn.

The magic of the Skill & the Wit had some development but it's absence in this part of the world was really interesting.

From the first 2 series I noticed a lot of connective tissue, questions of history, destiny, memory, agency, morality. There is still some bubbling plotlines, but I feel like Liveship Traders ended cleaner than the Farseer Trilogy, I wonder where the Rain Wild Chronicles will go, idk if it'll be a sequel series, or feature new characters. I think that the Tawny Man trilogy will be from the Fools POV, and Fitz & Fool will be a duo-pov series.

I am really interested in seeing where everyone will go in the future!

I just finished my first re-read.

I have temporal lobe epilepsy. I was wondering if anyone else does and if they picked up on the same things I do.

I always wonder if Robin hobb experiences epilepsy too.

So many things.

Post ictal phases.

Being in the skill stream for what a seizure feels like. Nocturnal events as prophetic dreams.

How dragons get ancestral memories.

So many ways someone could describe what having TLE feels like.

I'm rereading the series for the first time and I'm currently on City of Dragons. I don't see much love for Leftrin on here, but I just wanted to say what a great character he is. He's competent and loyal, but also not above getting his hands dirty or admitting his faults. He's the perfect foil for Hest, as he is basically everything the pompous Bingtowner is not.

Feel free to share whatever you like about the captain of the Tarman!

Spoiler for Fool’s Quest. Please don’t say anything after chapter 10 of this book :)

It finally happened.

FitzChivarly was recognized for everything he has given to the Kingdom. It was one of the moments I’ve been waiting for.

It was so incredible I felt like I had to stop reading. Just stop - and feel the enormity of the moment for Fitz.

What I wouldn’t give to hear Starling’s song.

I’ve always been a reader and found so much in the characters and books that have been a part of my life. But I don’t think I have ever felt as connected as I do to Fitz. We know him so well.

And, of course, I know this joy won’t last. More trials are to come. But I am so grateful to Robin Hobb for giving us this world - and letting us be a part of the life of FitzChivalry.

I just finished my second read of the Farseer trilogy. I enjoyed it as much as the first time, if not more.

Strangely, I'm a bit haunted by Burrich this time. On my first read, I didn't pay that much attention to him, but re-reading everything he sacrificed for everyone, especially his undoubted love for Fitz and Nettle, just leaves me heartbroken for him when thinking of his ending in Tawny Man.

I was already deeply saddened by his death on my first read, especially given that it stemmed from him being Skill-locked just so Chivalry could use him more safely as a King's Man. I find this whole aspect pretty tragic, even if I understand the cold logic behind it.

What felt really sad to me, though, was that he wasn't mourned properly. It felt like a minor page turned casually, while the heroes just moved on with their adventure without sparing much thought for him.

What was even harder to swallow was Molly reuniting with Fitz. I can understand Fitz dwelling on his relationship with Molly, he never truly grew up in that regard. But how could Molly accept him so easily? She had chosen Burrich wholeheartedly, fully aware of why he was a much better match for her than Fitz the boy.

Kettle was completely right on this: Fitz saw Molly as an anchor to his past. It wasn't Molly the actual person he was in love with, but rather an image of his own craving for love and security.

On my second read, setting aside Kettricken, I felt that even Starling could have been a decent companion for Fitz (if it was narrative destiny for him to be with some woman so Bee could be born). I liked her much more as a person this time, while as a character, she is so well-written, complex, and full of life.

When it comes to Fitz and Molly, it felt like Molly was used as a far too convenient solution, while Burrich was just swept aside, as if all those years together never really existed. Fitz had been a ghost between Burrich and Molly, but Burrich became nothing between Fitz and Molly...

It was the same thing with Nettle. I was so touched by how devotedly Burrich loved and protected her (I had tears in my eyes when he asked Molly where HIS baby was, and Molly answered something like "YOUR baby is fine"). Yet eventually, Nettle acted as if Fitz was her father in every sense, as though Burrich hadn't even mattered.

All in all, I understand this is life, and Hobb is just a master of writing the raw, authentic reality of human nature and relationships. I can only comfort myself with the thought that Burrich had at least enjoyed quite some good years with Molly.

A few years ago she was at a convention I was at. I went to several panels she was on and the whole time she just had this air that she was better than everyone else. She would make faces whenever anyone asked a question. She'd roll her eyes at the fellow authors on the panel and contradict them. She spoke in a condescending tone. Afterwards at the signing I saw someone approach her and she was so snarky with them. I've always been interested in her work since I hear so many great things about it but whenever I see her name all I can picture is her derisive little frown and that condescending scoff she'd make. Maybe it was an off day?

Does anyone have any good experiences with her? Should I try and push past and read her books anyways?

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I just finished Ship of Destiny and wow. I can confidently say I enjoyed the Liveship Traders trilogy more than I did the Farseer trilogy. Having multiple POV characters really worked for me, and I loved watching all these different storylines slowly converge towards the end. What a fantastic series.

A few thoughts:

Malta:

I CANNOT believe I am saying this, but Malta is probably my favourite character! Who would have thought?!

Her character development was absolutely insane. I went from being thoroughly annoyed by her to genuinely rooting for her. Watching her grow, become more self-aware and start taking responsibility for her choices was one of my favourite parts of the trilogy.

The serpents and dragons:

The serpents and dragons were amazing, and I absolutely loved the lore surrounding them. There is clearly SO much more to this world and I cannot wait to see where Hobb takes it from here.

The villains:

I'm still not sure what to make of the Satrap. I genuinely thought he was going to have some sort of character development similar to Malta, but… nope. You can't have everything, I suppose.

Kyle, on the other hand, got exactly what he deserved. I hated him in the first book, but by the end I almost pitied him. He was a fool who simply never learned from his mistakes. His ignorance and arrogance were almost tragic by the end. I wouldn't wish that level of self-delusion on my worst enemy.

And lastly…

Kennit. Fuck Kennit.

I started this trilogy with such mixed feelings about him. I couldn't decide whether I hated him or admired him. There were moments when I was actually rooting for him.

And then Althea.

That was it. Completely irredeemable for me.

What made it even worse was how the people around him reacted to Althea afterwards.

I kept waiting for someone to truly acknowledge what happened to her. I hated that Wintrow dismissed her claim, and I was especially frustrated by Vivacia. I know it was explained that she had kept herself away from Althea and therefore didn't know what had happened, but given her connection to Kennit, I still couldn't shake the feeling that she should have known something was wrong.

And honestly, I was waiting for Kennit to get some sort of truly cruel, satisfying ending.

And then… we didn't really get it.

I was SO disappointed.

He is genuinely one of the most vile characters I've read, and what disturbed me almost as much as Kennit himself was the unwavering support he received from the people around him. The way they idolised him while Althea's experience was dismissed was incredibly frustrating.

So yeah. Fuck Kennit.

But despite all my rage, this was an incredible trilogy.

The characters, the dragons, the worldbuilding, the multiple POVs, the way all the different threads eventually came together, I loved it.

And now…

I have TEN more Realm of the Elderlings books to read.

Yay!!

Also I have a question. Will I be seeing these characters in future books?

>!

…fully merge with the Fool while he was healing him?

<

I didn’t quite understand this. They end up there anyway. Why wouldn’t Fitz want to >! merge with the Fool into one being so that they could raise Bee and she wouldn’t fully lose her father? Why wouldn’t that be better than him dying in an underground tunnel? Not perfect, but still. I cannot imagine that the Fool wouldn’t agree to it.

Was it because he couldn’t really “consent” to that as he was asleep? Or because Nighteyes wouldn’t go with him? It just seemed a bit odd to me. Especially as the three of them end up merging anyway. I guess it was the remnant of the Old Blood abominations where one being takes over the other. But it still seemed silly as the rest of their arc was about how the Fool, Nighteyes, and Fitz were “one thing.” If they truly were why could they only be so in a stone wolf rather than in the Fool’s body. <

I am only a few hours away from finishing Ship of Destiny. I have enjoyed this trilogy SO much. Honestly more than the first trilogy. And now I’m scared I won’t like the next one as much 😂 Please reassure me that the Tawny Man Trilogy will also be enjoyable 🤞🏻

I am almost 50% through Dragon Haven & Thymara is not playing with the Keeper boys! They won't be making decisions for her!

Also, Sedric is the worst but not above Hest. The more we learn about Hest, the worse he is. I kinda hope Alise just runs away with Leftrin! But luckily the little copper dragon is going to get Sedric together, I think.

I always miss Fitz when I get to the parts of RoTE that don't involve him, but Robin Hobb is so good I end up falling in love with the new characters too!

Anyway, I'm deeply obsessed with this world. I've been reading nothing but these books since May.

Just finished Soldiers Son today. I marked spoilers all books as I have finished all of RotE as well and compare them. Sorry this is kind of long.

Overall I really liked it. It took some time to get into it as the first book was a bit of a grind with the academy part. Then I finished book 2 and 3 in like 4 days haha. I really had no idea after finishing book 1 that’s what would happen and it went a completely different direction than I thought.

Very unique take on magic and bold choices I thought. My heart broke for poor Nevare throughout. It was especially hard to read how he was treated just for being big. Very realistic sadly.

There were times it made me uncomfortable more so his father’s treatment of him and horribly cruel words and his own disdain for his body and some of the very detailed descriptions. Also notable and unique was some aspects of body horror that I don’t see very much (mostly talking about the roots).

The speck culture was very interesting and well written as well and the concept of the Great Ones. Compared to RoTE I felt like Hobb more so fleshed out other cultures. The magic including quick walking was a very neat concept.

Epiny is amazing, so well written and up there with my favorite book characters ever. I just love her so much and did right away when she first showed up. The scenes where Spink is like “actually I like this weird girl” were so funny.

I also enjoyed pretty much all the speck characters actually. I do have a question it kind of flew over my head maybe. Why would the speck people not see him anymore when he “came back” due to that bird god? Or they were just ignoring him? I think the speck kid could see him. Why couldn’t he cross salt? Was he actually a ghost of sorts then and still under the magic somehow? The great one guy seemed to imply it happens sometimes.

I also have a question about Gord. Was he implied to be some kind of Great One too? I was disappointed to not see him again. There were little hints like how he didn’t really eat very much under the strict routine at the academy but at the the same I understand that’s also implied it’s just how he is. I’m happy he found happiness with a partner that accepts him anyways.

I was expecting a depressing ending after reading RoTE and was pleasantly surprised though I was a little disappointed he didn’t become one at the end as I thought that was going to be one the morales of the story. I’m also a little torn on him going back to his father (which I assume is that he is doing). I know his father was messed up from the magic or whatever but holy was he so terrible to his son.

I honestly think I would have preferred he just disappear with Lisana in the tree with his other half or run away with Amzil. I’m also a little torn on how he was “back to himself” and thin when Amzil clearly loved him anyways but I do understand it’s because he lost the magic so it does fit in the story.

Thanks for reading. Very thought provoking read. Hobb sure likes to make her protagonists suffer.

What are your favourite Robin Hobb books outside The realm of the elderlings?

Just finished Ship of Destiny chapter 21 and that might’ve hit me harder than the Red Wedding. Poor Paragon 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭. And poor Paragon crew, all the good sailors went down with the ship while dumb Lavoy gets to live in Divvytown.

At least Amber survived since Kennit’s crew mentioned that there were no women on board. I’m going to mourn Brashen and Clef, but there’s a small part of me that hopes Amber can somehow come back and rescue them (I’m probably being foolishly optimistic there).

Did not expect Carrion to be a badass here, haven’t liked a character so much after hating them since Malta.

Finally, I also have to wonder, is Paragon’s memory-erasing skill the same as forging? If so, do we think Kennit is a sociopath because he was forged, or is he just like that?