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Submitted by Sycamore 
(May 15, 2007)

I'm a newcomer to the fantasy genre, but Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy has made me a fan. I've tried to read Robert Jordan's work and also Kate Elliot--but by book Seven or so, both series sorely tried my patience. Robin Hobb avoids the endless repetition their books employ to remind one of all the plot points and characters of earlier volumes. By keeping her stories to a trilogy, they are much tighter and fast-paced. She doesn't natter on--her evocative but spare prose keep everything moving. There is enough description to keep things vivid, but no embarassing excess of visual metaphor. She is good at describing non-visual aspects as well--scent, temperature, texture--which keeps you in the character's experience in an immediate way. Her characters have realistic flaws and the relationships ring true. The magical aspects are well done. Hobb doesn't use magic as a cheap and easy resolution to plot problems. The first book is fairly nice and wholesome for a tale about assassins, but the darkness builds through the series. Although there is no shortage of violence, it doesn't have a prurient quality. Her world building is excellent. The everyday aspects of life in a keep or a medieval village are well drawn. Her knowledge of animals and rural life is apparent. Her building of a political world--the conflicts among the Six Duchies and the war with the Red Ships is well drawn. The last book felt like it could have been a little bit longer--a fuller depiction of the Red Ship war's resolution would have been more satisfying, but it is a minor flaw. If you want to disappear into another world for a week or two, this is your series.

I have just finished the Farseer trilogy after renting the books from my local library, and I must say, I have been blown away by the talent of storytelling that had been revealed to me. While I was reading these books I forgot my own life and my own troubles, and I would spend my free time wondering how these people were going to survive all of this. Fitz's life became more important to me than my own for a time. And then, after I had finished the series about 10 minutes ago, I was actually crying. I haven't cried in near to 5 years before today. A word of caution to those who intend to read the book though, I found it very sad to read. Maybe that's because I am already in a state of depression, but this book has taught me things about life that I could probably have done with waiting a while before learning. Don't read it if you don't have many hours free to finish it in less than 2 weeks, because you will find yourself wanting to. And don't read it if you intend to feel happy at the end of it, because you won't. But, you will feel satisfied, and I believe I am more of the person I wish to be because of the knowledge I have gained through this book.

I highly recommend the Farseer triolgy to friends interested in fantasy. The devlopment of Fitz Chivalry as a person (and as a weapon) is heartening and sad at the same time. I believe Robin Hobb is correct in giving us such a story line. The human condition varies widely and some people endure great hardships. Despite that, Fitz evolves into a person that has heavy responsibilities but retains his capacity to grow. Fitz's discovery of "Nighteyes" allows a piercing balance of love and disadvantage to be reached.

The various characters are well developed and each brings their own message about values. The detailed destruction of the Black Ships is immaterial; the detailed description of the commitment of Verity to saving his people far more important. The values that his queen brings to the six duchies is much more valuable to the reader than a description of battle.

This isn't a romance novel but it teaches valuable lessons about love, honor and integrity. I suggest you read it and, if you are fortunate to have a child, share the series and then discuss it. I did and I learned a lot!

I was terribly disappointed by the Farseer trilogy. While the first book starts strong, with a rich setting and interesting characters (especially the Fool), the second book is simply an agonizing exercise in navel-gazing, with the plot advanced solely by the characters making extremely stupid decisions in the face of overwhelming evidence against those decisions. Also, the emphasis on "assassin" is misdirected; there is only one instance of the main character assassinating anyone (and I don't count dropping poisoned bread on a road for zombies to eat as assassin's work).

The third book seems to recover some of the momentum of the first, but quickly turns into a plodding travelogue about how tired and in pain FitzChivalry is, over and over and over and over... The book truly wastes several hundred pages on needless and non-value-added verbage.

Perhaps the most maddening failure of Hobb's entire trilogy, however, is the resolution of the "black ships" plot, which was the device upon which the whole series was built. After an intriguing and suspenseful build up in the first thousand-plus pages of the trilogy, Hobb wraps up the entire "black ships" mystery in the *epilogue* of the third book. The epilogue! As if she had entirely forgotten about the entire "black ships" plotline until someone at the publisher reminded her about it, upon which she hastily penned a final chapter saying, "oh, and the whole black ships thing turned out okay." This was far more disappointing than the way HG Wells killed off the Martian invaders using microbes.

All in all, I think Ms. Hobb would be best off pairing up with another author. While her rich and detailed descriptions are a delight, her handling of the long-term plot line borders on incompetence. Teaming up with another writer who could manage the long-term plot development would free her to pursue her strengths while the other author helps mitigate her weaknesses.

Robin Hobb draws you into the book by creating interesting characters, a detailed plot and many twists and turns in the tale to keep you interested. It is brilliant writing and by the end of 'Assassins Apprentice' you either love or hate the characters. Robin hobb is a brilliant writer that is always a few rungs above most other writers in the fantasy genre (excluding Tolkien and Gemmell).