[jasers]

hi all. i am running out of books to read and am up for suggestions. i've read all of the most current books from jordan, goodkind, and martin. I've heard that Hobb's assassin series is pretty good. Can anyone shed some light on this? thanks.

Jasers

[Canaris]

Yes the farseer series is good. No other word for it. The young hero is a very unlikely hero. Not really a winner. Strugles through life more half than good. The charecters go deep. The social setting is good. Well written and capturing.

I for one can recomend this series but donīt try the "live ships". Allthough I have been told, they are some how more appealing to woman than to man. I wonder...:-)

[Bardos]

Good world-building and plot, but TOO depressing (and boring sometimes). I don't recomend it...

[FitzChivalry]

Great series, one of my top 10 series of all time, probably.
It tells the story of FitzChivalry, the bastard grandson of the king who is trained to be the Royal Assassin, of course, that's only the beginning.
Interesting magic system with The Skill (telepathy/telekenesis) and The Wit (communication with animals).
The story is indeed not a very bright and happy one, it's quite dark and sometimes depressing, and the good guy is not winning most of the time, but that's part of its originiality and i liked it.
A very recommended read.

[Eventine]

Being written in the first person, it is definitely a very different read. And, as previously mentioned, it is very dark. I still found it to be a very rewarding read however.

[Cannon Fodder]

Give it a try. Great characters and an excellent twisty storyline. It gains a lot from its first person perspective. I wouldn't really say it was depressing but I don't really get that effected by books in general. The Liveship Traders books are also great, possibly even better.

[Cadfael]

I would not say it was depressing either, it is different, but it is more realistic to everyday life. We are left with the feeling that Fitz deserved a more 'happy' ending after all his travails, but sometimes life is like that... just like Martin, Hobb is re-writing the 'rules' of fantasy...

... maybe he gets his reward in Fool's Errand... not long now, for us in the UK anyway, and I am not being smug (well... not a lot http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif)

[Bardos]

<<SPOILERS>>

[Don't get me wrong; I'm just starting a discussion here.]

Dennizm> Why are you comparing Hobb to Martin? IMHO, there is NO simularity! In Martin's books there is a lot of action; in Hobbs Farseer you get bored with minor details. I remember in the second book: Fitz was training, Fitz was poisoning "zombies", Fitz was beding whinning girlfriend --over and over again. Ok! One time is enought!! How many times does she need to show these things??! Wouldn't be better just to tell them and move one?? And imagine that I like detail about the characters' lives, as well as depth. Martin's characters have that, but in the Farseer some things (if not most of them!) are not worth mentiong --they don't add anything to the plot!
Especialy boring scenes: the begging of the first book, almost all the middle of the second, the traveling (especialy in the mountains!) in the third.
Also, it's from the first person perspective, and you get all the time to see that one pitiful characters, and no other (Martin is wise to use many POVs). But the writer wants to show us what's happened with some other characters (like Molly, Buric, Chade, in the 3rd book), so she uses that "trick" with the Skill, that Fitz can see elsewhere. Come on! It's crystal clear it's a writer's trick, and not believable at all.
And the ending? Ok, Fitz does not get rewarded, but the end does NOT come smoothly --they just wake the dragons, and all are made ok again?! They come drive away the bad raiders (Why they have come, in the first place, it's not explained too!) and the brat Prince (thank the gods they don't spang him also!! LOL!). Childish! And Fitz just beats him (Regal) from far away, with the Skill? Why not before, and only then? Another writers trick to end the book, and not let it end itself! Even in magic there must be some logic --not whatever the writer wants, so s/he can serve the plot!
Oh, and the other! Fitz is being trained as an assassin in whole the first book, and you say, ok, he's little now, but when he grows up, we'll see him doing something... but, in the other two books, he can't kill a guard!! Who? The Royal Assassin! Please...
If Hobb wanted a hero who can't fight at all, why make him an assassin, huh? Why not a diplomat? A merchand? Or something else!
I mean this guy is inoccent! I don't like super-man, all-winning heroes (like Edding's), but nor do I want an incopetent hero! And if he/she is ONE in many, ok --but not when you have to, constantly, read about him in the first perspective.

I just wanted to get them of my chest. http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif Discussion welcome.

[FitzChivalry]

Actually, i didn't find it depressing either, but some parts were quite sad.
Hobb has a great writing style, and when she wants you to feel the sadness of the character, you really feel it.

[Pathir]

Hobb is a great writer, but her style is indeed not like Martin, although that is, I think, not what Dennizm meant, Bardos.
He is not comparing her to Martin but saying that she takes fantasy (like Martin) to a different level.
Hobb is excellent in her own way, Jasers. If you like your fantasy with some depth in it, you certainly must give her books a try. And if you don't like her, well, that's all a question of taste isn't it?