What's the big Deal about Robin Hobb?

[Alchemist]

it's fine if they have real feelings, but why do they have to keep talking about them? it's like nothing ever happens that doesn't get analyze.d i don't get why she doesn't just pop out a couch and start the psychoanalysis, know what i mean?

LOL - I take you are male, not a SNAG (sensitive new age guy), and aren't married?

As for Hobb, I read the first Fitz book a few years ago and liked it but didn't love it. My relative indifference has a lot to do with the setting--I just don't get into faux medieval settings, not unless the other elements are terrific ala Guy Gavriel Kay. I found Hobb to be a good writer but not a great one, that + my indifference about the setting = not reading the sequels.

She certainly isn't "crap," though, no matter what your personal tastes are. That seems a bit hyperbolic.

[Donteb84]

I LOVED the medieval settings. That was one of my favorite aspects. And how superstitious people were back then was funny, "oh know!! the pocked man!!" LOL

[Corporal Blues]

What you missed is that everyone has different likes and dislikes. Just because you don't "get" a particular author doesn't mean they're rubbish. In fact, to say as much indicates a serious lack of imagination.

Whoa dude, thanks for jumping all over me for a post that is four years old...and was my first ever post! Dios mio!

Allow me to defend C. Blues of four years past:

I had been a lurker here for a while before I finally joined and posted, at the time, Hobb was very popular on the boards and got high praise, however, having recently finished the assassin trilogy recently, and not being a fan; it just was not my cup of tea, (though in thinking back I may have been a harsher critic then and had less of an ability to appreciate some of her stronger attributes as a writer) I asked about it, honestly thinking a concept or two, which made it such a fan favorite, had gone over my head...It was definitely wrong of me to just refer to her work as "lame" though, and I deserve,and retrospectively, appreciate you calling me out for it. Buuuut....I do think it is a rather unfair of you to say that I lack imagination and don't realize people have different likes and dislikes. Anyway, no hard feelings.

To move slightly away from the topic, Jon, congrats on publishing your novel.

[fast200]

Wow, this thread came back from the dead!

It's all about the characters in Hobb's books. I didn't like the Liveship series at all and the plot does get slow in the Fitz books at times, but she makes you care about the characters.

[Roy Ryders]

Because Hobb's books are extremely character driven. They aren't about the action. This doesn't seem to be your cup of tea but it doesn't make Hobb automatically a bad writer. Plenty of great novels are relatively light on plot and heavy on character development.

There's being heavy on character without being heavy on inane naval gazing, though, isn't there? I mean, read Crime and Punishment, A Song of Ice and Fire, and Star Wars (the books). They each have brilliant characterizations, yet does everyone do nothing but talk? NO!! They ACT and in ACTING as they do, they show their CHARACTER through their ACTIONS.

So you'd rather the characters take everything in stride?

No, but take American Gods, for example. Shadows's wife (spoiler) dies, but he doesn't mope for like a hundred pages, he DOES stuff, and, in doing so, reveals his true FEELINGS, but without endless words, you know?

Not that this would be automatically a bad thing but that's not the case at all in Liveship Traders. Plenty of things happen, IMO.

Seriously? I remember that Wwhat'shisface got sold into slavery, that girl lost her (spoiler) ship, and the pirate guy (m-a-s-s-i-v-e spoiler) took it. and then there was some crap about a (spoiler) pirate king, thingy, but that never happened, so it's kind of a red herring and disappointing (but I only read the first two). Seriously, name seven things that didn't get mentioned but happened?

[Alex]

No, but take American Gods, for example. Shadows's wife (spoiler) dies, but he doesn't mope for like a hundred pages, he DOES stuff, and, in doing so, reveals his true FEELINGS, but without endless words, you know?

Pro spoiler bro! On a serious note though when posting spoilers use the spoiler tags, or atleast put a few lines of space between your spoiler warning and the actual spoiler comment.

I for one remember reading Assassins apprentice when i was around 18-19 and I really disliked Fitz a lot. I disliked him so much that i didn't read the continuation of the series. However, 6 years later I picked up the books again on a whim as I had nothing to read and I was totally gripped by Fitz. I've reread the books 3 times now (both farseer and tawny man) and Fitz has become one of my favourite characters ever.

Extra kudos to the farseer trilogy as it's the first time EVER (in 6 years if marriage) that I've managed to get my wife to read fantasy. She's totally engrossed (and probably has a bit of a crush on him aswell) by Fitz. I've tried everything from Tolkien to Scott lynch but Hobb did the trick!

[PeterWilliam]

Pro spoiler bro! On a serious note though when posting spoilers use the spoiler tags, or atleast put a few lines of space between your spoiler warning and the actual spoiler comment.

Issue has previously been mentioned and acknowledged.

[Hellions]

Robin Hobb shares the top spot with George Martin as my favorite fantasy author.

Her characters are so incredibly real that a decade after reading her books I can still recall the vast majority of them by name. A random author's characters will fade from memory in a couple of months.

I thoroughly devoured her first three trilogies. My only gripe is that her endings are sometimes weak and anticlimactic (First Farseer, Liveship Traders) but the journey is totally rewarding.

[Althax]

I read the assassin series and the tawny man series. I didn't think they were terrible but definetly overrated. The main character just whined way too much about his life. All the pity party stuff was just frustrating and difficult to read.

Many talk about how great the characters are and I'm dumbfounded by this because I found them to be totally unbelievable due to the lack of ability to change their circumstances. Fitz was a constant victim and yet would never use his gifts or talents to improve anything or just (here's a thought!) walk away!

I thought some of the story was interesting enough to finish both series but I found them pretty forgettable near the end.

[Arkeus]

Many talk about how great the characters are and I'm dumbfounded by this because I found them to be totally unbelievable due to the lack of ability to change their circumstances. Fitz was a constant victim and yet would never use his gifts or talents to improve anything or just (here's a thought!) walk away!

Wow, i am sure that idea never occured to Fitz

While i can understand people not liking the books for having a neither-male-nor-female main character (not talking about just the fool here), or for the atmosphere, this comment strikes me as weird coming from someone who read both trilogy.

[kirk]

Having just finished the Farseer trilogy, I could definitely agree that it's somewhat overrated. I'm still planing to read Liveship and Tawny Man, but I can't say I'm as excited about them now as I thought I was going to be.
My problem with it was that a lot of the time it felt like I'm reading a Catelyn Stark chapter, in the sense that (as some of the posters said) there was a bit too much whining and Fitz just being emo.

[Nausikaa]

Unfortunately, I didn't like Farseer either. I read the first two books, and never wanted to read the third. By the end of the second book, I was annoyed with all the characters--especially Fitz, who I wished would just do something, instead of constantly getting defeated and sad and everything going wrong for him...maybe I didn't like it because it was too depressing for me. I kept waiting for something good and uplifting to happen...but whenever something did, something worse would happen! I just got tired of watching the main character constantly get beaten down.

Now, I don't remember this series completely, I must have read those two books a year ago, so the details aren't clear but that was my impression of them. I know a lot of people here love them a lot...I really wanted to like them but I just didn't at all .