I have not heard of that book until now but I just looked at it on Amazon and it looks interesting enough to take a look at.
Robin Hobb has lost the plot...literally (contains spoilers)
- Thread starter kidsan
- Start date
I have not heard of that book until now but I just looked at it on Amazon and it looks interesting enough to take a look at.
That is something I never even thought of and also a very fitting explanation of the dual nature of the Fool.
If so hopefully that's the only thing he draws from her work.
Well.. the idea of court jesters have been around forever, and court jesters that are secretly (or not so secretly) intelligent aren't totally unheard of, even before Hobb.
Yes, that's a common response here. No one borrows from anyone because it's all been done long before.
Still, I wonder how many authors read fellow authors and borrow here and there. Or if they do it subconsciously, even.
manephelien
Gryffindor Gal
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2007
- Messages
- 267
I enjoyed Dragon Keeper and Dragon Haven, but not as much as the three other trilogies set in the same world. I haven't managed to finish the Soldier Son trilogy... I do hope the book she's working on completes the trilogy in a satisfying way. When I first read Assassin's Apprentice, I felt it took half the book to get going, but it does eventually get there!
As far as i am aware, there is no trilogy...that's it!
Apparently, she is working on another.
- Joined
- May 21, 2002
- Messages
- 4,206
My understanding. It's not a trilogy. It's a duology. Two books. However, Dragon Keeper/Haven is only book 1. It just happens to have been released to the public in two lumps, both conveniently packaged and priced as full books (note how quickly she wrote book 2...it must have only taken her weeks). Sneaky publishers. So I wouldn't be surprised to see two more books, which are really just book 2 of the duology.
Has she said what exactly she's planning for the second part? The first two books don't exactly end in a cliff hanger. I'm guessing she'll have to invent an entirely new conflict to continue on the storyline.
- Joined
- May 21, 2002
- Messages
- 4,206
What I said above is just speculation, as it's all been very hush-hush. I would imagine the establishment of Kelsingra as a new city, its exploration, the attempts the Rain Wilders and Bingtowners may make to exploit it. I could be totally wrong about all that. I'll hunt around for something more solid.
I hope it's not another 700 pages of aloof dragons and the keepers begging them to help them defend the city from greedy traders.
"Groom me keeper, and catch me fish!"
"But dragon, we're being attacked and need your help!"
"We're dragons. Humans are beneath us. Groom me, and catch me fish!"
manephelien
Gryffindor Gal
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2007
- Messages
- 267
At one point, the tentative title of the new book was Dragon Traders, so I assume it would be about Kelsingra once it has been rebuilt, perhaps a decade or two after Dragon Keeper / Dragon Haven. Here's what RH has to say about it now.
I can't help but feel that The Rain Wild Chronicles would have been better as one book, heavily edited.
It didn't take her only weeks to write the second book, she wrote both of them together, intending to write one book before realizing it went on too long, so she had most of the second book written by the time the first one was released. However, I can't understand why the US edition of Dragon Haven was published 6 months after the UK edition...
I can't help but feel that The Rain Wild Chronicles would have been better as one book, heavily edited.
It didn't take her only weeks to write the second book, she wrote both of them together, intending to write one book before realizing it went on too long, so she had most of the second book written by the time the first one was released. However, I can't understand why the US edition of Dragon Haven was published 6 months after the UK edition...
- Joined
- May 21, 2002
- Messages
- 4,206
This was actually my point, in a roundabout way.
Are you sure it went on too long? I wouldn't be surprised with the publisher breaking it no matter how long it was. Together, they're not really longer than books by other popular fantasy authors.
Personally I really enjoyed the new books. One of my favorite things about Hobb was the story with the dragons and the ancient cities (I am really into history and I love visiting ruins and old buildings). I don't think it was as well developed or detailed as her earlier series, but it still was a page turner to me. I do think she focused a little too much on the personal relationships of the keepers, but I guess this is like her romance novel.
I also liked the Soldier Son series. Having a fat protagonist was an interesting change and I found the story was very fascinating. I also liked how she doesn't have fairy tale romances in this book or in any of her other books.
She is hard on all her protagonists, you really have to expect that from her after the Farseers and Liveship Traders. It can be hard to read sometimes, but I think it makes the success they achieve that much more rewarding to the reader.
I also liked the Soldier Son series. Having a fat protagonist was an interesting change and I found the story was very fascinating. I also liked how she doesn't have fairy tale romances in this book or in any of her other books.
She is hard on all her protagonists, you really have to expect that from her after the Farseers and Liveship Traders. It can be hard to read sometimes, but I think it makes the success they achieve that much more rewarding to the reader.
Astra_
Sony Reader PRS-650
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2006
- Messages
- 632
Did you like the Tawny Man trilogy?
Eliot Wild
Registered User
- Joined
- Dec 30, 2009
- Messages
- 77
Hobb is truly one of those writers I just don't have the taste for. I was interested in this thread because I'm currently reading 'Forest Mage', Book Two of the 'Soldier's Son' series. After the Farseer Trilogy, I had pretty much sworn to avoid Hobb's books, but I decided to take another chance on her stories for an online book club discussion for Soldier's Son.
Personally, I find Hobb to have a masterful command of her particular style of writing. Her mechanics are top-notch, no doubt. And her style is quite unique.
BUT, while I recognize her as a good writer, I just think for my tastes she is a horrible storyteller. I loved the first Farseer book. I found the use of the first-person narrative to be compelling, especially seeing this imaginary world of her's unfold through the eyes of a mere child. But by the end of that series, I was worn out and literally bored senseless from all the mind-numbing tragedy and misery that befalls Fitzchilvary. 'Bored senseless'--I just felt absolutely nothing for the characters, I was not entertained and by the end I honestly just wanted the story to be over. I actually found myself wishing that Fitz would just go ahead and die to be put out of his misery.
I am finding the same problems with the Soldier's Son books. I wasn't that impressed with the first book, Shaman's Crossing, but I didn't completely hate it, so I decided to get book two. I don't know if I can finish it. Again, I am just so bored with the tedious tragic mishaps that constantly befall the character.
Perhaps my taste are just not refined enough to enjoy Hobb. Perhaps there is a subtlety to her storytelling that escapes me. Again, I find her writing skills to be top notch. She has obviously mastered the elements of her particular style; I still find her first-person delivery to be unique and I like the way she seems to peel back the layers of her imaginary settings to reveal more and more interesting aspects. But I just can't get past the misery. It seems to me the narrative tension unwinds and falls flat when there is never a respite from all the crushing body blows and psychological trauma to our hero. Ehhh, but that's just me.
Personally, I find Hobb to have a masterful command of her particular style of writing. Her mechanics are top-notch, no doubt. And her style is quite unique.
BUT, while I recognize her as a good writer, I just think for my tastes she is a horrible storyteller. I loved the first Farseer book. I found the use of the first-person narrative to be compelling, especially seeing this imaginary world of her's unfold through the eyes of a mere child. But by the end of that series, I was worn out and literally bored senseless from all the mind-numbing tragedy and misery that befalls Fitzchilvary. 'Bored senseless'--I just felt absolutely nothing for the characters, I was not entertained and by the end I honestly just wanted the story to be over. I actually found myself wishing that Fitz would just go ahead and die to be put out of his misery.
I am finding the same problems with the Soldier's Son books. I wasn't that impressed with the first book, Shaman's Crossing, but I didn't completely hate it, so I decided to get book two. I don't know if I can finish it. Again, I am just so bored with the tedious tragic mishaps that constantly befall the character.
Perhaps my taste are just not refined enough to enjoy Hobb. Perhaps there is a subtlety to her storytelling that escapes me. Again, I find her writing skills to be top notch. She has obviously mastered the elements of her particular style; I still find her first-person delivery to be unique and I like the way she seems to peel back the layers of her imaginary settings to reveal more and more interesting aspects. But I just can't get past the misery. It seems to me the narrative tension unwinds and falls flat when there is never a respite from all the crushing body blows and psychological trauma to our hero. Ehhh, but that's just me.
Sponsors
We try to keep the forum as free of ads as possible, please consider supporting SFFWorld on Patreon
Your ad here.