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4.56 AVERAGE
4.56 AVERAGE
Fitz sails to a distant island to help Prince Dutiful bring back the head of a dragon trapped in a glacier in order for his marriage to come about and the alliance with the Outislanders to be solidified. With him go Thick and Chade. They purposefully leave the Fool behind because he does not want the dragon killed and has prophesied that his death.
The book is a bit slow to start as it takes time to leave the Six Duchies, travel, meet with the Outislanders, and find the dragon. Then things move very quickly. Fitz decides to free the dragon instead of killing it, even though this means that the Fool dies a horrible death at the hands of the Pale Woman. Using the Wit, Fitz is able to bring him back. However, Burrich dies heroically (which I honestly thought would happen sooner) and Molly is widowed. Fitz and the Fool eventually part ways (sob) so that Fitz can win back Molly. This book set a new record for how much Robin Hobb can make me cry...
I'm glad I took my time to read the book instead of listening to the audio. I just love these characters so much. Hobb writes beautifully as always, establishing setting, magic systems, and detailing complex relationships seamlessly. I'm honestly sad to be done with this amazing trilogy but excited that the journey isn't over yet. I'm glad that Fitz gets to be mostly happy for a time as I'm sure he'll have to suffer again in the books to come.
The book is a bit slow to start as it takes time to leave the Six Duchies, travel, meet with the Outislanders, and find the dragon. Then things move very quickly.
I'm glad I took my time to read the book instead of listening to the audio. I just love these characters so much. Hobb writes beautifully as always, establishing setting, magic systems, and detailing complex relationships seamlessly. I'm honestly sad to be done with this amazing trilogy but excited that the journey isn't over yet. I'm glad that Fitz gets to be mostly happy for a time as I'm sure he'll have to suffer again in the books to come.
The easiest 5 stars I've given in a long long time. It's so worth reading all 8 books prior to this, just to get to this one. It is staggeringly brilliant. It both broke my heart, multiple times and yet made my spirits soar as well. Fitz and the Fool are possibly some of the best-fleshed and most unforgettable characters I've ever read.
Robin Hobb will always have a place as one of my favourite authors of all time. I have no words. I'm just in complete awe.
Robin Hobb will always have a place as one of my favourite authors of all time. I have no words. I'm just in complete awe.
I think this is my new favorite of Hobb’s books! All the time I have spent getting to know Fitz, the Fool, and others made the actual plot-heavy elements feel so much more powerful and deep, and I was able to experience this book fully. Like always, the writing and prose of the book is top tier … it brings me so much into the world and into Fitz’s heart and mind. The pacing worked well for me this time, which I haven’t always found to be true in this series. The chapters taking place on Aslevjal and in the realm of the Pale Woman were especially gripping, if only because it was nice to get out of the Six Duchies. Learning more about the Wit and the Skill is always great too, and I think my favorite thing about this book is that there are so many great moments of action, but even more importantly, so many great moments of emotional tension and drama with characters I have grown to love! Very satisfying ending to the trilogy, and I know there is even more to go!
Some quotes:
- “A small pebble can turn a wheel out of its path, he told me, but warned me that it was seldom a pleasant experience for the pebble.”
- “Sometimes it seems unfair that events so old can reach forward through the years, sinking claws into one's life and twisting all that follows it. Yet perhaps that is the ultimate justice: we are the sum of all we have done added to the sum of all that has been done to us. There is no escaping that, not for any of us.”
- “"I am not the person I was born. Neither are you. I know no one who is. Truly, Fitz, all we ever know are facets of one another. Perhaps we feel as if we know one another well when we know several facets of that person. Father, son, brother, friend, lover, husband ...a man can be all of those things, yet no one person knows him in all those roles.”
- “"There are other types of neglect and deprivation. To deny what unfolds inside someone, to forbid the magic that comes unbidden, to impose ignorance in a way that invites danger, to say to a child, 'You must not be what you are. That is wrong."”
- “"A false perception," Web said heavily, "that many folk not of Old Blood have about us. It is bound to happen, when one people must keep their ways secret and unseen. But it leads to the idea that we use animals and then discard them. It makes it easier for folk to think we would bid a beat savage a man's family, or send a wolf to kill a flock of sheep.”
- “When people look most vicious, what you are seeing is not their animal side. It is the savagery that only humans can muster. When you see me loyal to my family, then you see the wolf"
- “”I will give you all your dreams, if only you come back!" My dream was dead in my arms. I continued to walk.”
- “When you dull pain and hide it from yourself.." My words trickled away. I did not want to sound self-pitying. "You dull your joys as well."”
- “If I think of all that befell me as a linked chain that brings me finally to this place, with you kneeling by the water, alive and whole, then.... then the price was not too high. To see you whole again heals me."
- “Maybe you have to keep your pain and loss to know that you can survive whatever life deals you. Perhaps without putting your pain in its place in your life, you become something of a coward."
Some quotes:
- “A small pebble can turn a wheel out of its path, he told me, but warned me that it was seldom a pleasant experience for the pebble.”
- “Sometimes it seems unfair that events so old can reach forward through the years, sinking claws into one's life and twisting all that follows it. Yet perhaps that is the ultimate justice: we are the sum of all we have done added to the sum of all that has been done to us. There is no escaping that, not for any of us.”
- “"I am not the person I was born. Neither are you. I know no one who is. Truly, Fitz, all we ever know are facets of one another. Perhaps we feel as if we know one another well when we know several facets of that person. Father, son, brother, friend, lover, husband ...a man can be all of those things, yet no one person knows him in all those roles.”
- “"There are other types of neglect and deprivation. To deny what unfolds inside someone, to forbid the magic that comes unbidden, to impose ignorance in a way that invites danger, to say to a child, 'You must not be what you are. That is wrong."”
- “"A false perception," Web said heavily, "that many folk not of Old Blood have about us. It is bound to happen, when one people must keep their ways secret and unseen. But it leads to the idea that we use animals and then discard them. It makes it easier for folk to think we would bid a beat savage a man's family, or send a wolf to kill a flock of sheep.”
- “When people look most vicious, what you are seeing is not their animal side. It is the savagery that only humans can muster. When you see me loyal to my family, then you see the wolf"
- “”I will give you all your dreams, if only you come back!" My dream was dead in my arms. I continued to walk.”
- “When you dull pain and hide it from yourself.." My words trickled away. I did not want to sound self-pitying. "You dull your joys as well."”
- “If I think of all that befell me as a linked chain that brings me finally to this place, with you kneeling by the water, alive and whole, then.... then the price was not too high. To see you whole again heals me."
- “Maybe you have to keep your pain and loss to know that you can survive whatever life deals you. Perhaps without putting your pain in its place in your life, you become something of a coward."
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Gahhhhh what an ending to the Tawny Man trilogy. It had a slow start but covered so much and broke my heart multiple times. Hobb knows how to write these characters and I hate that I'm this much closer to the end.
Once again I am crying my eyes out at the end of a Robin Hobb book trying to put into words what this series means to me and failing
Long. Loooooong. And then a race to the end. When we started this buddy read, I did not expect these last two books to be like this. For me it was a re-read. For Anthony and now Josh, a first time read. And then the covid-19 quarantine hit and I was with physical books on order and they just didn't wait.
So this was a rush read to catch up. And this book was of daunting length.
I had remembered some details. I had forgotten others.
But the last third was especially emotional, kind of in the tear-jerker category.
But also by the end, the richness of the characters and the world was clear. This is a book that harvested the world-building of the previous books, even though it continued to extend that world.
This was an uneven book. It trudged and it flew.
It could probably have whole novellas of actions happening just off-screen from a different pov character.
It was kind of exhausting. But also somewhat exhilarating.
So this was a rush read to catch up. And this book was of daunting length.
I had remembered some details. I had forgotten others.
But the last third was especially emotional, kind of in the tear-jerker category.
But also by the end, the richness of the characters and the world was clear. This is a book that harvested the world-building of the previous books, even though it continued to extend that world.
This was an uneven book. It trudged and it flew.
It could probably have whole novellas of actions happening just off-screen from a different pov character.
It was kind of exhausting. But also somewhat exhilarating.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Death
Minor: Drug abuse
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Plot or Character Driven:
Character