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4.4 AVERAGE
4.4 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Rape
MY FAVOURITE SERIES OF ALL TIME! Robin Hobb is my favourite fictional author and her writing just invites you to live in this incredible world and truly bond with characters. You feel so much and the depth in these books is beyond compare. Cannot recommend this trilogy enough. Her follow-on trilogies of the story are also AMAZING, but the first & second trilogies are the best. :)
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I burned through this series. My husband recommended it to me after he bought the first one, and I read them all so quickly, held up only by his pace. Robin Hobb is such an adept writer. The Farseer Trilogy is high fantasy of a sort: there are tales of dragons, minstrels sing in taverns lit by torches, the world is pastoral and the keeps made of stone.
But the signs that this series is written by a woman rather than a man (like so many classic high fantasy novels are) are clear to me. Though her protagonist and narrator (it’s a first-person account by Fitz-Chivalry Farseer) is a man, his interactions with people of all sorts and the themes Hobb explores bend the genre in gentle and welcome ways. She presents gender in a much more fluid way than I have seen depicted in fantasy, particularly with The Fool.
The interesting thing is that Fitz is a somewhat conservative narrator and at times very narrow-minded. His opinions, therefore, are balanced in conversations with others.
Perhaps the most interesting conversations come with Fitz’s Wit-bonded beast, Nighteyes. He’s a wolf and he sees the world through a wolf’s eyes (and ears and nose). That relationship is complex and nuanced. The animal-bonding magic known as the Wit or Old Blood is looked down upon in regular society, a thread we’ll see throughout this entire series.
Which brings me to magic. Magic is never wholly explained in this series. Hobb trickles out knowledge as Fitz discovers it. He possesses both the Wit and the Skill, a rare combination. Early on in his ability to use the Skill, it’s stunted, but as readers we still expect more from Fitz. The two magics intermingle, weave, and unravel throughout the series in thought-provoking ways. I found myself just not thinking about it when something didn’t make sense because someone would usually explain it in time.
The pacing of each book in this trilogy felt vastly different. Mostly this is because we meet Fitz as a six-year-old child and see him grow up, witness to his upbringing. We travel far through time from beginning to end. Most of the action takes place when Fitz is a bit older, but there are important parts in his youth that are given a chapter or two as well. The forward lurch was unpredictable. At times, Hobb uses conversations to gloss over the missing parts – oh exposition.
With all that fast-tracking forward we only learn of certain people in Fitz’s life. He’s pretty isolated to this small cast. While it took some time to get to know the relationships, those we do see forged are especially poignant. But the small cast also means that death will be hugely consequential.
By the end of the trilogy I understood people’s actions though I often disagreed with them. Knowing there are several more trilogies set in this world is exciting, so I know there’s more to explore and enjoy.
So, this ranged far, and I enjoyed it immensely. Great read for the summer.
slow-paced
adventurous
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
medium-paced
I loved this series! Was frustrating to read and get through at times. But overall I really enjoyed it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Rape, War
A captivating read
Robin Hobbs serves up a captivating read in the Farseer trilogy. The story follows a young bastard child, fitz, from humble beginning's outside the great castle to a distant land filled with magical creatures. The story is engaging the characters are lovable and there's always twist at the end.
Robin Hobbs serves up a captivating read in the Farseer trilogy. The story follows a young bastard child, fitz, from humble beginning's outside the great castle to a distant land filled with magical creatures. The story is engaging the characters are lovable and there's always twist at the end.
Another one that it's been awhile since I've read it. The story kind of lags after the second half of the last book and the ending wasn't very satisfying, but overall worth reading.