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A review by poisonenvy
The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince by Robin Hobb
emotional
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince is a short novel that takes place long, long before the events of the Realm of the Elderlings, and tells the story of the Piebald Prince, the reason why the Witted are so disparaged in the Six Dutchies. It's told less as a narrative and more as a recounting, a telling of the story from Felicity, childhood friend of Princess Caution -- the titular Willful Princess -- and nursemaid and nanny to Charger, the Piebald Prince.
And it's great. The framing device for the story fits it perfectly. I have so many theories and questions that have risen anew from reading this, and I'm looking forward to my reread of the Tawny Man series now that I have all this knowledge of the true story of the Piebald Prince under my belt. It was obvious in Tawny Man that we didn't have the full story, and I'm glad we do now. Hobb's ability to change writing styles between her stories is masterful.
And, like always, I loved the relationships in this story, both between Felicity and Caution, and between Redbird and Charger. And the relationship between Felicity and her mother was so well done. Honestly, I loved it all. All of it was A+.
And it's great. The framing device for the story fits it perfectly. I have so many theories and questions that have risen anew from reading this, and I'm looking forward to my reread of the Tawny Man series now that I have all this knowledge of the true story of the Piebald Prince under my belt. It was obvious in Tawny Man that we didn't have the full story, and I'm glad we do now. Hobb's ability to change writing styles between her stories is masterful.
And, like always, I loved the relationships in this story, both between Felicity and Caution, and between Redbird and Charger. And the relationship between Felicity and her mother was so well done. Honestly, I loved it all. All of it was A+.