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carduelia_carduelis 's review for:
The Farseer Trilogy
by Robin Hobb
What a treat to return to a series not touched in 15+ years and find it still as heady and engaging as it was as a teenager.
Hobb weaves a slow, inexorable narrative with the development of each of her characters the stepping stones on the journey, chiseled away page-by-page.
The trilogy is truly one story over three books. In this Folio Society edition there is a foreword from Hobb describing that she sought to write the story of a side-character. Verity is the protagonist of these three books: his struggle, his quest. Fitz is a witness, a resource, and a tool. And these books are as much about what that means as they are about the main plot.
Each book follows Fitz during a period in his life: a colorful, whirlwind childhood; a depressive adolescence; and (to quote Le Guin) a journey into adulthood: "ever the path grows narrower till at last he chooses nothing but does only and wholly what he must."
Apprentice was better than I remembered. The plot moved fast, it was more sensory, and the climax surprised me. I had forgotten how out of left-field Hobb's endings were. I leapt into Royal Assassin ready for more. Unfortunately it was a chore. The first 60% should have been about a third as long as it was. The first few chapters full of call-backs also felt unnecessary. I wish, since this was sold as a collected edition, they had cut out the recaps in the first 100 pages.
Fitz and Regal are tedious characters in book 2, which helps make the ending so exciting.
And so, onto book 3, Quest, which is the best of the lot. There are some things I remembered and some that I didn't . Something I did remember is that I started reading the last 400 pages of the book at 10pm on a school night when I was a teenager and calling in sick the next day because I stayed up all night to see what Fitz was going to find at the end of his quest. Even though I stuck to more work-friendly hours this time around, the rush of the ending felt the same. It was such a satisfying conclusion to the story and has me set up for the Rain Wilds - which I remember enjoying even more than this trilogy.
Here's hoping Folio does editions of all of Hobb's books!
These books meander. They stay with each character likely too long for most people's enjoyment. They make you get to know the ponderous, loyal, foolish Fitz better than a close friend. The characters are emotionally intelligent and get caught up in their own narratives and ideas. Fitz is pushed and pulled by powers both political and magical too complex for him or us to fully comprehend. This aspect of his youth was very convincing and I appreciated it much more in my early thirties than I did as a teenager. I wonder if I will feel the same way in another 15 years.
This reread also showed me some weakness in the trilogy: most of it lying in the bloated wallowing of book 2. And it showed me an emotional nuance I didn't realise I was missing until I found it again. I don't think anyone writes people with the tenderness of Hobb.
4.5 stars rounded up.
John Howe's covers and illustrations will always be my favourite. This one is from the cover of Assassin's Quest.
Hobb weaves a slow, inexorable narrative with the development of each of her characters the stepping stones on the journey, chiseled away page-by-page.
The trilogy is truly one story over three books. In this Folio Society edition there is a foreword from Hobb describing that she sought to write the story of a side-character. Verity is the protagonist of these three books: his struggle, his quest. Fitz is a witness, a resource, and a tool. And these books are as much about what that means as they are about the main plot.
Each book follows Fitz during a period in his life: a colorful, whirlwind childhood; a depressive adolescence; and (to quote Le Guin) a journey into adulthood: "ever the path grows narrower till at last he chooses nothing but does only and wholly what he must."
Apprentice was better than I remembered. The plot moved fast, it was more sensory, and the climax surprised me. I had forgotten how out of left-field Hobb's endings were. I leapt into Royal Assassin ready for more. Unfortunately it was a chore. The first 60% should have been about a third as long as it was. The first few chapters full of call-backs also felt unnecessary. I wish, since this was sold as a collected edition, they had cut out the recaps in the first 100 pages.
Fitz and Regal are tedious characters in book 2, which helps make the ending so exciting.
And so, onto book 3, Quest, which is the best of the lot. There are some things I remembered
Spoiler
the gender identity of the Fool and the stone garden of dragons of course!Spoiler
Fitz's journey across the desert, Starling, how annoying Starling isHere's hoping Folio does editions of all of Hobb's books!
These books meander. They stay with each character likely too long for most people's enjoyment. They make you get to know the ponderous, loyal, foolish Fitz better than a close friend. The characters are emotionally intelligent and get caught up in their own narratives and ideas. Fitz is pushed and pulled by powers both political and magical too complex for him or us to fully comprehend. This aspect of his youth was very convincing and I appreciated it much more in my early thirties than I did as a teenager. I wonder if I will feel the same way in another 15 years.
This reread also showed me some weakness in the trilogy: most of it lying in the bloated wallowing of book 2. And it showed me an emotional nuance I didn't realise I was missing until I found it again. I don't think anyone writes people with the tenderness of Hobb.
4.5 stars rounded up.
John Howe's covers and illustrations will always be my favourite. This one is from the cover of Assassin's Quest.