Robin Hobb

[Darksmoon]

Are Robin Hobb books good? I've seen them for years at the book store but have not make the plunge to read one. Are they worth reading?

[BFG]

I love them. Not sure if you're after information or just after general info, so feel free to ignore the rest of this...

 

Chronologically she's written Assassins, Liveship, Golden Fool, Soldier Son and Rain River Wild series. Apart from Soldier Son they're all set in the same world. I'd advise reading them in order, although there isn't a great deal of cross-over between Assassins and Liveships so you could read Liveships first (and a lot of people prefer this series). To really appreciate Golden Fool you need to have read Assassins and Liveship, and to read Rain Wilds you need to have read all three. I'll admit I haven't read the most recent Rain Wild book and I don't think that's the last in the series so I can't comment on how well it works, but the first three (series) are brilliant!

 

They're (obviously) very different to WoT, there's no foreshadowing, and there aren't really any discussions (with other fans) to be had. There are some things in Liveships that you may catch if you read them in order, but the stories are about the plot and the characters.

[blank]

I thought the Golden Fool trilogy was wonderful and the preceding two excellent, I'm not a fan of her latest stuff though...

 

I find that she has a odd writing style, that seems slow but wonderfully in depth even thought the plot is moving quite fast. Her books are very character based and it is also not a cheery read but very very much worth it.

[Hallow]

The 3 original trilogies (Farseer, Liveship and Tawny Man) were all fantastic, some of my favourite books.

[Darksmoon]

I've picked up the first Assassins book multiple times but just haven't bought it. It sounds like I need to check it out!

[Hallow]

I've picked up the first Assassins book multiple times but just haven't bought it. It sounds like I need to check it out!

 

Absolutely! I'm jealous of you for having your first read of them ahead of you

[Darksmoon]

There is something special about the first time you read a book series. I have been waiting on so many books for so long that I just like to read series that are completed or stand along novels.

[slatanic1]

The 3 original trilogies (Farseer, Liveship and Tawny Man) were all fantastic, some of my favourite books.

 

Agreed.....I've read them all a few times now.

[Astus]

I've only read her Soldier Son trilogy and I enjoyed it somewhat. Well, I found the middle entry to be excessively depressing but the final book did present a decent enough conclusion. Still, I don't think I would really recommend it to anyone.

[Hallow]

I thought Soldier's son was great. Very depressing though.

[BFG]

The Soldier Son books are my least favourite, by quite a long way. If you've read those and not enjoyed those I'd still recommend the assassin, liveship and golden fool trilogies, although it might be worth checking out the library first, to see if it's her style of writing or those particular books that you didn't like.

[Hallow]

The Soldier Son books are my least favourite, by quite a long way. If you've read those and not enjoyed those I'd still recommend the assassin, liveship and golden fool trilogies, although it might be worth checking out the library first, to see if it's her style of writing or those particular books that you didn't like.

 

Oh I agree they're certainly her weakest books (although I haven't read any of the Rain Wild Chronicles), but I still think they're quite good and has one of the more interesting settings/worlds I've seen.

[BFG]

Soldier Son are well written, but I wasn't gripped by the story (I put down Forest Mage and didn't finish it for 18 months). I prefer the Rain Wild stories, but they seem more childish somehow - I'm not great at analysing books and generally try actively not to, so that's probably as good a analysis as I can do. Having said that the excerpts from her latest book, seem pretty good, but I'll be waiting for paperback without to much difficulty.

[Hallow]

Soldier Son are well written, but I wasn't gripped by the story (I put down Forest Mage and didn't finish it for 18 months). I prefer the Rain Wild stories, but they seem more childish somehow - I'm not great at analysing books and generally try actively not to, so that's probably as good a analysis as I can do. Having said that the excerpts from her latest book, seem pretty good, but I'll be waiting for paperback without to much difficulty.

 

The whole dragon subplot was always extremely uninteresting to me in the Realm of the Elderlings trilogies. That's probably why I haven't started reading the Rain Wild books (despite owning the first 2).

 

I was far more interested in the characters. Would love a proper sequel trilogy to the Liveship Trilogy.

[BFG]

spoiler for Rain Wilds

 

 

The latest release looks like it's going to feature Malta and Seldon at the least

 

 

[Hagazussa]

My hubby love Hobb's books. I think they are okey, they are not my favorites but they are definitely good.

[Rafalou]

I am reading the Rain wilds and i find it good, but the assains and liveships were really great !

I think Rain Wild is not as well written as these two... And i see it at a sequel, not a book that we can read independantly. However, i am looking forward to read the next volume

 

As for the soldier, i didn't like it, i found it boring and didn't like the main character...

[BFG]

I can't make up my mind about Soldiers, I think the quality of the writing is very high, but the character is mostly unlikeable. The story-line gets more interesting in 2 & 3. I much prefer her first three trilogies - Rain Wilds, not so much - but the latest release seems to include some returning characters from Liveship so I'm hoping to enjoy the last(?) book a lot more - I will be waiting for paperback release though