You have very aptly described some of my gripes with this series. I'm reading the next trilogy right now, The Liveship Traders and this one is SO much better. You have a new subscriber, as I have to assume you are an excellent connoisseur of books judging by the shelf of Discworld.
Thanks a million, I have heard that Liveship is a massive step up, I might get back to it but at the moment Hobb is not high up my priority list. i wouldntt call myself an excellent connoisseur of books, but if I saw someone with a shelf of Pratchett, I might call them one 😁
I just finished the farseer trilogy. My feeling was "why is this so popular on book tube". It was not very good. I have limited time to read, so I try to be super selective with what I am going to read next. I have a TBR list and since all the booktubers had it on their top list, I read it. I was so disappointed... I typed in "farseer books over rated" on youtube to see if anyone else felt this way. Thanks for the vids!
I just found it incredibly depressing. Anything that _can_ go wrong _will_ go wrong. Fitz' only real ability was to still be alive when all the evidence says otherwise.
That, and... there was just this vague sameness to it all. All the good guys were totally perfect and all pretty much the same person, all the bad guys are just mustache-twirling demons who, again, were all sorta the same. There was no ambiguity, there were no moral conflicts. All the good people like nature, and the common people, and Fitz. And all bad people like refinement and aristocracy and can't bear to be near a tree... and hate Fitz, just because they do.
thank you for your review! i finished assassin's apprentice and felt like i'd walked through the looking glass because everyone was giving this series like six stars. i even started doubting myself - do i even like high fantasy? do i enjoy court intrigue if i didn't enjoy this?? lol, luckily i have enough faith in myself that i didn't continue the series and thanks to your review i now know that i probably never will. there are so many books to read that i will enjoy and only so much time!
I DNF'd halfway through book 2, so I understand where you're coming from and I think your criticisms perfectly encapsulate 90% of my grievances with the series.
Acknowledge you are in the minority, but never let consensus convince you you’re wrong. How many booktubers are praising it because they don’t want to be in the minority? We don’t know.
I think it’s ok to acknowledge a consensus is probably right. I mean if I were to come out and say that Dickens was an overrated hack, I think the weight of history would probably prove me wrong. Hobb might not have that weight, but it’s a pretty compelling majority. Even so, perhaps I did overstate how wrong I am to mitigate backlash and for dramatic effect 😁
I see shelves of Terry Pratchett? I subscribe! But seriously, great video - honest opinions are always valuable, or everything becomes an echo chamber.
Same thing happened to me except I DNF'd the first book and that was it. Good to hear you say these things. I felt pretty isolated like something was wrong with me for not liking it..
yeah, on first glance it seems like we're alone but actually the amount of comments of people saying, "Oh thank God it's not just me" has been pretty overwhelming, so thanks
At least once a year I think to myself: maybe I should try again, or try the Liveship... and then I remember the mindboggling boredom. Thank you for making the video I can come back to when I get the urge again.
I also predominantly listened to this story, and had the same feelings as you: bored and confused. Here's a negative take I get skewered for: The Kingkiller Chronicles are boring. One thing those books share with the Farseer Trilogy is alluding to cooler things that happened, but never getting into them.
I think that audiobook is a contributing factor alright. See, I actually really like Kingkiller, it’s funny isn’t it how books can be on the surface quite similar but get such different reactions. Still, it’d be boring if we all liked the same things
I totally agree with regards to being confused as to why this series gets so much hype on booktube and other series never get mentioned. I think it's partly the echo chamber effect. I read it about 20 years ago and I remember it just being ok - very long. It did not get onto my top 10 list (but I did mention it). One thing though about your criticisms of character. I just read the first Liveship book and I think she *does* do great character work. When I say that, I'm not talking about whether they are nice people or what they do, it's about how distinctive they are from each other. Eg if two characters had a dialogue and I wasn't told who was who, would I be able to tell which characters they were because of what they were saying and how they said it? Having said that, I'm still giving the first liveship book 4 stars because I think it could have been half the size!
I think I’d agree that she gives her characters distinct voices, and I do think there’s some of the support characters like Kettricken and Burrich with some depth, I think the bulk of the characters that we spend our time with like Fitz, Nighteyes, Molly etc are pretty one dimensional.
Dude, u r correct…a book series should offer something. The apologetic book tubers do this same crap with Sanderson and his intentions of writing a ten book series to match wheel of time to cement him as the man, but 1200 pages of 1000 pages of blah blah blah. Fantasy needs the fantastic not word marathons
Completely agree. I don't understand how one can make a book about an assassin so boring, with an ending so disappointing. I didn't really like the first book, but read the whole series and just do not understand what people like about it at all.
@@TheBookThing I have several of the rest of the series on Kindle. I will also try Liveship eventually. I will have to be in the mood to start it. TBR is hundreds long before I expect to get back to it.
Thank you for your honesty...very few booktubers are actual critical book reviewers. They usually stick to being on the safe side. I just finished the Farseer Trilogy. You are absolutely right...there were many threads that were begun but never resolved. For me, I wanted to know more about Fitz' mother...and how and why such an upstanding character such as Chivalry had an illegitimate son. What happened...was it a one night stand or did he love her? I needed more of that because the story started with him being abandoned and him not remembering his childhood. That was what hooked me initially and there was nothing to satiate that need to know... and Regal was less than a 2 dimensional character...it pissed me off that everything he did was passed off as him being a spoiled child. There were no layers to him. I was not impressed at all. Another author I DNF is Abercrombie. I read the First Law series because everyone was raving about it and then I thought there was something wrong with me because I was so disappointed. I continued to persevere reading half way through the first stand alone...and then i DNF'd it. I couldn't do that to myself anymore. 😅
@@Hala10-7 thanks for that. Yeah, it was the lack of curiosity about his mother that made it frustrating for me, the story was pretty much “I was taken away from a loving mother…anyway moving on” Interestingly I’m actually really enjoying the First Law series for the very reason that I didn’t like Farseer. I feel Hobb tried to craft a sympathetic character who I really didn’t like, whereas Abercrombie creates deeply unsympathetic characters and makes them weirdly likeable. Thanks a million for watching, I’m not usually this harsh, but I am always honest 😁
@@amos_comedies742 I don’t feel like I can comment on that yet as I’ve only read the first two books in the First Law trilogy. The Blade Itself ends with the kicking off of the adventure and Before They Are Hanged is the second in a trilogy so you always kind of expect the middle book to end on a bit of a grim note. I’ll have more of an opinion after I read The Last Argument of Kings and a few more.
@@TheBookThing Please review the trilogy once you are done. Anyway I've read the entire First Law universe( 3 trilogies+ a short story collection). They are good stories though, in terms of pacing, dialogue etc
@ I did give my thoughts on them in my August and September wrap ups, but that’s a good idea to do a full review of the series when I’ve read all three. 👍
We might disagree BUT 2 things... 1. I've only read the first book. I might hate the next couple of books in the trilogy. 2. I love nothing more than watching Booktubers who hate books I enjoy. I don't know what it is but it's a guilty pleasure of mine. The reverse isn't true though. I rarely like watching booktubers gush over books I hated haha. Great video mate.
@@PaperbackJourneys ha ha. Thanks man. Come back for the spoiler sections after you’ve finished the trilogy, I’ll be interested to see if you still disagree. 😂
@@TheBookThing Yeah I clicked off just before the spoiler for royal assassin. I'm a bit nervous now that I'll lose interest. Brandon Sanderson is calling my name with The Way of Kings but I don't want to start a new fantasy series before at least finishing the Farseer trilogy.
@@PaperbackJourneys oh good, wouldn’t have wanted to spoil it. Look, I may be retrospectively ripping Farseer apart, but I liked it enough at the time to finish it and I wasn’t anywhere near as engaged as you were so I’m sure you’ll be fine. I know Mistborn didn’t gel, but I reckon you’ll enjoy The Stormlight
I think this is really valid... My best friend and I actually frequently like different books and we've gotten quite used to listening to each other roast the books the other likes. We started out fishing over a few books we both liked, but we've settled in to stop reading books together, but roasting each other's faves instead. 😝
Oof I dunno. I suspect I might have a wee bit too much Six Duchy baggage. I’ll at least need a bit of a pause before I attempt to go near it. Love your optimism though 🤣
@@TheBookThing For your consideration: - Liveship Traders is not set in Six Duchies (although set in the same world). - LT is multi-POV third person, instead of single-POV first person. - The villain is a huge step up in complexity from Regal.
@@TheBookThingI agreed with you on a lot of points about Farseer, but I read Liveship and it was much better (the Tawny Man is fantastic as well, much better than Farseer). It has almost completely new characters, much more fleshed out and is written in the third person. This was the series they hooked me
I read the Farseer Trilogy recently too. I got really wrapped up in the first two books, I was so eager to continue. Then I hit Assassin's Quest and got within a gnat's whisker of DNFing. In fact, I wish I had! I hated every page. I can't imagine what a slog it must've been for you when you didn't even like the first two books!
@@TheBookThing That was my feeling in the third book too. I enjoyed the first two enough to be invested in the resolution, but that was hardly worth waiting for when it came. The pacing was just totally unbalanced. Far too many pages dedicated to stuff that, while initially compelling due to the quality of the prose, was ultimately pointless - and far too few pages devoted to resolving three long books’ worth of tantalising plot threads. Yeah, a very frustrating reading experience!
@@genteelblackhole I’m with you there. I kept going because it was genuinely well written and I assumed it would go somewhere. Not anywhere I wanted to go apparently
The strange thing is... I am actually someone who enjoyed it... but when you pointed out the jumping into the mind of someone to have the sex... um... yeah, I think I just had my moment of "ew" and then moved it to the deep recesses of my mind.🤣🤣🤣 Thank you for your honest take! 🍂🍁🥰📖🍁🍂
Way to introduce yourself to a possible new subscriber and a very bold stance on something most fantasy readers hold a deep affection for. Now I certainly don't want to tell you that you're wrong, because of course taste is even more subjective than art already is and seeing the Pratchett books (also: Watchmen) on your shelf makes me aware that we at least partly enjoy the same books. This said, to me , Robin Hobb falls into a very specific group of authors that are kinda the litmus test that I apply to find out whose taste I should trust and whose taste I'd better take with a grain of salt. Still, if everyone would love exactly the same things, that would be even more boring than how you perceive the Farseer trilogy to be.
Ha ha, yep it’s quite the introduction, I have to say I really wasn’t expecting it to be as much of an introduction as it turned out to be. I’m very grateful but surprised by how many people have found my channel through this video. I find reviewers that I like in pretty much the same way as you: what have they read and does my opinion align with theirs. That being said some of my favourite reviewers can’t stand some of the books that I love and gush about books that I hate, so it’s rarely a one to one match. Thanks for watching
I liked (mildly) the first; didn’t like the second; hated the third. The ending of the third-! She dragged it all out with absolutely nothing happening for hundreds of pages, then rushed the conclusion. It was amateurish.
Some of your criticisms are fair, some unfair. The white ships are tied up beautifully in the 2nd trilogy, so is fitz mother. The fact that regal is above his own laws is a realistic study of power & regal even monologues about it - he doesn't need witnesses or alibis. The world building isnt as good as GOT, but its decent. I can name the dutchies. I grant you that Farrow/tilth are interchangeable though, so are some of the coastal dutchies. The main divide thats highlighted is between the inland and coastal areas. Its quite a small region. Fitz walks across it.
@@hungrydave1977 I applaud your duchy knowledge, but I personally agree that there’s costal and inland and not much differentiation. I don’t disagree that Regal’s actions are realistic, my point is that they’re neither court intrigue nor deep. I’m sure abandoned elements are covered in future instalments, but after 3 volumes of less interesting things being explored to death I’d had enough. And I recognise that’s a me problem. Thanks for the response though, and thanks a million for watching 😁
I DNF'd this series after book two because I was so bored and annoyed by it all. I ended up rooting for the villain (who barely does anything anyway! but) I was so bored. And lots of people are like "Oh Fitz suffers so much" ummm no he doesn't?? I was expecting a lot worse than what actually happened in the first two books, like?? He does not suffer! He BARELY suffers. He should suffer MORE. Also, I hate him. But apparently everyone who likes this series also finds him infuriating??? Make it make sense! The only thing I liked about the first two books was the Fool and I spoiled myself for what happens to him and it's a big let down.
If you didn’t like books one and two then it was probably wise to not try book three. Probably should’ve done the same myself. *spoiler warning* I’ll say in defence of the series though he does suffer a fair bit. I mean he does literally get tortured to death at one point 🤣
Fitz wakes the dragons so is kind of key to the outcome. Maybe verity's dragon could beat the red ships on its own, but veritys dragon wouldnt have been made without fitz helping kestrel, & stopping verity from dying as early as book 1. I dont need Fitz to be the perfect hero, hes better as a flawed observer that makes key contributions. Also the dragons are not chucked in to fix plot. The reason they exist is a big part of the history that happened prior to them which is developed in later books. The characters are trying to understand the history of their realm and frequently misunderstand it causing the reader to misunderstand with them, but when you get to the end you realise Hobb knew and wrote their mistakes as part of the story. Thats class.
Hmm, extra dragons maybe, but arguably Kestral was only needed because of the ticking clock of Regal’s forces on the way something that was only a factor because Fitz drew their attention. When just looking at the single trilogy the dragons feel like a third act deus ex machina. After 3 books and nearly 2000 pages, I had no interest in carrying on so I cannot comment on the full arc of the series so I’ll absolutely defer to your knowledge on how well it fits overall.
@@TheBookThing I really don't want to keep commenting 😅 You're wrong though. Regal's main goal is to take the quarry and make stone dragons based on knowledge he got from Galen. That's why he has a seemingly incomprehensible war with the mountain kingdom - to distract them as he sends his skill users up the pass. Anyway, enjoyed the video. I have criticisms too, but different ones & I couldn't write them here without major spoilers 👍
@@hungrydave1977 ha ha, yeah I said I was wrong in the video. Thanks a million for commenting, this sort of discussion is why I started this channel in the first place
GAH!!!! THANK. YOU!! Like you, after seeing reviews from people I respect, I jumped in too. I expressed a similar position, especially with Fitz and him crying all. The. Time. And I got obliterated by fans. I thought it was just me. Yea, not reading any more of her stuff if her "fans" can't handle honest criticism. I have the same issue with the Jim Butcher book, The Aeronaut's Windlass: The Cinder Spires. It's just book one but... well, unless you like talking cats, and even if you do, the cats that talk are annoying af, this book left me scratching my head and rolling my eyes. I hated it. And it was the first Butcher book I'd ever read and now I've no desire to read his other stuff. Especially because how his fans reacted to my review of this book.
Yeah the fanbase is pretty zealous alright, but to be fair the responses I’ve had have been very positive, even from the most ardent ones who disagree with me. The Jim Butcher books were actually on my radar, not so enthusiastic about them now 🤣🤣🤣 Glad I could reflect your experience, thanks for watching. 😁
Agree with everything said. Gave up after the 1st book! Also the names annoyed me in the book for some reason (Patience, Loyal , Chivalry etc.) You should skip to Liveship Traders which is acually incredible!!
Thank you so much. I keep getting people telling me to try out the Liveship Traders, I might have to relent. Weirdly the names was one of the things that didn’t bug me, probably because I assumed it was ironic, Chivalry had a bastard son, Regal was completely inept at ruling, Shrewd constantly made dreadful decisions. But if Hobb meant them sincerely, then they’re pretty dreadful 🤣🤣🤣
I tried reading the first book. I didn't love it but it was pretty rough. I will say, all the fans I talked to who told me I'm just a horrible person who deserves torture for not saying the book was totally perfect, did not help to improve my experience.
I liked the Farseer trilogy because it's a different pace compared to most and I kind of liked the 1st person perspective. It's closer in style to a novel from 'real' literature* in which 1st person perspective is more common, and I rarely read those anymore. Other than that I kind of agree with your points about Fitz: he's whiny and defeatist when it comes to his place in the world. And that can be frustrating to read. There were numerous times I would think to myself "Fvck's sake! Man up! Go do something about it, ya pvssy!" But the fact that a character is flawed doesn't make it a bad book. What's wrong with a book about a mediocre man with a tendency to wallow in self-pity? *)I don't personally think of fantasy as less real, but you probably get my point
@@oilslick7010 I agree, it doesn’t make it a bad book. There’s a distinction between ‘this is something I don’t like’ and ‘this is objectively bad’. I can recognise the objectively good elements of the series, I just don’t like it. 😁
@@oilslick7010 by the way, if you liked the slower paced first person perspective, have you tried The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss? Now that one I really did like.
@@TheBookThing Thanks for the tip! It was already on my 'to read' list, but I didn't know it was 1st person....I guess that one's next after I finish the Hyperion Cantos and the new Stormlight Archive book :)
@@TheBookThing Yeah fair enough. I guess for me the annoying aspects didn't outweigh the positives like they did for you. So it remains a net positive.
I read Assassin's Apprentice before Booktube was a thing. I have the full trilogy, but have never felt the need to go any further. It falls into a fairly long list of "Books that Other People Like for Some Reason" for me. (See also Jordan, Pratchett, Adams, Banks, Wolfe, Bradbury, most of the Sanderson that I've read, ....) I'm glad those people found a thing they like. I have my own list of books that I like for some reason; it's not a one-way thing.
@@TheBookThingEveryone should make an exception for Pratchett. A cat in my lap, a cozy logfire and a Pratchett collection and I'm all set. What more could a girl wish for? 😂
I loved the Farseer Trilogy, back in the 90's when I first read it. Tried to re-read a few years back and was horrified, HORRIFIED at how much I did not like it, though I did not object to it anywhere near as much as you do :) It was originally given to me by a good friend, a long term fantasy reader, who never could read through the dog being beaten. Are you really interested in series I don't like? really? Because after reading seven or eight of The Wheel of Time I came to loath it with the fire of a thousand suns, never completed it and for three years swiped left on anyone who mentioned it favourably.
Yeah I get the WoT frustration. It annoyed me too, but on balance, I enjoyed it. …Kinda. I think the reason I could get through WoT with a bit less frustration, was at least there was a cast of characters, and if you hate one (and by the Light I hated a lot more than one of them) then at least you’ve a chance of liking another one who’ll be along in a minute. In Farseer you’re stuck in Fitz’s head, and if you don’t like being there: tough. Thanks for the reply 😁
@@TheBookThing That is valid (especially about Fitz) I would make another suggestion also. Most people I know who love WoT it was either the first epic fantasy they bonded with, or reasonably early in their fantasy reading career. I have noticed that older readers (not chronological age, but reading time age) are much more inclined to be critical. One of the things that really, really turned me off it, eventually, was that I would argue there are only two female characters in the whole series. Generic 'good girl' and generic 'witch bitch' and the only form of character development that happens to any of them is moving from one category to the other. Most often GG to WB.
@@onceuponabookishsteph by all means give it a go, everyone else loves it, and if you don’t, then in the words of Chappell Roan, “I hate to say it but I told you so” 😁
Thank for your refreshing take on this series ❤️.I have only read Assassins Apprentice and although I thought Robin hobb's writing style is beautiful.The plot and structure is lacking and it is tiresome being on Fitz's Head .
Thanks so much 😁. I have to agree, the inside of Fitz’s head is not a place I enjoyed spending time in. You probably made a wider choice than me by abandoning the series after book one.
I'm happy that you can justify your dislike. That makes it a fair, reasoned argument. Not every popular book is going to resonate with every reader; there are certainly plenty of recommended authors who leave me cold. But I enjoy Robin Hobb's writing, and have read all of the Realm of the Elderlings books once, though never felt the need to reread them, as they are quite long and meander a bit (I liked that on a first read, but it would just frustrate me on a revisit). The Rain Wilds Chronicles are my favourite of the series so far, but you do need to have read and enjoyed The Liveship Traders first.
I am SO GLAD Im not the only one that thought they were boring. Weird naming conventions aside (at least shes consistent) I found Fitz to be so uninteresting. You summarised my feelings quite well.
I DNF’d on page 30 on Assassins apprentice. I am still deciding whether to go back or not. The series seems like a very acquired taste, and I’m not one for lacklustre main characters
Merphy talks about the Fitz trilogy in 2022, "Tropes I'm Sick Of, Books I Don't Like..." The 5th section (pretty sure). She DNFed the trilogy, saying the first two were a SLOG. She adds a few points, ending with being pretty sure she'll never read more Hobbs (even though she loves pirates).
I’ll check that video out but I think she may have relented since, the last video I saw from her on the subject of Hobb was how much she liked the Liveship trilogy
Agree. Spot on about Regal. Spot on about Fitz. I also read Ship of Magic (I love naval fiction and I was promised a different experience by friends) and what you get in Farseer is what you get from Hobb as far as I can tell. And I did not do it as an audiobook - same boredom and hatred.
@@TheBookThing Ship of Magic was better than Farseer, but many (many) of the issues you enumerate show up in that book. You will be wondering how others cannot see how horrible the antagonist is, irritated at how the main character is actually not competent at almost anything, wondering when is something going to happen? All of these thoughts will come back like relatives visiting overlong. It's hard because of how revered The Realm of the Elderlings is, but truly I think there are people who love Hobb's type of storytelling and those of us who suffer through it waiting for it to get good. Maybe if her books were sub 400 pages it would be worth another swing, but I think I'm done.
You are definitely not alone, I didn't like the series at all. I agree with all of your points. That said, The Liveship Traders series is my favorite of all time, and you don't need to have read anything else in the series to enjoy it. Give the first book a go and see what you think. BTW, it's third person which made a big difference for me.
Regarding Raiders of the Lost Ark - I'm firmly of the opinion that the only change Indy made to the Nazis plans was to help them along - there's at least two points at which the Nazis would have had either a time delay (during which they may have had to move resources elsewhere) or failed completely but which Indy's cleverness pointed the way.
Well here’s a rabbit hole I wasn’t expecting to go down, but that all depends on one thing. Did the Nazi’s know where Marion was or did they follow Indy? Because if they knew and Indy just beat them to it her, then without Indy they would have got the whole Staff of Ra headpiece and dug in the right place earlier. Jesus I’m a nerd.
One criticism I think is almost fair is Regal as a villain -> he’s a pantomime villain. But it’s from Fitz’s perspective. The next trilogy is multi PoV and has one of the best written villains ever. I also did not like Nighteyes in the first trilogy. I like him a lot later. He also does go to assassinate multiple people and I believe iirc assassinate one. But yes the titles in this series aren’t the best but its still in my top 3 series of all time.
@ it’s all subjective innit - I come from bias its my second fav fantasy series. So my view is distorted. Also my view on the last book of farseer (assassins quest) is changed now ive just finished the whole series - knowing it’s not the end end and knowing what comes next makes me appreciate that ending more. Diplomacy? What’s that on the internet ;) XD. All engagement is good engagement and all that!
I've not read the book, but I'd say that you shouldn't call yourself wrong. Communities such as booktube tend to overhype something they're into and then it spreads and people feel like they have to like something or they're a bad person for disagreeing. Instead, ignoring the hype and trying to be a bit more objective will get you far closer to the truth of the matter and will let you realise the kinds of things you actually enjoy. Eventually people start to speak out and people will come to their senses. We saw it with Sherlock, the BBC TV show, where it was incredibly popular during its run, but a few years later people are realising it wasn't all that great, really, and now the discussion around it is a bit more balanced.
TLDR-Cure your fury and frustration and read Red Rising trilogy. Trust me. It worked for me. You’ll understand why. Ok - regarding Farseer and the whole Realm of the Elderlings: I loved the series until the last book - the 17th book that I spent 5 months pouring over, rooting for Fitz, waiting for SOMETHING good to happen for him, and on and on and on and on….still waiting. I realized looking back it was actually like an addiction more than love or even enjoyment to be honest So I absolutely agree with everything you said except for Nighteyes. I do not recall him having any weird moments with Molly but then again I would have blocked it out - I was in too deep. 😂 And Nighteyes is the hero of the entire series by the end tbh. He’s the only character I can remember fondly. After the Farseer Trilogy I kept at it. On to the next series Liveship trilogy. I knew I was reading like a large mouthed bass devouring recognizable bait but I couldn’t stop. I had to know that any ONE of those unfinished plot lines would be followed through. I could not believe just how absolutely ridiculously the first trilogy ended. Like I had been through the French Revolutionary War and someone explains my entire experience using cliff notes from A Tale of Two cities. Like WHAT? That’s all the respect I get? I’ve been here! With you! For you! Rooting and crying and cheering and spending my time and money! And you give me 2 pages?? Ridiculous! Liveship trilogy-I hated it. Not a single redeeming character from beginning to end. Ok. There are 2. One we don’t see until the last book and he basically disappears from the series never to be heard from again. The other is who cares. I think that was his name. 😂 Tawny Man trilogy was by far the best trilogy of the series. After going through hell with Fitz in the first trilogy and then reading Liveship - the most stressful thing I’ve ever read- Tawny Man should have been books 4-6 and that’s it. The whole RoTE. Nothing more. No other books should’ve been tied to this series at all. You know why? Because every other book forces you into rabbit holes that are never ever ever followed through let alone explained or understood. The skill? Not explored to the extent which it ends up being the whole focal point of the entire series. The Wit? The cool magic that got us all hooked in the beginning? - because who doesn’t love animals? and imagining a world you can communicate with them? The magic he used at the age of 6 in the first book but somehow forgot all about even exploring it by the last series? 🤦🏼♀️ And character growth?? What character growth?? He grew into the best person he could hope for by the end of the Tawny man trilogy and by 20 yrs later in the last trilogy he reverted back to an absolute idiot. You want to know why it was called Assassin’s Apprentice? Because Hobb was the assassin. Absolute Character assassin. And we all were there thinking she would live up to the kind of hype she’s gained and give us the reason we’d been through all this shite with her and Fitz and the rest of the dumbest bunch of idiots on the planet. Always hoping it’d get better. I get it. We don’t want Mary Sues. And we recognize she was trying to write about how people are human and make mistakes - but decades after making the same mistakes over and over and shrugging their shoulders or one character who is so grating because she (Hobb) literally changed characters from ones who gave the readers any kind of hope to total shitbags. That’s what I found so appalling. By the end of Assassins Fate the last book in the series if she had written “Gotcha!” Or “Just Kidding!” Or a huge Eff U to her readers I might not even be so pissed that I wasted my time and SO MUCH MONEY on 16.5 paperbacks, and kindle editions so my husband could read them with me. Ugh. Total disrespect for her readers. I’ve read some dark and disturbing books. I’ve read many books with nuanced endings or cliffhangers with no full explanation but this series takes the cake. You see it’s been 2 months since I finished it. I had to dive right into something else to keep me from diving into a reading slump. I went straight to Red Rising trilogy and what a palate cleanser!!! The protagonist actually grows up! He listens to his inner dialogue and learns from his mistakes. He is street smart! He understands the assignment. And I really needed to read about people in chaotic situations and figures out their role in it quickly. Then I read Gwynne. The Blood and Bone quartet. Loved it. Just to tell you. I absolutely loved this video and it helped me process my bitter feelings about the series. So thank you!! BTW-Elliot Books on YT is not a fan either!! Thank you!!! For the honest review and letting me vent!! 😂🙌🏼📚❤️
Excellent response. I can tell that the feelings are still raw. I can see the addiction parallel, I used to be a smoker many years ago. It sucked, you dumped all your time and money into a thing that you had to do and hadn’t actually enjoyed for years. Everyone keeps saying to me to go on to the Liveship Traders and I was starting to relent, but you’ve given me pause. I’ve quit smoking once, I don’t think I need a substitute. Thanks a million for the reply I’m glad you enjoyed the video. 😁 Oh and Red Rising is on the TBR so I’ll get to it, hopefully soon.
@@TheBookThing Thanks! I’m not one to blame others for my bad decisions but I honestly believed as a reader I was witnessing all the absolutely horrific things happening to Fitz so we would get a huge arc and redemption by the end - and even if we had to read 17 F#%€£¥G books to get there. But no. So at the end, it might feel like an ex-Scientologist feels. Truthfully! If I had only read Liveship- I might have loved it. In fact - I shouldn’t say I hated because I was into it. I thought I was learning more about the world-heavy emphasis on learning but actually the last series pretty much demolishes everything we supposedly learned about Liveship actually reading Liveship. For the most part the story is super exciting but the dredge of reading really abrasive characters who need a hammer to the head to calm TF down and be humbled was so over the top. You know how lately so many movies and tv shows have a truly despicable main character who we are supposed to root for? Ex: Breaking Bad or The Boys or The Joker, Sopranos, Sons of Anarchy etc etc etc? It’s that. Just UGH. I actually think Hobb is some kind of masochist. She doesn’t seem to like her characters or give autonomy to her characters. Or she thinks no one can experience catharses after extraordinary trauma. And make different choices. I feel like anyone who reviews the entire series and still tells their viewers that Assassins Fate is the ultimate ending and/or the greatest culmination of all the plot holes throughout the series didn’t actually read the entire series, or is a boldfaced liar or are just plain evil. 😂 I recommend Red Rising particularly as a quick, succinctly written fast-paced trilogy with characters I could really root for and cry for. Also, Earthsea (first 3 books haven’t read the last 3 yet) for more philosophical purposes and beautiful messaging. John Gwynne for straight forward storytelling. Excellent character development and immense battles and political intrigue. (Especially with your perfect opinion on the nonexistent political intrigue in Farseer). I’m caving and going to dive into the Cosmere Universe and Brandon Sanderson. I’m really looking forward to that. If you’ve read it-please do a video review!! Other recommendations-sort of. I tried Sword of Kaigen and perhaps it was a timing thing but I couldn’t get into it. The Will of the Many. Kind of boring! I DNFd it for now. There’s supposed to be a cliffhanger and with no book 2 coming soon I don’t have the patience for it. ☺️ New subscriber here and looking forward to seeing more of your content!! Great job!! Stay honest!! It’s a phenomenal trait that will earn you a lot of respect and followers!! ✌🏻🙏🏻💙🎉😊
@@Karaya715 thanks so much. I’m relatively new to fantasy so I’m playing catch up and Ursula Le Guinn and John Gwynne are both on the radar. I quite like the Cosmere stuff, if you’re going to try it out I’d start with the first Mistborn. You’ll get the idea pretty quickly if it’s for you or not. I’m toying with the idea of rereading the first Stormlight books before reading the new one so it’s not outside the realms of possibility. 😁
THANK YOU! Nice to know I'm not the only one to not like this series, heh. And I wanted to like it SO BAD, but I just couldn't. After seeing other reviews, I was beginning to think there must be two different series with the same name, because they couldn't be describing the one I read... Great worldbuilding? Generic fantasy england gets invaded by generic fantasy vikings...wow, yeah, amazing... Great depth of characters? The only thing I remember about the main character is that he likes dogs. I realize for some people that is their whole personality but....the only other thing I could think of for why people "identify" with the character was that he was such a blank slate that anyone could project whatever they wanted onto him. The other characters had like one personality trait each. The king was generic "innocent doofus" who relies too heavily on their generic "scheming psychopath" brother. Fitz seems to have sided with the king mostly because he was told to...he doesn't really seem to care or think about much of anything....except dogs, I guess. Molly is...a girl. Fitz likes her because....he's not gay, I guess, I dunno. The Fool was the only remotely interesting character, but I never did figure out if he was actually trying to help Fitz or trick him, or was just some weirdo who was hanging around spewing non-sequiturs that were open to interpretation enough to sound like they meant something in hindsight....I feel like he was written to *seem* interesting, without actually being so. I honestly don't remember much from the story. The beginning with the kennel master taking away his puppy was pretty intense. Towards the end of the last book he goes through the village he grew up in wondering if he will recognize anything that will jar his memory....nope. He just kind of shrugs and moves on. I remember thinking, man, if you don't care why should I? In the end I didn't care about the world, or the characters, or what the story was about, if anything. I know I kept going and finished, but honestly, if I didn't remember the cover having a dragon on it, I would think people were pulling my leg saying there were dragons in the book, cause I don't remember any of that all. Certainly nothing interesting enough to want to continue. And seriously, what was the point of him being an assassin? ugh.
@@cam1772fsu well he wasn’t an assassin. He was barely a stable hand. It’s funny, I genuinely thought I was the only one when it came to this series, I thought by venting I’d get my arse handed to me, but what I’ve mostly had is folks like yourself saying, oh thank Christ it’s not just me. We are not alone brother 👊
i've never read a robin hobb book but there are other popular fantasy book authors or series that would get me pilloried for saying i don't like them. so i am totally here for a (MEASURED) hater who actually has genuine criticisms to go off of.
I think many of us read the Farseer trilogy when we were teenagers so we have a lot of nostalgia for it. The books and the series as a whole definitely get a lot better as the books go on. I read them when I was 15 I think and then it was pretty magical though I still thought the series was a little uneven even then tbh. I think the liveship traders is where the Realm of the Elderlings really kicks off.
@@TheBookThing Potentially, for the first trilogy which is admittedly the weakest. If you want to reassure yourself that most of booktube hasn’t gone mad, I would recommend trying the first Liveship Traders book, it’s a much more expansive world ( it surprisingly involves ships and sea travel). Really good video though, you killed my sacred cow respectfully haha and laid out why you didn’t like it and what you found boring. Cheers from a fellow Irish man in Sheffield.
@@buttonedupreader6522 ha ha, I’m not entirely sure it was a respectful slaughter. I’ve heard from a lot of folks that perhaps the Liveship Traders might appeal more. I’m giving it serious consideration, but not in the near future.
@@TheBookThing My cousin once said the series was ‘a big bag of shite’ which funnily enough really stuck with me, so thats set my bar low for respectful commentary in relation to the series haha. Yeah, from what I’ve seen of your other videos I think it might be more up your alley. But it’s really tough to fight against nostalgia, especially when most people have read the books at such a formative age. I think I would compare the first Farsser trilogy to the Eye of the World, most people acknowledge that the Eye of the World is definitely not a masterpiece and isn’t really reflective of what the series will go on to be. Hobb’s future series are a little like the WOT after EOT, they build on the story and get a good bit better.
Ngl. I listened to the trilogy and it left very little impression on me. To this day I still don't entirely know why this trilogy is rated so highly (though no shade thrown on robin hobb). David Gemmel is an author hardly anyone talks about but some of his "middle of the road" books are better than allegedly top ten fantasy author's best books.
I really enjoyed the Farseer Trilogy. I found the serpent ones much less readable. I only read the farseer trilogy once though about the time it came out and without any prior hype (hence expectations).
@@Timlagor I think that’s fair. If you go into something with high expectations and it doesn’t deliver for you then your experience will be worse than someone who goes in with no expectations as is pleasantly surprised.
I read Assassin's Apprentice a loong time ago. It ... did not leave much of an impression. I can't remember if I straight up disliked it, but I didn't like it enough to read the rest of the series.
Thanks for the heads up. I think one of the things I struggled with in Farseer was the audiobook narration, if, and it’s a big if, I read Liveship, I’ll physically read it.
@ yeah maybe for the best. The narrator of liveship puts on a voice and its not great. Then a quarter of way into second book she suddenly speaks more like what I assume is her normal voice and it’s much better. But yeah - narration isn’t the strongest I’ve heard so recommend reading those.
I read the first one a long time ago. This made me realise I'm not really a Robin Hobb fan, even though I grew up in the era where these were written. I found Hobb's writing not up to par/boring. I much preferred and identified more with books by Tad Williams, or even classic Eddings and Terry Brookes (as formulaic as those later 2 can be, they were still fun).
It’s a while since I read it so don’t have any detailed criticism beyond thinking that it had a slow but possibly intriguing first volume that could lead somewhere better - then after a lot of misery that was only occasionally fun in a twisted sort of way, the whole plot fizzled out to nothing. Didn’t hate it, it passed the time, but it made little impression in terms of world, plot and character - and left me with no desire to read any more of the author’s work.
I think on balance I would have had a similar response had many of my favourite reviews read it recently and been glowing about it, at which point I ended up falling down the rabbit hole of gushing reviews and started to feel like the last lunatic in the asylum. The video was quite cathartic, and the responses of others telling me that actually it wasn’t that great really helped too, so thanks for that 😁
I just finished the trilogy after what can only be described as… a struggle. I LOVED ‘The Liveship Traders’ for its nuance and magic and actually thoroughly enjoyed Assassin’s Apprentice. And should have honestly just stopped there. The second book was such a drag of mundane happenings and teenage drama with a cool bit at the end and I found the third book to read like a D&D plot tugging along, without the elegance, grace and exciting mystery of the Liveship Traders and other great books. The series, to me, felt dated
I couldnt even finish this trilogy i could barely stop myself from physically destroying the bloody books, the tawny man trilogy however is excelent, fitz in those books barely feels like the same character to me. Thank goodness i read books out of order. I actually started with the liveship books if i had started with farseer i honestly dont think i would have gone any further.
I agree with you, I honestly don’t get the praise for the trilogy. I didn’t mind the writing, but like someone else said, the story was depressing. I thought it was just me, I’m glad to see it’s not. My least favorite book is Circe by Madeline Miller. For some reason that book gets a lot of praise, but I thought the writing was pretentious and it was a big roll for me.
@@TheBookThinglol! I’ll be curious what you think about it when you read it, so I can see if we really see eye to eye. But seriously, I hope you enjoy it, wouldn’t want to wish a bad book on you.
I liked the Farseer Trilogy but like you was under whelmed considering the huge amount of praise on Booktube. For me, it was the the ending that really killed it. They finally find the dragons and they awaken them and that's it. Oh and by the way, they go back and take over and everything turns out all right. But she just sums that part up for some reason. So for almost all of 3 books, this slow build ends that way? I like slow builds but this was weird. I've read the whole thing and think it is worth continuing but if you really did not like this first trilogy, not sure you should. Be will, stay safe.
Yeah I felt the same way, it felt to me that wrapping up the plot was an inconvenience that Hobb would have just as soon not bothered with. Thanks, I’m getting a lot of people saying I should read on to the Liveship Traders, but I’m pretty reluctant.
@@Steventrafford Gemmel and Feist are already definitely on the TBR. The eighties cover for Faerie Tale has been haunting my nightmares for decades. I’ll take a look at Brett
@@TheBookThing Gemmell’s work had quite the effect on my young mind. Taught me several life lessons that haven’t failed me, also gave me a code. 😁 seems cliche but it’s true.
While I really like this trilogy as a whole, I have to agree with you that there aren’t any convincing villains in this story. I kept waiting for the second shoe to drop, thinking either Verity or Chade or somebody else would come out as the “bigger villain” but alas it’s just Regal. And honestly he’s a bit of an idiot
@@aliaibrahim4517 honestly I was waiting for the big reveal that he was in league with the red ship raiders and that’s why he sabotaged Verity’s defences and abandoned the coastal Duchies but no, he was just incompetent.
It's always nice to hear somebody else say (confess?) that they don't worship the ground on which Robin Hobb walks. It happens so seldom. People on booktube always talk about her as if it's just a given that she's a genius and everybody loves her, when there's perhaps not a silent majority, but definitely a substantial amount of people who don't care for her books. I tried to read Assassin's Apprentice a decade ago and bailed after maybe 80 pages. I thought it clichéd and generic in every aspect even for 1990s fantasy, and I couldn't find a single reason why I should waste my time with something so unoriginal and stale.
@TheBookThing I hope Nighteyes chews up your copy of Guards Guards 🤣 I agree that the Verity/Fitz possession bonkathon was a bit creepy, I'll give you that one. I really enjoyed the video, it's obvious that you put a lot of thought into why you don't like the books so I won't unsubscribe just yet 🤣
@TheBookThing I'm just happy you think I can run anywhere let alone the hills 🤣 I think it's cool hearing other perspectives on things and you hating THE BEST TRILOGY EVER WRITTEN IN THE HISTORY OF WRITTEN THINGS doesn't affect my enjoyment so it's all good. It was a bloody entertaining video 🙂
I really like the series as a whole. On the other hand, the books I like the least is the ones with Fitz in them. I don't like Fitz as a character, at all. It would be interesting to know if you dislike The Liveship Traders as well. I much prefer them to The Farseer Trilogy.
@@erikaeriksson9840 a lot of folks are saying that the Liveship Traders series is something I might prefer. I’m considering giving it a go. Thanks a million.
I think I’ve bought the first book but every review sounds like something I would absolutely hate. Glad I got the Intel before wasting my time. Read Vespertine! It’s amazing. A one off!
Thanks, haven’t come across Vespertine so I’ll add it to the list. I will say that the first book is reasonably short, so you’ll get an idea pretty quickly if you want to continue. Only wish I’d listened to that myself
🤝 I actually got a bunch of people together to read through the full realm of the elderlings together... and then bailed after book 4 😂 while I think hobb does some great world-building and has some great quotes on occasion, I don't think it happens as much as I'd expect a similar-length tome to do. and there are generally two things I hate: 1. good god was I bored about nothing happening. I think I liked ch 6(?) in the second book, and the end of each book was decent, but there were hundreds and hundreds of pages of slog. 2. yes, hobb is fairly good at tapping into emotions... but they're always negative. she doesn't use her power for good or wholesome or funny moments, she merely wants her characters to suffer. you didn't read mad ship, but _man_ do I want to commit violence on Kyle (also Kyle? fr? such a dissonant name to use). I like when books can make me feel things, but not when the only things they make me fell are depression or anger. I also don't particularly like her treatment of female characters. the things she apparently puts a main character through in the other ship books, and the way the narrative and other characters are in love with the perpetrator to his dying day... leaves a really sour taste in my mouth. it's very white mantasy, even though the author is not a man.
I read/listened half-way through and I felt it was all a bit too internal for my tastes Also just disagreeing with a concensus dosen't make you wrong, in particular in matters of taste
Psst.... A ton of "Booktubers" either skim books, parrot Goodreads reviews or review books that they don't finish. I have unsubscribed to way too many that will review a book while only reading 50 pages. They say this with ZERO shame! Do you think so little of your audience? Stay real, the cream rises to the top and the phonies eventually come crumbling down.
This might sound naive but, really?!? I’ve either not come across that or been very conned, and my bullshit radar is usually pretty good. I’d hate to think that people would only pretend to read Bumsider for the the prestige it affords them 🤣🤣
I love those books, but that might be nostalgia on my part (I think, I was 15 on my first read). Listening to a book, with the wrong nerator, or one you just can't stand, will ruin any book.
Time of life when you first discover a book can a make a massive difference, I discussed that recently when I said that Dracula, a book that’s objectively very flawed is my favourite classic horror. And yeah, choice of narrator can also make a huge difference and may well have been a contributing factor in how I felt about this.
I as an objective observer can see all of what is great about it. But as a consumer, it did not speak to me at all. I read the entire fitz saga not just the first trilogy and at no point did i ever grow to like any of the characters.
Unlikeable characters isn’t necessarily a deal breaker. I’m reading Joe Abercrombie’s First Law trilogy and all of the characters in that are incredibly unlikeable, intentionally so. But in a weirdly likeable way. I think that the problem with Fitz et al is that they are MEANT to be likeable, but aren’t.
I liked the first book, but not enough to read the second. I thought it was fine, then moved on. I suppose in some ways, my indifference tells you more than your hate.
I think Wheel of Time gets the credit it does for being early, it wasn’t first but it kinda jump started modern fantasy which has been elevated since. It is objectively flawed though.
@@matthewmichaelcrown3643 Obviously, the Lord of the Rings. The Riyria Revelations/Chronicles. The Black Magicians trilogy. Uprooted. The Witcher book series. The First Law trilogy.
It was... okay. I finished book 1 and haven't gone back to it. I found that Liveship was much more interesting but Robin Hobby appears to attract readers who like to scream, cry and throw books around. I do none of those things.
I read The Farseer triology when I was about 14 years old. The first book was good, the second... well, to be honest, it was kinda all over the place; but the third one? Oh, I loved it! I loved the whole series just for it! Later triologies, though...
That’s really interesting, the fans all seem to be universally telling me that book 3 was bad but I should read the Liveship Traders because it’s far better. It’s amazing how we can all have such different experiences with books. 😁
@@TheBookThing I don't have legit opinion about Liveship Traders since those are only now being translated to my native language. While I did read the english versions soon after Farseer, my understanding of the language back then wasn't good enough to make it fully comprehensible nor enjoyable experience.
@@Kiiriminna well, I’m in awe of anyone who can digest any book not in their native language. I can just about read books in my first language English, and frankly your English skills put mine to shame 😁
One of my problems with these books was that we very often get things told, but not shown. We're told that the fool tells all these witty jokes but we are pretty much never told what they are. Which is such a cheap way to write. I don't wanna be told that a character is smart. I want to see them do smart things. I don't wanna be told that a character is witty. I wanna hear the witty things they actually say. Also, yeah, the "animal enters your mind when you have sex" thing is disturbing. Female writers tend to do that a lot... Seem things happens in Anne McCaffrey books and it is beyond creepy. Good point about the book names too. Well, good points about everything actually.
@@unitron2005 yeah I agree, show don’t tell, I felt that most in the explanatory notes at the start of the chapter. I haven’t read any Anne McCaffrey, frankly it doesn’t appeal.
I agree Hobb's does have talent, but I found a lot of the pacing was excruciatingly slow as well. I wanted to drop it numerous times. The books would promise and hype me up for something- which is a talent in itself, but then get side tracked and not deliver on those promises. She lost my trust as a reader over and over.
First off, my dismissal of the author will do nothing to her career, so I feel comfortable being frank. Glad to know other people didn't find it spellbinding. It felt like I was trapped in someone else's head. On the balance he author comes across as a sadist and a bit of a pervert who wrote this to get their jollies. You know, like a fanfiction writer. Years ago I read the trilogy, most of the first ship book, and part of the first fool book. I kept hoping it would deliver, or be less of a bummer. Interesting things happened, but I was trapped in some miserable, depressive, a-hole's brain, so it just sucked. If I wanted to be a stuck in a miserable, depressive, a-hole's brain I would never have gotten therapy and medication. Bottom line, readers really are willing emotional and mental masochists trauma-bonding to an author's work that's just Mid. It's good cause it made you feel bad? I can make you feel bad and I won't charge you for a bunch of $18 paperback novels. Anyway, jokes aside, it felt like being separated from an objectively interesting world by a fog of someone else's feelings.
@@beardyben7848 Yeah, I think that if you don’t like being in Fitz’s head you’ll struggle with the series, and I didn’t like being in Fitz’s head either.
Thanks for the reply, friend. I also went to Wera's channel and watched her review. I'm grateful to you both, and you in particular for articulating the things that drug it down for me. Basically the charming bits weren't charming enough to exceed the shortcomings in pacing(and plot!) and my dislike of the voice. Subscribed, btw.
Read Liveship first then read Apprentice and I am done. I can only read so much spoiled teenagers and adults making bad decisions. While some of the character work was good, especially in Liveship, but I much preferrer Jorg as a mass murdering teenager. But Fitz likes puppies so all is forgiven.
@@EricMcLuen if ‘I like puppies’ was a good enough character trait to lead a fantasy series, then A Song of Ice and Fire would be all about Lenny from Of Mice And Men 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Bad taste exists and some people have it. Whadda ya gonna do? 🤷 I don't understand why Stephen King is so popular. I love the movies based on his stuff (even the bad ones), but the books? I don't get it.
Yeeeees! gimme the Farseer slander! I actually didn't hate the books I just think they're over rated. Live ship traders was good. The dragon series sucked a whole lot though.
I've read all 16 books and I love them. That said they do have lots of issues, definitely with length and editing, she usually somehow draws it altogether masterfully in the 3rd book (the first trilogy is the exception to this, and the third book is the worst book in the whole series). I think the fact she manages to draw all 16 books together and brings all the plot points together (she had the whole series drawn out already) is insane, so I basically disagree with almost all your points 😂 .I think the 2nd trilogy, Liveship Traders is her best work, and is completely different characters. The characters can be a bit ridiculous but it is epic fantasy, you kinda expect that.
Nope. Not getting roped into 13 more books for a final payoff. 🤣🤣🤣 A lot of people have said that Liveship is a lot better, I’m wavering in my resolve slightly, but it’s not a priority
@@laurenanderson61 honestly if I stopped after Apprentice I’d have probably said that same, but after nearly 2000 pages it graduated from ‘meh’ to ‘actively annoying me’
Never read it, but I did try reading the first book from Hobb’s Liveship Trilogy, and I couldn’t get past the first few hundred pages. It had way too many paragraphs of backstory for each character getting in the way of the story-which TBF some authors can get away with due to skill but not Hobb-and there’s something about it that made me feel pandered to, as though it was conceptualized by a committee trying to market to women in an unintentionally condescending manner, like, there’s this idea of Fantasy readers who are women in the abstract instead of simply writing a good adventure story where the characters are well written that everyone could enjoy. I didn’t care for the villain either. Good thing I missed her first Trilogy after all, I guess?
Continued, I don’t need to like or identify with the characters to find a story interesting but they need to be well written, Hobb came across to as trying way too hard to make the reader understand them down to the core, which wasn’t even necessary. Anyway, thanks for the warning.
If you liked this please hit the subscribe button. Think I might need to lie down with some elf bark tea
You have very aptly described some of my gripes with this series. I'm reading the next trilogy right now, The Liveship Traders and this one is SO much better. You have a new subscriber, as I have to assume you are an excellent connoisseur of books judging by the shelf of Discworld.
Thanks a million, I have heard that Liveship is a massive step up, I might get back to it but at the moment Hobb is not high up my priority list. i wouldntt call myself an excellent connoisseur of books, but if I saw someone with a shelf of Pratchett, I might call them one 😁
You have put into words what I could not explain to many people, on why I did not like these books. For that I thank you.
You’re more than welcome. Thanks for watching 😁
I just finished the farseer trilogy. My feeling was "why is this so popular on book tube". It was not very good. I have limited time to read, so I try to be super selective with what I am going to read next. I have a TBR list and since all the booktubers had it on their top list, I read it. I was so disappointed... I typed in "farseer books over rated" on youtube to see if anyone else felt this way. Thanks for the vids!
No worries, I had a very similar experience, that’s why I put this little rant together 🤣
Thanks for watching
I just found it incredibly depressing. Anything that _can_ go wrong _will_ go wrong. Fitz' only real ability was to still be alive when all the evidence says otherwise.
…especially when most of the things that went wrong were self inflicted.
That, and... there was just this vague sameness to it all. All the good guys were totally perfect and all pretty much the same person, all the bad guys are just mustache-twirling demons who, again, were all sorta the same. There was no ambiguity, there were no moral conflicts. All the good people like nature, and the common people, and Fitz. And all bad people like refinement and aristocracy and can't bear to be near a tree... and hate Fitz, just because they do.
I feel so affirmed
That’s pretty much how I felt after your video 😂
thank you for your review! i finished assassin's apprentice and felt like i'd walked through the looking glass because everyone was giving this series like six stars. i even started doubting myself - do i even like high fantasy? do i enjoy court intrigue if i didn't enjoy this?? lol, luckily i have enough faith in myself that i didn't continue the series and thanks to your review i now know that i probably never will. there are so many books to read that i will enjoy and only so much time!
thank you! Yeah, I felt like that for a long time too, that's why I made this, but never fear, we are not alone ✊
I DNF'd halfway through book 2, so I understand where you're coming from and I think your criticisms perfectly encapsulate 90% of my grievances with the series.
You were less a glutton for punishment than me then. Thanks for watching
Acknowledge you are in the minority, but never let consensus convince you you’re wrong. How many booktubers are praising it because they don’t want to be in the minority? We don’t know.
I think it’s ok to acknowledge a consensus is probably right. I mean if I were to come out and say that Dickens was an overrated hack, I think the weight of history would probably prove me wrong. Hobb might not have that weight, but it’s a pretty compelling majority. Even so, perhaps I did overstate how wrong I am to mitigate backlash and for dramatic effect 😁
I see shelves of Terry Pratchett? I subscribe!
But seriously, great video - honest opinions are always valuable, or everything becomes an echo chamber.
Thanks a million, yeah anyone posts something even tangentially related to Discworld then I’m straight on there as well 😁
As someone who loved this and the rest of the Elderlings books (probably) even more - it is fun to hear a negative opinion on it. Fair play to you.
Thanks for watching. It can be fun to listen to your favourites getting blasted 😁
@ sometimes it’s even helpful.
Same thing happened to me except I DNF'd the first book and that was it.
Good to hear you say these things. I felt pretty isolated like something was wrong with me for not liking it..
yeah, on first glance it seems like we're alone but actually the amount of comments of people saying, "Oh thank God it's not just me" has been pretty overwhelming, so thanks
At least once a year I think to myself: maybe I should try again, or try the Liveship... and then I remember the mindboggling boredom. Thank you for making the video I can come back to when I get the urge again.
@@kanyari ha ha. Consider it a public service 😁
I also predominantly listened to this story, and had the same feelings as you: bored and confused.
Here's a negative take I get skewered for: The Kingkiller Chronicles are boring. One thing those books share with the Farseer Trilogy is alluding to cooler things that happened, but never getting into them.
I think that audiobook is a contributing factor alright.
See, I actually really like Kingkiller, it’s funny isn’t it how books can be on the surface quite similar but get such different reactions.
Still, it’d be boring if we all liked the same things
I’m with you on The Kingkiller Chronicles! I DNF’d the Name of the Wind at page 100 unfortunately
I totally agree with regards to being confused as to why this series gets so much hype on booktube and other series never get mentioned. I think it's partly the echo chamber effect. I read it about 20 years ago and I remember it just being ok - very long. It did not get onto my top 10 list (but I did mention it).
One thing though about your criticisms of character. I just read the first Liveship book and I think she *does* do great character work. When I say that, I'm not talking about whether they are nice people or what they do, it's about how distinctive they are from each other. Eg if two characters had a dialogue and I wasn't told who was who, would I be able to tell which characters they were because of what they were saying and how they said it?
Having said that, I'm still giving the first liveship book 4 stars because I think it could have been half the size!
I think I’d agree that she gives her characters distinct voices, and I do think there’s some of the support characters like Kettricken and Burrich with some depth, I think the bulk of the characters that we spend our time with like Fitz, Nighteyes, Molly etc are pretty one dimensional.
Dude, u r correct…a book series should offer something. The apologetic book tubers do this same crap with Sanderson and his intentions of writing a ten book series to match wheel of time to cement him as the man, but 1200 pages of 1000 pages of blah blah blah. Fantasy needs the fantastic not word marathons
There does seem to be an emphasis on volume.
Completely agree. I don't understand how one can make a book about an assassin so boring, with an ending so disappointing. I didn't really like the first book, but read the whole series and just do not understand what people like about it at all.
@@hrimthusar2917 yay I’m not alone! Thanks a million.
I strongly agree with this. I forced myself to finish the first book purely due to the series' reputation, but it was sooooo boring.
The only thing assassinated was my willingness to read more of this slow as molasses series. It was boring. Stopped at the end of the first trilogy.
@@DV-ty6yc that’s where I am, although I’m getting a lot of encouragement to try the Liveship trilogy.
@@TheBookThing I have several of the rest of the series on Kindle. I will also try Liveship eventually. I will have to be in the mood to start it. TBR is hundreds long before I expect to get back to it.
Thank you for your honesty...very few booktubers are actual critical book reviewers. They usually stick to being on the safe side. I just finished the Farseer Trilogy. You are absolutely right...there were many threads that were begun but never resolved. For me, I wanted to know more about Fitz' mother...and how and why such an upstanding character such as Chivalry had an illegitimate son. What happened...was it a one night stand or did he love her? I needed more of that because the story started with him being abandoned and him not remembering his childhood. That was what hooked me initially and there was nothing to satiate that need to know... and Regal was less than a 2 dimensional character...it pissed me off that everything he did was passed off as him being a spoiled child. There were no layers to him. I was not impressed at all.
Another author I DNF is Abercrombie. I read the First Law series because everyone was raving about it and then I thought there was something wrong with me because I was so disappointed. I continued to persevere reading half way through the first stand alone...and then i DNF'd it. I couldn't do that to myself anymore. 😅
@@Hala10-7 thanks for that. Yeah, it was the lack of curiosity about his mother that made it frustrating for me, the story was pretty much “I was taken away from a loving mother…anyway moving on”
Interestingly I’m actually really enjoying the First Law series for the very reason that I didn’t like Farseer. I feel Hobb tried to craft a sympathetic character who I really didn’t like, whereas Abercrombie creates deeply unsympathetic characters and makes them weirdly likeable.
Thanks a million for watching, I’m not usually this harsh, but I am always honest 😁
The problem with Abercrombie is that he takes the idea of 'grimdark' too seriously. Like every ending has to be underwhelming or unhappy.
@@amos_comedies742 I don’t feel like I can comment on that yet as I’ve only read the first two books in the First Law trilogy. The Blade Itself ends with the kicking off of the adventure and Before They Are Hanged is the second in a trilogy so you always kind of expect the middle book to end on a bit of a grim note. I’ll have more of an opinion after I read The Last Argument of Kings and a few more.
@@TheBookThing Please review the trilogy once you are done. Anyway I've read the entire First Law universe( 3 trilogies+ a short story collection). They are good stories though, in terms of pacing, dialogue etc
@ I did give my thoughts on them in my August and September wrap ups, but that’s a good idea to do a full review of the series when I’ve read all three. 👍
We might disagree BUT 2 things...
1. I've only read the first book. I might hate the next couple of books in the trilogy.
2. I love nothing more than watching Booktubers who hate books I enjoy. I don't know what it is but it's a guilty pleasure of mine. The reverse isn't true though. I rarely like watching booktubers gush over books I hated haha.
Great video mate.
@@PaperbackJourneys ha ha. Thanks man. Come back for the spoiler sections after you’ve finished the trilogy, I’ll be interested to see if you still disagree. 😂
@@TheBookThing Yeah I clicked off just before the spoiler for royal assassin. I'm a bit nervous now that I'll lose interest. Brandon Sanderson is calling my name with The Way of Kings but I don't want to start a new fantasy series before at least finishing the Farseer trilogy.
@@PaperbackJourneys oh good, wouldn’t have wanted to spoil it. Look, I may be retrospectively ripping Farseer apart, but I liked it enough at the time to finish it and I wasn’t anywhere near as engaged as you were so I’m sure you’ll be fine.
I know Mistborn didn’t gel, but I reckon you’ll enjoy The Stormlight
I think this is really valid... My best friend and I actually frequently like different books and we've gotten quite used to listening to each other roast the books the other likes. We started out fishing over a few books we both liked, but we've settled in to stop reading books together, but roasting each other's faves instead. 😝
@@EmethMatthew that sounds hilarious 🤣
Farseer is a slow burn no doubt but Liveship Traders is freaking excellent by any standard. You should give it a go even if you didn't like Farseer.
Oof I dunno. I suspect I might have a wee bit too much Six Duchy baggage. I’ll at least need a bit of a pause before I attempt to go near it. Love your optimism though 🤣
@@TheBookThing For your consideration:
- Liveship Traders is not set in Six Duchies (although set in the same world).
- LT is multi-POV third person, instead of single-POV first person.
- The villain is a huge step up in complexity from Regal.
@@TheBookThingI agreed with you on a lot of points about Farseer, but I read Liveship and it was much better (the Tawny Man is fantastic as well, much better than Farseer). It has almost completely new characters, much more fleshed out and is written in the third person. This was the series they hooked me
@@pickanapple @raswartz I’m feeling the pressure now. Maybe I will have to give it a go.
@@TheBookThing Good luck, have fun
OMG thank you for this!
Ha ha, don’t mention it, thanks for watching
I read the Farseer Trilogy recently too. I got really wrapped up in the first two books, I was so eager to continue. Then I hit Assassin's Quest and got within a gnat's whisker of DNFing. In fact, I wish I had! I hated every page. I can't imagine what a slog it must've been for you when you didn't even like the first two books!
It felt like homework, I’m not gonna lie. I just kept saying to myself, “well you’ve gotten this far”
@@TheBookThing That was my feeling in the third book too. I enjoyed the first two enough to be invested in the resolution, but that was hardly worth waiting for when it came. The pacing was just totally unbalanced. Far too many pages dedicated to stuff that, while initially compelling due to the quality of the prose, was ultimately pointless - and far too few pages devoted to resolving three long books’ worth of tantalising plot threads. Yeah, a very frustrating reading experience!
@@genteelblackhole I’m with you there. I kept going because it was genuinely well written and I assumed it would go somewhere. Not anywhere I wanted to go apparently
The strange thing is... I am actually someone who enjoyed it... but when you pointed out the jumping into the mind of someone to have the sex... um... yeah, I think I just had my moment of "ew" and then moved it to the deep recesses of my mind.🤣🤣🤣 Thank you for your honest take!
🍂🍁🥰📖🍁🍂
@@amy_harboredinpages8272 that may be the difference between me and you, I dwell on the ‘ew’ 🤣🤣🤣
Thanks so much for watching
Way to introduce yourself to a possible new subscriber and a very bold stance on something most fantasy readers hold a deep affection for. Now I certainly don't want to tell you that you're wrong, because of course taste is even more subjective than art already is and seeing the Pratchett books (also: Watchmen) on your shelf makes me aware that we at least partly enjoy the same books. This said, to me , Robin Hobb falls into a very specific group of authors that are kinda the litmus test that I apply to find out whose taste I should trust and whose taste I'd better take with a grain of salt. Still, if everyone would love exactly the same things, that would be even more boring than how you perceive the Farseer trilogy to be.
Ha ha, yep it’s quite the introduction, I have to say I really wasn’t expecting it to be as much of an introduction as it turned out to be. I’m very grateful but surprised by how many people have found my channel through this video.
I find reviewers that I like in pretty much the same way as you: what have they read and does my opinion align with theirs. That being said some of my favourite reviewers can’t stand some of the books that I love and gush about books that I hate, so it’s rarely a one to one match.
Thanks for watching
This makes me feel validated in my decision to DNF the series after the first book. Thank you!
@@joshyaks you’re welcome. You made a better decision than I did. 😁
I liked (mildly) the first; didn’t like the second; hated the third. The ending of the third-! She dragged it all out with absolutely nothing happening for hundreds of pages, then rushed the conclusion. It was amateurish.
@ I found the ending very frustrating. I felt that if she’d stuck the landing I might’ve felt more charitable towards the series as a whole.
@ That’s precisely it: if the ending had explained anything, I wouldn’t have felt so cheated.
I love this series but everything you said was valid. I loved this video.
@@glazecotton thanks a million 😁
Some of your criticisms are fair, some unfair. The white ships are tied up beautifully in the 2nd trilogy, so is fitz mother. The fact that regal is above his own laws is a realistic study of power & regal even monologues about it - he doesn't need witnesses or alibis. The world building isnt as good as GOT, but its decent. I can name the dutchies. I grant you that Farrow/tilth are interchangeable though, so are some of the coastal dutchies. The main divide thats highlighted is between the inland and coastal areas. Its quite a small region. Fitz walks across it.
@@hungrydave1977 I applaud your duchy knowledge, but I personally agree that there’s costal and inland and not much differentiation. I don’t disagree that Regal’s actions are realistic, my point is that they’re neither court intrigue nor deep.
I’m sure abandoned elements are covered in future instalments, but after 3 volumes of less interesting things being explored to death I’d had enough. And I recognise that’s a me problem. Thanks for the response though, and thanks a million for watching 😁
I DNF'd this series after book two because I was so bored and annoyed by it all. I ended up rooting for the villain (who barely does anything anyway! but) I was so bored. And lots of people are like "Oh Fitz suffers so much" ummm no he doesn't?? I was expecting a lot worse than what actually happened in the first two books, like?? He does not suffer! He BARELY suffers. He should suffer MORE. Also, I hate him. But apparently everyone who likes this series also finds him infuriating??? Make it make sense! The only thing I liked about the first two books was the Fool and I spoiled myself for what happens to him and it's a big let down.
If you didn’t like books one and two then it was probably wise to not try book three. Probably should’ve done the same myself.
*spoiler warning*
I’ll say in defence of the series though he does suffer a fair bit. I mean he does literally get tortured to death at one point 🤣
@@TheBookThing "he does literally get tortured to death" that's what I was expecting in book two! 🤣
Thanks. I never really cared that much for the series...but everyone else seemed to.
They do don’t they
Fitz wakes the dragons so is kind of key to the outcome. Maybe verity's dragon could beat the red ships on its own, but veritys dragon wouldnt have been made without fitz helping kestrel, & stopping verity from dying as early as book 1. I dont need Fitz to be the perfect hero, hes better as a flawed observer that makes key contributions.
Also the dragons are not chucked in to fix plot. The reason they exist is a big part of the history that happened prior to them which is developed in later books. The characters are trying to understand the history of their realm and frequently misunderstand it causing the reader to misunderstand with them, but when you get to the end you realise Hobb knew and wrote their mistakes as part of the story. Thats class.
Hmm, extra dragons maybe, but arguably Kestral was only needed because of the ticking clock of Regal’s forces on the way something that was only a factor because Fitz drew their attention.
When just looking at the single trilogy the dragons feel like a third act deus ex machina. After 3 books and nearly 2000 pages, I had no interest in carrying on so I cannot comment on the full arc of the series so I’ll absolutely defer to your knowledge on how well it fits overall.
@@TheBookThing I really don't want to keep commenting 😅
You're wrong though. Regal's main goal is to take the quarry and make stone dragons based on knowledge he got from Galen. That's why he has a seemingly incomprehensible war with the mountain kingdom - to distract them as he sends his skill users up the pass.
Anyway, enjoyed the video. I have criticisms too, but different ones & I couldn't write them here without major spoilers 👍
@@hungrydave1977 ha ha, yeah I said I was wrong in the video. Thanks a million for commenting, this sort of discussion is why I started this channel in the first place
GAH!!!! THANK. YOU!! Like you, after seeing reviews from people I respect, I jumped in too. I expressed a similar position, especially with Fitz and him crying all. The. Time. And I got obliterated by fans. I thought it was just me. Yea, not reading any more of her stuff if her "fans" can't handle honest criticism.
I have the same issue with the Jim Butcher book, The Aeronaut's Windlass: The Cinder Spires. It's just book one but... well, unless you like talking cats, and even if you do, the cats that talk are annoying af, this book left me scratching my head and rolling my eyes. I hated it. And it was the first Butcher book I'd ever read and now I've no desire to read his other stuff. Especially because how his fans reacted to my review of this book.
Yeah the fanbase is pretty zealous alright, but to be fair the responses I’ve had have been very positive, even from the most ardent ones who disagree with me.
The Jim Butcher books were actually on my radar, not so enthusiastic about them now 🤣🤣🤣
Glad I could reflect your experience, thanks for watching. 😁
Agree with everything said. Gave up after the 1st book! Also the names annoyed me in the book for some reason (Patience, Loyal , Chivalry etc.) You should skip to Liveship Traders which is acually incredible!!
Thank you so much.
I keep getting people telling me to try out the Liveship Traders, I might have to relent.
Weirdly the names was one of the things that didn’t bug me, probably because I assumed it was ironic, Chivalry had a bastard son, Regal was completely inept at ruling, Shrewd constantly made dreadful decisions. But if Hobb meant them sincerely, then they’re pretty dreadful 🤣🤣🤣
I loved the books, but the names are annoying yeah. What parent would call their child "hasty".
@@hungrydave1977 the parents of the Seven Dwarfs?
I tried reading the first book. I didn't love it but it was pretty rough. I will say, all the fans I talked to who told me I'm just a horrible person who deserves torture for not saying the book was totally perfect, did not help to improve my experience.
Jesus. What a horrible experience I’m so sorry that you had to put up with that.
I liked the Farseer trilogy because it's a different pace compared to most and I kind of liked the 1st person perspective. It's closer in style to a novel from 'real' literature* in which 1st person perspective is more common, and I rarely read those anymore. Other than that I kind of agree with your points about Fitz: he's whiny and defeatist when it comes to his place in the world. And that can be frustrating to read. There were numerous times I would think to myself "Fvck's sake! Man up! Go do something about it, ya pvssy!" But the fact that a character is flawed doesn't make it a bad book. What's wrong with a book about a mediocre man with a tendency to wallow in self-pity?
*)I don't personally think of fantasy as less real, but you probably get my point
@@oilslick7010 I agree, it doesn’t make it a bad book. There’s a distinction between ‘this is something I don’t like’ and ‘this is objectively bad’. I can recognise the objectively good elements of the series, I just don’t like it. 😁
@@oilslick7010 by the way, if you liked the slower paced first person perspective, have you tried The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss? Now that one I really did like.
@@TheBookThing Thanks for the tip! It was already on my 'to read' list, but I didn't know it was 1st person....I guess that one's next after I finish the Hyperion Cantos and the new Stormlight Archive book :)
@@TheBookThing Yeah fair enough. I guess for me the annoying aspects didn't outweigh the positives like they did for you. So it remains a net positive.
I read Assassin's Apprentice before Booktube was a thing. I have the full trilogy, but have never felt the need to go any further. It falls into a fairly long list of "Books that Other People Like for Some Reason" for me. (See also Jordan, Pratchett, Adams, Banks, Wolfe, Bradbury, most of the Sanderson that I've read, ....) I'm glad those people found a thing they like.
I have my own list of books that I like for some reason; it's not a one-way thing.
Don’t we all 😁
I’ve only read the first book and was greatly disappointed. Was looking forward in getting into it.
Happy to know at least 3 people feel the same way.
Check the other comments apparently we are legion!! Viva la revolution!
That’s a strong Pratchett collection, sir. 🍻
@@jriggan thank you! I’m generally not much of a book collector, but I make an exception for Discworld.
In fact I mostly do Discworld videos, but apparently I’m the Farseer hating guy now 😂
@@TheBookThingEveryone should make an exception for Pratchett. A cat in my lap, a cozy logfire and a Pratchett collection and I'm all set. What more could a girl wish for? 😂
@ well personally I tend to add a nice single malt into the equation, then it’s pretty perfect
I DNF this when there was only one book. It's not you or me, it's her. Colour without form or substance. Some people must like that, we don't have to.
Yeah it didn’t do it for me. I probably should’ve walked away after the first one
I loved the Farseer Trilogy, back in the 90's when I first read it. Tried to re-read a few years back and was horrified, HORRIFIED at how much I did not like it, though I did not object to it anywhere near as much as you do :) It was originally given to me by a good friend, a long term fantasy reader, who never could read through the dog being beaten.
Are you really interested in series I don't like? really? Because after reading seven or eight of The Wheel of Time I came to loath it with the fire of a thousand suns, never completed it and for three years swiped left on anyone who mentioned it favourably.
Yeah I get the WoT frustration. It annoyed me too, but on balance, I enjoyed it.
…Kinda.
I think the reason I could get through WoT with a bit less frustration, was at least there was a cast of characters, and if you hate one (and by the Light I hated a lot more than one of them) then at least you’ve a chance of liking another one who’ll be along in a minute. In Farseer you’re stuck in Fitz’s head, and if you don’t like being there: tough.
Thanks for the reply 😁
@@TheBookThing That is valid (especially about Fitz) I would make another suggestion also. Most people I know who love WoT it was either the first epic fantasy they bonded with, or reasonably early in their fantasy reading career. I have noticed that older readers (not chronological age, but reading time age) are much more inclined to be critical.
One of the things that really, really turned me off it, eventually, was that I would argue there are only two female characters in the whole series. Generic 'good girl' and generic 'witch bitch' and the only form of character development that happens to any of them is moving from one category to the other. Most often GG to WB.
I have yet to read anything by Robin hobb, but I’ve heard good things so I feel like I need to give it try! 💕💕
@@onceuponabookishsteph by all means give it a go, everyone else loves it, and if you don’t, then in the words of Chappell Roan, “I hate to say it but I told you so” 😁
Thank for your refreshing take on this series ❤️.I have only read Assassins Apprentice and although I thought Robin hobb's writing style is beautiful.The plot and structure is lacking and it is tiresome being on Fitz's Head .
Thanks so much 😁.
I have to agree, the inside of Fitz’s head is not a place I enjoyed spending time in. You probably made a wider choice than me by abandoning the series after book one.
I'm happy that you can justify your dislike. That makes it a fair, reasoned argument. Not every popular book is going to resonate with every reader; there are certainly plenty of recommended authors who leave me cold. But I enjoy Robin Hobb's writing, and have read all of the Realm of the Elderlings books once, though never felt the need to reread them, as they are quite long and meander a bit (I liked that on a first read, but it would just frustrate me on a revisit).
The Rain Wilds Chronicles are my favourite of the series so far, but you do need to have read and enjoyed The Liveship Traders first.
I’m getting a lot of Liveship recommendations, so I might keep going (against my better judgement) think I’ll need a break first though 😁
I am SO GLAD Im not the only one that thought they were boring. Weird naming conventions aside (at least shes consistent) I found Fitz to be so uninteresting. You summarised my feelings quite well.
Weirdly I didn't mind the names so much, but I assumed that they were meant to be ironic
Very good review! I would like to hear your opinion on Fourth wing and Iron flame. Thanks
Ha ha ha, I already did ACOTAR, but that was for a very good cause. Diving into Fourth Wing might just be an act of self harm.
@@TheBookThing 😂 All I needed to hear. Thanks 👍
I DNF’d on page 30 on Assassins apprentice. I am still deciding whether to go back or not. The series seems like a very acquired taste, and I’m not one for lacklustre main characters
You probably made a wiser choice than I did 😁
Merphy talks about the Fitz trilogy in 2022, "Tropes I'm Sick Of, Books I Don't Like..." The 5th section (pretty sure). She DNFed the trilogy, saying the first two were a SLOG. She adds a few points, ending with being pretty sure she'll never read more Hobbs (even though she loves pirates).
I’ll check that video out but I think she may have relented since, the last video I saw from her on the subject of Hobb was how much she liked the Liveship trilogy
TY very much for sparing me this Waste of Time.
Agree. Spot on about Regal. Spot on about Fitz. I also read Ship of Magic (I love naval fiction and I was promised a different experience by friends) and what you get in Farseer is what you get from Hobb as far as I can tell. And I did not do it as an audiobook - same boredom and hatred.
@@philmitchell12 I’m getting mixed reports of the Liveship Traders books and am leaning a little towards trying them out, but perhaps not 🤣🤣🤣
@@TheBookThing Ship of Magic was better than Farseer, but many (many) of the issues you enumerate show up in that book. You will be wondering how others cannot see how horrible the antagonist is, irritated at how the main character is actually not competent at almost anything, wondering when is something going to happen?
All of these thoughts will come back like relatives visiting overlong.
It's hard because of how revered The Realm of the Elderlings is, but truly I think there are people who love Hobb's type of storytelling and those of us who suffer through it waiting for it to get good.
Maybe if her books were sub 400 pages it would be worth another swing, but I think I'm done.
You are definitely not alone, I didn't like the series at all. I agree with all of your points. That said, The Liveship Traders series is my favorite of all time, and you don't need to have read anything else in the series to enjoy it. Give the first book a go and see what you think. BTW, it's third person which made a big difference for me.
Thanks, a lot of people are saying that Liveships is a big step up, so I might give it go.
Regarding Raiders of the Lost Ark - I'm firmly of the opinion that the only change Indy made to the Nazis plans was to help them along - there's at least two points at which the Nazis would have had either a time delay (during which they may have had to move resources elsewhere) or failed completely but which Indy's cleverness pointed the way.
Well here’s a rabbit hole I wasn’t expecting to go down, but that all depends on one thing. Did the Nazi’s know where Marion was or did they follow Indy? Because if they knew and Indy just beat them to it her, then without Indy they would have got the whole Staff of Ra headpiece and dug in the right place earlier.
Jesus I’m a nerd.
One criticism I think is almost fair is Regal as a villain -> he’s a pantomime villain. But it’s from Fitz’s perspective.
The next trilogy is multi PoV and has one of the best written villains ever.
I also did not like Nighteyes in the first trilogy. I like him a lot later.
He also does go to assassinate multiple people and I believe iirc assassinate one. But yes the titles in this series aren’t the best but its still in my top 3 series of all time.
@@Corlwow “One criticism is almost fair” talk about diplomacy🤣🤣🤣
thanks a million for watching and commenting, I really enjoyed that.
@ it’s all subjective innit - I come from bias its my second fav fantasy series. So my view is distorted. Also my view on the last book of farseer (assassins quest) is changed now ive just finished the whole series - knowing it’s not the end end and knowing what comes next makes me appreciate that ending more. Diplomacy? What’s that on the internet ;) XD.
All engagement is good engagement and all that!
I thought the first two were very good, but I found the third one disappointing. I didn’t know anyone else didn’t like it.
@@mr.w9222 me neither but apparently there’s a fair few of us 😁
I've not read the book, but I'd say that you shouldn't call yourself wrong. Communities such as booktube tend to overhype something they're into and then it spreads and people feel like they have to like something or they're a bad person for disagreeing. Instead, ignoring the hype and trying to be a bit more objective will get you far closer to the truth of the matter and will let you realise the kinds of things you actually enjoy.
Eventually people start to speak out and people will come to their senses. We saw it with Sherlock, the BBC TV show, where it was incredibly popular during its run, but a few years later people are realising it wasn't all that great, really, and now the discussion around it is a bit more balanced.
Valid point, saying how wrong I was might’ve been mitigate a little bit of backlash 😁
@@TheBookThing I totally understand that, but if it were me I'd stand my ground and let myself be vindicated by time.
TLDR-Cure your fury and frustration and read Red Rising trilogy. Trust me. It worked for me. You’ll understand why.
Ok - regarding Farseer and the whole Realm of the Elderlings:
I loved the series until the last book - the 17th book that I spent 5 months pouring over, rooting for Fitz, waiting for SOMETHING good to happen for him, and on and on and on and on….still waiting. I realized looking back it was actually like an addiction more than love or even enjoyment to be honest
So I absolutely agree with everything you said except for Nighteyes. I do not recall him having any weird moments with Molly but then again I would have blocked it out - I was in too deep. 😂 And Nighteyes is the hero of the entire series by the end tbh. He’s the only character I can remember fondly. After the Farseer Trilogy I kept at it. On to the next series Liveship trilogy. I knew I was reading like a large mouthed bass devouring recognizable bait but I couldn’t stop. I had to know that any ONE of those unfinished plot lines would be followed through. I could not believe just how absolutely ridiculously the first trilogy ended. Like I had been through the French Revolutionary War and someone explains my entire experience using cliff notes from A Tale of Two cities. Like WHAT? That’s all the respect I get? I’ve been here! With you! For you! Rooting and crying and cheering and spending my time and money! And you give me 2 pages?? Ridiculous!
Liveship trilogy-I hated it. Not a single redeeming character from beginning to end. Ok. There are 2. One we don’t see until the last book and he basically disappears from the series never to be heard from again. The other is who cares. I think that was his name. 😂
Tawny Man trilogy was by far the best trilogy of the series. After going through hell with Fitz in the first trilogy and then reading Liveship - the most stressful thing I’ve ever read- Tawny Man should have been books 4-6 and that’s it. The whole RoTE. Nothing more. No other books should’ve been tied to this series at all. You know why?
Because every other book forces you into rabbit holes that are never ever ever followed through let alone explained or understood.
The skill? Not explored to the extent which it ends up being the whole focal point of the entire series.
The Wit? The cool magic that got us all hooked in the beginning? - because who doesn’t love animals? and imagining a world you can communicate with them? The magic he used at the age of 6 in the first book but somehow forgot all about even exploring it by the last series? 🤦🏼♀️
And character growth?? What character growth?? He grew into the best person he could hope for by the end of the Tawny man trilogy and by 20 yrs later in the last trilogy he reverted back to an absolute idiot.
You want to know why it was called Assassin’s Apprentice? Because Hobb was the assassin. Absolute Character assassin. And we all were there thinking she would live up to the kind of hype she’s gained and give us the reason we’d been through all this shite with her and Fitz and the rest of the dumbest bunch of idiots on the planet. Always hoping it’d get better.
I get it. We don’t want Mary Sues. And we recognize she was trying to write about how people are human and make mistakes - but decades after making the same mistakes over and over and shrugging their shoulders or one character who is so grating because she (Hobb) literally changed characters from ones who gave the readers any kind of hope to total shitbags. That’s what I found so appalling. By the end of Assassins Fate the last book in the series if she had written “Gotcha!” Or “Just Kidding!” Or a huge Eff U to her readers I might not even be so pissed that I wasted my time and SO MUCH MONEY on 16.5 paperbacks, and kindle editions so my husband could read them with me. Ugh.
Total disrespect for her readers. I’ve read some dark and disturbing books. I’ve read many books with nuanced endings or cliffhangers with no full explanation but this series takes the cake.
You see it’s been 2 months since I finished it. I had to dive right into something else to keep me from diving into a reading slump. I went straight to Red Rising trilogy and what a palate cleanser!!! The protagonist actually grows up! He listens to his inner dialogue and learns from his mistakes. He is street smart! He understands the assignment. And I really needed to read about people in chaotic situations and figures out their role in it quickly. Then I read Gwynne. The Blood and Bone quartet. Loved it.
Just to tell you. I absolutely loved this video and it helped me process my bitter feelings about the series. So thank you!!
BTW-Elliot Books on YT is not a fan either!!
Thank you!!! For the honest review and letting me vent!! 😂🙌🏼📚❤️
Excellent response. I can tell that the feelings are still raw. I can see the addiction parallel, I used to be a smoker many years ago. It sucked, you dumped all your time and money into a thing that you had to do and hadn’t actually enjoyed for years.
Everyone keeps saying to me to go on to the Liveship Traders and I was starting to relent, but you’ve given me pause. I’ve quit smoking once, I don’t think I need a substitute.
Thanks a million for the reply I’m glad you enjoyed the video. 😁
Oh and Red Rising is on the TBR so I’ll get to it, hopefully soon.
@@TheBookThing Thanks!
I’m not one to blame others for my bad decisions but I honestly believed as a reader I was witnessing all the absolutely horrific things happening to Fitz so we would get a huge arc and redemption by the end - and even if we had to read 17 F#%€£¥G books to get there. But no.
So at the end, it might feel like an ex-Scientologist feels. Truthfully!
If I had only read Liveship- I might have loved it. In fact - I shouldn’t say I hated because I was into it. I thought I was learning more about the world-heavy emphasis on learning but actually the last series pretty much demolishes everything we supposedly learned about Liveship actually reading Liveship. For the most part the story is super exciting but the dredge of reading really abrasive characters who need a hammer to the head to calm TF down and be humbled was so over the top. You know how lately so many movies and tv shows have a truly despicable main character who we are supposed to root for? Ex: Breaking Bad or The Boys or The Joker, Sopranos, Sons of Anarchy etc etc etc? It’s that. Just UGH.
I actually think Hobb is some kind of masochist. She doesn’t seem to like her characters or give autonomy to her characters. Or she thinks no one can experience catharses after extraordinary trauma. And make different choices.
I feel like anyone who reviews the entire series and still tells their viewers that Assassins Fate is the ultimate ending and/or the greatest culmination of all the plot holes throughout the series didn’t actually read the entire series, or is a boldfaced liar or are just plain evil. 😂
I recommend Red Rising particularly as a quick, succinctly written fast-paced trilogy with characters I could really root for and cry for. Also, Earthsea (first 3 books haven’t read the last 3 yet) for more philosophical purposes and beautiful messaging.
John Gwynne for straight forward storytelling. Excellent character development and immense battles and political intrigue. (Especially with your perfect opinion on the nonexistent political intrigue in Farseer).
I’m caving and going to dive into the Cosmere Universe and Brandon Sanderson. I’m really looking forward to that. If you’ve read it-please do a video review!!
Other recommendations-sort of. I tried Sword of Kaigen and perhaps it was a timing thing but I couldn’t get into it.
The Will of the Many. Kind of boring! I DNFd it for now. There’s supposed to be a cliffhanger and with no book 2 coming soon I don’t have the patience for it. ☺️
New subscriber here and looking forward to seeing more of your content!! Great job!!
Stay honest!! It’s a phenomenal trait that will earn you a lot of respect and followers!! ✌🏻🙏🏻💙🎉😊
@@Karaya715 thanks so much. I’m relatively new to fantasy so I’m playing catch up and Ursula Le Guinn and John Gwynne are both on the radar.
I quite like the Cosmere stuff, if you’re going to try it out I’d start with the first Mistborn. You’ll get the idea pretty quickly if it’s for you or not.
I’m toying with the idea of rereading the first Stormlight books before reading the new one so it’s not outside the realms of possibility. 😁
@@TheBookThing thank you!
THANK YOU!
Nice to know I'm not the only one to not like this series, heh. And I wanted to like it SO BAD, but I just couldn't. After seeing other reviews, I was beginning to think there must be two different series with the same name, because they couldn't be describing the one I read...
Great worldbuilding? Generic fantasy england gets invaded by generic fantasy vikings...wow, yeah, amazing...
Great depth of characters? The only thing I remember about the main character is that he likes dogs. I realize for some people that is their whole personality but....the only other thing I could think of for why people "identify" with the character was that he was such a blank slate that anyone could project whatever they wanted onto him. The other characters had like one personality trait each. The king was generic "innocent doofus" who relies too heavily on their generic "scheming psychopath" brother. Fitz seems to have sided with the king mostly because he was told to...he doesn't really seem to care or think about much of anything....except dogs, I guess. Molly is...a girl. Fitz likes her because....he's not gay, I guess, I dunno. The Fool was the only remotely interesting character, but I never did figure out if he was actually trying to help Fitz or trick him, or was just some weirdo who was hanging around spewing non-sequiturs that were open to interpretation enough to sound like they meant something in hindsight....I feel like he was written to *seem* interesting, without actually being so.
I honestly don't remember much from the story. The beginning with the kennel master taking away his puppy was pretty intense. Towards the end of the last book he goes through the village he grew up in wondering if he will recognize anything that will jar his memory....nope. He just kind of shrugs and moves on. I remember thinking, man, if you don't care why should I? In the end I didn't care about the world, or the characters, or what the story was about, if anything. I know I kept going and finished, but honestly, if I didn't remember the cover having a dragon on it, I would think people were pulling my leg saying there were dragons in the book, cause I don't remember any of that all. Certainly nothing interesting enough to want to continue.
And seriously, what was the point of him being an assassin? ugh.
@@cam1772fsu well he wasn’t an assassin. He was barely a stable hand.
It’s funny, I genuinely thought I was the only one when it came to this series, I thought by venting I’d get my arse handed to me, but what I’ve mostly had is folks like yourself saying, oh thank Christ it’s not just me.
We are not alone brother 👊
i've never read a robin hobb book but there are other popular fantasy book authors or series that would get me pilloried for saying i don't like them. so i am totally here for a (MEASURED) hater who actually has genuine criticisms to go off of.
@@lethaldream50 I’m delighted to be considered ‘measured’ 😁
I think many of us read the Farseer trilogy when we were teenagers so we have a lot of nostalgia for it. The books and the series as a whole definitely get a lot better as the books go on.
I read them when I was 15 I think and then it was pretty magical though I still thought the series was a little uneven even then tbh. I think the liveship traders is where the Realm of the Elderlings really kicks off.
@@buttonedupreader6522 so what you’re saying is that mid forties was way too late to get on the Farseer bandwagon 🤣
@@TheBookThing Potentially, for the first trilogy which is admittedly the weakest.
If you want to reassure yourself that most of booktube hasn’t gone mad, I would recommend trying the first Liveship Traders book, it’s a much more expansive world ( it surprisingly involves ships and sea travel).
Really good video though, you killed my sacred cow respectfully haha and laid out why you didn’t like it and what you found boring.
Cheers from a fellow Irish man in Sheffield.
@@buttonedupreader6522 ha ha, I’m not entirely sure it was a respectful slaughter. I’ve heard from a lot of folks that perhaps the Liveship Traders might appeal more. I’m giving it serious consideration, but not in the near future.
@@TheBookThing My cousin once said the series was ‘a big bag of shite’ which funnily enough really stuck with me, so thats set my bar low for respectful commentary in relation to the series haha.
Yeah, from what I’ve seen of your other videos I think it might be more up your alley. But it’s really tough to fight against nostalgia, especially when most people have read the books at such a formative age.
I think I would compare the first Farsser trilogy to the Eye of the World, most people acknowledge that the Eye of the World is definitely not a masterpiece and isn’t really reflective of what the series will go on to be. Hobb’s future series are a little like the WOT after EOT, they build on the story and get a good bit better.
@ ha ha ha. Reminds me of my father’s review of Graham Swift’s Booker Prize Winning ‘Last Orders’. “It’s a load of shite”
I am 100% with you, you did better than me, I couldn’t get through the first book.
You were wiser than me 😁
Ngl. I listened to the trilogy and it left very little impression on me. To this day I still don't entirely know why this trilogy is rated so highly (though no shade thrown on robin hobb). David Gemmel is an author hardly anyone talks about but some of his "middle of the road" books are better than allegedly top ten fantasy author's best books.
@@Undone545 Gemmel’s still on my to do list, I’ve heard good things.
Absolutely agree!
It's surprising how many people do
I really enjoyed the Farseer Trilogy. I found the serpent ones much less readable. I only read the farseer trilogy once though about the time it came out and without any prior hype (hence expectations).
@@Timlagor I think that’s fair. If you go into something with high expectations and it doesn’t deliver for you then your experience will be worse than someone who goes in with no expectations as is pleasantly surprised.
I read Assassin's Apprentice a loong time ago. It ... did not leave much of an impression. I can't remember if I straight up disliked it, but I didn't like it enough to read the rest of the series.
Well, hardly a ringing endorsement, but at least it didn’t actively annoy you like it did me. Thanks for watching
Liveship is a better story but as someone who listened to audiobooks, Liveship narration isn’t the strongest (but it does get better later on).
Thanks for the heads up. I think one of the things I struggled with in Farseer was the audiobook narration, if, and it’s a big if, I read Liveship, I’ll physically read it.
@ yeah maybe for the best. The narrator of liveship puts on a voice and its not great. Then a quarter of way into second book she suddenly speaks more like what I assume is her normal voice and it’s much better. But yeah - narration isn’t the strongest I’ve heard so recommend reading those.
I read the first one a long time ago. This made me realise I'm not really a Robin Hobb fan, even though I grew up in the era where these were written. I found Hobb's writing not up to par/boring.
I much preferred and identified more with books by Tad Williams, or even classic Eddings and Terry Brookes (as formulaic as those later 2 can be, they were still fun).
Yeah, she didn’t do it for me either I have to say
It’s a while since I read it so don’t have any detailed criticism beyond thinking that it had a slow but possibly intriguing first volume that could lead somewhere better - then after a lot of misery that was only occasionally fun in a twisted sort of way, the whole plot fizzled out to nothing.
Didn’t hate it, it passed the time, but it made little impression in terms of world, plot and character - and left me with no desire to read any more of the author’s work.
I think on balance I would have had a similar response had many of my favourite reviews read it recently and been glowing about it, at which point I ended up falling down the rabbit hole of gushing reviews and started to feel like the last lunatic in the asylum. The video was quite cathartic, and the responses of others telling me that actually it wasn’t that great really helped too, so thanks for that 😁
I just finished the trilogy after what can only be described as… a struggle. I LOVED ‘The Liveship Traders’ for its nuance and magic and actually thoroughly enjoyed Assassin’s Apprentice. And should have honestly just stopped there. The second book was such a drag of mundane happenings and teenage drama with a cool bit at the end and I found the third book to read like a D&D plot tugging along, without the elegance, grace and exciting mystery of the Liveship Traders and other great books. The series, to me, felt dated
You’re not the first to say that Liveship is good. They Hobb well might be a bit poisoned for me though.
I couldnt even finish this trilogy i could barely stop myself from physically destroying the bloody books, the tawny man trilogy however is excelent, fitz in those books barely feels like the same character to me. Thank goodness i read books out of order. I actually started with the liveship books if i had started with farseer i honestly dont think i would have gone any further.
@@Kari-qv1wn having started with Farseer, that’s kinda how I’m feeling at the moment. 😁
I agree with you, I honestly don’t get the praise for the trilogy. I didn’t mind the writing, but like someone else said, the story was depressing. I thought it was just me, I’m glad to see it’s not. My least favorite book is Circe by Madeline Miller. For some reason that book gets a lot of praise, but I thought the writing was pretentious and it was a big roll for me.
@@tbc907 well, Circe was a recent purchase for me, so, thanks?🤣
@@TheBookThinglol! I’ll be curious what you think about it when you read it, so I can see if we really see eye to eye. But seriously, I hope you enjoy it, wouldn’t want to wish a bad book on you.
@@tbc907 ha ha thanks, and if all else fails I can just have another rant 😁
I liked the Farseer Trilogy but like you was under whelmed considering the huge amount of praise on Booktube. For me, it was the the ending that really killed it. They finally find the dragons and they awaken them and that's it. Oh and by the way, they go back and take over and everything turns out all right. But she just sums that part up for some reason. So for almost all of 3 books, this slow build ends that way? I like slow builds but this was weird. I've read the whole thing and think it is worth continuing but if you really did not like this first trilogy, not sure you should. Be will, stay safe.
Yeah I felt the same way, it felt to me that wrapping up the plot was an inconvenience that Hobb would have just as soon not bothered with.
Thanks, I’m getting a lot of people saying I should read on to the Liveship Traders, but I’m pretty reluctant.
This is predominantly how felt. It was complexing. Should tick all boxes but I found it at best “meh”
My faves are Riftwar saga, Drenai Saga and recently Demonwar Cycle.
Those are new to me I’ll definitely have to check them out. Thanks 😁
@@TheBookThing Peter V Brett, Raymond E Feist, and David Gemmell. First fantasy book I ever read was Legend by Gemmell.
@@Steventrafford Gemmel and Feist are already definitely on the TBR. The eighties cover for Faerie Tale has been haunting my nightmares for decades. I’ll take a look at Brett
@@TheBookThing Gemmell’s work had quite the effect on my young mind. Taught me several life lessons that haven’t failed me, also gave me a code. 😁 seems cliche but it’s true.
While I really like this trilogy as a whole, I have to agree with you that there aren’t any convincing villains in this story. I kept waiting for the second shoe to drop, thinking either Verity or Chade or somebody else would come out as the “bigger villain” but alas it’s just Regal. And honestly he’s a bit of an idiot
@@aliaibrahim4517 honestly I was waiting for the big reveal that he was in league with the red ship raiders and that’s why he sabotaged Verity’s defences and abandoned the coastal Duchies but no, he was just incompetent.
It's always nice to hear somebody else say (confess?) that they don't worship the ground on which Robin Hobb walks. It happens so seldom. People on booktube always talk about her as if it's just a given that she's a genius and everybody loves her, when there's perhaps not a silent majority, but definitely a substantial amount of people who don't care for her books. I tried to read Assassin's Apprentice a decade ago and bailed after maybe 80 pages. I thought it clichéd and generic in every aspect even for 1990s fantasy, and I couldn't find a single reason why I should waste my time with something so unoriginal and stale.
It’s been so nice to discover I’m not alone. Thank you 🙏
you should put some smooth quiet jazz on in the background for some ambience! :)
I can see that. Ranting and raving about Farseer undercut with Miles Davis 🤣🤣🤣
12:08 - Don't you dare speak ill of my beloved Nighteyes!
😂 that wolf is creepy dude
Wera called it Furry Propaganda, I don’t know if I’d go that far but can’t say I disagree.
@TheBookThing I hope Nighteyes chews up your copy of Guards Guards 🤣
I agree that the Verity/Fitz possession bonkathon was a bit creepy, I'll give you that one.
I really enjoyed the video, it's obvious that you put a lot of thought into why you don't like the books so I won't unsubscribe just yet 🤣
I’ve been through that many copies of Guards Guards I probably wouldn’t notice 😂
Glad you haven’t run completely to the hills for this 😁
@TheBookThing I'm just happy you think I can run anywhere let alone the hills 🤣
I think it's cool hearing other perspectives on things and you hating THE BEST TRILOGY EVER WRITTEN IN THE HISTORY OF WRITTEN THINGS doesn't affect my enjoyment so it's all good.
It was a bloody entertaining video 🙂
@@DisquietandDragons 😂😂😂
I really like the series as a whole. On the other hand, the books I like the least is the ones with Fitz in them. I don't like Fitz as a character, at all. It would be interesting to know if you dislike The Liveship Traders as well. I much prefer them to The Farseer Trilogy.
@@erikaeriksson9840 a lot of folks are saying that the Liveship Traders series is something I might prefer. I’m considering giving it a go. Thanks a million.
I think I’ve bought the first book but every review sounds like something I would absolutely hate. Glad I got the Intel before wasting my time.
Read Vespertine! It’s amazing. A one off!
Thanks, haven’t come across Vespertine so I’ll add it to the list.
I will say that the first book is reasonably short, so you’ll get an idea pretty quickly if you want to continue. Only wish I’d listened to that myself
I read far too many of her books before giving up on Hobb. I will never go back to that Fool-ish garbage.
Can’t say I blame you
🤝
I actually got a bunch of people together to read through the full realm of the elderlings together... and then bailed after book 4 😂 while I think hobb does some great world-building and has some great quotes on occasion, I don't think it happens as much as I'd expect a similar-length tome to do. and there are generally two things I hate:
1. good god was I bored about nothing happening. I think I liked ch 6(?) in the second book, and the end of each book was decent, but there were hundreds and hundreds of pages of slog.
2. yes, hobb is fairly good at tapping into emotions... but they're always negative. she doesn't use her power for good or wholesome or funny moments, she merely wants her characters to suffer. you didn't read mad ship, but _man_ do I want to commit violence on Kyle (also Kyle? fr? such a dissonant name to use). I like when books can make me feel things, but not when the only things they make me fell are depression or anger.
I also don't particularly like her treatment of female characters. the things she apparently puts a main character through in the other ship books, and the way the narrative and other characters are in love with the perpetrator to his dying day... leaves a really sour taste in my mouth. it's very white mantasy, even though the author is not a man.
You roped other people in and then abandoned them to their fate? You monster 😂😂😂
@@TheBookThing I had only heard 100% positive feedback at that point! Lol. And they could've dropped out with me 🤷
Now that you mention it, the recurring possession sex is probably a fetish insert. I now hate Robin Hobb and this series even more than before.
I read the first book and had no interest in continuing. I agree character was whiny and story was boring.
You stopped when I probably should have 🤣
I read/listened half-way through and I felt it was all a bit too internal for my tastes
Also just disagreeing with a concensus dosen't make you wrong, in particular in matters of taste
Very true, I might’ve been trying to soften the blow a little by saying how wrong I was 😁
Psst....
A ton of "Booktubers" either skim books, parrot Goodreads reviews or review books that they don't finish. I have unsubscribed to way too many that will review a book while only reading 50 pages. They say this with ZERO shame! Do you think so little of your audience?
Stay real, the cream rises to the top and the phonies eventually come crumbling down.
This might sound naive but, really?!? I’ve either not come across that or been very conned, and my bullshit radar is usually pretty good.
I’d hate to think that people would only pretend to read Bumsider for the the prestige it affords them 🤣🤣
@TheBookThing oh good, you must be in some better circles. But yeah, I've been disappointed/surprised more than once or twice.
@ that really sucks
I love those books, but that might be nostalgia on my part (I think, I was 15 on my first read).
Listening to a book, with the wrong nerator, or one you just can't stand, will ruin any book.
Time of life when you first discover a book can a make a massive difference, I discussed that recently when I said that Dracula, a book that’s objectively very flawed is my favourite classic horror.
And yeah, choice of narrator can also make a huge difference and may well have been a contributing factor in how I felt about this.
I also don’t like The Farseer Trilogy.
Yay! Solidarity
I as an objective observer can see all of what is great about it. But as a consumer, it did not speak to me at all. I read the entire fitz saga not just the first trilogy and at no point did i ever grow to like any of the characters.
Unlikeable characters isn’t necessarily a deal breaker. I’m reading Joe Abercrombie’s First Law trilogy and all of the characters in that are incredibly unlikeable, intentionally so. But in a weirdly likeable way. I think that the problem with Fitz et al is that they are MEANT to be likeable, but aren’t.
I liked the first book, but not enough to read the second. I thought it was fine, then moved on. I suppose in some ways, my indifference tells you more than your hate.
@@myself2noone you had more sense than me
The Wheel of Time and the Farseer Trilogy are both overrated. I disliked the characters in both book series.
I think Wheel of Time gets the credit it does for being early, it wasn’t first but it kinda jump started modern fantasy which has been elevated since. It is objectively flawed though.
if WOT is over rated, pray tell what you suggest?
@@matthewmichaelcrown3643
Obviously, the Lord of the Rings.
The Riyria Revelations/Chronicles.
The Black Magicians trilogy.
Uprooted.
The Witcher book series.
The First Law trilogy.
@@MarceldeJong yeah, no really obvious
@@matthewmichaelcrown3643 Whut?
It was... okay.
I finished book 1 and haven't gone back to it.
I found that Liveship was much more interesting but Robin Hobby appears to attract readers who like to scream, cry and throw books around. I do none of those things.
I’ve heard a lot of recommendations of Liveship. I might get to it. I can’t comment on who is attracted to it, but I can say for certain I’m not. 😁
I read The Farseer triology when I was about 14 years old. The first book was good, the second... well, to be honest, it was kinda all over the place; but the third one? Oh, I loved it! I loved the whole series just for it!
Later triologies, though...
That’s really interesting, the fans all seem to be universally telling me that book 3 was bad but I should read the Liveship Traders because it’s far better.
It’s amazing how we can all have such different experiences with books. 😁
@@TheBookThing I don't have legit opinion about Liveship Traders since those are only now being translated to my native language. While I did read the english versions soon after Farseer, my understanding of the language back then wasn't good enough to make it fully comprehensible nor enjoyable experience.
@@Kiiriminna well, I’m in awe of anyone who can digest any book not in their native language. I can just about read books in my first language English, and frankly your English skills put mine to shame 😁
One of my problems with these books was that we very often get things told, but not shown.
We're told that the fool tells all these witty jokes but we are pretty much never told what they are. Which is such a cheap way to write.
I don't wanna be told that a character is smart. I want to see them do smart things.
I don't wanna be told that a character is witty. I wanna hear the witty things they actually say.
Also, yeah, the "animal enters your mind when you have sex" thing is disturbing. Female writers tend to do that a lot... Seem things happens in Anne McCaffrey books and it is beyond creepy.
Good point about the book names too.
Well, good points about everything actually.
@@unitron2005 yeah I agree, show don’t tell, I felt that most in the explanatory notes at the start of the chapter.
I haven’t read any Anne McCaffrey, frankly it doesn’t appeal.
I agree Hobb's does have talent, but I found a lot of the pacing was excruciatingly slow as well. I wanted to drop it numerous times. The books would promise and hype me up for something- which is a talent in itself, but then get side tracked and not deliver on those promises. She lost my trust as a reader over and over.
Promise and hype and not deliver. The JJ Abrams school of authoring
I started with the second book. I found it slow and boring. DNFed about 25% in.
I probably should have done something similar
First off, my dismissal of the author will do nothing to her career, so I feel comfortable being frank. Glad to know other people didn't find it spellbinding. It felt like I was trapped in someone else's head. On the balance he author comes across as a sadist and a bit of a pervert who wrote this to get their jollies. You know, like a fanfiction writer.
Years ago I read the trilogy, most of the first ship book, and part of the first fool book. I kept hoping it would deliver, or be less of a bummer. Interesting things happened, but I was trapped in some miserable, depressive, a-hole's brain, so it just sucked. If I wanted to be a stuck in a miserable, depressive, a-hole's brain I would never have gotten therapy and medication.
Bottom line, readers really are willing emotional and mental masochists trauma-bonding to an author's work that's just Mid. It's good cause it made you feel bad? I can make you feel bad and I won't charge you for a bunch of $18 paperback novels.
Anyway, jokes aside, it felt like being separated from an objectively interesting world by a fog of someone else's feelings.
@@beardyben7848 Yeah, I think that if you don’t like being in Fitz’s head you’ll struggle with the series, and I didn’t like being in Fitz’s head either.
Thanks for the reply, friend. I also went to Wera's channel and watched her review. I'm grateful to you both, and you in particular for articulating the things that drug it down for me. Basically the charming bits weren't charming enough to exceed the shortcomings in pacing(and plot!) and my dislike of the voice.
Subscribed, btw.
@ no worries, thanks so much for watching and subscribing 😁
Read Liveship first then read Apprentice and I am done.
I can only read so much spoiled teenagers and adults making bad decisions.
While some of the character work was good, especially in Liveship, but I much preferrer Jorg as a mass murdering teenager. But Fitz likes puppies so all is forgiven.
@@EricMcLuen if ‘I like puppies’ was a good enough character trait to lead a fantasy series, then A Song of Ice and Fire would be all about Lenny from Of Mice And Men 🤣🤣🤣🤣
@TheBookThing Bent and Roach in Malazan are much better.
I'm pretty sure I've heard this criticism before I can't remember which booktuber
I’d love it if you did remember and it turns out I’m not virtually alone 😂
Bad taste exists and some people have it. Whadda ya gonna do? 🤷 I don't understand why Stephen King is so popular. I love the movies based on his stuff (even the bad ones), but the books? I don't get it.
It’d be boring if we all liked the same stuff 😁
@@TheBookThing But it'd be more interesting if we all liked the good stuff 🤔
Yeeeees! gimme the Farseer slander!
I actually didn't hate the books I just think they're over rated. Live ship traders was good. The dragon series sucked a whole lot though.
I’ve heard that about Liveships. Starting to buckle and reconsider swearing off Hobb
@@TheBookThing try live ship traders then give up I suggest
@@freazeezy thanks I’ll consider it.
I've read all 16 books and I love them. That said they do have lots of issues, definitely with length and editing, she usually somehow draws it altogether masterfully in the 3rd book (the first trilogy is the exception to this, and the third book is the worst book in the whole series). I think the fact she manages to draw all 16 books together and brings all the plot points together (she had the whole series drawn out already) is insane, so I basically disagree with almost all your points 😂 .I think the 2nd trilogy, Liveship Traders is her best work, and is completely different characters. The characters can be a bit ridiculous but it is epic fantasy, you kinda expect that.
Nope. Not getting roped into 13 more books for a final payoff. 🤣🤣🤣
A lot of people have said that Liveship is a lot better, I’m wavering in my resolve slightly, but it’s not a priority
It was meh
@@laurenanderson61 honestly if I stopped after Apprentice I’d have probably said that same, but after nearly 2000 pages it graduated from ‘meh’ to ‘actively annoying me’
Never read it, but I did try reading the first book from Hobb’s Liveship Trilogy, and I couldn’t get past the first few hundred pages. It had way too many paragraphs of backstory for each character getting in the way of the story-which TBF some authors can get away with due to skill but not Hobb-and there’s something about it that made me feel pandered to, as though it was conceptualized by a committee trying to market to women in an unintentionally condescending manner, like, there’s this idea of Fantasy readers who are women in the abstract instead of simply writing a good adventure story where the characters are well written that everyone could enjoy.
I didn’t care for the villain either.
Good thing I missed her first Trilogy after all, I guess?
Continued, I don’t need to like or identify with the characters to find a story interesting but they need to be well written, Hobb came across to as trying way too hard to make the reader understand them down to the core, which wasn’t even necessary.
Anyway, thanks for the warning.
I don’t think you necessarily have to like characters, but there’s a problem when they’re written to be likeable but aren’t.
@@TheBookThing Very true