When I was a teenager, I had a boyfriend buy me “Assassin’s Apprentice” and tell me to read it because he knew I’d love it. It’s the best thing anyone has ever gifted me, and honestly I still think of him fondly because of it. Lol I got to grow up right alongside Fitz. It’s been wonderful watching booktube embrace Robin Hobb these last few years. She deserves to be talked about in the same circles as Robert Jordan, George R.R. Martin and Patrick Rothfuss. Probably more deserving, considering Robin Hobb actually finishes her book series… 😬😅
At about six and a half minutes into this video, Jake "Don't Skip Liveship" and Scot "Publication Order Only" each burst some blood vessels. 😁Great to hear your take on this series, Mike -- you've done an excellent job of giving people a sense of Realm of the Elderlings, which is at the apex of fantasy for me.
One of the most impressive aspects of Realm of the Elderlings for me is how fantastic the side characters are despite the story being told from Fitz’s perspective. The Fool, Kettricken, Verity, Burrich, Patience, Chade, Dutiful, Nighteyes, etc. So many all-time great characters!
I am a Rainwilds defender! Lol. It is not the best of the lot, but it's not garbage like everyone seems to think. If you don't read it, you miss out on a lot of world-building and dragon stuff. I can understand why a man in his 40's might not love it. I guess, as a woman in her 40s, I'm a little more tolerant of the teen angst stuff. Liveship makes up for all the negative aspects by itself.
SOLD. Admittedly I've been wanting to read the Farseer Trilogy for a while now. (I'm just waiting till I save up enough to get the Illustrated Editions) But you certainly helped to give me an extra nudge towards them.
I’m about a qtr way through Assassin’s Fate-the last of the 17 book series. I just can’t explain my depth of shock by just how much I love these books and characters. Fantasy was NOT my genre. I was/am a classic novel reader. From Homer to Joyce to Melville to Austen, Brontë and of course Tolstoy Dostoevsky and Dickens. Those were my go to. But one day I needed a break. Watched Mike, Library of a Viking, Brothers Gwynne and Philip Chase -I’m a tough sell what can I say. 😂 So I bought the Assassins Apprentice and within the first 50 pages I had already ordered the rest of the first trilogy. Fitz’s character might be so frustrating at some point many times, but if you can imagine someone who loves you watching from afar, watching all of your mistakes, knowing that only you can figure out how to make better decisions- then you will love Fitz like so many of us do. “Characters work” is not a spellbinding description to get people to read this book. It’s true! But to me it should be just described as RESONATING. If you close yourself off from anything that isn’t continuous action you’ll miss the true value of this story. I feel like Hobb is telling us so many particular truths without feeling the need to explain it starkly. How we connect, how we present ourselves, how we have so many layers - layers we share, layers we cherish, layers we protect, and layers we can’t admit to - even to ourselves. The magic is fantastic and mysterious. These book are a mystery. Not just a fantasy. It’s also a love story. A story of family and love and friendship and loss and acceptance and grief and adventure (!) and change and growth and most of all connection. It’s also fun, funny at times, and exciting. For anyone who seeks out certain truths from classic novels - this series is honestly phenomenal. Frustrating yes. Because that’s life. But it’s truly remarkable how Robin Hobb has written her world and you never want to leave it. Thank you Mike! For being part of the reason I found Fitz and Bee and Nighteyes. ❤️🐺
Thanks for making this! I have been wanting to read this series for so long but but have felt overwhelmed by its size. I love the way you framed it as doing a trilogy at a time and taking a break between.
Well, Realm of the Elderlings is one of my top 3 fantasy series and I absolutely love it. But it is always intresting to hear Mike's take even if it differs from mine. It is always a valid personal opinion and not the superficial or one-sided nonsense that you often see in reviewers.
Perfect timing Mike! I'm attending Dragonsteel Nexus, and Brando just announced that Robin Hobb will be a special guest. I was debating on jumping into her work!
I’m on Assassin’s quest but got pregnant and had to put it down because I was crying to much. So I will pick it back up in the new year. I am enjoying it though.
I finished the first trilogy about 6 months ago and really enjoyed it. Just started ship of magic and am very happy to be back in this world. I agree with you about Kennit, he was instantly the character I was most excited to get to.
Robin Hobb has also written several books under the name "Megan Lindholm." So if you enjoy her writing, you may like those books, too. Her real name is Margaret Lindholm Ogden.
I think Mike and myself have similar tastes. First Law is my hands down favorite of all time. Im going to start Assassins Apprentice today because your take on Robin's characters.
I don’t think it’s the same as Wheel of Time slog. That’s particularly bad and destroys the reading experience totally for a lot of people who are new to the series. Here? The slow pace or not, it’s very focused to the cast of characters, the main difference is: it’s about their life. So you won’t get MCU level big events all the time but: in Lifeship you get family struggles, in Farseer castle politics with Fitz amateur try outs in life. Something always happens just not that big. And it’s pretty good in being realistic. More like Blade Itself not slog in Wheel of Time where we started to get disappointed even when Robert Jordan wrote the last books and we read it right away. It seems the new readers at booktok enjoy it as well, so the younger readers love Fitz and Lifeship mostly as a starting point to epic fantasy. It’s much more a trigger warning that it’s pretty dark. Not in action but all the characters are suffering here. They are emotionally devastated, both Fitz and the family in Bingtown. It’s very depressing what happens to them and there are only a few things that are positive in the series. As Mike says the characters are very real but at the same time they have a very bad faith. It’s on the border of grim dark fantasy just not bloody.
Excellent breakdown IMO. I think you're entirely fair about what some people may not love. I fall in the camp who loves it, but I really wonder had I read it after starting my channel if I would have as much. It's a lot of pages to get through and in some cases, for little payoff. When trying to get through a big TBR for a channel, I can see how my feelings might be a little different.
I started this series a couple months ago on Audiobook and soft DNF'd it about halfway through book 1. I know I am going to go back to it, but as an audiobook I wasn't getting out of it what I think it deserves, and while the writing and characters have been amazing so far, I need to be in a certain headspace for that level of slow. When I am in it I will love it, so I put it off till then. It was nice to hear that is a common enough thing to warn people about here. Great vid as always!
The narrator of the first book is not good, I really disliked his style of reading. Fitz can be difficult enough without a bad narration on top of it. Luckily the narrator for the next books was changed and I found it went a lot better. Though I still listend on about 1.65 speed 😂
@@SuperPuddingcat I have book one still on my list to read, and part of it is I listen to cerain audio books while doing other things too. And while driving, working, working out, or doing the lawn/dishes, etc... I found my mind wandering as I listened to this book. A different narrator might help since I have had other narrators that I loved so much I looked for other books they did just because of them.
@@horonin I also enjoy listening to audiobooks whilst doing certain tasks. It helps to get on with things that are otherwise boring. A great Narrator can make the most odious of tasks fly by in no time!
I've just finished reading the entire Fitz series for the 3rd time. Initially started off by reading Fitz and the Fool trilogy (the final trilogy)6 years ago. At the time I was unaware of the existence of the earlier trilogies, so I didn't go through the initial slowness of Fitz's childhood story to start with. When I did get round to reading it from the beginning, it made a lot more sense to me, and I enjoyed it immensely. I keep coming back to these series because I get bored of all the other fantasy books being quite juvenile in their magics and plots, and their two dimensional stereotypical characters and names. Sadly, Robin Hobb's amazing writing and characterisation has ruined me for all the other authors, and I find that nothing comes close to her books. So before I know it, I'm back at the start of Assassin's Apprentice...again. And I read it all through to Assassin's Fate (It takes a few months). I agree with Mike that it is a slow burn, and normally, I like instant action and entertainment, but in this case, I enjoy the building and the rich layering, and the day to day running of the lives of the characters and would not change that. I've enjoyed the series as much as, and perhaps even more, reading it the second and third times. I find so much that I didn't pick up on during the first reading. The characters are so well written, like they're real people and I know them personally. I keep coming back to it because I think I miss their company. Understand that Mike feels that Fitz's story should've ended after Tawny Man, and he's right that it could've happily ended there but I'm glad of Fitz and the Fool and its new characters and storylines, and I particularly love the ultimate ending (think I'm just glad to have Fitz a little while longer). I agree that Rainwild Chronicles is not as good, but I found it useful to have read that backstory to understand the Kelsingra scenes, characters, politics etc. I haven't read Liveship Traders, as I felt the backstory was well explained in the final Fitz trilogy, and that would be a spoiler knowing what would happen to those characters. However, everyone's raving about Liveship I'm going to have to go there if I'm ever going to call myself a fan.
Mike how did you know I just finished Liveship Traders last night!! I absolutely loved it and the first book was my favorite. I never should of waited so long between Farseer & Liveship. I would just recommend just Liveship to future readers and if you love it then go back & read Fitz. Liveship is “S” tier!!
Mike you responded to this rec once and said your wife DNFd it but I’m gonna try again for The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt because it’s literally so many of your favorite things in books all at once: brilliant coming of age, slice of life, and character work with great prose I actually think you’d love it and I’ve watched you now for about 3 years and we have very similar tastes for all the same reasons likes and dislikes
Unrelated: I remember when you were at like 70k followers not too long ago, and you were a little bummed at plateauing. It is so cool to see you almost doubling that in much less time than it took you to initially get there. Theres a lesson in there somewhere :D
Yes a series review! I read Assassin's Apprentice like 5 years ago and I did not like it. But I remember very little. I'd like to read Liveship someday cause of the slice of life and how good everyone says it is.
When Assassin's Quest first came out long ago, I bought it at Waldenbook's on release weekend. It was sort of a miss for me, since I was expecting something more like "Return of the King" triumphantly showing the good guys winning. It was much more bittersweet than that, and at the time there was no promise of future books. I stayed away until finally reading the rest of the Realm of the Elderlings series in the last 16 months. Wow! So much to enjoy!! I skipped Rain Wilds and have no regrets. Of the 12 books, at least 9 of them are 5 stars for me.
I am on book 2 loving it cannot put it down can't wait for next series but I don't want to rush read them yake my time specially with them been long great vid Mike 👍 it don't feel slow paced
About to wrap up Royal Assassin probably today. I love the series, but you’re right. If you’re looking for alot of action, you’ll be disappointed. But the characterization is amazing. The political intrigue is a great replacement for action for me.
Once I accepted that this was more aligned with 'literary fiction ' set in a fantasy world rather than just a series in the fantasy genre, I was able to enjoy the while experience much more.
I just realized that Godzilla Minus One fits in the found family genre and I have a very strong feeling that you'd like the movie. I'm an Army veteran, fan of RotE and Wot, Dresden, and Godzilla movies in general, etc, etc. I'm telling you, G-1 is by far the best Godzilla movie Unlike the vast majority of the Godzilla movies, it makes you care about the human element of the story. Hell, if Godzilla wasn't in the movie, it would still be a great movie. When Godzilla shows up to wreck shit, you aren't rooting for him, you're rooting for the human characters to make it out of there alive, instead of egging him on to destroy more stuff and beat up the other monster (there is no other monster in this one, btw). The movie has gotten a lot of hype for a reason, but by all means, go into the movie expecting nothing much. As with all things, going into it with checked expectations delivers the best outcome. I'd love to see your reaction/review of the movie, now that it's come out on streaming services and is more widely available to watch. I think you're in for a pleasant surprise... 98% from both fans and critics on rotten tomatoes, btw. Also, it made me cry. No one had crying at a Godzilla on their bingo card for the year... and btw, it's a family friendly movie. I think your wife and kids would enjoy it immensely too.
Great breakdown of the series, thanks! I have three volumes of Robin Hobb’s on my shelf that I found second hand…all three of them are the third book in its series 😬 Guess I’ll just have to find the others somewhere!
Halfway through the live ship trilogy and it’s amazing. I 100% agree Kennit is amazing. I always get upset when he not in a chapter. Especially if it’s a Malta chapter lol
Really good video, Mike. Enjoyed thoroughly. I really like your Good & Bad series & RotE is a worthy entrant. I am not as high on Live Ship after 1 book. But, I am willing to fit the next book in some time. Thank you for this.
I have been reading Hobb since Assassin's Apprentice came out back in 1995. Many of her books are among my favorite fantasy books of all time, and she is one of my favorite authors. And yet... The later books REALLY missed for me. I never finished either Rainwilds (despite being quite interested in the lore) or Fitz & the Fool. At this point, sadly, Hobb is no longer on my automatic-buy list. I feel like she & I just grew in divergent directions.
1937 - The Hobbit / 1949 - The Lord of the Rings 1965 - Dune 1968 - Dragonriders of Pern 1977 - The Sword of Shanarra 1979 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 1982 - The Gunslinger 1982 - Magician 1982 - Pawn of Prophecy 1983 - The Colour of Magic 1990 - The Eye of the World 1994 - Wizard's First Rule 1995 - Northern Lights 1996 - A Game of Thrones 1997 - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone 2001 - Artemis Fowl 2001 - Eragon
I agree, I think Fitz was cheated out of the ending he deserves. Some of the books I found a bit depressing. I've just finished the all the books and I'm left feeling unsatisfied. I think a twist or something was needed to justify the amount of pages, or in my case hours (I'm an audio reader) Also in the audio books the reader is changed far to often, I found it really jarring. Ty for this review x
I just started the final trilogy. If you look at her publication order, she wrote the Soldier Son Trilogy between Live Ship and Rainwild Chronicles. I thought while reading the ending of Tawny Man that it would have been the perfect ending too. I think she just missed that world after writing Soldier Son Trilogy and then added on the last 7 books. I'm probably in the minority, but I really enjoyed Rainwild Chronicles. The romancey parts were meh, but I liked seeing the evolution of some of the core characters from previous books. (trying to state my opinion without spoilers) Feeling like i'm in the 9th inning now with only 2 1/2 books left to read.
I just completed the entire series (minus the short story book) I loved it, started in July 2023. I almost want it to carry on, I want to know what’s going to happen in Bee’s life next! The world and the characters were so lush! Never felt so much hate for certain characters (other than Snape) 😅 What’s the next slow burn I should check out?
I liked the final trilogy, but it definitely wasn't my my favorite, maybe 4th out of the 5 (behind Rainwilds of course lol). The first 3 trilogies were absolutely incredible and could've (should've?) ended there. Liveship blew my mind and it was so unexpected haha overall this series is definitely firmly in my top 10 too, even though Rainwilds kinda sucked for me, especially the first 2 in that subseries
im getting a lot better at slow burns but i dont need good hooks here and there but at the end im glad i got thru. So far only Farseer and Liveship in. These book do take a mental toll on me and i may just do Tawny Man and thats it. Is there a recommendation of which series to read?
I wish this video existed before I had tried to read these! I am def not a fan, and the reasons you listed in "the bad" are definitely the reason I think I struggled so hard.
I got mixed feelings about Assassin’s Quest, it’s a great book but honestly you can read the first and last 5 chapters and you will get the whole plot.
If 400 Pages passes, and nothing has happened, how would that not bother! I'm reading a book, not living my life😂. I need something to happen if I'm going to be reading. Life is boring enough without reading a boring book😂!
That’s not an exact description that nothing happens. A lot happens just not MCU level big events. Life happens and the characters struggle. They have a lot of issues for example to overcome money problems as a trader family being women when the husband is not there, and we see it from 3 generations how it goes down at the same time we see what happens on the ship, at the daily life, the main character is falling down to depression and losing his mind basically… etc… Just giving you an example. It’s a character study not a big event stuff.
Fitz is one thee worst protagonists ever hobb has perfected creating male characters with no male traits her editor needs to retire because it's clear thers was no serious editing involved in this series 😒
Literally just finished Assassin's Apprentice yesterday, my first ever Robin Hobb book, and my first ever fantasy book!
What did you think of it, how do you rate it?
Did you like it?
Would you read it again, or is it a one and done, you old sly dog? 😅
You've got a long road ahead of you, best of luck!
Started them recently too. Assassin's Apprentice was a decent intro. Found Royal Assassin much better. Starting Assassin's Quest soon
It gets so much better. The first book is really slow, but sets up the amazing characters. Keep going
When I was a teenager, I had a boyfriend buy me “Assassin’s Apprentice” and tell me to read it because he knew I’d love it. It’s the best thing anyone has ever gifted me, and honestly I still think of him fondly because of it. Lol I got to grow up right alongside Fitz. It’s been wonderful watching booktube embrace Robin Hobb these last few years. She deserves to be talked about in the same circles as Robert Jordan, George R.R. Martin and Patrick Rothfuss.
Probably more deserving, considering Robin Hobb actually finishes her book series… 😬😅
😂❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
At about six and a half minutes into this video, Jake "Don't Skip Liveship" and Scot "Publication Order Only" each burst some blood vessels. 😁Great to hear your take on this series, Mike -- you've done an excellent job of giving people a sense of Realm of the Elderlings, which is at the apex of fantasy for me.
One of the most impressive aspects of Realm of the Elderlings for me is how fantastic the side characters are despite the story being told from Fitz’s perspective. The Fool, Kettricken, Verity, Burrich, Patience, Chade, Dutiful, Nighteyes, etc. So many all-time great characters!
I am a Rainwilds defender! Lol. It is not the best of the lot, but it's not garbage like everyone seems to think. If you don't read it, you miss out on a lot of world-building and dragon stuff. I can understand why a man in his 40's might not love it. I guess, as a woman in her 40s, I'm a little more tolerant of the teen angst stuff. Liveship makes up for all the negative aspects by itself.
This is my favorite series ever. I just connected with Fitz on a very deep level. And liveships is a master work!!
SOLD. Admittedly I've been wanting to read the Farseer Trilogy for a while now. (I'm just waiting till I save up enough to get the Illustrated Editions) But you certainly helped to give me an extra nudge towards them.
I’m about a qtr way through Assassin’s Fate-the last of the 17 book series. I just can’t explain my depth of shock by just how much I love these books and characters. Fantasy was NOT my genre. I was/am a classic novel reader. From Homer to Joyce to Melville to Austen, Brontë and of course Tolstoy Dostoevsky and Dickens.
Those were my go to.
But one day I needed a break. Watched Mike, Library of a Viking, Brothers Gwynne and Philip Chase -I’m a tough sell what can I say. 😂
So I bought the Assassins Apprentice and within the first 50 pages I had already ordered the rest of the first trilogy.
Fitz’s character might be so frustrating at some point many times, but if you can imagine someone who loves you watching from afar, watching all of your mistakes, knowing that only you can figure out how to make better decisions- then you will love Fitz like so many of us do.
“Characters work” is not a spellbinding description to get people to read this book. It’s true! But to me it should be just described as RESONATING. If you close yourself off from anything that isn’t continuous action you’ll miss the true value of this story.
I feel like Hobb is telling us so many particular truths without feeling the need to explain it starkly. How we connect, how we present ourselves, how we have so many layers - layers we share, layers we cherish, layers we protect, and layers we can’t admit to - even to ourselves.
The magic is fantastic and mysterious.
These book are a mystery. Not just a fantasy. It’s also a love story. A story of family and love and friendship and loss and acceptance and grief and adventure (!) and change and growth and most of all connection. It’s also fun, funny at times, and exciting.
For anyone who seeks out certain truths from classic novels - this series is honestly phenomenal. Frustrating yes. Because that’s life. But it’s truly remarkable how Robin Hobb has written her world and you never want to leave it.
Thank you Mike! For being part of the reason I found Fitz and Bee and Nighteyes. ❤️🐺
I got every Robin Hobb book today for £20 from a charity shop 😊
Thanks for making this! I have been wanting to read this series for so long but but have felt overwhelmed by its size. I love the way you framed it as doing a trilogy at a time and taking a break between.
Happy I could help!
Well, Realm of the Elderlings is one of my top 3 fantasy series and I absolutely love it. But it is always intresting to hear Mike's take even if it differs from mine. It is always a valid personal opinion and not the superficial or one-sided nonsense that you often see in reviewers.
Perfect timing Mike! I'm attending Dragonsteel Nexus, and Brando just announced that Robin Hobb will be a special guest. I was debating on jumping into her work!
I love that you compared her writing to Ray Bradbury. I never thought of it that way, but it's true. Beautiful writing, yet still easy to read.
Sounds like it's not for me, but remarkable balance with this. You really got the sense of good points and bad, with nothing overwhelming it.
I’m on Assassin’s quest but got pregnant and had to put it down because I was crying to much. So I will pick it back up in the new year. I am enjoying it though.
I finished the first trilogy about 6 months ago and really enjoyed it.
Just started ship of magic and am very happy to be back in this world. I agree with you about Kennit, he was instantly the character I was most excited to get to.
Robin Hobb has also written several books under the name "Megan Lindholm." So if you enjoy her writing, you may like those books, too. Her real name is Margaret Lindholm Ogden.
I think Mike and myself have similar tastes. First Law is my hands down favorite of all time. Im going to start Assassins Apprentice today because your take on Robin's characters.
Also, after all that, I really appreciate the Hap Gladheart shirt. Sir, I take my hat off to you for this video and the way you handled it. Thank you.
You bet!
I'm thinking about getting into Robin Hobbs and now I will .
The covers of the books really are nice.
I don’t think it’s the same as Wheel of Time slog. That’s particularly bad and destroys the reading experience totally for a lot of people who are new to the series. Here? The slow pace or not, it’s very focused to the cast of characters, the main difference is: it’s about their life. So you won’t get MCU level big events all the time but: in Lifeship you get family struggles, in Farseer castle politics with Fitz amateur try outs in life. Something always happens just not that big. And it’s pretty good in being realistic. More like Blade Itself not slog in Wheel of Time where we started to get disappointed even when Robert Jordan wrote the last books and we read it right away.
It seems the new readers at booktok enjoy it as well, so the younger readers love Fitz and Lifeship mostly as a starting point to epic fantasy.
It’s much more a trigger warning that it’s pretty dark. Not in action but all the characters are suffering here. They are emotionally devastated, both Fitz and the family in Bingtown. It’s very depressing what happens to them and there are only a few things that are positive in the series. As Mike says the characters are very real but at the same time they have a very bad faith. It’s on the border of grim dark fantasy just not bloody.
Excellent breakdown IMO. I think you're entirely fair about what some people may not love. I fall in the camp who loves it, but I really wonder had I read it after starting my channel if I would have as much. It's a lot of pages to get through and in some cases, for little payoff. When trying to get through a big TBR for a channel, I can see how my feelings might be a little different.
I started this series a couple months ago on Audiobook and soft DNF'd it about halfway through book 1. I know I am going to go back to it, but as an audiobook I wasn't getting out of it what I think it deserves, and while the writing and characters have been amazing so far, I need to be in a certain headspace for that level of slow. When I am in it I will love it, so I put it off till then. It was nice to hear that is a common enough thing to warn people about here. Great vid as always!
The narrator of the first book is not good, I really disliked his style of reading. Fitz can be difficult enough without a bad narration on top of it. Luckily the narrator for the next books was changed and I found it went a lot better. Though I still listend on about 1.65 speed 😂
@@SuperPuddingcat I have book one still on my list to read, and part of it is I listen to cerain audio books while doing other things too. And while driving, working, working out, or doing the lawn/dishes, etc... I found my mind wandering as I listened to this book. A different narrator might help since I have had other narrators that I loved so much I looked for other books they did just because of them.
@@horonin I also enjoy listening to audiobooks whilst doing certain tasks. It helps to get on with things that are otherwise boring. A great Narrator can make the most odious of tasks fly by in no time!
I've just finished reading the entire Fitz series for the 3rd time. Initially started off by reading Fitz and the Fool trilogy (the final trilogy)6 years ago. At the time I was unaware of the existence of the earlier trilogies, so I didn't go through the initial slowness of Fitz's childhood story to start with. When I did get round to reading it from the beginning, it made a lot more sense to me, and I enjoyed it immensely. I keep coming back to these series because I get bored of all the other fantasy books being quite juvenile in their magics and plots, and their two dimensional stereotypical characters and names. Sadly, Robin Hobb's amazing writing and characterisation has ruined me for all the other authors, and I find that nothing comes close to her books. So before I know it, I'm back at the start of Assassin's Apprentice...again. And I read it all through to Assassin's Fate (It takes a few months). I agree with Mike that it is a slow burn, and normally, I like instant action and entertainment, but in this case, I enjoy the building and the rich layering, and the day to day running of the lives of the characters and would not change that. I've enjoyed the series as much as, and perhaps even more, reading it the second and third times. I find so much that I didn't pick up on during the first reading. The characters are so well written, like they're real people and I know them personally. I keep coming back to it because I think I miss their company. Understand that Mike feels that Fitz's story should've ended after Tawny Man, and he's right that it could've happily ended there but I'm glad of Fitz and the Fool and its new characters and storylines, and I particularly love the ultimate ending (think I'm just glad to have Fitz a little while longer). I agree that Rainwild Chronicles is not as good, but I found it useful to have read that backstory to understand the Kelsingra scenes, characters, politics etc. I haven't read Liveship Traders, as I felt the backstory was well explained in the final Fitz trilogy, and that would be a spoiler knowing what would happen to those characters. However, everyone's raving about Liveship I'm going to have to go there if I'm ever going to call myself a fan.
I can see that. So many modern fantasy series try too hard to be different and it just feels forced to me.
Mike how did you know I just finished Liveship Traders last night!! I absolutely loved it and the first book was my favorite. I never should of waited so long between Farseer & Liveship. I would just recommend just Liveship to future readers and if you love it then go back & read Fitz. Liveship is “S” tier!!
Robin hobb is amazing …I wish she would do some prequels to live shop traders
Liveship Traders is my favorite
The good: everything. The bad: nothing. 😂 My favorite series!
I was just going to post the same thing.
One of my favorite series, I still have the final trilogy left and plan to pick it up next
finished the first 2 books and now half way through assassins quest. My first ever fantasy series and so far its solid.
Glad you're liking it!
Mike you responded to this rec once and said your wife DNFd it but I’m gonna try again for The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt because it’s literally so many of your favorite things in books all at once: brilliant coming of age, slice of life, and character work with great prose I actually think you’d love it and I’ve watched you now for about 3 years and we have very similar tastes for all the same reasons likes and dislikes
Agree with your assessment of the series. Very sluggish and slow pacing. I still recommend it.
Unrelated: I remember when you were at like 70k followers not too long ago, and you were a little bummed at plateauing. It is so cool to see you almost doubling that in much less time than it took you to initially get there. Theres a lesson in there somewhere :D
Things have hit a halt since the channel got hacked. Trying to get back into the algorithm consistently but it's always a battle.
Yes a series review!
I read Assassin's Apprentice like 5 years ago and I did not like it. But I remember very little. I'd like to read Liveship someday cause of the slice of life and how good everyone says it is.
When Assassin's Quest first came out long ago, I bought it at Waldenbook's on release weekend. It was sort of a miss for me, since I was expecting something more like "Return of the King" triumphantly showing the good guys winning. It was much more bittersweet than that, and at the time there was no promise of future books. I stayed away until finally reading the rest of the Realm of the Elderlings series in the last 16 months. Wow! So much to enjoy!! I skipped Rain Wilds and have no regrets. Of the 12 books, at least 9 of them are 5 stars for me.
I am on book 2 loving it cannot put it down can't wait for next series but I don't want to rush read them yake my time specially with them been long great vid Mike 👍 it don't feel slow paced
I like Robin Hobb. Her prose is beautiful
Nice to see your thoughts on one of my favorite series!
About to wrap up Royal Assassin probably today. I love the series, but you’re right. If you’re looking for alot of action, you’ll be disappointed. But the characterization is amazing. The political intrigue is a great replacement for action for me.
Once I accepted that this was more aligned with 'literary fiction ' set in a fantasy world rather than just a series in the fantasy genre, I was able to enjoy the while experience much more.
Thanks for the review!!! 😊
Yay! My favorite author!
I just realized that Godzilla Minus One fits in the found family genre and I have a very strong feeling that you'd like the movie. I'm an Army veteran, fan of RotE and Wot, Dresden, and Godzilla movies in general, etc, etc. I'm telling you, G-1 is by far the best Godzilla movie Unlike the vast majority of the Godzilla movies, it makes you care about the human element of the story. Hell, if Godzilla wasn't in the movie, it would still be a great movie. When Godzilla shows up to wreck shit, you aren't rooting for him, you're rooting for the human characters to make it out of there alive, instead of egging him on to destroy more stuff and beat up the other monster (there is no other monster in this one, btw). The movie has gotten a lot of hype for a reason, but by all means, go into the movie expecting nothing much. As with all things, going into it with checked expectations delivers the best outcome.
I'd love to see your reaction/review of the movie, now that it's come out on streaming services and is more widely available to watch. I think you're in for a pleasant surprise... 98% from both fans and critics on rotten tomatoes, btw. Also, it made me cry. No one had crying at a Godzilla on their bingo card for the year... and btw, it's a family friendly movie. I think your wife and kids would enjoy it immensely too.
Great breakdown of the series, thanks! I have three volumes of Robin Hobb’s on my shelf that I found second hand…all three of them are the third book in its series 😬 Guess I’ll just have to find the others somewhere!
Halfway through the live ship trilogy and it’s amazing. I 100% agree Kennit is amazing. I always get upset when he not in a chapter. Especially if it’s a Malta chapter lol
You will regret this comment at the end…. 😂
Really good video, Mike. Enjoyed thoroughly. I really like your Good & Bad series & RotE is a worthy entrant. I am not as high on Live Ship after 1 book. But, I am willing to fit the next book in some time. Thank you for this.
Good timing! Just started Assassin's Apprentice yesterday!
I have been reading Hobb since Assassin's Apprentice came out back in 1995. Many of her books are among my favorite fantasy books of all time, and she is one of my favorite authors. And yet... The later books REALLY missed for me. I never finished either Rainwilds (despite being quite interested in the lore) or Fitz & the Fool. At this point, sadly, Hobb is no longer on my automatic-buy list. I feel like she & I just grew in divergent directions.
1937 - The Hobbit / 1949 - The Lord of the Rings
1965 - Dune
1968 - Dragonriders of Pern
1977 - The Sword of Shanarra
1979 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
1982 - The Gunslinger
1982 - Magician
1982 - Pawn of Prophecy
1983 - The Colour of Magic
1990 - The Eye of the World
1994 - Wizard's First Rule
1995 - Northern Lights
1996 - A Game of Thrones
1997 - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
2001 - Artemis Fowl
2001 - Eragon
I agree, I think Fitz was cheated out of the ending he deserves. Some of the books I found a bit depressing. I've just finished the all the books and I'm left feeling unsatisfied. I think a twist or something was needed to justify the amount of pages, or in my case hours (I'm an audio reader)
Also in the audio books the reader is changed far to often, I found it really jarring. Ty for this review x
I just started the final trilogy. If you look at her publication order, she wrote the Soldier Son Trilogy between Live Ship and Rainwild Chronicles. I thought while reading the ending of Tawny Man that it would have been the perfect ending too. I think she just missed that world after writing Soldier Son Trilogy and then added on the last 7 books. I'm probably in the minority, but I really enjoyed Rainwild Chronicles. The romancey parts were meh, but I liked seeing the evolution of some of the core characters from previous books. (trying to state my opinion without spoilers) Feeling like i'm in the 9th inning now with only 2 1/2 books left to read.
I love Robin Hobb, but I never read the Rain Wild Chronicles and I don't think I missed anything in the last trilogy.
Scot should be happy.
Nice video Mike!
I just completed the entire series (minus the short story book) I loved it, started in July 2023. I almost want it to carry on, I want to know what’s going to happen in Bee’s life next! The world and the characters were so lush! Never felt so much hate for certain characters (other than Snape) 😅
What’s the next slow burn I should check out?
I liked the final trilogy, but it definitely wasn't my my favorite, maybe 4th out of the 5 (behind Rainwilds of course lol). The first 3 trilogies were absolutely incredible and could've (should've?) ended there. Liveship blew my mind and it was so unexpected haha overall this series is definitely firmly in my top 10 too, even though Rainwilds kinda sucked for me, especially the first 2 in that subseries
im getting a lot better at slow burns but i dont need good hooks here and there but at the end im glad i got thru. So far only Farseer and Liveship in. These book do take a mental toll on me and i may just do Tawny Man and thats it. Is there a recommendation of which series to read?
Its interesting that so many complain about the slog of mid WOT when thats the pace of all Hobb books😅 I do find them both worthvile
I wish this video existed before I had tried to read these! I am def not a fan, and the reasons you listed in "the bad" are definitely the reason I think I struggled so hard.
All we can do is live and learn!
I'd suggest Tara K. Harper's Wolfwalker series if it wasn't so hard to find. I think you'd like it.
Recently finished the liveship trader series,and now i want to read fast paced and full of action book or series.. plz recommend.
Red Rising by Pierce Brown.
I attest the series should have ended at 9 books with tawny man
I thought you were crazy when you said it but I think I agree.
I enjoyed the first two books in the first trilogy, but I thought the third botched the series so badly I didn’t want to read anymore hobb books.
I struggled with AQ, too.
Can i read only fitz's books? The others arent translated to my country so the library doesnt have them
Read them in English?
@@mrlaw2729 i cant afford books and they dont have them in english
Hey Just found your channel 🙌🏻
I also review horror movies
I enjoy your style
Keep it up 💪🏻
P.S just subed 🤘🏻
I got mixed feelings about Assassin’s Quest, it’s a great book but honestly you can read the first and last 5 chapters and you will get the whole plot.
I started them in January and just have the last trilogy to go. Rain Wilds was tough going with the YA and I really hate the dragons/serpents.
Could u pls do a book review of Beneath the golden chain?
I’m halfway through Assassins Fate.. my favorite ever series, so sad that I’m just about done with it
Toy story 4 is a really good comparison for the final trilogy.
Rainwild Chronicles isn’t anywhere near as bad as it’s reputation imo.
I'd agree with that. I wasn't miserable for books 3 and 4.
The Good: Character writing
The Bad: Nearly everything about Fitz And The Fool trilogy. I felt conned as a reader to say the least.
If 400 Pages passes, and nothing has happened, how would that not bother! I'm reading a book, not living my life😂. I need something to happen if I'm going to be reading. Life is boring enough without reading a boring book😂!
That’s not an exact description that nothing happens. A lot happens just not MCU level big events. Life happens and the characters struggle. They have a lot of issues for example to overcome money problems as a trader family being women when the husband is not there, and we see it from 3 generations how it goes down at the same time we see what happens on the ship, at the daily life, the main character is falling down to depression and losing his mind basically… etc… Just giving you an example. It’s a character study not a big event stuff.
Fool’s Quest and Assasin’s Fate ruined the series for me
Yeah I'm DNFing Assassin's Apprentice. Literally nothing happens. Even The Way of Kings was more eventful and it's much longer.
If you didn’t like the first book… you definitely won’t like this series
Assassins quests is grossly boring. Worst bok ive ever read. But ive read 5 robin hobb books and 4/5 of them have been 5/5 books.
Yeah no im not a fan of slow books.... Might check out red rising though
Fitz is one thee worst protagonists ever hobb has perfected creating male characters with no male traits her editor needs to retire because it's clear thers was no serious editing involved in this series 😒