order of reading?

[Sparks the Knave]

hello all !! I've been hearing a lot of good things about Robin Hobb so I'm thinking it could be next in line on my list of 'too buy's.

I was just wondering if there is an order of reading that should be followed, and if the different group of books link in together?

also that said, are there books I should steer towards first if there is no order, or infact steer clear of

cheers for any thoughts on the author and books !!!

[PenDragon]

As far as I know there is a loose order to the first three trilogies, that order is The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, The Tawny Man Trilogy.

However, the first two trilogies are self-contained and work in any order (I read Liveshiptraders first, then Farseer) but I think you might want to read Farseer before Tawnyman as they use the same characters. Not 100% certain on that though, as I'm still trying to get hold of book 3 of farseer before I can read Tawny man books.

There's always her new Soldier Son trilogy which is stand alone, but my advice would be get Farseer Trilogy first (It's an excellent read anyway).

[Teir]

As already said - Farseer first..then its up to you which...liveship or Tawny
Then i would move on to her soldier son series which is something completely seperate
But farseer MUST be read first or tawny will make no sense and liveship will loose its context...thats what i would do anyway

[Osprey]

Certainly start with the Assassin's Apprentice book. Then finish that series and move on to either the Tawny Man or the Liveships. Liveships isn't a must in order to be able to read Tawny however it does deepen your knowledge about the world.

[lea27]

can someone give me a quick brief as to what the Liveship Traders Trilogy is all about. I mean are they at see the entire book etc.

[Teir]

Originally Posted by lea27

can someone give me a quick brief as to what the Liveship Traders Trilogy is all about. I mean are they at see the entire book etc.

The events in the liveship trader series takes place between the farseer and tawny trilogy and they are not at sea the entire time

I'm not how much information you will get from this but here is a site with a summary of the series and a brief summary of each book in it....hope that helps

http://home.iprimus.com.au/asr/hobb/liveship.html

[Psychogirl]

Originally Posted by Teir

Then i would move on to her soldier son series which is something completely seperate

What's the soldier son series about? I haven't heard about it before

[lea27]

Originally Posted by Psychogirl

What's the soldier son series about? I haven't heard about it before

It's the newest series. I believe the first book came out Sept 05 and the second one is due out Sept 06.

[Adasunshine]

Originally Posted by lea27

It's the newest series. I believe the first book came out Sept 05 and the second one is due out Sept 06.

Forest Mage (2nd book) is out already in the UK... released last month I think.

xx

[PenDragon]

Originally Posted by Psychogirl

What's the soldier son series about? I haven't heard about it before

Well, it's a new set of stories and it's set on a new world (different to the Farseer, Livetraders setting).

To me it feels like US Cavalry (Without the gunpowder and with a more European feel) versus tribes that are like Native Americans but with magic (although there are two distict native races). The family of the main character live in what is essential a new frontier on plains land (hence the importance of cav) that used to belong to the tribes.

Well that's what the setting is about, the themes of the story seem to be about honour, civilisation vs wild, ecology vs progress.

It's good, not as good as Farseer or Liveships (IMO) but still good.

I've finnally tracked down Assasains Quest from the library and finsihed the Farseer trilogy, which is good now I can grab the tawnyman books.

[lea27]

Originally Posted by Adasunshine

Forest Mage (2nd book) is out already in the UK... released last month I think.

xx

oh ok apologises didnt realise the second had been released yet.

[Teir]

Originally Posted by Psychogirl

What's the soldier son series about? I haven't heard about it before

Its the series that i SMSed you about when i saw it in the shops...remember?
Just finished no.2 'Forest Mage' myself.....which was released in Australia a month or two ago

I TOLD you about it i really did!!!

[lea27]

Apparently it is very different from her other works as in it contains guns etc. Is this true?

[Teir]

Originally Posted by lea27

Apparently it is very different from her other works as in it contains guns etc. Is this true?

well yes it does mention a gun or two in forest mage...but i disagree that this fact is what makes it different from other hobb works.

[Psychogirl]

Originally Posted by Teir

I TOLD you about it i really did!!!

When was that??? Why don't I remember???