Which series is your favorite?

[ScottSF]

OK, this brings up a point that I have been wondering about. I think this is the third time I have seen someone refer to Hobb as a he. Do you think sometimes women authors pick gender neutral pen names because they fear readers will pre-judge their work because they are women? Honestly I may be guilty. Sometimes I'm looking for fantasy or historic fiction with a brutal edge and then I see a women author's name and assume that she'll pull her punches. It's funny because Assassin's Aprentice I think had a strong appeal to the 'boy' need for action and 'badassness' So that drew me in but it was the Liveship Traders, whose covers look a bit like romance novels, that I liked the best. When I read a different author Lian Hearn, I assumed it was a guy. I thought Lian was like the irish Liam, or maybe it was a greek name. Anyway I enjoyed her Tales of the Otori trilogy and she wrote the male characters just as realistically as the female ones. Now I'm off on a tangent but I have noticed that often male authors have trouble writing realistic female characters. Anyway, I will try better to give authors a chance and not prejudge based on gender. Now I will do 10 hail Marys and a Hokie Pokie for my sins

[Talysia]

I must admit, I've still got a couple of Robin Hobbs' books to read, but I think that I like the Liveship Traders trilogy the best.

[nettle]

I love all of Robin Hobb's trylogies. But I choose Farseer

[jackokent]

I prefered Farseer, probably because it was the first and I had no idea what to expect. I loved them all however. Although I found Liveship traders impossible to put down there was something a bit annoying about that series for me. I think it was the need to tie up all the loose ends in nice pat endings that I didn't like. I found the relationship with Malta her chappy (who's name I don't recall) really sickenning for some reason. I did love the captain Kennit however, out of all the series he was my favourite character.

[the_faery_queen]

mine was paragon.
talking mad boats. you can't beat that. though a mad person came close. i did like how poor kennit had his issues, he was a tragic figure really. but other than those two, i really didn't like anyone else! malta i loathed.

[manephelien]

I enjoyed Farseer for the plot and the story, but I never really liked Fitz as much as I suspect the author wanted her readers to like him. That's partly why I really loved Liveship the best; no Fitz! I liked Fitz best when he allowed his Wit to take over.

[jackokent]

Originally Posted by the_faery_queen

malta i loathed.

I'm glad someone else did. I know she was meant to become sympathetic as she matured but I think I prefered her as a spoilt brat.

[the_faery_queen]

i didn't like her at all. and i didn't think she became any better when she matured. i hated everyone in that book really. they weer so selfish. i only liked the pirate and the ship mostly because pirate had a reason to be so selfish and messed up. he was messed up. everyone else was just spoilt.

i do get the feeling hobb expects us to like people far more than we do. molly, althea, perhaps even malta. the way she gives them happy endings, and dramas and all sorts of things, i get the feeling she thinks we care! that we want them to be happy, or worry when they're not. andi don't.

[ScottSF]

I’m with ya Faery on Molly. There was no need to bring her back into the story. Sometimes I wonder if Hobb’s friends and family have input or something. Like she was going to finish the story and some younger daughter asks: “but what about Molly?” out of some naïve notions on romantic love conquering all. I also think Night Eyes lived too long through the Fool’s trilogy. I was so glad to see that dead weight go. Even Night Eyes himself wanted to die early on but Fitz acted like a selfish child and kept him alive. As for the Fool I liked her in the first two trilogies but I think she got selfish and annoying with how she dealt with Fitz in the third trilogy. That’s how life is, sometimes we can’t stand the people in our own family even if we love them. Sometimes we love people selfishly. And people like Kennet who deserve public humiliation get off easy by just dying.

Of course as I said before, out of every page of Hobb’s work that I have read, Malta is my all time favorite character. I wanted to smack her when she needed smacking but after her world collapsed around her I was so proud of how she came out of it. It is my belief that world collapsing needs to happen to everyone at some point to reach a deeper understanding of humanity. I wonder how it’s going to turn out w/ Navarre in the Shaman books.

[Kitera]

Hello,

Hmmm, I loved all three of the series, but particularly more of the Tawny Man; mainly due to the strong friendship between Fitz and The Fool.

[Natural Gallant]

I loved the Farseer Trilogy, but I was surprised at how much more I ended up liking the Tawny Man series. It seemed as if nothing happened at parts, but it still mattered so much to me. I also loved the dynamic between Fitz and the Fool. I don't know how many writers could have pulled off such a relationship and made it work on such a human level.

[Kitera]

Originally Posted by Natural Gallant

I loved the Farseer Trilogy, but I was surprised at how much more I ended up liking the Tawny Man series. It seemed as if nothing happened at parts, but it still mattered so much to me. I also loved the dynamic between Fitz and the Fool. I don't know how many writers could have pulled off such a relationship and made it work on such a human level.

I agree, it mattered because of the friendship between Fitz and the Fool. When I read the Tawny Man Trilogy, it seems like I'm meeting up with old friends again and since we watched Fitz grow and endured everything Fitz and the Fool went through, it somehow builds a bond with the character and its readers. =] I've finished all of the 9 books and am constantly missing them.

[Natural Gallant]

Nice Pic Kitera. Looks like I me...if I was an angel...and was a girl. lol. Seriously, though. I haven't read the Liveship Traders, but I just bought the first one in the series. I'm looking forward to it.

[Kitera]

Originally Posted by Natural Gallant

Nice Pic Kitera. Looks like I me...if I was an angel...and was a girl. lol. Seriously, though. I haven't read the Liveship Traders, but I just bought the first one in the series. I'm looking forward to it.

I'm sure you will enjoy the Liveship Traders as much as the others. It's really entertaining and action packe. But in the first book it kind of had a slow start due to the introductions of all the characters. But Its one of the best trilogies I've read.

*Laughs* Thanksm I like my avatar too. Hmm you can introduce yourself in the introduction forum, just so everyone can give you a warm welcome. =]

And... Welcome to Chronicles!

Kitera

[Serin]

I enjoyed the Farseer trilogy very much, and once I picked the books up I found them very hard to put down. The Tawny Man series comes a close second. I would love to read more adventures with Fitz and The Fool.