The Farseer Trilogy
Ratings317
Average rating4.1
This book is amazing! I absolutely love Fitz. I love the world. I love the magic. Definitely a new fave.
Have you read Robin Hobb? If not I suggest starting in the Farseer Trilogy.
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[deleted]
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7 yr. ago
I agree, they are among the best books I have ever read.
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tkinsey3
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7 yr. ago
Seconded. I love all of the series in your list, and I like Hobb's stuff even more. Definitely worth your time!
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SuperSheep3000
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7 yr. ago
Prepare to cry. The farseer and tawny man made me weep like a little boy.
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wappe123
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7 yr. ago
Got it. On it. Thank you!
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IamKirby
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7 yr. ago
Rereading now and it's like visiting old friends.
Finally accepting that Hobb is not an author for me. Two attempts at this and DNF at halfway point.
Another one that it's been awhile since I've read it. The story kind of lags after the second half of the last book and the ending wasn't very satisfying, but overall worth reading.
7/10
The ending was amazing, but the first 2/3 of the book was waaaaay too slow for me.
By the time I finished this book, I loved it... but by around page 300 I was starting to think this was just not my jam. I very nearly just switched gears and put this back on the shelf for another ten years. If you like me are struggling through the first two thirds of this, there is still hope that you too can get some joy out of this much beloved series! Hoping that book 2 gets rolling a bit quicker though haha.
It took me a long while to pick up one of Robin's books, but it was so worthy. She's a brilliant author and a master storyteller, and I only wish I have learned of her earlier in my life.
The writing is stunning, the world building is very interesting, but the best part is the character development. Robin's writing really shines in this!
Assassin's apprentice is a great beginning to the series. It's the coming of age story of Fitz, which reminded me a lot of Kvothe but better. Now I can add 15 more books to my TBR list... and the best news is that it is finished!
This is not a happy story. I generally prefer my books to have thread of hope and triumph, but this is full of loneliness, pain, no good options. I just feel so bad for Fitz. Also, kinda sucks that all the “good” people are either killed off, neglect Fitz continuously, or just lack smarts which allows those with wicked intentions to flourish.
I say all this, but for over half the book I was enthralled. Yes, it is a slower pace and it is written as a diary or autobiography, but the dangers closing in and the potential to have some political drama unfold were pretty enticing. PLUS, I really was hoping we'd get a ‘win' for Fitz.... That being said, it is interesting and well-written, but just ended up not being my kind of thing.
I enjoyed the book and the writing. However, it can be pretty sad at times - would recommend but be warned.
If I could give this book more than 5 stars, I would.
Listening to other people review this book, I had been left worried that it would be a slow, tedious experience, spiced with loads of sad events. But though their reviews were not untrue, they were not correct either.
The book is masterfully written, where every sentence is a piece of art, without being too flowery. The pacing could be considered slow, but I never wanted it to be any faster - I was enjoying every moment.
The characters are vivid and easy to follow. The story is intricate and well woven (reminded me of A Song of Ice and Fire). The emotions that it evoked weren't unpleasant or dreadful. Every time I'd put the book down, I'd be looking forward to picking it up again.
Reading it was like coming home - both happy and melancholic.
Robin Hobb is now a favourite author and I can't wait to continue with the rest of her books.
Ugh, this book just... punched me in the feels so hard. I'll try to ignore my sore and bleeding heart to give some objective comments first before I give way to my spoilery rants. Overall, this book was amazing. It had a tight plot with lots of twists and turns, distinct and solid characters that have you rooting for them or hating them and wishing their downfall, sets up a lot of questions to be answered in the rest of the series while still remaining a fairly satisfying standalone, and at last a main character in a fantasy series that isn't annoying without being a Gary-Stu either. This was a 4.5 star read for me.
Trigger warning: Pet and animal deaths. This aspect of the book was the hardest for me to read and the reason for my bleeding heart, but at the same time I have to acknowledge that Hobb writes them compellingly and not gratuitously or lightly, so you know that they aren't there for random shock factors. It still hurts very much though, and I'm still a tiny bit mad at Hobb for making me sit through that and not even be able to just DNF the series, because she also writes animals so beautifully and endearingly, it's clear that she also loves animals and dogs especially very much, but then she takes that knowledge and really wrenches our hearts with it, UGH WHY!!!! I absolutely cried when I got to the part where we see Nosy again, and found out that he lived a long and happy life with an affectionate master.
I've been reading so many great high fantasy series lately and this definitely counts as one of them. I love the world already, it's so different from all the others I've been reading with such a fun magic system that's engagingly written and explored. Unlike most “apprentice” books where I feel like we barely spend much time actually feeling like the main character is apprenticing because they spend more time doing other plot things than learning whatever skill or craft they're meant to do, this one hit a great balance in giving us that “apprentice” journey while also not boring us with the monotony of lessons because something new happens chapter.
Fitz is also a sympathetic and relatable main character. He's not perfect, he goes through a lot, and he deals with them in a way that isn't obnoxiously annoying and realistic for his age at the time. He sulks like a teenager, he's susceptible to flattery and trickery sometimes, he gets buoyed up by pride, but also can fall into the doldrums of low self-esteem. You just want to root for him and protect him from the politicking of the court. You eye other characters askance because you can't trust them to do right by Fitz. The fact that the book is written from a first-person perspective of an older Fitz looking back on his life also allows some narrative tension. I love the epigraphs before each chapter, which served the dual purpose of introducing some foreshadowing by hinting at events to come but also helps to set up and explain the backstory of just that segment of the world we're about to see in the upcoming chapter, without coming across as too info-dumpy.
This book isn't grimdark, but I feel like it kinda flirts at the edge of one sometimes. There are some good-hearted characters in here that you can trust, but there are a lot who aren't as trustworthy, and Hobb has shown that she isn't afraid to kill off characters, even just as you think they're being set up to be a mainstay in the whole trilogy.
In summary, a definite blanket recommendation for any and all fantasy fans, although I'd also recommend seriously checking out the trigger warning above cos that shit took a toll on me.
I've been meaning to start reading Robin Hobb's books for some time now. I always see people talking about how incredible her books are, but I've always found them daunting. There's so many and most of them are very long. However, I shouldn't have waited this long. This book was a true delight!
This book follow Fitz, the bastard son of the King-in-waiting. When his maternal grandfather drops him off at the palace, saying he wants nothing to do with him, the stable master, Burrich, is placed in charge of the boys care. We follow Fitz as he grows up, always an outcast, but always willing to work. You see him train in fighting, managing the stables, using his powers, and learning how to be an assassin for the King.
This book, being the first book in the series, really sets the reader up for understanding this world and understanding the characters. The development of all of the characters is so expertly done. There is so much nuance to all of the characters, big and small. Since this book covers many years, you really get to grow up with these characters. The plot was a little slower until the back end of the book, but that is to be expected a lot of times with the first book in a series. However, I was never bored because of how much character work Hobb puts into the story.
I'm so excited to continue this series. I've heard the next book is even better than the first. Waiting for my library copy to come in!
TW: animal cruelty, animal death, child abandonment, parental abuse, poisoning, suicide (attempted/assisted)
Muy buen libro, 5 estrellitas. Si bien es muy introductorio y a pesar de que sea corto, te atrapa de una manera impresionante. Si hay que destacar algo, es el desarrollo de los personajes , que es una delicia .
a bit slow at times, and written in a way that can be hard to connect with, but i still found myself getting attached to fitz and the world. i didn't really understand fitz's negative feelings towards Burrich as it seemed like Burrich was more of a father figure than Chade.
the galen days were pretty awful and i didn't understand how fitz could've just kept going lol, but i guess that was the point (galen was manipulating fitz without him realizing).
enjoyed it enough to actually immediately purchase 2 out of 3 of the collector's illustrated editions :)
nosy ❤️
can't wait to see where things go!
3.5 stars. Slow going, heavy character study.
I had a bit of a struggle with this (my first Hobb read) and unfortunately that's where it losing some star-points. It is very slow paced. Apparently, that's a staple of Hobb, though I didn't know that in advance.
What it is, however, is an excellent character study following Fitz from aged 5 to 17-ish(?) as he grows up the bastard son of a prince, learning the skills and politics to survive as such. I initially was expecting the childhood to just be a flashback but it is the entire book. There were a couple of small continuity issues that bugged me that broke immersion for me but bear in mind I can be quite picky on these things.
I do want to read more of Fitz's life so will continue the series, albeit with a faint hope of a little more action in the sequels.
Really nice read. I loved the character development and description of relationships as they evolved. Cool foreshadowing in the chapter intros too. I will be finishing this series.
It takes a lot for me to get into adult fantasy. I'm better with YA fantasy - I don't know what it is about the worldbuilding and character development, but something snappier and less dense is what does it for me. I'm trying this year, though, to expand my reading experiences into things that I wouldn't necessarily pick up, and asked my bestie for his recommendations. He told me more than once and emphatically that I must read Hobb's Farseer books.
He finally pressed his well-worn trade paper into my hands when we visited at the end of March, and I promised that I'd start it as soon as I'd finished the serial killer book I was currently reading - I really dislike keeping a lent book too long, as it shows disrespect for having accepted the loan and of putting off the recommender's recommendation, I think. Well, if you're looking at my read dates, you'll see it took me a while to get through this. I think it's the difficulty that I have shifting into a dense world for a chapter of 15-30 pages every day or two and then having to reenter 24 or more hours later. Maybe I'd be a better adult fantasy reader if I was able to sit for hours and really immerse myself.
I really enjoyed how magic was introduced and developed in this world, and the political intrigue - once we got into the story - was well developed. The last 100 pages of this book really flew, and I found myself wishing that the entire story would have been as pacy as the finale; perhaps later books in the series are so, since the world and our characters have been well established in the first.
Very long. Rather slow until the last 10% when it gets wild.
Very elaborate world building. I didn't love it, but I am intrigued and may look for the second book at some point.