Assassin's Quest discussion

I was wondering which of these two trilogies people prefer. I personally enjoyed the Liveship Traders more than the Farseer trilogy. I felt that the larger cast of characters and changing narrators enhanced the story telling and gave the trilogy a grander scale. This way we learned intimately about places like Bingtown, Jamaillia, the Rain Wilds, Divvytown, the serpents, and even Other's Island. I know other people thought this trilogy was a step down from Farseer for these very reasons. I'm interested to hear what other people think.

I like Farseers more simply because of Fitz. He's just so flawed, and I like that in a protagonist. The ending of Assassin's Quest was perfect. Liveship Traders did much cooler stuff with the setting, what with the dragon life cycle and all, but I didn't care much for the family drama or all the excessive sex scenes. And the White Prophet is shown in Amber form, who just isn't as generally sweet as the Fool is. The best book out of all nine is Fool's Fate, though. Even if she did tie up everything in the end with a nice little bow, the book was amazing. The other two books in Tawny Man aren't great, but that one is unbelieavably good.

I love them all, but the Farseer books are much closer to my heart. Fitz is an amazing character and may well be my favorite of absolutely everything I have ever read.

I think people love the Farseer Trilogy because of the character of Fitz, as Steve said. Those are the ones I read again BUT I think the liveship traders are probably technically better as they are more complex. I found the plot in the liveship traders quite traumatic in a lot of places and the whole series a lot harder to read as it was suffering on quite a grand scale.
The Tawny Man ones I didn't like as much as either the Farseer Trilogy or the Liveship Traders. Really I think you need to read all of them in order. Also I feel the dragon theme isn't properly finished so I'm keeping my fingers crossed for more....

I was really disappointed with the ending of the Farseer Trilogy and couldn't bring myself start another Robin Hobb book after that.
It started out great and I kept thinking things would turn around for Fitz but they never did. I think there were many other directions that story could have gone. Letting Fitz fade away in to obscurity a broken man after all he went though and sacrificed just didn't do it for me. It reminds me to much of reality and that not why I read fantasy. But thats just me :)

Yeah but Hobb continues her story in the Tawny man, leaving a fairly happy ending. I will agree that Farseer is probably better since Fitz is such a human character. He doesn't have any incredible luck and fate always chews him and spits him back out again. The fact that he's able to get back up and keep on living is a what makes a true hero. In many fantasy novels the characters continue on with each battle, able to plow straight onward towards their goal. Hobb makes it a lot more complicated for Fitz in her stories and that I think is a major point that separates her novels from others.

Tawny Man. Although I thought Starling should of had a bigger part.

i liked the farseer much more. the only reason i kept reading is because of the white profit. However it did like the Dragon Keeper's books.

Farseer by a country mile. In fact I like both the Tawny Man trilogy and the Soldier Son trilogy much better than the Liveship books as well.

Robin Hobb was very kind about my debut & I count her in my top 2 fantasy authors (I _loved_ the Farseer books) but for whatever reason (perhaps just a matter of timing & what was going on for me that month) I couldn't get on with the Liveship books.

Farseer all the way. I'm a sucker for a downer ending.

Farseer and Tawny Man, but Liveships are excellent too. Very pleased to see the Dragon theme being continued in the Dragon Haven/Keeper books.

Can't get into the Soldier Son ones, they just don't grab me the way the Six Duchies ones do.

I loved the Farseer trilogy as a teen and have read them about 10 times over the years. I always seem to get something new out of the character play and interaction. I think where Hobb left Fitz was important to express that he sacrificed everything for his people and it didin't matter whether they knew it or not.
I did enjoy the liveship series, but I think the character interaction was prominent and left me wanting more, not to say the story wasn't great. Hobb just raised the bar too high in the Assassin series.

Couldn't ever get in to the Liveship books (or Soldier Son) - maybe if I had kept going it would have grown on me, and I did think it was a great story idea, but I just didn't like any of the characters. LOVED the Farseer and Tawny Man, but was a little bummed by the Tawny Man ending - won't ruin it for whoever hasn't read them. The Fool was always my favorite character by far.

I've read all of Hobbs books as well as her books as Megan Lindholm and have to say she writes completly different as megan Lindholm. I didn't dislike the soldier Son books but I found them strange and a bit far fetched. I love the Liveship books and Farseer books equally, I also love her Dragon keeper books too but thought there should have been a third. The Tawny man series was awesome too, back when I read these years ago I just couldn't get enough of Robin Hobb's books

I've yet to read her work as Megan Lindholm though I wish to at some point. I enjoyed the Soldier Son books though I just didn't care nearly as much about the characters as anything from the Realm of the Elderlings.

The Liveship Traders books are still fantastic on their own, but simply shouldn't be compared to the Farseer/Tawny books, even if it is the same world.

As for thinking there should have been more Dragon Keeper books, Haidi, there's going to be four!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robin_Ho...

Steve wrote: "I've yet to read her work as Megan Lindholm though I wish to at some point. I enjoyed the Soldier Son books though I just didn't care nearly as much about the characters as anything from the Realm..."

Are you serious?!! great, I read these books when they were first published and hadn't read or heard about any more after the first two, so just assumed that was it. Well youve made my day Steve thanks. I also agree with you that the different series shouldn't be compared to each other, they are all fantastic in their own right.

Gavin wrote: "Tawny Man. Although I thought Starling should of had a bigger part."

I'm sure Starling thought so too - a minstrel doesn't like to be upstaged!

It's actually the character of the Fool that captivated me-- so I am drawn to the Farseer books, but I haven't had the chance to really 'dive' into the LiveShip ones. I am about to start Dragon Keeper.

The Rainwild Chronicles are a more direct followup to the Liveship Trader books than the Farseer/Tawny Man books. Plus, the Fool is in the Liveship books.

I loved them both in different ways. Fitz and the Fool were phenomenal characters, but the Liveship books built an incredible world, moreso than the Farseer books. The White Prophet, however, was such a brilliant way to link them together.

If the Fool is in the Liveship books then I need to read them! I just finished Dragon Keeper and was left with less liking for them, but will read them anyway.

Ruth, seriously, go read the Liveship books now! Skip the rest of the Rainwild Chronicles until you do, and then re-read Dragon Keeper when you're ready to sa=tart into them again. Nobody should read them without having read the Liveship Traders.

Thanks Steve, I think I will try that!

I hope you enjoy them! They may get off to a slow start, but have some great characters! Robin Hobb is just amazing with her characters. Honestly, it adds something to the story to have read The Liveship Traders prior to the Tawny Man books too, but that can't be helped.

Just Started the Liveship series. So far,much more enjoyable than the travails of Job...oops, I mean Fitz

Recently finished Liveships re-read. Confirms my original impression: Farseer is more immediately loveable (or hateable, because of the strong connection to the love-him-or-hate-him main character), while Liveships is the better work overall, but a bit less accessible.

I love both, really and truly, but...I'd have to go with Farseer.

I read Farseer and Tawny Man one after the other. I then read Soldier's Son, and then I finally started on Liveship. Farseer just stuck out as being more likeable overall, I guess. Fitz was more likeable to me than Althea, though I did like Vivacia and the Paragon as characters.

So, hmm. Yeah, Farseer. Also, The Fool is probably one of my favorite characters throughout all of the Fantasy genre.

farseer, i am a sucker more sad or downer ending

I've been meaning to try the Liveships trilogy again. Adored Farseer and Tawny Man, but though I started the first of the Liveships it just didn't catch me. Poor Fitz takes a pounding, that's for sure. What an amazingly well-defined character. I'm looking forward to a re-read in the not-too-distant future.

I also liked the Fitz books better, but the Lifeship traders series is good in itself and helps the flow of the Farseer/Tawny man trilogies IMO.

Best regards,
Andy

I loved the Livetraders and the Rain Wilds I struggled with the Farseer and Tawny Man I plan to retry them soon, as it was some years ago and I'm finding my reading tastes are ... maturing perhaps.

I loved the Farseer/Tawny Man books simply because I loved the characters in that series more. I had a hard time with connecting with Althea's family, and only really liked Althea, Brashen, the Liveships themselves. I started with the Liveships books, which introduced me to Robin Hobb, but it was the Farseer books that kept me hooked on her books. I cry every time I read those books for poor Fitz. Can't help but love him!

Kataury wrote: "Yeah but Hobb continues her story in the Tawny man, leaving a fairly happy ending. I will agree that Farseer is probably better since Fitz is such a human character. He doesn't have any incredible ..."

Well said! I don't know where this insistence on a 'happy ending' came from but it is not what fantasy, or sci-fi for that matter, is all about. In both genres the setting is extreme and even unreal but the people are like /us/ and watching them struggle with these extreme situations puts the spotlight on the humanity we all share. That is the universal element that distinguishes great writers of any genre from the ho-hum ones. And Robin Hobb is a great writer.

For me it wil always be the farseer trilogy. I started those and just couldn't stop. I have them in double: an english and a dutch version. After the story of Fitz I tried book one of the Lifeship Traders, but stopped pretty soon. But when the Fool's trilogy came out I was gripped for a second time. This was what was missing, a more outspoken final ending.

Farseer trilogy all the way. My favourite book in the series was definitely the last book(Assassins Quest) it was so action packed that I couldn't put it down. The ending was highly disappointing though.

Lyman wrote: "I was really disappointed with the ending of the Farseer Trilogy and couldn't bring myself start another Robin Hobb book after that.
It started out great and I kept thinking things would turn aroun..."

What Lyman said.

I love them all, but I judge a book by how many times I re-read them.

Farseer is a much more difficult series to re-read. I just feel for Fitz so much, and it's rather upsetting. I know the ending with the Tawny Man series wraps it up as neatly as possible, but it still strikes a chord with me.

Meanwhile I found it harder to identify with Althea. I found she played the victim too much, even when she was trying not to.

Soldier Son was good, I identified a lot with the protagonist, but that's because I gained weight very suddenly when I hit puberty and have fought with it and the stigma ever since. His struggles really rung true and honest with what I've gone through.

But Fitz and the Fool, I love them. I always rooted for them to be together, even though I knew it could never be. The friendship they had was touching.

The "Farseer series," is by far her best. The "Livetrader series," put me to sleep. The Soldier Son's first book was great, but the other 2 drug so much that I'll never read another book by this author.....

Stephanie wrote: "I love them all, but I judge a book by how many times I re-read them.

Farseer is a much more difficult series to re-read. I just feel for Fitz so much, and it's rather upsetting. I know the ending..."

Fitz and Nighteyes and the Fool totally won my heart too. For some reason I found myself getting incredibly annoyed with most of the female characters, including Althea.

I'm more emotionally invested in the Farseer storylines, but anything Robin Hobb writes is great by me. She is definitely my favourite fantasy writer, bar none.

I loved the Liveship trilogy much more - the female characters are stunning.

I also thought that the slightly painful (maybe slow) start was paid off more adequately with the building of the world to a brilliant (though yet 'unfinished') conclusion - whereas the Farseer trilogy ended with a slightly less climactic finale.

Farseer gets 3 up to 4 whilst Liveships gets 2 up to 5+.

Ronald wrote: "I only recently finished reading The Farseer and The Tawny Man trilogies. I've started book 1 of The Liveship Traders, but I found it hard to get into. Coming from Fitz to this series is not an eas..."

Keep going - the characters are actually much better and you'll be changing your opinion about them as you go through books 1-2-3 in an incredible crescendo and much more satisfying finish than Farseer... Trust me ;)

I like Farseer more because it will always be my fav book series, which is the only reason. These trilogies are two different to compare.

I actually don't care for the liveship traders very much; I actually enjoyed the rain wild chronicles a little more. I adore the fitz books though, just starting the Fitz and the Fool now!