[Puck]

QuickTidal, on 27 February 2018 - 05:21 PM, said:

JPK, on 27 February 2018 - 05:15 PM, said:

Alright Assassin's Quest has shown me why most authors skim over the long monotonous travelling sections of their stories.

This book really does rank up there with the sloggiest of slogs.

Now that said, now that Fitz is traveling on the road surrounded by characters that are much more interesting than he is, the book is finally picking up again.

Yeah, Hobb really doesn't know how to write pacey books. Like at all. I sometimes can't finish them in one go as a result. I recall the second trilogy being a BIT better in that regard....but the third (most recent trilogy) jumped back to the sluggish pacing of the first. Her first book in the series is inarguably the best simply because it's the shortest and most "to the point". The bloat comes after.

This is not to imply they are not good books...but they can be VERY sluggish.

I actually though tthat the travelogue in Tawny Man was even worse than in the Farseer trilo. Hobb has not only a hand for writing sloggy travelogues, she's even better at picking the least interesting situation on the way to describe in loving detail. There's something to be said about travelling not being the most exciting thing and conveying that properly is an art, but when you have only one PoV, that one PoV better be damn where the story happens, not diddling his thumbs doing nothing for a hundred pages.

But yeah, the books have their good points, and I absolutely love Royal Assassin and then the Liveship Traders trilogy. But damn, Tawny Man layers the worst aspects of Hobb's writing thickly and at length.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

Speaking of travelogues...have y'all read her Rain Wilds Chronicles? That's the soggiest, sloggiest, travelogue-iest of her series to date.

[JPK]

I'm still planning on reading all 16 this year too. I guess that Fitz travails are rather akin to The Snake for me. It's a long drawn out torturous journey that difficult for the reader to endure, but that's by design. The reader is supposed to feel as frustrated and defeated as Fitz with all of this unending two-steps-forward-one-step-back bullshit.

[Abyss]

JPK, on 27 February 2018 - 07:31 PM, said:

I'm still planning on reading all 16 this year too. I guess that Fitz travails are rather akin to The Snake for me. It's a long drawn out torturous journey that difficult for the reader to endure, but that's by design. The reader is supposed to feel as frustrated and defeated as Fitz with all of this unending two-steps-forward-one-step-back bullshit.

Is the reader supposed to feel bored tho'? ...because that's my issue with Hobb's writing.
Say what one might about the Snake, i never found it boring.

[worry]

I just finished Book 1 of Fitz & the Fool last night and it's a 5-star book imo, as are most everything she's done set in this world. There's very little traveling in this book, now that you guys mention it. That said, if I were to give Robin Hobb any advice about pacing, travelogue, 'slogginess' and what have you it would be this: don't change a thing.

[Puck]

Whisperzzzzzzz, on 27 February 2018 - 06:54 PM, said:

Speaking of travelogues...have y'all read her Rain Wilds Chronicles? That's the soggiest, sloggiest, travelogue-iest of her series to date.

Ugh. No, but I have all four books and was planning on tackling them this year, though since Tawny Man killed my enjoyment of the series, I keep finding excuses to read something else.

Abyss, on 27 February 2018 - 07:56 PM, said:

JPK, on 27 February 2018 - 07:31 PM, said:

I'm still planning on reading all 16 this year too. I guess that Fitz travails are rather akin to The Snake for me. It's a long drawn out torturous journey that difficult for the reader to endure, but that's by design. The reader is supposed to feel as frustrated and defeated as Fitz with all of this unending two-steps-forward-one-step-back bullshit.

Is the reader supposed to feel bored tho'? ...because that's my issue with Hobb's writing.
Say what one might about the Snake, i never found it boring.

^This. JPK isn't far in Hobb's series yet, and the Farseer trilogy isn't that bad in that regard, but Fitz is no comparison for the Snake. The Snake, for one, has a definite end point that can be seen coming, and it's only one or two books (depending on how you count) away. Also, there's plenty of other stuff happening as well, so even if you don't like the Snake storyline, you're still entertained. Fitz, on the other hand, just keeps waffling about his fate endlessly, going from point A to point B and then to point C without actually getting anywhere, and there is NO escape for the reader since the Fitz-centered series' have only one point of view!

(Yeah, in case it's not obvious yet, I cannot stand Fitz even though he's the type of character I usually adore. I only kept reading because I liked other characters, chiefly the Fool, but the more I hear about the, for now, last trilogy the more do I want to gouge out my own eyes. Hobb, if I want to read fanfiction, I will find that elsewhere, thankyouverymuch.)

That said, more people should read the Liveship Traders trilogy. So many people skip it because there's no Fitz, but it is, imho, Hobb's best work to date, and also important for the metaplot. I find that the varying points of view allow Hobb to betetr mask her weaknesses (plot-structure and pacing) and to play up her strengths (characters and character development, also worldbuilding). The RotE-series is not just those books about Fitz, it's all the books set in that world, and the Liveship Traders trilogy is an excellent entry in it.

Hobb is an author who is an expert at playing the reader's heart strings, and if one likes that, it's going to outweight any negative aspects of the books. I, personally, am only a fan up to a certain point, so for me, she has too many things I am skeevy about, especially in Tawny Man.

This post has been edited by Puck: 27 February 2018 - 08:28 PM

[QuickTidal]

worry, on 27 February 2018 - 08:17 PM, said:

I just finished Book 1 of Fitz & the Fool last night and There's very little traveling in this book

Indeed, she replaced it with

Spoiler

Schroedinger's Pregnancy for 400 pages before Bee pops out. What an interminable first half of a book.

[worry]

I adored every page of it. You hardly ever (I hate to say never, but maybe) see these kinds of concerns and even events in fantasy that Hobb covers with astounding patience and empathy in this book.

[Fiddler Farstrider]

Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft is sitting on my bookshelf after I finish the Broken Earth trilogy. This book came with heavy priase from by Mark Lawrence on Goodreads, we'll see.

[Whisperzzzzzzz]

worry, on 27 February 2018 - 08:48 PM, said:

I adored every page of it. You hardly ever (I hate to say never, but maybe) see these kinds of concerns and even events in fantasy that Hobb covers with astounding patience and empathy in this book.

I should highlight that, despite my early comment about her RWC, I agree wholeheartedly with Worry. I never found any of Hobb's books to be a slog; instead, they always felt cozy, intimate, and earthly. She writes — powerfully — about the mundanities that make up life, interweaving them with a high-fantasy story that's larger-than-life. The tricky balancing of the two that she's a master of is a large part of why I love her universe (same with Erikson).

[worry]

And in the spirit of reciprocity, I will say RWC is definitely the most leisurely paced and lowest stakes of all the series so it's odd that it's the one with four books. It felt like two reaaaaally long books split into four long ones. The character work is still fantastic and it has lots of treasurable moments, but it lacks forward thrust for stretches at a time.

[Salt-Man Z]

worry, on 27 February 2018 - 11:08 PM, said:

And in the spirit of reciprocity, I will say RWC is definitely the most leisurely paced and lowest stakes of all the series so it's odd that it's the one with four books. It felt like two reaaaaally long books split into four long ones. The character work is still fantastic and it has lots of treasurable moments, but it lacks forward thrust for stretches at a time.

I believe it was originally announced as a duology.

[Maark Abbott]

TUC:

Spoiler

Shit man, did Proyas just up an die? Why am I getting the feeling that Cnaiur is going to wind up being the actual one who saves all mankind?

[acesn8s]

I've read Hobb's Liveship Traders and enjoyed it. Could never get into Assassin's Apprentice. I'll have to revisit one day.

[Abyss]

Maark Abbott, on 28 February 2018 - 08:42 AM, said:

TUC:

Spoiler

Shit man, did Proyas just up an die? Why am I getting the feeling that Cnaiur is going to wind up being the actual one who saves all mankind?

All i'm going to say is keep reading and then sit here and snicker evilly.

[Mentalist]

Maark Abbott, on 28 February 2018 - 08:42 AM, said:

TUC:

Spoiler

Shit man, did Proyas just up an die? Why am I getting the feeling that Cnaiur is going to wind up being the actual one who saves all mankind?

Abyss, on 28 February 2018 - 02:15 PM, said:

Maark Abbott, on 28 February 2018 - 08:42 AM, said:

TUC:

Spoiler

Shit man, did Proyas just up an die? Why am I getting the feeling that Cnaiur is going to wind up being the actual one who saves all mankind?

All i'm going to say is keep reading and then sit here and snicker evilly.

What 'byss said.

"Expect the unexpected" ©

[Resurgence]

I am currently rereading Deadhouse Gates (Just finished Gardens of the Moon) and also Assassins Quest by Robin Hobb, which is my first delving into her world.

[JPK]

Resurgence, on 28 February 2018 - 04:16 PM, said:

I am currently rereading Deadhouse Gates (Just finished Gardens of the Moon) and also Assassins Quest by Robin Hobb, which is my first delving into her world.

Wait, Assassin's Quest is book 3 of a trilogy. Not a good starting point.

[Tiste Simeon]

JPK, on 28 February 2018 - 05:11 PM, said:

Resurgence, on 28 February 2018 - 04:16 PM, said:

I am currently rereading Deadhouse Gates (Just finished Gardens of the Moon) and also Assassins Quest by Robin Hobb, which is my first delving into her world.

Wait, Assassin's Quest is book 3 of a trilogy. Not a good starting point.

It does save a lot of time though...

[Puck]

Tiste Simeon, on 28 February 2018 - 09:30 PM, said:

JPK, on 28 February 2018 - 05:11 PM, said:

Resurgence, on 28 February 2018 - 04:16 PM, said:

I am currently rereading Deadhouse Gates (Just finished Gardens of the Moon) and also Assassins Quest by Robin Hobb, which is my first delving into her world.

Wait, Assassin's Quest is book 3 of a trilogy. Not a good starting point.

It does save a lot of time though...

By skipping the best parts, though.