Tag Archives: Robin Hobb

Fitz, the Fool, and Ann Rule

I like big books and I cannot lie This short story hater can’t deny That when a book comes in At 500+ pages My heartbeat starts to fly This week marked the release of Fool’s Quest, the second book in Robin Hobb’s Fitz and the Fool trilogy. In preparation I re-read Fool’s Assassin, the first book, and I wasn’t just info gathering knowing that Hobb will jump right in without making the reader slog through clunky backstory. I was deliciously swept away by the story,…

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Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb (Fitz and the Fool, Book 1)

Synopsis: After bringing dragons back to the world in the thrilling conclusion of the Tawny Man trilogy, past-haunted bastard Catalyst Fitz has now retired to a quiet life under an assumed name, but when his post-menopausal wife claims she is pregnant, and a pale messenger with an ominous message dies in his holdfast, Fitz wonders if the wheel of history is bringing his beloved Fool back into his life–for better or for worse. Review: Count me among those who had a major freakout upon realizing…

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The Soldier Son Trilogy by Robin Hobb

Synopsis: A military cadet with a gleaming future is captured by magic and turned into a traitor against his own people. Review: I’ve already read the three books that comprise Soldier Son, but when I saw a Kindle deal for the trilogy all in one I decided it was time for a reread. Shaman’s Crossing comes first, then Forest Mage, and Renegade’s Magic completes the series. I love Robin Hobb but I remember feeling like this series wasn’t one of her best. My reread elevated…

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Blood of Dragons by Robin Hobb (Rain Wilds Chronicles)

Synopsis: The fourth and final book in the story of the return of dragons to the world, and how they change humans for better and for worse. Review: Robin Hobb is one of my very favorite authors and I really wish I had done my due diligence and re-read the first 3 books in this series (as well as brushed up on the Liveship Traders series) before reading Blood of Dragons. I really love the world she created here but I didn’t connect with any…

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Dragon City by Robin Hobb (Volume 3 of the Rain Wilds Chronicles)

Synopsis: As the dragons and their keepers grow restless and hungry, only the promise of flight and the ancient secrets of a dead city can save them from enemies without and within. Review: I really should have reread Dragon Keeper and Dragon Haven before reading Dragon City, because I forgot so much! How did Selden end up a slave? What makes Tarman different from other liveships? What’s Tintaglia doing? Hobb didn’t do much to catch me up, which I do always appreciate–the book is free…

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Fool’s Fate by Robin Hobb (The Tawny Man, Book 3)

Synopsis: As Fitz accompanies Prince Dutiful on a quest to lay the head of an ice-encased dragon on the hearthstone of the Narcheska Elliania’s mothershouse, he betrays his dearest friend and brings his own bastard daughter into grave peril. Review: Fool’s Fate is a thoroughly satisfying conclusion not just to the Tawny Man trilogy but to the entire tale begun in the Farseer trilogy and developed in the Liveship Traders. Hobb is after full-bodied resolution and she sure delivers. Everything is wrapped up and no…

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Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb (The Liveship Traders, Book 3)

Synopsis: The newly awakened dragon, the kidnapped satrap, the ships with living figureheads who are going insane, and the self-crowned King of the Pirate Isles come together in a rousing conclusion to the trilogy. Review: Ship of Destiny was just as much fun the second time around. I can forgive the crazy amounts of coincidence and deus ex machina because I just love the characters so much. I’d write more but I figure if you’ve gotten this far in the trilogy you already know how…

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Mad Ship by Robin Hobb (The Liveship Traders, Book 2)

Synopsis: With the Vestrit family’s Liveship captured by the pirate Kennit and the family falling into poverty, headstrong Althea Vestrit plans a daring plot to regain her ship, even as her niece Malta becomes the family’s ransom to the shadowy, deformed Rain Wild Traders. Review: I know, I know, the plots of second books always sound so silly. You need to know who everybody is in order to appreciate Mad Ship, and if you’ve read the first book I’m sure i don’t need to convince…

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Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb (The Liveship Traders, Book 1)

Synopsis: Althea Vestrit always thought she’d captain her family’s liveship, the Vivacia, newly quickened by the death of her father, but her sister’s husband’s machinations strip it from her hands, delivering the ship into a situation that threatens to break her mind, which puts her crew in mortal danger. Review: I loved returning to Bingtown and my beloved Althea Vestrit in this re-read (actually a listen) of Ship of Magic. Few things have captured my imagination as Hobbs liveships, sailing vessels with figureheads who can…

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Golden Fool by Robin Hobb (The Tawny Man, Book 2)

Synopsis: FitzChivalry, the bastard, returns to Buckkeep to train Prince Dutiful in the Skill, even as tensions rise among the various factions of people who practice the despised Wit animal magic–including Prince Dutiful. Review: Golden Fool takes the story of Fitz and the Fool into a whole new direction, reminding me why I have always praised Hobb for her willingness to take risks. Not much more I can say without offering up too many spoilers for previous books, but if you’ve made it this far…

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