The Farseer Trilogy - Robin Hobb

[Lazloth]

I picked these up somewhat randomly while browsing and found that I quite enjoyed them. They are however, somewhat stylistically different than most other fantasy I've encountered. Primarily that difference is found in the method of telling, in that the books are written as a sort of memoir by the central character as he reflects on his life. Beyond that the twist on magic is a focus on mind linking and telepathic powers as opposed to the traditional conjuring that springs to mind when magic is mentioned. Making them more interesting, she [Hobb] twists and intermingles those telepathic elements creating a sort of mystery or confusion at times with regard to the source of the message, ultimately adding to the intrigue.

It is also worth noting that Hobb's writing has a tendency to feel more real, or at least, more human. I found it refreshing to encounter fantasy writing that didn't end in picnics and ponies, with everyone getting everything they wished for and living happily ever after. Having an element of real human anguish in a story is both a pain and a relief, but a welcome change. Her writing itself is also laudable in that it lacks fluff and tends toward succinctness in both plot and description, and her vocabulary is excellent. More than once I had to turn to Webster to identify an interesting and obscure or unfamiliar word.

I admit that I went straight from reading Goodkind's Sword of Truth series to this, so perhaps my thoughts on writing quality are amplified by the inherent comparison, but I enjoyed books no less for knowing so.

[greekrefugee]

Hm, sounds promising, though I've sadly reached a point where I have to weigh one book against another to fit in what I can :/ And I still want to reread A Song Ice and Fire at some point before the new one comes out...sigh. Though I'll probably have a PhD before that happens, so wtf am I worried about. <grumble>

Does she have just the one trilogy?

[Lazloth]

Hm, sounds promising, though I've sadly reached a point where I have to weigh one book against another to fit in what I can :/ And I still want to reread A Song Ice and Fire at some point before the new one comes out...sigh. Though I'll probably have a PhD before that happens, so wtf am I worried about. <grumble>

Does she have just the one trilogy?

No, she has two others as well. One of them is a "continuation" of the first, and the other is unrelated, despite being set in the same world (although taking place in a different part of it).

I know what you mean about weighing options though, as I've consistently had huge stacks of books cluttering my apartment for months now. For me part of the trouble is that I'm pretty anal about reading things not only in order but in totality, before moving on. Unfortunately the library and bookstore don't always seem to be overly concerned with my doing so.

[greekrefugee]

Lol, I'm exactly the same way. My problem now is school reading is competing with free time reading, and I've been channeling my anal nature to extra reading/follow-up reading for classes. That nice and all, but I miss reading fantasy sometimes. And gaming. Sigh.

[Lazloth]

Forgot to mention I've read a bunch of her other work now as well and its also very excellent. The continuation of the Farseer books was great, perhaps even better than the fist. I've been waiting for the first book of the Liveship Traders series to come in for me at the library so I can dive into that, but I've read some reviews that say that its her best work to date. I'm also about halfway through the second book of her Soldier's Son trilogy, but I haven't found it to be much to my liking. It is set in a different world than her other books and incorporates a few more "modern" aspects (they have guns, cannons, etc.). I think part of it is that I just don't like the main character very much, and that has a negative impact on my enjoyment of the book itself. Despite that her prose is as excellent as ever, and if you get hooked on her writing like I have I think it likely one will end up reading all she has to offer. My only caution I suppose, is that she tends to be a bit confused as to what constitutes a tennis ball, and tries often to use a reader's heart for that purpose. Then again, perhaps her ability to do so is in fact her strongest point.