Robin Hobb
January 15th 2007 11:33
Last year I took the plunge and read some Robin Hobb. This led to me reading all Robin Hobb. She's that good. Part of me is sad that I didn't read her Farseer novels when they first came out - that I wasn't interested because I wrote it off as 'uninteresting fantasy' (I wasn't much into fantasy back then, unlike now). Another part of me is glad of this as it meant I got to enjoy her books for the first time recently, especially at a more understanding age.
Of her three completed trilogies so far I've heard people say that they didn't enjoy the middle trilogy (The Liveship Traders), or that they only read the two Farseer trilogys and skipped the middle one, or that they only liked The Liveship Traders trilogy. I can't understand this, I'm sorry, I loved all three trilogies completely and I have trouble differientiating between them. Sure, The Liveship Traders is written in a different style, but the story runs through all nine of these books - how could you fucking skip the middle three! You wouldn't appreciate it as much. You might think you do, but you don't! I love all of Hobb's characters and the epic world she has created in these books, to me it is just one big long wonderful story.
Robin Hobb's real name is Margaret Ogden. She began writing under the name of Megan Lindholm, and wrote a series of short-length fantasy novels. They were moderately well-recieved. In the mid-90s she decided to start again, changing her pen-name to Robin Hobb, and unleashing 'The Assassin's Apprentice' on an unsuspecting public. It was an altogether longer and more complex work and garnered rave reviews, and has gone on to become one of the most popular contemporary fantasy novels of all time. She has built on her sizeable fanbase ever since, continuing to push the boundaries of the genre without getting silly about it. She takes the hallmarks of the fantasy world and gives us new takes on them, eschewing all the cliches and finding subtle new directions that take the reader by surprise.
Anyway, here's a bibliography...
As Megan Lindholm
Harpy's Flight (1983)
The Windsingers (1984)
The Limbreth Gate (1984)
Wizard of the Pigeons (1985)
The Reindeer People (1988)
Wolf's Brother (1988)
Luck of the Wheels (1989)
Cloven Hooves (1991)
Alien Earth (1992)
The Gypsy w/ Steven Brust
As Robin Hobb
The Assassin's Apprentice (1995) Farseer Trilogy 1
Royal Assassin (1996) Farseer Trilogy 2
Assassin's Quest (1997) Farseer Trilogy 3
Ship of Magic (1998) Liveship Traders 1
The Mad Ship (1999) Liveship Traders 2
Ship fo Destiny (2000) Liveship Traders 3
Fool's Errand (2002) Tawny Man 1
The Golden Fool (2003) Tawny Man 2
Fool's Fate (2003) Tawny Man 3
Shaman's Crossing (2005) Soldier's Son 1
Forest Mage (2006) Soldier's Son 2
Renegade's Magic (2007) Soldier's Son 3
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Comment by Keira
Keira's Blog
Clearly
Comment by Glenn Murray
Run Like You Stole Nothing
Comment by Luke
Old Movies
Cane Toad Warrior
Comment by Glenn Murray
Run Like You Stole Nothing
Cheers.
Comment by Luke
Old Movies
Cane Toad Warrior
another author I've heard great things about and am planning to get stuck into is Steven Erikson, the first of which is 'Gardens of the Moon'.
Comment by Kim L
Diving About
I'm a bit late, but.. you know what they say..
I'm starting to like you..... Robin Hobb is also one of my fav authors...
I have read all Steven Erikson's 'Malazan' novels (Gardens of the Moon etc) and they really are something... The scope of the series is amazing... there are different lands and people and gods and time lines....
They are excellent novels, with great characters and stories that keep you engaged... Read them (after you finish reading those Stephen Donaldson novels)
Kim