I've waited years.

When I heard that Fitz' story didn't end in Farseer Trilogy and instead there are two trilogies revolving around him, my reaction was: "Wtf leave the poor guy alone!"

"Fitz's life sucks ass" that's it. that's the whole Realm of the Elderlings. I'm really happy you enjoyed this. A lot of people only get into this series in book 2 so if you liked AA, you're good to go! The world and the magic will get deeper. The overall 16-book series demands time and effort but like with WoT I think it's really worth it (I think you'll particularly enjoy Liveship Traders, which is in 3rd person with multiple POVs). Just prepare to be emotionally destroyed :)

“Men cannot grieve as dogs do. But they grieve for many years.” ― Robin Hobb, Assassin's Apprentice A masterpiece! definitely recommend for people who love dogs or pets in general! And the books do get better!

My heart dropped when you threw the book. You monster!

I initially gave Assassin’s Apprentice a three stars and didn’t know if I would continue, but after reading Royal Assassin I was absolutely HOOKED. Now I am on the first book of the Rain Wild Chronicles and Robin Hobb is my favorite author. It. Gets. Better. And. There’s. So. Much. PAIN! 😂😂😂

You really know as much as Fitz does, which puts you watching though his eyes. Other characters come and go and grow and change and you see the skip from Fitz perspective..then there are things that happen to Fitz.. that he doesn't realize which is great when it is revealed. You end up going back rereading books and going "Oh that's why he ..did that.. Oh that character did that.. because"

Yesssssssss lol "Fitz just deals with shit" tru

This was my first adult fantasy trilogy and it has a special place in my heart. I didn't read LoTR like everyone else, Robin Hobb was my jam. I still like political fantasy books because of it like Lois McMaster Bujold.

In my biased list, I rank this close to the top of my favorite book list. Fitz just gets battered all the time, and how he always comes back throughout his life. Also following his life throughout the series, just.. Made me breathless, so much feeeeeeels.

I think this series is for me what the Wheel of Time is for you. It's the series that introduced me to fantasy, that I grew up with, and that brings me special memories every time I reread it. I'm glad you enjoyed it even though it didn't blow you away.

I've never read a book that better brings forth what it is like to be a boy or young man. Robin's amazing prose is so concise and to the point it makes me get even more emotional reading her writing. One of the gems of fantasy, and the takes on magic and relations with fellow humans and animals is nothing short of poetic. I read this as a 43 year old recently, and it just floored me with how she transplants you into the feelings of this growing boy.

Robin Hobb's characters bring out so much emotion in me, I feel for them unbelievably deeply. My favourite aspect of the naming system is to see how they influence the character's personalities, Chivalry is so proper he abdicates when an indiscretion is found, Regal aspires to the throne and revels in his royal title, shrewd is very discerning etc. Fitz means 'son' and he spend the whole trilogy trying to find his place in the family / a father figure. I'm not crying - you're crying!

Fitz as the unreliable narrator... is so true - but as someone who usually reads third person stories I actually found this really quite cool. Fitz was unreliable because his perspective was so often just plain wrong. Which i find so relateable and realistic - main characters shouldn't always see through the subtext and flawlessly interpret other characters meaning. Watching Fitz slowly come to see things for the truth was always some of my favourite moments with him. The amount of melancholy I felt from following his journey is unlike any other character I've ever read. He is such a precious little gem to me

The final Assassin's trilogy broke me lol.

"What did I do to you as a reader that made you think that this is okay?" Lol, keep reading Daniel. It gets so much worse. I made the mistake of listening to one of the audio books while gardening and ending up full blown ugly crying for the whole street to see, and I loved every second of it.

-No spoilers Just finished the vid. I am so so so so SO glad you liked the first book enough to give it the rating you did because every single book after this one is a league above it. Just the book after this one brings everything you liked about Assassin's Apprentice and amps it up greatly and the ending is an absolute masterpiece imo. The third book in the Tawny Man trilogy is my favourite fantasy book I have ever read and I dont think anything will top it. This series is without a doubt my favourite fantasy series of all time. Everything from the characters to the worldbuilding is so masterfully done. The world is BEYOND unique as you will find out and the characters are wonderful, but most importantly they are REAL and you can see that in every single thing they say or do. There are so many scenes within Hobb's books that are just etched into my brain because they are so potent and masterfully written (most from Fitz's story because I love him). The drama of Hobb's stories and the connections you make to these human characters make for some of the most investing reading experiences I have come across. Hope you continue with these books because the opinion you gave of the first book has convinced me that you will love the rest maybe even as much as I do. Edit: also my condolences for the US cover art, check out the UK covers of you haven't seen em, they're gorgeous.

This is the book I always casually glance at but never pick up 😂😂. Maybe I shall

I too have had this sat on my shelf for many moons

I think there's a lot of warmth put into her writing and I felt a very "home" vibe for this novel.

Finally! I’ve waited for you to get to this! Please keep going with the trilogy asap. The magic systems get deeper. You’ll get so invested in the characters and you’ll cry and cry. Keep going!

I love Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings! Next book features an animal bond that will explore more of the Wit magic system so you should look forward to that! The discrimination of the Wit and the more powerful applications of the Skill play larger roles in the second and third Fitz trilogies since Fitz is older and more experienced by then. I think one of the problems with the first trilogy is that Fitz is too young so he isn't nearly as competent as he has to be to in order to be proactive. I highly recommend you finish the entire series; it's a masterpiece!

Good trilogy with the third book being a bit of a drag as seemingly nothing happens in it for whole chapters (and Hobb likes long ass chapters). Both the Liveship Traders (multiple perspectives) and Tawny Man are better (maybe because the scope of the world gets bigger). As for the unreliable narrator, Fits is a bit of an idiots at times, plus the people around him tend to hide information from him, so it's no surprise that he can misinterpret some situations.

I've only read the first trilogy(I binged it one book after the other), but I really enjoyed it. I don't tend to like first person, but I found Hobb's writing so immersive that it worked for me - I could visualize everything perfectly. They are definitely slow reads, in my experience. I do intend to dive into the next series at some point, but keep putting it off.

True heroes acknowledge when they are wrong, and endeavour to adjust their behaviour accordingly. Also, prose is a singular noun.

I love the Realm of the Elderlings books. I'm so glad you are finally getting to them! I can't wait to watch your journey through these books unfold.

Never clicked on a video of yours so fast! I finished the last book about a week ago and wow. This is now my new favorite series!

Whenever I open up KZfaq you have allways uploaded a new video. Very nice.

I'm glad you liked it. I've seen a lot of new readers dnf the series because they saw Assassin in the title and where expecting Night Angel or Mistborn.

Wow I have been keen to hear your review for so long!

"What's a Fool without his Beloved?"

So glad that you reviewed this book. I read Assassins Apprentice and couldn't stop reading the story, and ended up reading sixteen books. I loved every minute of this world. My family and I fought over who would get the next book first, as they came out. Robin Hobb captures me, and brings me right into the story. I felt every moment with Fitz. I was in love with Nighteyes, and the Fool became my heart's best friend. Kind of hurt me when you threw the book.

Daniel is reading so many books that have been on my TBR, you’re inspiring me to keep reading!

Omg I was so excited to see you post this video. First fantasy book I fell in love with as a kid

Love you, your editing style and (ALL) your videos ❤️❤️

Robin Hobb can write a book. I love her prose. And the old Michael Whelan cover is waaayyy better than the cover of the book you are holding up.

Assassin's Apprentice was one of the first fantasy books I ever read along with The Wheel of Time. I agree with most of your review but I'm so sentimental about this series (the whole 9 book series) that I will forever love it, flaws and all. Fitz grows so much as a character over the course of the books that I can't help but love him. I even named one of my cats after him. He was a freaking bastard too.

I was so excited to see this review from you! I love these books so much.

Oh boy am I keen to see you delve into this world!

It's a great feeling to watch a review before you've read the book, and think I might like this book, then to read the book and understand everything in the review on a much deeper level.

Daniel, thanks dude. This is one of my favourite series so it was nice to hear your input \m/

Captured in words also recommended it. Maybe i shall read it. I really like stories where heroes go through so much angst

Great review!!! and do keep reading this trilogy and the others in Hobb's world. I will very much wait for youre further exploration of this amazing story

Please keep going with the Farseer, Liveship Trader, and Tawny Man trilogies. If you like slow, delicious burns and gradual, marvellous world-building/magic systems, these books will knock your socks off. Individually, each tidbit Hobb weaves throughout the stories provides a fascinating stitch of the whole, beautiful tapestry that you see more and more clearly by the end of the Tawny Man Trilogy. I think you will come to utterly love these books (as I do). I look forward to seeing your journey as you review these series!

Just started reading Assassin’s Quest and I’m absolutely in love with this series! Has to be up there as one of my favourites based on the character work alone!

Cut it out with the excessively loud chef's kiss. I was in the kitchen cutting onions in front of my parents while playing your video. And you did that.

Ah, Hobb. Definitely one of my favorite authors of all time. Her character work never fails to blow my mind ❤️

Hobb might be the best author in fantasy at developing side characters and making them unique in their own voices

I’ve been commenting about Robin hobb for a couple years now, so happy you finally got round to starting my favourite book series/book world! I’ve been worried about how the other booktubers have reviewed this book and I’m so happy you enjoyed it more then them. Can’t wait to see what you think of the rest of the series.

Finally! Realm of the Elderlings is my favourite series of all time. You've just made me start another reread :D

Great non-spoiler review!! I haven't read it before and have been unsure of whether to add it to the TBR, but your overall positive rating and good aspects you pointed to are enough to push me over the edge to add it to my list. I really appreciate how you try to evaluate books both in a more objective light and a more subjective one, as I think both modes of criticism are valid and helpful for us readers!

The sudden stop with no catharsis will make sense sense at the start of book two. So excited to see you starting in and can’t wait for you to get through the next two books in the trilogy.

remember, the book was written from the point of view of a CHILD, kids live in a bubble, their perspective is different. That’s what I struggled with my first read through, a child trying to understand the grown-ups.When I could quit having to bring myself back to that point, I got so much more! One of my all time favorite series (there’s 9) and they get better and better

Finally, finally, a nice, nuanced review for one my favorite books (and no, I haven't even finished the video).

I like the format with a spoiler free review and a spoiler discussion at the end.

Glad to see this! I still haven't got into the Farseer trilogy, but Hobb's Liveship Traders trilogy is one of the best I've ever read! Very creative magic elements, nice characters, a true favorite of mine. You should check on that!

Only read the first trilogy so far, but: My favorite thing is that every character is so well realized. When Fitz makes a stupid decision you're angry at him, but you can also see completely how he came to the conclusion he did based off of the information he has, and it doesn't feel contrived at all. Robin makes characters you fall in love with.

What I love the most about what I've read from robin hobb is that day to day, nothing is happening thing. It feels soothing to read. The trunk in the bedroom and putting the log in the fire and the breakfast and how he walked down to to the town and then came back. It feels really good. And the magic does get better flashed out, but takes time and other trilogies

Such a good book, I’m so exited that you decided to read this. I mean fitz just feels so human, the way that when those moments of truth come, he fails, and continues to fail, he’s not some demigod or super intelligent, sure he has special skills, but he still fails like everyone else

Really looking forward to reading this as I've just knocked the riftwar cycle on the head... Big shoes to fill but I'm ready!

THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING THIS 🙏🙏

My first Hobbs books were the Mad Ship trilogy. I think that made me like the first trilogy even more than I would have, had I begun there. To me, Fitz grew on me because while to me he remains mostly passive and reacting, I feel for him. He is very capable but he really just wants to be left alone and that never seems to go away, so he is always a reluctant hero, and to some that might make him boring. I feel like he is just a human being who is basically weak on some points where we are not used to a protagonist being weak. In any other series, he would be a cool supporting character, but Hobb makes him center and uses him as a looking glass to people around him, many of which would have been more traditional first picks for the protagonist role. He's never my favourite character, but I have grown to love him as vessel for the stories Hobb tell.

Oh how long I have waited for you to review this beauty. Keep on going, and I will eagerly await your review of the Liveship traders books.

So good! Keep going Daniel!

Can't wait for your reviews on the rest of the series. Read them all

Because of this video and your royal assassin video, I'm subscribing. Awesome job!

Good to see you your review of book one, I recently finished the Farseer trilogy and enjoyed it. The next books have some pacing issues as well, but also more magic and awesomeness. Make sure to read the Liveship traders, multiple POV in third person and some of the best character works I've read next to WoT

yesssss!! i love this series. you're going to love this series. I am currently on the 13th of the 16 and its incredible.

I have been waiting years for you to review Assassin's apprentice!!!

Great set of books, the Realm of the Elderlings is tied to be my favorite series with Stormlight Archive.

I have this Book since forever in my Bookshelve, because i just heard good things about it. I guess i should give it finally a try. And i just realized that Daniel already read Tad Williams and reviewed the first osten ard book. I wanted to hear his thoughts to tad Williams and his book for a long time. So happy to see that there is a review about this.

Beyond happy that you Daniel finally picked up this series. Robin Hobb is truly one of the greatest writers I’ve read and I think her talent resides in mainly in her character work. Her ability to develop such realised characters is nothing short of astounding imo. I’ve gotta say in terms of world building she does manage to expand the “bubble” through the series and a lot of what you see in fitz’s story is largely solely on what he sees/ what he perceives. After reading live ship traders I started to see that the world Hobbs has built is vastly complex but we, as the readers, are slightly stunted by Fitz’s sometimes stunted view of the world in that first trilogy. I also found Fitz to be rather bland before the final Farseer book where, I feel like, he starts developing a true sense of self and purpose that kept me reading the whole Elderling Series.

Really glad you're covering this Daniel.

I love Hobb's character work. One of the best I've read. Great review dude

Love Robin Hobb, particularly this series. Going to do a full readof The Realm of the Elderlings starting early next year.

Finally, you did it! Daniel, i love you! I would recommend, should you want to read *all* of the ROTE Books, do them in order. In Farseer Series 3 it also wraps up the stories of the two side-series together, and it might be hard to understand parts of the last books. The third farseer trilogy is my Favourite, i hope you might get to that point sometime!

You were right on all accounts but 2, the aftermath of the ending actually takes a lot of time and was pushed to book 2, and the "art" is underdeveloped because the old masters are gone (they mention it in book 1 but you can't know why untill book 3)

I really loved the 3 trilogies involving Fitz. Very rarely does a series make me cry but this one made me a few times.

This series has stayed with me since I first read it as a teenager. It left a bittersweet feeling that never left me. Fitz is such a interesting character.

So glad to hear you liked this book! This series is one of my favorites, and for me it’s all about the characters. It has its problems and it’s a slow burn for sure, but you will be destroyed (you know, in a good-ish way) if you make it through to the end!

Finally you reviewed this. I loved the entire farseer/Fitz and fool series. Actually her entire work was good. I've never went through so many emotions than when I read Robin Hobbs work.

I discovered Robin Hobb in the last few years, after 20 years of reading fantasy and after finishing the entire Farseer series, it became my all time favorite series. It gets better book by book. So happy you’re finally reading these.

I'm on the 4th trilogy(?) in the series, the Rain Wilds Chronicles, and i must say i don't see myself stopping unless i'm done with the whole realm, or unless i reach an untimely end. It's also nice that Hobb alternates between first person and third person trilogies, it allows a different pace and feel to build the world

i reread the farseer trilogy a couple months ago and the thing with Fitz having no personality in the first book is one my favorite characterizations for it makes a lot of sense cause he was completely connected to Nosy, he even mentions that when he played with the kids he was much like a dog, silent and playful.

Just read the first and am about halfway through book 2. 100% agree that the prose is so ludicrously good, and as someone who also has problems keeping characters straight, her ability to make me care about every character and remember everything about their arcs was incredible.

Great Review! Looking forward to the rest of the series. This book is still sitting on my "to read" shelve since 2 years, haha

Glad you're jumping into Hobb-World! Have fun!

I had a similar impression of the first half of the book. I think it comes down to Fitz being a very passive main character. He spends a lot of time having things happen to him instead of him doing things that affect the story. Once he starts to grow up and have more awareness and agency of everything around him, the book becomes so much more engaging. The ending was fantastic too, if the falling action was a bit underdeveloped.

Glad you liked it. Currently on assasins quest. One of my favourite fantasys ever

Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on the villain choice throughout the series. It was one of the biggest things that I was left thinking about after reading these books

Glad you finally found time to read Assassins Apprentice and that you liked it enough to continue with the series. My favorite books. And now, after what you said about your feelings for dogs, I like YOU that much more. My feelings exactly, about people dying in movies/books, compared with dogs dying in same. Thanks for the review, you articulate the essence of this book, this author, well.

Lovely to see you get to this. You've got a journey to go on with Fitz and mostly none of it is happy. Its not a rollercoaster but more a bit of a downward trend where you're thankful where you've just got a blissful flat patch where nothing is getting better but more importantly it isn't getting worse All the best for the future books!

I decided to read this one some weeks ago after I needed a break from reading Malazan. Appreciated it very much! The PoV, fast pace and pretty narrow world build makes it so different from Malazan in a good way :)

I bought this book on a whim at the airport based on GRR Martin's review on it. And I LOVED IT !! And the whole series and the spinoffs as well.

I just found your channel (love it btw) and am actually surprised you only started this series in 2020! I actually discovered Hobb when I was looking for female lead fantasy books and bought Ship of Magic without reading that much into it. So I actually read that trilogy first and let me tell you, it just catapulted me into this world. I have been very disappointed with Hobb along the way (and have amazingly conflicted feelings about the ending), but boy of boy do I love those characters she created! Going to watch all your reviews now!

I adore Hobb's work and am so happy to see this review! I've read all her books and though Fitz never fully stole my heart the Fool sure did. I must say that the Liveship Trilogy is probably Robb at her finest and highly recommend checking it out even if you end up dissatisfied with the rest of this trilogy!

I've been meaning to read this for a while too. I'll have to bump it up on my tbr.

The Farseer Trilogy is totally worth reading. I just finished the Liveship Traders Trilogy (Freaking Awesome) and just started the Tawny Man Trilogy, both by Robin Hobb. I'm trying to finish all of Robin Hobb's books by the end of the year. Can't wait to see more of your reviews up on her books!!!!

I picked this book up as an audio book in 2017 because I had heard good things and respected the person who recommended it. The reader is Paul Boehmer and he does a really good job so worth it. That said, I struggled to appreciate this book. I think I was hoping for some hard-core assassin action and so the dry political nature kind of took me off guard. I got part way through it and let myself get distracted about halfway through as other books took my fancy and so this felt like a chore keeping me from what I really wanted to do (Oathbringer, I'm looking at you here) and so I put it on hiatus and switched. I finally got around to finishing the book about a month ago, thanks lockdown, and OMG I am so glad that I did. Maybe it was because my expectations were lower but the second half of the book just grabbed me instantly and I found myself drawn into the story so much more. Perhaps it was in part because the goings on in the world reminded me in someway of our own current pandemic and how people respond to that, but I also felt that as Fitz matured and his understanding of the world increased then so did the narrative that we received become better. Perhaps that is just my imagination mis-remembering the first part of the book though. All in all, very glad I went back to it and eagerly await my next audible credit so I can get the next book. This months? Ah, went on the first book in the Dresden files as you happened to mention they were read by James Marsters and I couldn't resist getting a book read to me by Spike.

everything about these books is intricately beautiful. I really hope you read on in the series to discover what a delicate balanced and well-crafted work they are.