...To free humanity of time. For time is the great enslaver of us all. Time that ages us, time that limits us. Think how often you have wished to have more time for something, or wished you could go back a day and do something differently. When humanity is freed of time, old wrongs can be corrected before they are done.
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The last three months I've been engrossed in The Farseer Trilogy, a fantasy series written by famed fantasy author Robin Hobb. I had never read anything of Hobb's before January, but after jumping in to Assassin's Apprentice, the first book in the trilogy and the first book set in Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings, well, I became a quick fan. I've read a lot of fantasy, especially in the last few years. Growing up I seemed to re-read fantasy classics like, The Lord of the Rings or The Chronicles of Narnia, and to be honest, for the last few years I've been very disappointed with modern fantasy works I've read... Game of Thrones included. The written in these more modern-written fantasies were dull, the characters were bland, the description was uninspired, and from the handful of books I started, I only enjoyed two or three. I was about to give up on fantasy, but someone compared my own work to the writing of Robin Hobb so I thought I'd give her a try... and my writing is no where NEAR to hers. As biased as I am about my writing, I do have the author's tendency to both love and loathe what I write, but I can't imagine the same goes for Hobb. Her writing style is akin to Tolkien, that's how exceptional it is; picturesque description, dark, multi-faceted characters, and a plot that's both heavily weighted and realistically created. I had a hard time putting this book down and closing off this trilogy. I already miss the characters, FitzChivalry, the protagonist, a bastard prince with an animalistic connection to a wolf, Nighteyes. The Fool, a charismatic prophet and Fitz's closest friend and confidante (who SHOULD also be his lover, because they're perfect together). I miss Queen Kettricken's strength, Starling Birdsong's sharp tongue, and especially Kettle's secretive and wise character. These are characters who I'm sure will stay with me for a long time, just as Gandalf, Galadriel, Legolas and Aragorn have, just as Peter Pan has, or even Hermoine Granger and Albus Dumbledore (let's not talk about Harry... I'm not a Harry Potter, the character, fan). But you know it's good storytelling, good writing, when the characters stay with you, when you feel sad to see them go.
You can read my reviews of Assassin's Apprentice and the sequel, Royal Assassin, in my blog. While I had completely enjoyed Assassin's Apprentice, I mentioned some problems I had with Royal Assassin, the biggest of which was the feeling that an epic story was happening outside of the FitzChivalry's perception. In that second novel, the character of Verity, King-in-Waiting to the Six Duchies, heads off on an epic quest to find the Elderlings, an ancient race of dragon-like creatures to help save the Duchies from an external threat of raiders who were plaguing their coast. Fitz didn't accompany Verity on this quest, and instead wallowed around the capital of Buckkeep and watched as Regal, Verity's conniving half-brother, took control of the Duchies and led it to ruin. At the end of Royal Assassin, without giving away too many spoilers, Regal wins at incredible cost. The damage done would have never of happened if Fitz had of gone off with Verity, and that damage needed to be done and witnessed first hand, even if I was a little upset that we didn't get the epic journey I was hoping for.
But Assassin's Quest, the final book in the trilogy, gave me that journey I had longed for. And it was incredible. Nearly the entire novel is a journey. It takes Fitz from near-death, to rediscovering what it means to be a man, to seeking out revenge, and when that fails, seeking out Verity, meeting a rag-tag of characters along the way, including some who stick around to the end, like Starling and Kettle. This novel sets aside the raiding on the Duchies, and the rather stationary setting that we see in the first two novels, and thrusts Fitz into a long and arduous journey where things don't always go his way. And that's one of the beautiful things about Hobb's writing– that's thing's don't always turn out great. It's very different from the writing of George R.R. Martin, where you automatically expect an upsetting outcome, and really... having read A Game of Thrones, I hardly felt for any of the characters. It's written so informally. But Hobb's empathic writing, focused on character development rather than plot advancement, makes you root for Fitz, makes you want to see him win and care about the things he's put through.
I will say though... I still did not care for Molly. Molly is Fitz's romantic interest throughout the entire series. And in the second book, Royal Assassin, I could NOT stand her. She's selfish, argumentative, and most importantly, stands in the way of Fitz and the Fool. Who I will always ship. Hands down. In this novel, Molly is never seen directly. She appears numerous times in fever dreams that Fitz has, but we never physically see her. And I was alright with that. I'm normally a sucker for romance... but usually when it's between two characters I WANT in a romance!
Nevertheless, this trilogy was phenomenal. And luckily it's not the end of FitzChivalry and the Fool. Hobb has four other series written in this Realm of the Elderlings, and I have all the books currently out set in that realm. I contemplated making this year a Year of Robin Hobb, and spending the entirety of it in the Realm of the Elderlings, but I thought it might get a little tiresome for you all to hear me ramble on about how great Hobb's writing style is. But don't just take my work for it. Go out and read Assassin's Apprentice and see for yourself! If you're a fan of fantasy novels, and have been looking for a new, astonishingly written novel, start here, you won't be disappointed, I can guarantee.
