RANTING AND GUSHING | reading hyped fantasy books

[@frank7411]

I love Robin Hobb, I always have to leave a comment when someone talks about her books! 😅 I feel like the Liveship trilogy is her best written work, absolutely amazing, but I have a huge soft spot for Fitz. Yes, he's dramatic, mopey even stupid sometimes. But he's also very damaged. As a young child he got abandoned by the only family he ever knew and literally thrown in the stables to live with the animals with barely any oversight from Burrich for most of his early years in Buckkeep. No emotional support, no 'unconditional love' that children need to develop. It's no surprise that when he finds someone he feels really likes him, he gets obsessed with her and makes all sorts of mistakes. And she's a form of scapism for him. That's very unfair to her, of course. She deserved much much better. But I really love Fitz despite his flaws. All that being said, Fitz does learn and mature over all of his books though I feel he's always mopey and depressed and makes many mistakes throughout his life. Those never change. So maybe he's just not really for you. Some people can't get over his "dumbness" (I hardly ever see his decisions as dumb, they always make toral sense from Fitz's perspective).

[@gbisch1010]

Your gripes with Fitz is why I love him. He's so selfish, mopey, he doesn't think about the future, but he has a really big heart and he feels his feeling so deeply. If you can, I would try and push through to the Tawny man trilogy, which is the next series that goes back to his perspective. They are just fantastic books and his growth throughout the entire ROTE series is huge.

[@WhatTheFunct]

So, so, so agree!!!

[@dryad2313]

Agreed! Plus, he's young! He hasn't matured to the point of figuring things out and no one models managing emotions well for him until Verity and Kettricken. He's also obviously struggling with mental health issues with no help from anyone, only pressure and manipulation and something spoilery making those mental health issues worse. I just love Fitz so much and completely understand why he is how he is because of who he is and what he deals with. 💜

[@PetrikLeo]

Ah.... Fitz and Molly. Their relationship frustrates me to the max. Fitz ended up becoming one of my favorite characters from the Tawny man trilogy, but oddly he's also one of the main characters I want to slap the most. 😂

[@lauraguerrera4092]

That's exactly how I feel! 😂

[@mrblackbird1254]

I literally had to stop reading 30% through Assassin’s Quest because I had a bad feeling that the relationship b/t Fitz and Molly wasn’t going to end well. I looked up how their relationship turns out at the end of the book and immediately stopped reading. Prob a personal character flaw of mine that it bothered me sooo much, but Hobb writes characters too well for me to continue the torture of reading the rest of the book in detail. It was one of my favorite fantasy series up to that point though

[@mark0551]

Oooo Fitz. I have no idea how you got this from him. All his flaws but he never seems to have a good choice to make. It was heartbreaking to me that everyone in his life keeps him at arms distance(except night eyes)when all he needs is some real hugs.

[@swisswatermethod1781]

I think Fitz is an amazing character. This is only based on reading the Farseer trilogy. In the first and second books he is a child and then a teenager so therefore makes stupid mistakes. Especially when you’re a teenager I think everyone would agree that you can make stupid mistakes or act in a way that isn’t helpful. From the moment we meet Fitz, he is subjected to intense emotional and physical trauma so I cut him a bit of slack! He has no family, is discouraged from using the only thing he feels a connection to (the Wit), has a best friend taken away from him by his supposed de facto guardian and goes through so much at an early age. He becomes a lot more fully formed in Assassin’s Quest I think but I was rooting for him from the start. I think he’s a great character

[@WhatTheFunct]

Ahhhh I'm so glad you're getting back into Hobb. ROTE is my favorite of all-time. I LOVE Fitz, and while I so understand your frustrations with him, I think the development that he as a character experiences over the course of all 9 of his books is astonishing. It's a lot, for sure, but by the time I was done reading ROTE, Buckkeep felt like home to me. I still think about the Six Duchies so, so often. I promise, as he grows up he gets more tolerable :) Still makes mistakes, but not nearly as many of the ones it seems like you were frustrated by! He really, truly learns a TON as the series goes on. There is a conversation at the beginning of Assassin's Quest between a few characters that I think really changes the projection of Fitz's life. People who've read it will probably know which conversation I'm referring to :) He *definitely* was selfish as a child, because he was belligerent and wanted to be able to do everything he wants. Anyway, none of that matters. I love your videos. Thank you for always putting a bright spot on my day.

[@randallwyrick6785]

I understand your feelings about Fitz. I wasn’t crazy about him in The Farseer Trilogy myself, but you have to remember that at this point he is still a very young man. I grew to like him more and more in the subsequent trilogies. His character evolves as he matures and then becomes a parent himself and reaps the unfortunate bounty of his misguided relationships in the first trilogy. I came to really empathize with him. All this due to the genius of Robin Hobb. And, one final point, the thing I loved most about The Realm of the Elderlings turned out to be all the amazing fully realized characters surrounding Fitz. Also you may think at this point that The Liveship Traders trilogy is unrelated, but many of these characters and settings reappear in the later trilogies.

[@rads_irl]

I do agree with your gripes about Fitz, but I do love him for all of those flaws. I think it's often forgotten that Fitz is just a child in these first books and that he's been thrust into a world that is far out and beyond his emotional capabilities since he's not equipped to deal with that. He might have been taught to be an assassin. But he does not have the age and wisdom to really make calculated and sound choices. I always viewed his choices as those of a hormone-hyped-up teen. A teen that ends up suffering quite a lot of significant emotional and physical abuse that leaves him permanently damaged. But again, all criticism is fair that gets targeted towards Fitz. I just think I have a lot of empathy when looking at Fitz's actions & I know and can look forward to more growth from this character in further novels.

[@ivingzuniga841]

“It’s often forgotten that Fitz is a kid” it is not. She literally says it in the video, if you watched it whole. I also didn’t like Fitz and completely agree with Elliot, and I’m very aware Fitz is just a teenager; the group I buddy read this with also shares the same opinion and they are all aware too. I don’t understand why people like to say “people forget” when it’s literally one of points discussed. I understand some people love him but y’all gotta accept some people don’t, despite all the reasons he is the way he is. Like El said, not all teenagers are like that, and not everyone is going to excuse their behavior because of that. And that’s fine.

[@lauramcfarlane696]

I love your rant on Fitz. He doesn’t change much and I do go, even during the final book “oh, Fitz!” But the story and way that everything links together as you move through the Realm of the Elderlings is just amazing. Hobb is a fantastic writer. But yes, oh Fitz!!

[@kiddocter13]

I finished Mad Ship yesterday, and I am LOVING Liveship Traders so much! I did enjoy Farseer, although I know what you're saying about Fitz (I think he does mature in Assassin's Quest, though, so take heart!). Robin Hobb is amazing in her character work! She knows how to make you hate a character and then love them as they change and mature, or love a character and mourn their hardships. So great!

[@coreydinardo5525]

Leave Fitz alone, lol! At least he doesn't have a tortured martyr complex like your boy Kaladin.

[@ebnovels]

Kaladin is a hero, a HERO! :P

[@frank7411]

Both of them are 'sad boyz' and that's why my heart loves them so much. (Actually, they're more like deeply damaged and depressed boys, I guess.)

[@tawnyman]

I am glad you are enjoying Ship of Magic! I love Fitz so much, but I am nearly in tears laughing at your frustrations with him, because it’s very true haha. He often doesn’t know how to read the room, and he has a lot of emotional blocks and it can be difficult to watch him just constantly make the wrong decision. “Susie and Bob” made me laugh a lot too. 🤣

[@arlissbunny]

Fitz is a teenager all the way through Farseer and his headspace is very much like many, many actual IRL teenagers. What you did make me wonder about is if Robin Hobb was raising or had raised teenagers when she wrote Farseer. There is good news. By the time Fitz is a grown man, in the Tawny Man books, he really is a man and acts accordingly.

[@tylersvedin3864]

I sometimes listen to your videos in another tab while working on other things. But then you mention Luna Bear and I come flying back to see one of the best doggos in the whole world!

[@hannahblackwellbooks]

Aw I’m so sad you didn’t like Royal Assassin but I definitely understand. I’m currently 2/3 through Ship of Magic and loving it!! I will say I think the difference between Fitz and Kaladin in their actions and their perspectives is Kaladin was raised by loving parents and Fitz wasn’t. I think it changes a lot about their decision making capabilities. Fitz is definitely more selfish than Kaladin for sure.

[@sevuz1]

Haha I forgot how dramatic young Fitz could be. I got annoyed with him a lot, but because of the amount of trauma and the surroundings he grew in, I felt it was no wonder he was so full of feelings and dramatic.

[@themommaspot5298]

I think you should check out the audiobook versions of Mask of Mirrors & Liars Knot. The narrator was phenomenal.

[@samanthascott4125]

Our reading lists are aligning this month. I'm also starting the ships of magic and the 2nd Fitz book. And will be reading well of ascension for the first time. Just need to finish way of the kings:)

[@karenlp5867]

I loved The Liveship Traders by Robin Hobb. It’s one of my favourite series of all time. I did like the Farseer Trilogy overall, but I found it to be quite hard going in places. Some sections were a real slog to get through. I wasn’t sure about Ship of Magic when I first started reading it. The very beginning of the story is a bit strange, and I found myself wondering what on earth was going on. But after the first couple of chapters I was hooked. I really hope you will enjoy these books as much as I did.

[@ebnovels]

I hope so too! I’m glad you love them so much, and I’m thinking I’ll feel similarly, especially as I was basically hooked right from the beginning 😄

[@kawalkarda32]

I think I had the same issue with Fitz, he was very frustrating to read in the Royal Assassin, especially with the romantic subplot. However, I think by the end of the trilogy I was in a better place with Fitz. He is in no way perfect, but I think I really appreciated how robin hobb wrote his development, with all its ups and downs, and where all the characters end up by the end of the trilogy! Excited to see how you’ll feel by the end of Assassins quest!

[@moonstonepearl21]

It's good to see people being intelligent about younger people. Older people who think "kids are stupid and immature" are ironically being incredibly immature in saying that. Mindsets like that irritated me to no end when I was younger as someone who was always told how mature I was for my age, and they still do.

[@laiaal.3324]

I agree that Liar's Knot felt a bit aimless at the beginning, but I thought it redirected really nicely by the end and the plot was clear from about half book. Which is probably not ideal, but it made me love the book as I really liked the last half ^^ But I'm glad you still enjoyed it and now let's wait for the 3rd one!

[@LocDBooktician]

I like hearing about people discuss fantasy books. I haven't been able to get back into since I was in my early twenties.

[@MariaMightReadThat]

I agree with everything you said about the Mask of Mirrors/Liar’s Knot worldbuilding and magic taking a lot of effort to follow. It’s my one critique of the series. I think the authors had so much fun in the world but ended up throwing a bit too much at us. Especially in book 2, I thought having both the magical object (being vague for sp) and the new praeteri magic was just unnecessarily complicated. Also your rant about Fitz made me laugh! He’s not my favorite mind to be in either.

[@JayGTheAwkwardBookworm]

Ugh Luna bear is SUCH A CUTIE PIE

[@ThePurpleBookWyrm]

It's so interesting to see how differently people can read the same character! I'm not a huge fan of Farseer, but I did enjoy it well enough when I read it, and I certainly wasn't bothered by Fitz in the slightest. I felt a lot of sympathy for him, and I guess his behaviour both made sense, to me, from an adolescence POV and more importantly a (C-)PTSD point of view. Like, horrific shit happens to him at the end of book one, and ditto at the end of book two, and that's without going into the emotional abuse he experiences as a child (I joke that the perfect summary of Farseer is either "Fitz goes through some shit" or "Fitz's life sucks"). So Robb's characterisation in this respect, including Fitz's flaws, just speaks to me of the author's mastery of conveying realistic human psychology.

[@andene4034]

The rants are always my favourite part😂

[@ebnovels]

Haha, they’re so rare for me 😂

[@idakeranen3805]

Your description of your feelings towards Fitz made me laugh out loud, you totally nailed his biggest problem XD

[@mischarowe]

I've never read Robin Hobb. Never felt the urge. Might change after that rave review you gave to her skills. :)

[@ebnovels]

Her writing really is great!

[@llindberg194]

I read Mask of Mirrors for a bookclub last month, and while I thought there were good bits I thought the big bad's chain of thought and big plan felt illogical and contrived for the sake of the story, and I didn't buy that it struck a deal with this other BB. I'm divided on whether to read the next entry because I liked the MC's but not the story, if that makes sense. I also DNF'ed The Assasin's Apprentice because about 3/4 through it still felt lackluster and I hadn't found something to grip onto to keep going, like a funny character or something. I don't need to like the MC but there needs to be other things to attract me. I also felt the writing style distanced me from Fitz even more. As a completionist it torments me not to have finished it though, so I might need to at some point.

[@johnsaxongitno4life588]

All I can say again is thank you for adding to my tbr list please stay safe and enjoy your reading 📖 prayers and thoughts for you and your amazing family love your family friend John from Australia xxxxx

[@Maxfeatherstries]

I think I'm the only one who much prefers the Fitz books over the Liveship traders. The Liveship traders trilogy was fine. I enjoyed my time as long as I skimmed the Malta (up until her character arc begins. If you know, you know) and Kennith chapters. But it wasn't anything that stood out to me.

[@pdxleo]

definitely adding some of these to my TBR - thanks! and not sure I want to read Fitz's story :)

[@Allenro711]

I loved the writing and Hobb certainly knows how to wrench emotion from you but I gave up on this at book 3. I had been more than willing to give Fitz a break but I couldn't ignore everything and everyone else lol. Also, an assassin that doesn't actually really do any assassining... not my thing.

[@dinocollins720]

I love Robin Hobb but Royal Assasin was hard for me

[@TheBookishMom]

I really need to finally get into Hobb. I have been slowly collecting them when I see her books at my used book store but now I need to ACTUALLY read them lol

[@ebnovels]

Hahaha, that’s me for a lot of books 😂 I hope you like Hobb though!

[@EvenstarSK]

Robin Hobb is high on my TBR as is Mistborn. Question: Have you ever read any David Gemmell? I've been trying his books lately and I love them! Dark Moon and Legend are 2 very good books.

[@anix670]

Love those two too, especially Dark Moon! Also, I love David Gemmell, have many MANY of his novels. Sword in the Storm and it's sort of sequel, Midnight Falcon, are also faves.

[@ConstanceWojanis]

Have you ever read The Dragon Prince series by Melanie Rawn. One of the best series I’ve read. And you have to read the books by Anne bishop.

[@mattf.3365]

I DNF'd "Assassin's Apprentice" because I thought it was too slow to get going and I didn't like Fitz. I thought I was the only one! I may give the series another shot though since people rave about it so much. Or maybe I should just read the Liveships series and skip Farseer. Great video but......more Luna Bear content please....

[@dareisayit]

I also do not like Fitz as a MC 😬 More importantly I don’t like how the other characters treat him, it gets a bit much.

[@ebnovels]

Haha, Luna is the star, but she demands a very high price for her appearances :P Also, Liveship thus far is very different from Farseer, so I’d definitely recommend giving it a go :)

[@mattf.3365]

@@ebnovels Luna has a great agent. I think I’ll try Live Ships. Hobb is a great writer so that series might work for me. Trouble is…I just started Malazan and am loving it. 9 books to go!

[@johnathanrhoades7751]

Looking forward to Robin Hobb. Fitz sounds like me in my youth...

[@ReadingNymph]

Loved your rant about Fitz 😅😅

[@heabooktubes]

I will never read Robin Hobb. Just completely not my wheel house. But this was by FAR the most entertaining thing I’ve ever heard about her works. 🤣🤣🤣

[@gossamerabba]

I'm slogging through it...still on the verge of DNFing...ugh.

[@ebnovels]

Hahahaha, I feel like Jess and I could give each other some competition when talking about Fitz 😂

[@gossamerabba]

@@ebnovels The only reason I haven't DNF'ed Ship of Destiny is that The Fool, Fitz, and Nighteyes are in the next trilogy and I liked them.

[@krispy.reading]

As you talk about Fitz, I'm imagining him as your younger brother that refuses to listen to your advice. Where you are the exhausted older sibling that is so done with the "younger sibling energy".

[@krispy.reading]

Animal companions 😍😊

[@Marie45610]

I DNF'd Royal Assassin, which was a bummer because I *loved* Assassin's Apprentice, gave it 5 stars. I got so annoyed with Fitz in Royal Assassin, not the being depressed part at the beginning, because that made sense. He was worried about being useful if his body was "broken"... it was everything else. He had real problems to deal with but he was spending all his time trying to get with Molly, even after he had a bunch of people tell him to leave her alone. It just annoyed me so much. Nighteyes was the best part of that book though, and the only one with any sense.

[@houndsanddirewolves]

I read and really enjoyed Assassin’s Apprentice but it made me so sad and I’ve heard that’s just the norm so I haven’t continued lmao

[@mlleariane6667]

I just finished the well of ascension and unfortunately I was kind of disappointed compared to the first book because I completely guessed most of the plot twists except for the very last one, and the last Elend plot twist pissed me off a lot.

[@ChrissiesPurpleLibrary]

I love Robin Hobb!! 🥰👏🏾

[@missHandfull]

Fitz is such a Drama Overlord!!!🤭 I loved Fitz, but I hated what the author was doing to him and did to him. So she's like my personal enemy

[@onfaerystories]

I was so excited to get to Farseer, but man I also can't stand such emo characters, and you went into so many details, I'm already annoyed. 😂 But I can't say I wasn't just as dramatic as a teenager, which had mostly to do with neglect and lack of emotional support, so I guess that makes sense (how old is he in that second book?). 💀 Maybe I'll start with Ships of Magic then. 😅 Though I do want to read Assassin's Apprentice so I can have that experience and compare Hobb's literary choices and overall growth as a writer. Also, Mask of Mirrors reminds me a bit of The Lies of Locke Lamora (I've only read that first book), but it somehow sounds even better. :0

[@keanugarcia5418]

haven’t been keeping up with your videos in a bit but always pop in occasionally, and wanted to ask as im finally getting around to it; im assuming you played the expansion to ghost of tsushima and wondering how it was? !!

[@LiteratureScienceAlliance]

I think I like Mask of Mirrors more than Liars Knot but I am curious if that will change on reread since Mask of Mirrors became even better for me on reread!

[@ebnovels]

That could be! I’m excited for the third book though :D

[@courtneyquezada8297]

Love your glasses 🤓

[@sjajsjsja4523]

Farseer is soooo good

[@musingsonbooks3096]

I’ve read Assassin’s Apprentice recently and it didn’t encourage me to continue the series, even though I can definitely appreciate the quality of the prose. Unfortunately, I didn’t care for any of the characters or the storyline, and the writing on its own just ain’t enough for me…

[@ebnovels]

That’s fair. If you haven’t already, I’d still recommend giving Liveship a try :)

[@RodgersReads]

I still need to get to Royal Assassin, lol people usually say that's the best book in farseer xD I mean that sounds like very teen angst mixed with sad moping so...you just don't vibe with moody teens

[@kevinsfantasyhideout]

Fitz is immature and annoying in Royal Assassin, but he grows quite a bit in Assassin's Quest, and his development in the next trilogy is just fantastic.

[@gayanegasparyan4137]

Omg agree on Fitz, he was so annoying in Royal Assassin

[@ebnovels]

I’m glad I’m not alone 😆😆😆

[@thewitchyreader6131]

Great video!

[@strawberrylime33]

Is the Mistborn trilogy more upbeat/less depressing than Fireborne trilogy? Or should I read the Black Sun: Between Earth and Sky trilogy by Rebecca Roanhorse?

[@katelynbrown6167]

❤️❤️❤️

[@zephyr2167]

Assassin's Quest is worse. I actually really liked Royal Assassin, despite finding Fitz a bit annoying. I couldn't stand him in Ass Quest and hated Ass Quest so much that I haven't continued on with Robin Hobb at all. I hope you like Assassin's Quest better than I did, but my guess is if you didn't like Royal Assassin (which I think is the best book in the trilogy) I think you'll like Ass Quest even less.

[@13blatt]

I cannot explain how happy I am to hear your thoughts on Fitz and the Farseer trilogy. I thought I was the only person who felt like you do about it. I absolutely cannot stand Fitz and I was really disappointed because I read the Farseer trilogy in order to read the live ship traders and I assumed after reading Farseer that live ship would just be more of the same but I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed live ship. Hopefully that means I will have a much better experience with live ship and now I’m excited to read it again.

[@mcsims6094]

I’m currently reading Ship of Magic and I hate Kyle lol

[@ebnovels]

Someone needs to make a shirt that says everyone hates Kyle, with a Liveship on it

[@davidjarmuth1057]

Royal Assassin was such a hot mess, I put it down and it made me really question the fandom of the series. I finished it purely out of spite, but promised myself I would not put myself through that again. It makes me curious what kind of editor was working, or not working, on Royal Assassin. But when I heard about the Liveship Traders readalong, I said ok screw it let me sprint through Assassin's Quest and I don't know if it's just in juxtaposition to the egregious Idiot Ball/Idiot Plot of Book 2, but I liked Assassin's Quest. Ending was rushed, sure, but it was satisfying enough. Hobb actually developed the relationship with Night Eyes and the Fool which is what everyone wanted.

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[@laurenschenck5355]

Love half a soul off my FAVORITES books 📚 ❤️‍🩹🖤🌈💕✨💛💚💚💗💛📚✨💚💚🌈💕💕🤎❤️📖💙💙❤️‍🔥❤️‍🩹💜💖🧡💖💞💜💜💝📖📙💕🌈❤️💚💚💛📚📚✨💗💚💚💕💕❤️📙💙💙💓❤️‍🩹🧡🧡🧡💖💖❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹💝💝💝❤️💗💛💛📚📚✨✨

[@ebnovels]

Yes, it was so adorable!

[@laurenschenck5355]

@@ebnovels 🥰🥰🥰

[@liessssje113]

Also having trouble with fitz. But i really don’t want to give up because i do like the world and the writing. 🥹

[@nikkisweezea2388]

Fitz was not my cup of tea, but I ADORE the Liveships trilogy. Can't deny Hobb's level of craft, but most of her characters are just not it for me. Liveships is really the only thing of hers I would ever return to.

[@ebnovels]

I’m right there with you 😅