Unpopular Opinion of the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb

[@TheBookThing]

If you liked this please hit the subscribe button. Think I might need to lie down with some elf bark tea

[@hrimthusar2917]

Completely agree. I don't understand how one can make a book about an assassin so boring, with an ending so disappointing. I didn't really like the first book, but read the whole series and just do not understand what people like about it at all.

[@TheBookThing]

@@hrimthusar2917 yay I’m not alone! Thanks a million.

[@danielavezireva8883]

You have put into words what I could not explain to many people, on why I did not like these books. For that I thank you.

[@TheBookThing]

You’re more than welcome. Thanks for watching 😁

[@helenainsworth160]

Agree with everything said. Gave up after the 1st book! Also the names annoyed me in the book for some reason (Patience, Loyal , Chivalry etc.) You should skip to Liveship Traders which is acually incredible!!

[@TheBookThing]

Thank you so much. I keep getting people telling me to try out the Liveship Traders, I might have to relent. Weirdly the names was one of the things that didn’t bug me, probably because I assumed it was ironic, Chivalry had a bastard son, Regal was completely inept at ruling, Shrewd constantly made dreadful decisions. But if Hobb meant them sincerely, then they’re pretty dreadful 🤣🤣🤣

[@PaperbackJourneys]

We might disagree BUT 2 things... 1. I've only read the first book. I might hate the next couple of books in the trilogy. 2. I love nothing more than watching Booktubers who hate books I enjoy. I don't know what it is but it's a guilty pleasure of mine. The reverse isn't true though. I rarely like watching booktubers gush over books I hated haha. Great video mate.

[@TheBookThing]

@@PaperbackJourneys ha ha. Thanks man. Come back for the spoiler sections after you’ve finished the trilogy, I’ll be interested to see if you still disagree. 😂

[@PaperbackJourneys]

@@TheBookThing Yeah I clicked off just before the spoiler for royal assassin. I'm a bit nervous now that I'll lose interest. Brandon Sanderson is calling my name with The Way of Kings but I don't want to start a new fantasy series before at least finishing the Farseer trilogy.

[@TheBookThing]

@@PaperbackJourneys oh good, wouldn’t have wanted to spoil it. Look, I may be retrospectively ripping Farseer apart, but I liked it enough at the time to finish it and I wasn’t anywhere near as engaged as you were so I’m sure you’ll be fine. I know Mistborn didn’t gel, but I reckon you’ll enjoy The Stormlight

[@EmethMatthew]

I think this is really valid... My best friend and I actually frequently like different books and we've gotten quite used to listening to each other roast the books the other likes. We started out fishing over a few books we both liked, but we've settled in to stop reading books together, but roasting each other's faves instead. 😝

[@TheBookThing]

@@EmethMatthew that sounds hilarious 🤣

[@glazecotton]

I love this series but everything you said was valid. I loved this video.

[@TheBookThing]

@@glazecotton thanks a million 😁

[@raswartz]

Farseer is a slow burn no doubt but Liveship Traders is freaking excellent by any standard. You should give it a go even if you didn't like Farseer.

[@TheBookThing]

Oof I dunno. I suspect I might have a wee bit too much Six Duchy baggage. I’ll at least need a bit of a pause before I attempt to go near it. Love your optimism though 🤣

[@raswartz]

@@TheBookThing For your consideration: - Liveship Traders is not set in Six Duchies (although set in the same world). - LT is multi-POV third person, instead of single-POV first person. - The villain is a huge step up in complexity from Regal.

[@pickanapple]

​@@TheBookThingI agreed with you on a lot of points about Farseer, but I read Liveship and it was much better (the Tawny Man is fantastic as well, much better than Farseer). It has almost completely new characters, much more fleshed out and is written in the third person. This was the series they hooked me

[@TheBookThing]

@@pickanapple @raswartz I’m feeling the pressure now. Maybe I will have to give it a go.

[@pickanapple]

@@TheBookThing Good luck, have fun

[@JulieMoran1832]

GAH!!!! THANK. YOU!! Like you, after seeing reviews from people I respect, I jumped in too. I expressed a similar position, especially with Fitz and him crying all. The. Time. And I got obliterated by fans. I thought it was just me. Yea, not reading any more of her stuff if her "fans" can't handle honest criticism. I have the same issue with the Jim Butcher book, The Aeronaut's Windlass: The Cinder Spires. It's just book one but... well, unless you like talking cats, and even if you do, the cats that talk are annoying af, this book left me scratching my head and rolling my eyes. I hated it. And it was the first Butcher book I'd ever read and now I've no desire to read his other stuff. Especially because how his fans reacted to my review of this book.

[@TheBookThing]

Yeah the fanbase is pretty zealous alright, but to be fair the responses I’ve had have been very positive, even from the most ardent ones who disagree with me. The Jim Butcher books were actually on my radar, not so enthusiastic about them now 🤣🤣🤣 Glad I could reflect your experience, thanks for watching. 😁

[@KitzBeeSeer]

TLDR-Cure your fury and frustration and read Red Rising trilogy. Trust me. It worked for me. You’ll understand why. Ok - regarding Farseer and the whole Realm of the Elderlings: I loved the series until the last book - the 17th book that I spent 5 months pouring over, rooting for Fitz, waiting for SOMETHING good to happen for him, and on and on and on and on….still waiting. I realized looking back it was actually like an addiction more than love or even enjoyment to be honest So I absolutely agree with everything you said except for Nighteyes. I do not recall him having any weird moments with Molly but then again I would have blocked it out - I was in too deep. 😂 And Nighteyes is the hero of the entire series by the end tbh. He’s the only character I can remember fondly. After the Farseer Trilogy I kept at it. On to the next series Liveship trilogy. I knew I was reading like a large mouthed bass devouring recognizable bait but I couldn’t stop. I had to know that any ONE of those unfinished plot lines would be followed through. I could not believe just how absolutely ridiculously the first trilogy ended. Like I had been through the French Revolutionary War and someone explains my entire experience using cliff notes from A Tale of Two cities. Like WHAT? That’s all the respect I get? I’ve been here! With you! For you! Rooting and crying and cheering and spending my time and money! And you give me 2 pages?? Ridiculous! Liveship trilogy-I hated it. Not a single redeeming character from beginning to end. Ok. There are 2. One we don’t see until the last book and he basically disappears from the series never to be heard from again. The other is who cares. I think that was his name. 😂 Tawny Man trilogy was by far the best trilogy of the series. After going through hell with Fitz in the first trilogy and then reading Liveship - the most stressful thing I’ve ever read- Tawny Man should have been books 4-6 and that’s it. The whole RoTE. Nothing more. No other books should’ve been tied to this series at all. You know why? Because every other book forces you into rabbit holes that are never ever ever followed through let alone explained or understood. The skill? Not explored to the extent which it ends up being the whole focal point of the entire series. The Wit? The cool magic that got us all hooked in the beginning? - because who doesn’t love animals? and imagining a world you can communicate with them? The magic he used at the age of 6 in the first book but somehow forgot all about even exploring it by the last series? 🤦🏼‍♀️ And character growth?? What character growth?? He grew into the best person he could hope for by the end of the Tawny man trilogy and by 20 yrs later in the last trilogy he reverted back to an absolute idiot. You want to know why it was called Assassin’s Apprentice? Because Hobb was the assassin. Absolute Character assassin. And we all were there thinking she would live up to the kind of hype she’s gained and give us the reason we’d been through all this shite with her and Fitz and the rest of the dumbest bunch of idiots on the planet. Always hoping it’d get better. I get it. We don’t want Mary Sues. And we recognize she was trying to write about how people are human and make mistakes - but decades after making the same mistakes over and over and shrugging their shoulders or one character who is so grating because she (Hobb) literally changed characters from ones who gave the readers any kind of hope to total shitbags. That’s what I found so appalling. By the end of Assassins Fate the last book in the series if she had written “Gotcha!” Or “Just Kidding!” Or a huge Eff U to her readers I might not even be so pissed that I wasted my time and SO MUCH MONEY on 16.5 paperbacks, and kindle editions so my husband could read them with me. Ugh. Total disrespect for her readers. I’ve read some dark and disturbing books. I’ve read many books with nuanced endings or cliffhangers with no full explanation but this series takes the cake. You see it’s been 2 months since I finished it. I had to dive right into something else to keep me from diving into a reading slump. I went straight to Red Rising trilogy and what a palate cleanser!!! The protagonist actually grows up! He listens to his inner dialogue and learns from his mistakes. He is street smart! He understands the assignment. And I really needed to read about people in chaotic situations and figures out their role in it quickly. Then I read Gwynne. The Blood and Bone quartet. Loved it. Just to tell you. I absolutely loved this video and it helped me process my bitter feelings about the series. So thank you!! BTW-Elliot Books on YT is not a fan either!! Thank you!!! For the honest review and letting me vent!! 😂🙌🏼📚❤️

[@TheBookThing]

Excellent response. I can tell that the feelings are still raw. I can see the addiction parallel, I used to be a smoker many years ago. It sucked, you dumped all your time and money into a thing that you had to do and hadn’t actually enjoyed for years. Everyone keeps saying to me to go on to the Liveship Traders and I was starting to relent, but you’ve given me pause. I’ve quit smoking once, I don’t think I need a substitute. Thanks a million for the reply I’m glad you enjoyed the video. 😁 Oh and Red Rising is on the TBR so I’ll get to it, hopefully soon.

[@dougsundseth6904]

I read Assassin's Apprentice before Booktube was a thing. I have the full trilogy, but have never felt the need to go any further. It falls into a fairly long list of "Books that Other People Like for Some Reason" for me. (See also Jordan, Pratchett, Adams, Banks, Wolfe, Bradbury, most of the Sanderson that I've read, ....) I'm glad those people found a thing they like. I have my own list of books that I like for some reason; it's not a one-way thing.

[@TheBookThing]

Don’t we all 😁

[@Kari-qv1wn]

I couldnt even finish this trilogy i could barely stop myself from physically destroying the bloody books, the tawny man trilogy however is excelent, fitz in those books barely feels like the same character to me. Thank goodness i read books out of order. I actually started with the liveship books if i had started with farseer i honestly dont think i would have gone any further.

[@TheBookThing]

@@Kari-qv1wn having started with Farseer, that’s kinda how I’m feeling at the moment. 😁

[@MarceldeJong]

The Wheel of Time and the Farseer Trilogy are both overrated. I disliked the characters in both book series.

[@TheBookThing]

I think Wheel of Time gets the credit it does for being early, it wasn’t first but it kinda jump started modern fantasy which has been elevated since. It is objectively flawed though.

[@valliyarnl]

I feel so affirmed

[@TheBookThing]

That’s pretty much how I felt after your video 😂

[@mrr5297]

I also predominantly listened to this story, and had the same feelings as you: bored and confused. Here's a negative take I get skewered for: The Kingkiller Chronicles are boring. One thing those books share with the Farseer Trilogy is alluding to cooler things that happened, but never getting into them.

[@TheBookThing]

I think that audiobook is a contributing factor alright. See, I actually really like Kingkiller, it’s funny isn’t it how books can be on the surface quite similar but get such different reactions. Still, it’d be boring if we all liked the same things

[@oilslick7010]

I liked the Farseer trilogy because it's a different pace compared to most and I kind of liked the 1st person perspective. It's closer in style to a novel from 'real' literature* in which 1st person perspective is more common, and I rarely read those anymore. Other than that I kind of agree with your points about Fitz: he's whiny and defeatist when it comes to his place in the world. And that can be frustrating to read. There were numerous times I would think to myself "Fvck's sake! Man up! Go do something about it, ya pvssy!" But the fact that a character is flawed doesn't make it a bad book. What's wrong with a book about a mediocre man with a tendency to wallow in self-pity? *)I don't personally think of fantasy as less real, but you probably get my point

[@TheBookThing]

@@oilslick7010 I agree, it doesn’t make it a bad book. There’s a distinction between ‘this is something I don’t like’ and ‘this is objectively bad’. I can recognise the objectively good elements of the series, I just don’t like it. 😁

[@TheBookThing]

@@oilslick7010 by the way, if you liked the slower paced first person perspective, have you tried The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss? Now that one I really did like.

[@oilslick7010]

@@TheBookThing Thanks for the tip! It was already on my 'to read' list, but I didn't know it was 1st person....I guess that one's next after I finish the Hyperion Cantos and the new Stormlight Archive book :)

[@oilslick7010]

@@TheBookThing Yeah fair enough. I guess for me the annoying aspects didn't outweigh the positives like they did for you. So it remains a net positive.

[@clpwn4537]

you should put some smooth quiet jazz on in the background for some ambience! :)

[@TheBookThing]

I can see that. Ranting and raving about Farseer undercut with Miles Davis 🤣🤣🤣

[@Steventrafford]

This is predominantly how felt. It was complexing. Should tick all boxes but I found it at best “meh”

[@Steventrafford]

My faves are Riftwar saga, Drenai Saga and recently Demonwar Cycle.

[@TheBookThing]

Those are new to me I’ll definitely have to check them out. Thanks 😁

[@Steventrafford]

@@TheBookThing Peter V Brett, Raymond E Feist, and David Gemmell. First fantasy book I ever read was Legend by Gemmell.

[@TheBookThing]

@@Steventrafford Gemmel and Feist are already definitely on the TBR. The eighties cover for Faerie Tale has been haunting my nightmares for decades. I’ll take a look at Brett

[@Steventrafford]

@@TheBookThing Gemmell’s work had quite the effect on my young mind. Taught me several life lessons that haven’t failed me, also gave me a code. 😁 seems cliche but it’s true.

[@richarderikssonhjelm8838]

I read/listened half-way through and I felt it was all a bit too internal for my tastes Also just disagreeing with a concensus dosen't make you wrong, in particular in matters of taste

[@TheBookThing]

Very true, I might’ve been trying to soften the blow a little by saying how wrong I was 😁

[@genteelblackhole]

I read the Farseer Trilogy recently too. I got really wrapped up in the first two books, I was so eager to continue. Then I hit Assassin's Quest and got within a gnat's whisker of DNFing. In fact, I wish I had! I hated every page. I can't imagine what a slog it must've been for you when you didn't even like the first two books!

[@TheBookThing]

It felt like homework, I’m not gonna lie. I just kept saying to myself, “well you’ve gotten this far”

[@genteelblackhole]

@@TheBookThing That was my feeling in the third book too. I enjoyed the first two enough to be invested in the resolution, but that was hardly worth waiting for when it came. The pacing was just totally unbalanced. Far too many pages dedicated to stuff that, while initially compelling due to the quality of the prose, was ultimately pointless - and far too few pages devoted to resolving three long books’ worth of tantalising plot threads. Yeah, a very frustrating reading experience!

[@TheBookThing]

@@genteelblackhole I’m with you there. I kept going because it was genuinely well written and I assumed it would go somewhere. Not anywhere I wanted to go apparently

[@OmnivorousReader]

I loved the Farseer Trilogy, back in the 90's when I first read it. Tried to re-read a few years back and was horrified, HORRIFIED at how much I did not like it, though I did not object to it anywhere near as much as you do :) It was originally given to me by a good friend, a long term fantasy reader, who never could read through the dog being beaten. Are you really interested in series I don't like? really? Because after reading seven or eight of The Wheel of Time I came to loath it with the fire of a thousand suns, never completed it and for three years swiped left on anyone who mentioned it favourably.

[@TheBookThing]

Yeah I get the WoT frustration. It annoyed me too, but on balance, I enjoyed it. …Kinda. I think the reason I could get through WoT with a bit less frustration, was at least there was a cast of characters, and if you hate one (and by the Light I hated a lot more than one of them) then at least you’ve a chance of liking another one who’ll be along in a minute. In Farseer you’re stuck in Fitz’s head, and if you don’t like being there: tough. Thanks for the reply 😁

[@onceuponabookishsteph]

I have yet to read anything by Robin hobb, but I’ve heard good things so I feel like I need to give it try! 💕💕

[@TheBookThing]

@@onceuponabookishsteph by all means give it a go, everyone else loves it, and if you don’t, then in the words of Chappell Roan, “I hate to say it but I told you so” 😁

[@DisquietandDragons-lh3zm]

12:08 - Don't you dare speak ill of my beloved Nighteyes!

[@TheBookThing]

😂 that wolf is creepy dude Wera called it Furry Propaganda, I don’t know if I’d go that far but can’t say I disagree.

[@DisquietandDragons-lh3zm]

@TheBookThing I hope Nighteyes chews up your copy of Guards Guards 🤣 I agree that the Verity/Fitz possession bonkathon was a bit creepy, I'll give you that one. I really enjoyed the video, it's obvious that you put a lot of thought into why you don't like the books so I won't unsubscribe just yet 🤣

[@TheBookThing]

I’ve been through that many copies of Guards Guards I probably wouldn’t notice 😂 Glad you haven’t run completely to the hills for this 😁

[@DisquietandDragons-lh3zm]

​@TheBookThing I'm just happy you think I can run anywhere let alone the hills 🤣 I think it's cool hearing other perspectives on things and you hating THE BEST TRILOGY EVER WRITTEN IN THE HISTORY OF WRITTEN THINGS doesn't affect my enjoyment so it's all good. It was a bloody entertaining video 🙂

[@TheBookThing]

@@DisquietandDragons-lh3zm 😂😂😂

[@SailorDan77]

Man I spent way to much time and energy on this, don't feel the need to respond to this garbled essay of words. You had many good points, that I completely disagree with 😂, which you expected. *SPOILERS* You poke fun of the fact that the skill can be much more depraved than the wit but the wit is seen as the terrible beast magic. You then quickly follow up with some depraved shit that happens with the wit between Nigheyes/Molly, maybe there were some good reasons why people hated the wit? Also the wit seems to require less capability than the skill to hone so it could conceivably become a societal issue if it was openly accepted. Fitz is obviously is ok with the wit, that doesn't mean we have to agree. It sounds like Robin Hobb did a great job of immersing you in how Fitz felt about Regal, an incredibly treasonous person that everyone should be able to get behind killing. I'll admit that I had the same problem when starting book 2, like why the hell is no one doing anything about Regal? But after sitting with it and understanding not everyone is Fitz it makes some sense. Regal had done nothing publicly provable that was treasonous, even if Verity wanted to kill Regal he had no way to convince the populous (especially Farrow that helps fund their defense) that it would be a just killing. Hobb even gives a plausible reason for why Regal hates the King (he 100% believes his mother was assassinated). Does he do the smart thing to get revenge? No, but a lot of people make rash decisions in the name of revenge, including Fitz. Fitz didn't assassinate anyone. This is written as a retrospective memoir, it is very possible that older Fitz doesn't want to put to paper any assassinations he accomplished because assassinations are in general...secret? It could potentially cause major political problems if he wrote about successful assassinations. This line of reasoning may be problematic for other things in the trilogy but I'm not sure. Fitz didn't do anything in Assassin's Quest. He awoke the rest of the dragons and prevented Regal's forces from occupying the quarry, if anything that part of the ending belittles what Verity sacrificed (a criticism I have) but to say Fitz did nothing is a bit silly. Also from the very beginning he was dubbed a catalyst, not the hero of the story. Ultimately I feel that a lot of the flaws you found with the book was an issue of not meeting the material halfway. Instead of being upset that Fitz's mom isn't brought up again shouldn't you ask what that says about Fitz's character and how much he suppresses that part of his life? You seem to want a lot of concrete answers and the beauty of fantasy is the mystery and the questions you can ponder and enjoy the possibilities. If everything was definitively explained there wouldn't be any wonder.

[@TheBookThing]

I’m fairly sure you spent as much time retorting to the video as I did making it. I love it! 🤣🤣🤣 I don’t disagree with your answers much as it happens, possibly the one about Fitz’s involvement in the ending, because if Fitz hadn’t have been there then neither would Regal’s forces, but that’s by the by. The point you made that I agree with most is not meeting it halfway, that’s absolutely true. If you connect with a text you’re much more likely to forgive it its flaws and focus on its qualities, on the flip side, if a text rubs you up the wrong way then you’re much more inclined to focus on the flaws and not the qualities. And that’s on me, I recognise that. All that being said I honestly do feel that it’s a trilogy that gets a pass from its readership much more so than almost any other fantasy series that get picked apart, I thought an alternative viewpoint might balance the scales a little. Thanks for the response, I really enjoyed reading it and thanks a million for watching 😁

[@leopercara3477]

Bad taste exists and some people have it. Whadda ya gonna do? 🤷 I don't understand why Stephen King is so popular. I love the movies based on his stuff (even the bad ones), but the books? I don't get it.

[@TheBookThing]

It’d be boring if we all liked the same stuff 😁

[@leopercara3477]

@@TheBookThing But it'd be more interesting if we all liked the good stuff 🤔

[@nathanielvalla6142]

I'm pretty sure I've heard this criticism before I can't remember which booktuber

[@TheBookThing]

I’d love it if you did remember and it turns out I’m not virtually alone 😂

[@Maeve_Ever_Books]

I also don’t like The Farseer Trilogy.

[@TheBookThing]

Yay! Solidarity

[@laurenanderson61]

It was meh

[@TheBookThing]

@@laurenanderson61 honestly if I stopped after Apprentice I’d have probably said that same, but after nearly 2000 pages it graduated from ‘meh’ to ‘actively annoying me’