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What Members Thought
This is classic fantasy at its best. In this first installment of the Farseer Trilogy, we are blessed by the fact that there are no dragons or excessive bloody battles. Instead, this novel is steeped with wonderful characters, that are given time to develop and come with their own stengths and weaknesses, plenty of political intrigue and elements of magic.
Bastard/orphan boy gets left at the doorstep of the king, who is takes him in, not from charity, but use him for his own purposes (see the title).
A bit slow going in. We're led to sympathize with young Fitz, the bastard, as he struggles to find a place in all the court intrigue and all the players who want to use him. Things really pick up towards the end where we get a sense of where the trilogy is going; but are left questioning the morality of the king's choices and use of his subjects. I'm ...more
A bit slow going in. We're led to sympathize with young Fitz, the bastard, as he struggles to find a place in all the court intrigue and all the players who want to use him. Things really pick up towards the end where we get a sense of where the trilogy is going; but are left questioning the morality of the king's choices and use of his subjects. I'm ...more
A good book -
The narrator is the book's protagonist, explaining his life, citing almost every memory from birth ...
Sounds tedious, but it gives the reader an incredible, unparalleled intimacy with the main character - you really, really get to KNOW this guy. And you get to infer shame, pride, love ... all of it ... from the narrator's retrospective. It's really very endearing.
Even so, I will say the pacing is pretty slow and slightly uneven. (That's to be expected though - it's the first in a tr ...more
The narrator is the book's protagonist, explaining his life, citing almost every memory from birth ...
Sounds tedious, but it gives the reader an incredible, unparalleled intimacy with the main character - you really, really get to KNOW this guy. And you get to infer shame, pride, love ... all of it ... from the narrator's retrospective. It's really very endearing.
Even so, I will say the pacing is pretty slow and slightly uneven. (That's to be expected though - it's the first in a tr ...more
The start of this story wasn't hard to get into, or bad in any way, but it felt fairly average. Not in a way that made me want to stop reading, or made it hard to get through, just average. But as I got deeper into the story, I was hooked and loved it. There are two other books in this trilogy, and six (I think) more set in the world, so I imagine Robin Hobb will be getting more of my money soon.
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Beginning of a very popular and acclaimed fantasy series and it doesn't disappoint. Hobb follows the path of 'hero's journey' familiar to any fantasy reader, but her strength lies in developing multi-layered, complex and fascinating characters, and she doesn't disappoint a bit. This one provides ample background to the Six Duchies world, so the next books I am sure will be more action packed.
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A monthly pick from the Sword and Laser group. It was good enough I am awaiting the second in the series to finish the story of Fitz. A bastard prince, who has spent his life on the outside looking in, he is learning his place in the game of royals.
I really love Robin Hobb's writing, but first person past tense is definitely not my favorite style. Even so, her stories suck me in and I just want to keep reading.
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Can't say much more than has already been said. Enjoyed the story even though at times it seemed to move slowly.
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Mar 04, 2011
Jason
marked it as to-read
Jun 13, 2012
Brandy
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Jul 26, 2012
Emmalynne Crist
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Mar 07, 2013
Jaras
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May 07, 2013
Ed
marked it as to-read
Sep 28, 2016
Megan
marked it as to-read
