Robin Hobb - New Fitz/Fool Trilogy

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Azrayne

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Robin Hobb Interview: A New Fitz Fool Trilogy | Del Rey and Spectra - Science Fiction and Fantasy Books, Graphic Novels, and More

Not sure how I feel about this one. On the one hand, I love the shit out of Farseer/Tawny Man, but on the other, I find myself thinking that she wrapped it up really well at the end of the second trilogy, that ending felt as close to perfect as endings generally come, in terms of storyline and emotional closure, and I'm not sure how I feel about her bringing these characters back for a third round. I mean what's she going to do, kill Molly off and have Fitz go adventuring as an old man? It just feels like a disservice to the character's and the way she ended their story.

"Ours was a ragged and uneven parting. Each of us had intended to see the other again. Each of us had final words to say. My days with the fool ended like a half-played game of stones, the outcome poised and uncertain, possibilities hovering. Sometimes it seems to me a cruelty that so much was unresolved between us; at other times a blessing that a hope of reunion lingered. It is like the anticipation that a clever minstrel evokes when he pauses, letting silence pool before sweeping into the final refrain of his song. Sometimes a gap can be seen like a promise yet to be fulfilled.

I miss him often, but in the same way I miss Nighteyes. I know that such a one will not come again. I count myself fortunate for what I had with them. I do not think I will ever Wit-bond again, nor know such a deep friendship as I had with the Fool. As Burrich once observed to Patience, one horse cannot wear two saddles. I have Molly and she is enough for me, and more.

I am content."
I guess if it sucks we can always pretend it doesn't exist, but it's going to take a while to get used to the idea, especially since I didn't find her recent books in the Elderlings setting particularly enthralling.

At least she's a prolific writer, so it won't end up half done, floating in the ether for years on end.
 

Rime

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I am uncertain how I feel about this news.

While I loved the first trilogy and enjoyed the second, as you say, it had as close to a perfect ending as one could expect.

I will still pick it up, as I am a whore for Fitz and the Fool.
 

Firewalker

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The only unresolved part of the story is what happens now to the Fool. In between the Farseer Trilogy and The Tawny Man trilogy the Fool went and pretended to be a woman down in Bingtown for The Liveship Trader trilogy. I wonder if she had him do something similar in the Rain Wild books she's been writing. I haven't read them all yet but I haven't come across anyone that could match the Fool's description.

As Rime said I am a whore for Fitz and the Fool and I have faith in Robin Hobb's writing in respect to these characters. Her other works have been meh, but these ones have always resounded well with me.
 

faille

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I almost feel like the 2nd trilogy wasn't necessary. The way it ended felt far more real appropriate, while the 2nd was almost a hollywood ending.
 

Kanglor

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Yeah, I loved the first trilogy and thought the second was pretty good, but I despise the ending, almost like she didn't have any idea how to end it and just went with the fairy tale closing. Looks like she did want to tell more of Fitz/Fools story, and that ending was mostly forced due to it being a trilogy.
 

Mountain Man_sl

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I am also not sure how I feel about this. I loved the six books but like others have mentioned, the ending is completely wrapped up in my eyes.
 

Man0warr

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She said she wouldn't do anymore Fitz/Fool stuff until she thought of a story worth it, didn't want to just whore them out.

Maybe it will be more focused on Nettle.
 

Grimmlokk

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Loved the 6 books, don't need any more. Honestly the Tawney Man trilogy left me more...satisfied as an ending than almost any other fantasy series I can think of.
 

Dalerone_sl

shitlord
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I agree as well, Fitz is probably my favorite character and felt the ending was complete. It better be a hell of a story she wants to tell to open it back up again.
 

velk

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The only unresolved part of the story is what happens now to the Fool. In between the Farseer Trilogy and The Tawny Man trilogy the Fool went and pretended to be a woman down in Bingtown for The Liveship Trader trilogy.
I don't remember there ever being any confirmation on the fool's gender ?
 

Rime

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'His actual gender is brought into question throughout the series and never definitively answered. When directly questioned on the matter he said that it was no one's business but his own. However, he admits to have no boundaries on his love for Fitz.'

The Fool poses as a 'He' for most of the books, though in others, as a 'She'.
 

Azrayne

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Yeah while it's never confirmed what he has between his legs, treating him as effectively male by default makes the most sense, since he's described as otherwise having a masculine body (no curves or breasts). He's also described as and treated as being male by the Pale Woman, the one person the the series who could possibly know for sure, and she even says to Fitz at one stage while trying to seduce him that, to paraphrase, she could be with him in ways that the Fool never could and that she could provide him with a child, implying pretty strongly that whatever fool is, he's not a woman with a vagina & womb. Of course the Whites aren't human iirc, so it's possible there's some third gender or something in their race, or it could be some chromosomal disorder. But the evidence points towards male, and given that he presents as male for the majority of his time in the series, it makes the most sense to use as default.
 

Azrayne

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New Robin Hobb trilogy from HarperVoyager | The Bookseller

HarperVoyager has signed a new trilogy from fantasy novelist Robin Hobb.

The first book of the new deal will be called Fool's Assassin, and will revisit two of Hobb's most famous characters, Fitz and the Fool, who have appeared in nine of Hobb's previous novels.

Rights were signed by Voyager publishing director Jane Johnson in a deal with Chris Lotts at the Lotts Agency.

Johnson said: "I was so excited when Chris submitted the mystery novel and by the end of reading the first volume was in floods of tears, to such an extent that a woman travelling opposite me offered me a hankie and asked if I was OK. Anyone who knows me will tell you that's a rare occurrence, but that demonstrates the emotional power Robin Hobb wields over her readers."

The book will be published in August 2014, to coincide with Hobb's UK tour, when she will be guest of honour at science fiction convention London Worldcon.
 

Antarius

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The entire time I was reading the city of dragons quadrilogy, I kept thinking... god it'd be cool to see how events in this story have affected the north and/or fitz (especially since his passion is chronically the magic of the world and how it is practiced).

I mean, in some ways, she's taking away the "mystery" of magic in the world. I mean, when King Verity sticks his hands in the "river of magic" it seems .... "magical"... especially after fitz visits the city later and is unable to see any of the silver, it adds to the mystery.

When the girl in City of Dragons turns back on the magic, it just seems kind of "eh" like an every day kind of thing like turning on a faucet in a sink.

I will say, the entire series is definitely worth a re-read, the amount of things you learn over the span of 13 books makes the first couple even better.

I actually like Liveship traders trilogy even moreso than the Tawny Man, which I know puts me in the minority.
 

Vilgan_sl

shitlord
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Wow, this was definitely not a series I expected to be opened back up. I also thought it was tied up very nicely.

Hrmm.
 

OU Ariakas

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Wow, this was definitely not a series I expected to be opened back up. I also thought it was tied up very nicely.

Hrmm.
I'm with you here. I almost didn't pick up the second trilogy because the first one was so epic. Seriously, when Fitz gets told that he had never learned the real lessons his mentor was trying to teach him and that everything that happened to him had been his own doing, that was one of the most powerful parts of any series I've ever read. She topped it with the heart wrenching ending of the second series and Burrich. After writing this I think I have to read this one just to see how much more feels she can get out of me.
 

Antarius

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She got me in the feels in her reddit AMA, I'll paraphrase: "I'm starting to get old, I'll only be able to write a few more books before I die, I hope you enjoy them."
 

Azrayne

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I'm not sure how much tbh. Most of the characters I really give a shit about as a reader are gone. I get that Fitz is all in love with Molly and all, but she's kinda boring and not a character I grew to care about the way I did Nighteyes or Burrich. She doesn't have much of a personality, she's just a 'long lost love' type plot device. Lacey dying was more emotionally touching than Molly's death would be. Fool could... die again? I guess there's the younger generation, Dutiful/Nettle/etc, it would depend on how things play out and how it was written. But I'd still rather things were just left where she ended it, at the end of the day.
 

Azrayne

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Don't see how that would work. I mean she could write a book in which Fitz has died as part of the continuity of the setting, but with Fitz dead, how can it be a Fitz & Fool book? The whole point of those, the whole appeal, is that they offer a first person perspective on the world and a deep insight into the goings on in Fitz's head.