Pre09:

After the ship trilogy, I was let down to come back to the whiny protagonist that I don't even remember his name. That pretty much sums up my thoughts on this whole trilogy. ( )

I really enjoy Robin Hobb's Elderlings books, but this one is a little "small" after the epic scope of the Liveship Traders series. Partly it's the first person narration, I think. I enjoyed it, but not as much as that series. Not enough Fool, who is the best character ever. ( )

It was good to get back to the Six Duchies, but I felt that the charactyer of Fitz was very different from the one I left at the end of Assassin's Quest, and that wasn;t a particulalry good thing IMO. Whilst being completely understandable taking into account everythig he went through in the previous trilogy, i longed for the days of the young Fitz finding his way in the Keep. Maybe I should have read the first book again..? I'm not sure there was enough of a story for a second trilogy, and maybe this would have been better as a one-off to catch up and conclude the story of Fitz. ( )

This book was a good start to the second trilogy. I've noticed that there is a lot of "quiet space" in the book as it leads up to the exciting bits near the end. I actually enjoy it as it lends more time to get to know the characters. The book can be pretty sad at times, b/c no one ever gets to truly do what they want or be with who they want, at least not the main character. But this book opens up the possibility of somewhat happy endings (or at least the hope for them). ( )

I've read this book without having read the previous trilogy. I disagree with the other review that says that doing so would mean finding the first 200 pages boring and/or confusing: I definitely didn't. It is a slow book, with a slower start, but one that kept me fascinated and glued to the page throughout. It is a slow book in a good way.

It was pretty obvious that it continued a previous story: but this made for a deep, layered background that was revealed bit-by-bit without blatant summary/exposition, and not in a linear way. In fact, I enjoyed this aspect a lot: I do prefer being fed tidbits and having to piece them together myself rather than having it all laid out for me like See Spot Run.

A very satisfying read, and I will definitely look for the continuation of this series. Then I may go back and read the previous trilogy. (I don't mind that I already know "what happens": but I like the characters as they are now, and I might like them less as younger people.)

SPOILER SECTION BELOW: and I do mean it, don't read it if you haven't read the book yet. It's only gossip anyway, and unlikely to affect anybody's decision to read the book or not.

...I was smitten by the Fool from his first appearance. That's when the book changes from pleasant retirement story to Sensawunda Fantasy. And then I spent the rest of the book wanting him and Fitz/Tom to fall into bed together. Which is peculiar because I'm not generally given to slash: in fact, I think it's the first time I've ever done this "seriously", as opposed to "wouldn't it be funny if...?" I do believe that the author is teasing readers about it, seriously. Alas, by the end of the book this outcome seems unlikely (even in later books). But wouldn't it be great? :-) ( )