The Tawny Man trilogy by Robin Hobb
Title: The Tawny Man trilogy: Fool’s Errand, Golden Fool, and Fool’s Fate
Author: Robin Hobb
Where You’ll Find It: Fantasy
Rating: ALHFN KHGSVI7EYTCN; A8ONIYVNAICUSLBGFITZ!HDFVL DSHBGSV, . LHZS;’A HGBSLIO3VG7TWY8 OUGWACNFHGPSUFCNKHJLSHGUNUFOOL!KHCAUI UMJV S.U;US;NHALCBLOVE!YGSNU;SHACLGNUGSHCDSJCSBHDNSBDSNHCLNUVCNSA;UVHNCUA;SCALUSVHACBYGUNSOVIH LCMA; KH;AIH;;A; HD;;OMGTHEIRLOVEISSOTRUE
These books. Just, you guys, seriously: these books! I-I want to… I want to mash the keyboard some more. (Okay, well, I did it, and then I deleted it so you wouldn’t have to deal with it being here. BUT STILL. Remember that I actually mashed the keyboard some more.)
I have two similes about the experience of reading these books, and you can just pick the one you like best. They are:
1. Reading these books was like being a fish who has been caught, had the hook ripped viciously from its flesh, been thrown unceremoniously to the riverbank, and then left to flop around in the dry dirt and bleed to death.
2. Reading these books was like having hot, rough sex with a dominatrix.
ME: Yes! Yes!
AUTHOR ROBIN HOBB: Take it, bitch! Take it!
ME: Oh, god, please don’t hurt me any more, please-OH GOD YES NEVER STOP DO IT HARDER HARDER YES!
AUTHOR ROBIN HOBB: That’s right, beg you dirty whore! BEG!
And now, to more specific thoughts. This trilogy chomped down on me somewhere in the middle of my torso, and it just would not let go. I cared SO MUCH about what happened to these characters. The relationships between them were all so wonderful, especially a certain pair! There was so much genuine emotion, and it was suspenseful, and it was funny, and it was great. Fitz was an immensely satisfying narrator, and I always felt strongly about what was happening around him. Both the Fool and Nighteyes have been added to my favorite characters list. I just cannot even go into how much love I have felt for them without spoiling everything and crying all over the place, shorting out my keyboard in the process.
As Sarah Rees Brennan (Fandom’s “Maya”) said in her journal when she read The Tawny Man trilogy:
DAD: Maya, pass the cranberry sauce.
MAYA: Theirloveissotrue!
DAD: Are you feeling all right?
MAYA: Mmm, bedsheets.
DAD: Talk to me, honey.
MAYA: I THINK I AM GOING TO DIE OF THESE BOOKS.
My family have been following me around with tissues, asking me if I want to talk, offering to pay for psychological help, begging for a sane reply to any of their questions. At one point they tried to take away the book, and at that point, I bit my brother.
I am not proud of this.
I think they feel better now that I’m talking to them again, after the climax was reached today of two hours’ continuous weeping and reading.
Yes. Yes, indeed. For the books are glorious. I recommend that you read them soon. There are 3 trilogies that take place in the universe: The Farseer trilogy, The Liveship Traders trilogy, and The Tawny Man trilogy. Although this is the last trilogy, I had no problems in reading it first because it was self-contained. I got any backstory I needed, and not in boring, pages-long exposition scenes. I have seen many other fans say that it is better to read the trilogies in order than to do as I am doing (reading the last one first, and then going back for the other two). I’ve a feeling they are right, and I usually like to do things that way, myself. However, I’d already bought The Tawny Man before I realized that there were previous trilogies, and I didn’t want to wait. If you can’t wait, either, or if you’re unsure if you want to commit to 9 books, and would instead like to commit to 3, then go ahead and do what I did. You are in for fabulous reading either way. It’s very likely, though, that once you get to the end, you’ll want to go back to The Farseer trilogy for the beginning, just like me.
Author: Robin Hobb
Where You’ll Find It: Fantasy
Rating: ALHFN KHGSVI7EYTCN; A8ONIYVNAICUSLBGFITZ!HDFVL DSHBGSV, . LHZS;’A HGBSLIO3VG7TWY8 OUGWACNFHGPSUFCNKHJLSHGUNUFOOL!KHCAUI UMJV S.U;US;NHALCBLOVE!YGSNU;SHACLGNUGSHCDSJCSBHDNSBDSNHCLNUVCNSA;UVHNCUA;SCALUSVHACBYGUNSOVIH LCMA; KH;AIH;;A; HD;;OMGTHEIRLOVEISSOTRUE
These books. Just, you guys, seriously: these books! I-I want to… I want to mash the keyboard some more. (Okay, well, I did it, and then I deleted it so you wouldn’t have to deal with it being here. BUT STILL. Remember that I actually mashed the keyboard some more.)
I have two similes about the experience of reading these books, and you can just pick the one you like best. They are:
1. Reading these books was like being a fish who has been caught, had the hook ripped viciously from its flesh, been thrown unceremoniously to the riverbank, and then left to flop around in the dry dirt and bleed to death.
2. Reading these books was like having hot, rough sex with a dominatrix.
ME: Yes! Yes!
AUTHOR ROBIN HOBB: Take it, bitch! Take it!
ME: Oh, god, please don’t hurt me any more, please-OH GOD YES NEVER STOP DO IT HARDER HARDER YES!
AUTHOR ROBIN HOBB: That’s right, beg you dirty whore! BEG!
And now, to more specific thoughts. This trilogy chomped down on me somewhere in the middle of my torso, and it just would not let go. I cared SO MUCH about what happened to these characters. The relationships between them were all so wonderful, especially a certain pair! There was so much genuine emotion, and it was suspenseful, and it was funny, and it was great. Fitz was an immensely satisfying narrator, and I always felt strongly about what was happening around him. Both the Fool and Nighteyes have been added to my favorite characters list. I just cannot even go into how much love I have felt for them without spoiling everything and crying all over the place, shorting out my keyboard in the process.
As Sarah Rees Brennan (Fandom’s “Maya”) said in her journal when she read The Tawny Man trilogy:
DAD: Maya, pass the cranberry sauce.
MAYA: Theirloveissotrue!
DAD: Are you feeling all right?
MAYA: Mmm, bedsheets.
DAD: Talk to me, honey.
MAYA: I THINK I AM GOING TO DIE OF THESE BOOKS.
My family have been following me around with tissues, asking me if I want to talk, offering to pay for psychological help, begging for a sane reply to any of their questions. At one point they tried to take away the book, and at that point, I bit my brother.
I am not proud of this.
I think they feel better now that I’m talking to them again, after the climax was reached today of two hours’ continuous weeping and reading.
Yes. Yes, indeed. For the books are glorious. I recommend that you read them soon. There are 3 trilogies that take place in the universe: The Farseer trilogy, The Liveship Traders trilogy, and The Tawny Man trilogy. Although this is the last trilogy, I had no problems in reading it first because it was self-contained. I got any backstory I needed, and not in boring, pages-long exposition scenes. I have seen many other fans say that it is better to read the trilogies in order than to do as I am doing (reading the last one first, and then going back for the other two). I’ve a feeling they are right, and I usually like to do things that way, myself. However, I’d already bought The Tawny Man before I realized that there were previous trilogies, and I didn’t want to wait. If you can’t wait, either, or if you’re unsure if you want to commit to 9 books, and would instead like to commit to 3, then go ahead and do what I did. You are in for fabulous reading either way. It’s very likely, though, that once you get to the end, you’ll want to go back to The Farseer trilogy for the beginning, just like me.