Farseer rereading
Over the last couple of months I've reread the Farseer and Tawny Man trilogies, plus Fool's Assassin and Fool's Quest. I started because I wanted to experience Nighteyes again now I'm a dog owner, but quickly got wrapped up in Fitz and kept going past Nighteyes' death.
Fool's Errand could be subtitled "The Death of Nighteyes". It might be the most profound of the series so far, with Nighteyes' insistence that Fitz not try to prolong his life, and his impending death underlying everything that happens.
Fool's Assassin seemed much more interesting than when I originally read it. On my first pass, I was so impatient for the Fool to appear that I didn't appreciate the other things that occurred. This time, I was happy to read about anything concerning Fitz at all.
Fool's Quest was a little less enjoyable than I remembered, thanks to the 300+ pages at Buckkeep Castle where Fitz keeps thinking "I should go after Bee, but I'll wait a bit longer." The boredom of that is almost redeemed by Chade's praise as Fitz is about to leave: "Sharpening your knife is never a waste of time. You've finally learned that. Not an apprentice any longer, nor even a journeyman. This makes you a master."
Chade's death will be pretty wrenching for me, if it happens in the final book.
There are definitely places where the story doesn't hold together well in my opinion (like Fitz not thinking that the pale "minstrels" who were undetectable to his Wit might be the same kind of beings as the Fool, or Chade not foreseeing that his son and daughter might fall for each other if they're put together in an isolated place), but the overall result is an amazing achievement. Counting Liveships and the Rain Wild Chronicles, there are 15 books in this universe already, of which most are good to excellent. Fitz's story spans 55 years. It would be interesting to know how many authors in the whole history of mankind have accomplished something similar.
Assassin's Fate is now expected to be released in northern-hemisphere spring 2017.
The only problem with all this reading is that my body doesn't like it and I end up with a stiff neck and shoulders just as I do if I spend too much time at the computer. I admire anyone who has the discipline to only read in an ergonomically-correct position! I had a professional standards review last month and had to clean my house in preparation, since I work mostly from home and the reviewer would spend the day here. Relocating spiders alone was a long, three-step process - first I moved the big ones, then I realised there were many more medium-sized ones, and once they were all gone I saw the small ones! Tedious as it was, I had to admit that housework agrees with me physically far better than reading.
Fool's Errand could be subtitled "The Death of Nighteyes". It might be the most profound of the series so far, with Nighteyes' insistence that Fitz not try to prolong his life, and his impending death underlying everything that happens.
Fool's Assassin seemed much more interesting than when I originally read it. On my first pass, I was so impatient for the Fool to appear that I didn't appreciate the other things that occurred. This time, I was happy to read about anything concerning Fitz at all.
Fool's Quest was a little less enjoyable than I remembered, thanks to the 300+ pages at Buckkeep Castle where Fitz keeps thinking "I should go after Bee, but I'll wait a bit longer." The boredom of that is almost redeemed by Chade's praise as Fitz is about to leave: "Sharpening your knife is never a waste of time. You've finally learned that. Not an apprentice any longer, nor even a journeyman. This makes you a master."
Chade's death will be pretty wrenching for me, if it happens in the final book.
There are definitely places where the story doesn't hold together well in my opinion (like Fitz not thinking that the pale "minstrels" who were undetectable to his Wit might be the same kind of beings as the Fool, or Chade not foreseeing that his son and daughter might fall for each other if they're put together in an isolated place), but the overall result is an amazing achievement. Counting Liveships and the Rain Wild Chronicles, there are 15 books in this universe already, of which most are good to excellent. Fitz's story spans 55 years. It would be interesting to know how many authors in the whole history of mankind have accomplished something similar.
Assassin's Fate is now expected to be released in northern-hemisphere spring 2017.
The only problem with all this reading is that my body doesn't like it and I end up with a stiff neck and shoulders just as I do if I spend too much time at the computer. I admire anyone who has the discipline to only read in an ergonomically-correct position! I had a professional standards review last month and had to clean my house in preparation, since I work mostly from home and the reviewer would spend the day here. Relocating spiders alone was a long, three-step process - first I moved the big ones, then I realised there were many more medium-sized ones, and once they were all gone I saw the small ones! Tedious as it was, I had to admit that housework agrees with me physically far better than reading.