Why You Should Read Robin Hobb

Robin Hobb is a popular author who rites in the fantasy genre. She is best known as the author of the Farseer and Liveship Traders trilogies; she has also completed two other trilogies, Soldier Son and The Tawny Man. Her current project is The Rain Wilds Chronicles, which currently consists of two books, with a third on the way.

When deciding to read a book by Robin Hobb, you can expect a rich fantasy world with a large cast of characters who all have very distinct personalities. You might love them, you might hate them, but you will have feelings about them - the mark of an excellent author. Her descriptions make it easy to visualize the setting and the characters throughout the plots of each book. Barring the Soldier Son trilogy, all of her books take place in the same world, with some character crossover in each. The world is a more traditional fantasy world with medieval flavor. There is magic, but it's not an every day thing for most of the people of the world, which is a nice change from everyone using magic and being used to seeing it. The Soldier Son, Farseer, and Tawny Man books are all written in first person, while the rest of the books have more of an ensemble cast and are third person narratives.

My introduction to Robin Hobb was very random - I was hours away from home for a college interview, and I forgot to bring a book with me for my overnight stay in the empty dorms. I made my way to the Aroostook Center Mall in Presque Isle, Maine, and I was browsing the fantasy section. One of the employees asked if he could help me, and I asked him or his advice on what to read and he pulled Robin Hobb's Assassin's Apprentice off the shelf. I'm glad he did! I spent that evening not wanting to go to sleep because the book was so good, and quickly made my way through the Farseer trilogy, then the Liveship Traders trilogy. I then had to wait for the Tawny Man trilogy to be released, and now I'm collecting the Rain Wild Chronicles. If you're a fan of the fantasy genre, you will not be disappointed by Robin Hobb!

Robin Hobb is published in many different countries, including France, the UK, and Belgium, and her books are even released outside the US before they come here! She also writes contemporary fantasy as Megan Lindholm.