Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Such Compelling Characters

Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb

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cbr17bingo: favorite (completes my first BINGO) I don’t think Robin Hobb can fully turn me into a wholehearted lover of multiple POV storytelling, but if anyone can, it will be her. I got frustrated each time the POV shifted because I wasn’t ready to be done with the one I was currently reading, and each time I was very quickly sucked into the new one. While I still had favorite and less preferred character POVs, each was still compelling in their own way. Robin Hobb writes […]

Expansion of Serpent Lore

Mad Ship by Robin Hobb

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cbr17bingo: green  This book took me on an emotional ride that was worth every moment. We continue to spend time with the same characters as the first book—the Vestrit and Haven families, Kennit, and Brashen—plus one of the Rain Wilders and a Companion of the Satrap. We also get more time with Amber and Paragon, which I loved. The characters are adjusting to the new and evolving situations in which they find themselves. Malta remained intensely frustrating for a large chunk of the book, as […]

For Those Who Like Their Fantasy Slow and Emotional

Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb

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This was an excellent book that I’m not likely to ever re-read, and I imagine I’ll say that about the other books in the Realm of the Elderlings series. Robin Hobb can tell a great story and an emotional story. The Farseer trilogy has evoked a lot of depressed and anxious feelings from me. They’re emotional, heartbreaking books, which is why I say I probably won’t re-read them. But they are masterfully told, which is why I will be continuing on with the rest of the […]

I’m Still Not Clear on How Different Wit and Skill Are

Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

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This was heavy. I had heard Robin Hobb wrote depressing books, but I expected it to be depressing due to trauma and loss, and while the books aren’t short on those things, equally depressing is the powerlessness of Fitz. I sometimes found myself chafing at the restrictions placed upon him as someone who has both too much and too little power. As the son of a prince, he is viewed as important and maybe even a threat, but as the bastard son of a prince, […]

A Lonely Coming-of-Age Story

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

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I’m so glad I’m finally starting my Robin Hobb journey. There’s a book club on Fable that’s going to read one of her Realm of the Elderlings book each month until we get through the whole series, and I’m excited about it. I had heard that Hobb writes slow-paced, character-driven books, and I was a little worried about being bored, but this book helped me realize that I have been conflating “slow” and “boring,” and they’re not the same. This novel is not boring at […]

“I’m a man who will always choose to know.”

The Blacktongue Thief by Christopher Buehlman

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CBR16 Bingo: Horses – The horses are all but extinct in this world, and they are so dearly missed that the possession of one means possession of power. Kinch, a thief drowning in debt, is promised that he’ll be square with the Takers Guild if he accompanies the knight Galva on her mysterious mission to a giant-infested kingdom. I’m a rather utilitarian reader, happy with solid plotting and characterization, but that doesn’t mean that I don’t appreciate when a particularly enjoyable turn of phrase crosses […]



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