Book Suggestion

[Atthis]

Wow, thanks for going to the trouble of such a detailed review, especially when you clearly aren't enjoying the books!

I'm not sure if my opinion is going to be worth much, especially in this case, because I don't know what to tell you except that I think Robin Hobb has ruined all fantasy for me for all time.

I know what you mean. I've even found there are a number of books I like considerably less after having read Robin's books! If I go back to them now, I find the characters poorly written and the prose amateurish. But I also think it's true that you have to read a book in the right frame of mind. For me, what I'm expecting from a book can make a huge difference to how I respond to it.

I am part-way through the second book of the Night Angel trilogy and have gone so far as to tell my sons that "I hate these books!" (more than a few times, while intending to put down the books and never pick them up again!).

Well, that's a strong statement! But does the fact that you keep picking them up again at least mean that you still want to know what's going to happen next?

I like some of the characters and even the storyline to some extent, but I don't enjoy the way the story is being told, though I understand the author is going for the 'action, action, action' approach to keep readers interested. It chops and changes, is hard to follow in some places and I also find it predictable.

Hmmm, predictable is never good.

There are so many sentences with words left out of them that it irritates me no end, and there is even a fleeting reference to a 'Kevin' within the actual text of the first book BUT there is no Kevin character in the plot at all. I found out after I read the first book that Kevin is the name of Brent's older brother. Possibly Brent told Kevin he'd throw a random sentence about him in the book and then challenged him to find it?!

Now I don't like the sound of that: sentences with words left out of them. As in typos/mistakes? Now that's just sloppy. But I like your theory about the random "Kevin sentence".

The thing that bothers me most though, is that I consider it pretty much a re-run of Robin's work but just in a different setting with lots of twists and tweaks. Among many other similarities, the references to cats and wolves makes me groan and one of the characters is just a modern, cooler version of Chade, right down to his pockmarked face. And, yes, there's even a prophet and an assassin's apprentice but that's all I can say without spoilers!

Still, I may be being overly harsh, and I certainly can't make my sons see my point of view and they, too, have read the RotE books. They just agree that, yes, Robin has ruined me and I should get over it and enjoy the story for itself! This all having been said, I would recommend you read it (talk about a post full of contradiction !) and I will continue to read it as well, despite wanting to stop....here's hoping I will be proven wrong!

I had no idea there were so many similarities to Robin's stuff! And after all that, you still think I should read them! Ha ha! I think maybe I'll borrow them from the library, or from my friend who suggested them in the first place. But I won't be in a hurry about it. And I certainly won't buy them!
I really don't like the covers, anyway.