http://forums.theplenty.net/ Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:35:06 +0000 MyBB http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=103 Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:10:13 +0200 http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=103 Has anyone else noticed that the German cover for Fool's Errand (in the covers gallery in the wiki) has the EXACT same picture as on the Tad Williams books Dragonbone Chair? (think it was the first book)
No wonder sometimes I can't even work out who the characters on the covers are meant to be, if the covers can be recycled!

Weird that this can happen!]]> Has anyone else noticed that the German cover for Fool's Errand (in the covers gallery in the wiki) has the EXACT same picture as on the Tad Williams books Dragonbone Chair? (think it was the first book)
No wonder sometimes I can't even work out who the characters on the covers are meant to be, if the covers can be recycled!

Weird that this can happen!]]> http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=102 Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:27:56 +0200 http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=102
Personally I enjoyed it. It was addictive as all Robin's books are and it all mostly flowed smoothly. Some of the bits at the end could have been concluded more. But I guess its all left to make you think. Though one thing I didn't enjoy was it was kind of.... Anti Climax not really epic. If it wasn't for the large flood that swept everyone away it all would have been mostly a smooth enough ride. Jess the hunter died of quickly and Greft well, just died. So there wasn't really any villains that lasted. (not that Greft was a Villain but he had potential)

Maybe I'm just a little to use to bad things happening near the end but that was really my only complaint. I'd love to see Thymara return as a side char with her wings fully developed. And I'd love to revist Buckkeep see how the dragons affect the politics and ect there. Because there's definitely going to be some changes in the world. XD]]>
Personally I enjoyed it. It was addictive as all Robin's books are and it all mostly flowed smoothly. Some of the bits at the end could have been concluded more. But I guess its all left to make you think. Though one thing I didn't enjoy was it was kind of.... Anti Climax not really epic. If it wasn't for the large flood that swept everyone away it all would have been mostly a smooth enough ride. Jess the hunter died of quickly and Greft well, just died. So there wasn't really any villains that lasted. (not that Greft was a Villain but he had potential)

Maybe I'm just a little to use to bad things happening near the end but that was really my only complaint. I'd love to see Thymara return as a side char with her wings fully developed. And I'd love to revist Buckkeep see how the dragons affect the politics and ect there. Because there's definitely going to be some changes in the world. XD]]> http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=101 Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:39:25 +0200 http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=101 http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=100 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 22:31:19 +0200 http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=100
Basically I came to the conclusion that the Elderlings used the Skill or a variation of it to created all the wonderful art and objects with in the sunken cities as well as the mountain city.

It seemed to me that the Elderlings developed a Skill link with the dragons they were close with. Reyn, Malta, and Seldon had a mental link (very much like the Skill link from the Six Duchies) with the Dragon Tintaglia. What solidified this in my mind was after Seldon came to the Six Duchies he seemed to sense Fitz skill to Dutiful. And later when he spoke to Fitz, it seemed that during the conversation he skilled to Tintaglia.

The Elderlings came to be due to the close proximity they had to dragons, so I assume all Elderlings had this skill ability. Some most likely stronger than others.

I think this skill gave them the ability to create such wonderful works of art and objects. And the ability to bend the memory stone to their will more so than just creating temporary living beasts (like the ones that rest in the garden in the mountains). They used it as the walls in the sunken city, roads the mountains, as well as many other places.
I think they could bend some elements to their wills or be able to understand them so deeply that they could bring out characteristics in them that no one else can. For example the glowing power of jizdin or the sparkling of flame gems.
I assume they could do this with the skill because the Fool/Amber used his skill touched fingers to better understand wood and carve it in ways no one else could. And Verity, before he gave his sword to Fitz used the skill to make the blade sharp and new again only buy dragging his hand over it. This led me to believe that the reasons the Elderlings created such wonders was because they all had a skill ability, which they received from the proximity to Dragons. And once dragons left the world, so did the Elderlings, as well as their knowledge and ability to create such wonderful objects.

Let me know if this makes sense, if I am way off in my thinking, or if I am an idiot for only realizing this after reading them so many times!]]>
Basically I came to the conclusion that the Elderlings used the Skill or a variation of it to created all the wonderful art and objects with in the sunken cities as well as the mountain city.

It seemed to me that the Elderlings developed a Skill link with the dragons they were close with. Reyn, Malta, and Seldon had a mental link (very much like the Skill link from the Six Duchies) with the Dragon Tintaglia. What solidified this in my mind was after Seldon came to the Six Duchies he seemed to sense Fitz skill to Dutiful. And later when he spoke to Fitz, it seemed that during the conversation he skilled to Tintaglia.

The Elderlings came to be due to the close proximity they had to dragons, so I assume all Elderlings had this skill ability. Some most likely stronger than others.

I think this skill gave them the ability to create such wonderful works of art and objects. And the ability to bend the memory stone to their will more so than just creating temporary living beasts (like the ones that rest in the garden in the mountains). They used it as the walls in the sunken city, roads the mountains, as well as many other places.
I think they could bend some elements to their wills or be able to understand them so deeply that they could bring out characteristics in them that no one else can. For example the glowing power of jizdin or the sparkling of flame gems.
I assume they could do this with the skill because the Fool/Amber used his skill touched fingers to better understand wood and carve it in ways no one else could. And Verity, before he gave his sword to Fitz used the skill to make the blade sharp and new again only buy dragging his hand over it. This led me to believe that the reasons the Elderlings created such wonders was because they all had a skill ability, which they received from the proximity to Dragons. And once dragons left the world, so did the Elderlings, as well as their knowledge and ability to create such wonderful objects.

Let me know if this makes sense, if I am way off in my thinking, or if I am an idiot for only realizing this after reading them so many times!]]> http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=99 Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:55:00 +0200 http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=99
What we know for sure about this book:

- it's a collection of short stories by both Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm
- will contain both previously published and brand new stories
- will be published in 2010
- Jackie Morris will be back as the cover artist (based on several February entries in her blog, one with a photo of the manuscript pile!)

What we can guess

- one of the stories is [[The Inheritance]] - a guess based on the title of the book
- another story might be [[Mother of Fey]] (previously only published in Finnish. A Finnish fanzine asked to reprint it last year & was refused - I consider this "good news" )
- a story called "Cat's Meat" (Robin mentioned adding this to "the Story Collection file" in her newsgroup last December)

I'm pretty excited about this collection! I hope it will also contain some of the very old Megan Lindholm stories that are so hard to find these days, like the 2 Ki & Vandien stories and the stories that were only ever published in Space and Time Magazine.]]>
What we know for sure about this book:

- it's a collection of short stories by both Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm
- will contain both previously published and brand new stories
- will be published in 2010
- Jackie Morris will be back as the cover artist (based on several February entries in her blog, one with a photo of the manuscript pile!)

What we can guess

- one of the stories is [[The Inheritance]] - a guess based on the title of the book
- another story might be [[Mother of Fey]] (previously only published in Finnish. A Finnish fanzine asked to reprint it last year & was refused - I consider this "good news" )
- a story called "Cat's Meat" (Robin mentioned adding this to "the Story Collection file" in her newsgroup last December)

I'm pretty excited about this collection! I hope it will also contain some of the very old Megan Lindholm stories that are so hard to find these days, like the 2 Ki & Vandien stories and the stories that were only ever published in Space and Time Magazine.]]> http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=95 Thu, 28 Jan 2010 14:55:37 +0200 http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=95
Robin's Dragon Keeper is on the longlist for the Legend Award, and the UK artwork by Jackie Morris is up for the Ravenheart Award for best cover/artist.

Here's the website for the awards where you can vote. No registration is required. However, I've noticed that the site is a bit wonky in some browsers (you have to hover over the award titles to see the link for voting), so here are the subpages where you can cast your vote:
Legend award
Ravenheart award
(There is also a Morningstar award for best debut.)]]>
Robin's Dragon Keeper is on the longlist for the Legend Award, and the UK artwork by Jackie Morris is up for the Ravenheart Award for best cover/artist.

Here's the website for the awards where you can vote. No registration is required. However, I've noticed that the site is a bit wonky in some browsers (you have to hover over the award titles to see the link for voting), so here are the subpages where you can cast your vote:
Legend award
Ravenheart award
(There is also a Morningstar award for best debut.)]]> http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=94 Sun, 24 Jan 2010 20:30:42 +0200 http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=94 http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=93 Sat, 23 Jan 2010 17:29:33 +0200 http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=93
As far as I can tell, there is no other Robin Hobb fan list on Twitter. You can find the list at http://twitter.com/chrischaeffer/robin-hobb-fans

Let me know if you want added.]]>
As far as I can tell, there is no other Robin Hobb fan list on Twitter. You can find the list at http://twitter.com/chrischaeffer/robin-hobb-fans

Let me know if you want added.]]> http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=90 Mon, 18 Jan 2010 15:14:39 +0200 http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=90 It would be fun knowing about the different kind of books that the people here like reading.]]> It would be fun knowing about the different kind of books that the people here like reading.]]> http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=89 Fri, 15 Jan 2010 17:23:52 +0200 http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=89
I can't find a "comment" button anywhere!]]>
I can't find a "comment" button anywhere!]]> http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=88 Sat, 02 Jan 2010 12:52:26 +0200 http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=88 http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=87 Sat, 02 Jan 2010 07:06:45 +0200 http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=87 I've got nothing against people saying happy new year i think it really nice, i say it! But how come you don't say happy new second or happy new day or happy new month or anything? thanks, happy new year!]]> I've got nothing against people saying happy new year i think it really nice, i say it! But how come you don't say happy new second or happy new day or happy new month or anything? thanks, happy new year!]]> http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=82 Tue, 01 Dec 2009 02:55:18 +0200 http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=82 Anyway, I'm posting this to say that please let me know:
- if I have accidentally deleted you/your posts although you're not a spam bot
- if you come across any other suspicious messages that I might have missed

I'll upgrade our forum script tonight and hope it solves the problem for now. ]]> Anyway, I'm posting this to say that please let me know:
- if I have accidentally deleted you/your posts although you're not a spam bot
- if you come across any other suspicious messages that I might have missed

I'll upgrade our forum script tonight and hope it solves the problem for now. ]]> http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=70 Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:34:09 +0200 http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=70 http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=67 Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:41:24 +0200 http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=67 Does anyone else find it freakishly thrilling to watch Chade, Shrewd, Verity, and Fitz and the Fool puzzle over the Red Ship Raiders? Is it not bizarre to know that Regal and Galen are dealing with the Illegitimate White Prophet? It's also bizarre because numerous dream sequences are quite revealing, some of them dabbling in things not revealed until the Tawny Man Trilogy.
Has anyone else had similar re-reading thrills?]]> Does anyone else find it freakishly thrilling to watch Chade, Shrewd, Verity, and Fitz and the Fool puzzle over the Red Ship Raiders? Is it not bizarre to know that Regal and Galen are dealing with the Illegitimate White Prophet? It's also bizarre because numerous dream sequences are quite revealing, some of them dabbling in things not revealed until the Tawny Man Trilogy.
Has anyone else had similar re-reading thrills?]]> http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=66 Tue, 29 Sep 2009 22:40:28 +0300 http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=66


I have recently read a review of the book that says that Hobb has 'attempted' to be contraversial (in regards to an issue of sexuality). I can only assume that the author of this review is referring to the relationship between Hest and Sedric, or is it the marriage between Hest and Alise that is contraversial?

I find the Hobb's writing on the issue of homosexuality amazing. The relationship between the ambiguous Fool and Fitz, Lord Golden's dallyings with men, and now the relationship between Hest and Sedric were all written brilliantly, at times with a remarkable accuracy to real life relationships.

Being a gay male myself, I found myself parallelling the relationship between the Fool and Fitz to my relationship with my best male friend. Some may say that the Fool wasn't gay, but I like to change his (or her) role in Fitz's life every time I read the book.

Likewise, I found a relationship that I have previously been in mirroring that of Hest and Sedric's. I found it amusing to think that people saw the encounter between Hest and Sedric as 'rape'. Personally, I interpreted it as Hest meeting his first 'bad boy' and being completely smitten with him.

Other forum members have commented on the idea that Hobb is homophobic; however, being a gay guy who loves fantasy, I am delighted that Hobb incorporates gay characters within her texts in such a teriffic way. As soon as Sedric said "No, he hasn't been with any women..." I was really excited to read on to discover if Hest and Sedric were in a relationship. It was brilliantly done. I am even more interested to discover how Sedric's and Hest's characters will be played out.

Does anyone else have any thoughts on this issue?

Thanks for reading ]]>


I have recently read a review of the book that says that Hobb has 'attempted' to be contraversial (in regards to an issue of sexuality). I can only assume that the author of this review is referring to the relationship between Hest and Sedric, or is it the marriage between Hest and Alise that is contraversial?

I find the Hobb's writing on the issue of homosexuality amazing. The relationship between the ambiguous Fool and Fitz, Lord Golden's dallyings with men, and now the relationship between Hest and Sedric were all written brilliantly, at times with a remarkable accuracy to real life relationships.

Being a gay male myself, I found myself parallelling the relationship between the Fool and Fitz to my relationship with my best male friend. Some may say that the Fool wasn't gay, but I like to change his (or her) role in Fitz's life every time I read the book.

Likewise, I found a relationship that I have previously been in mirroring that of Hest and Sedric's. I found it amusing to think that people saw the encounter between Hest and Sedric as 'rape'. Personally, I interpreted it as Hest meeting his first 'bad boy' and being completely smitten with him.

Other forum members have commented on the idea that Hobb is homophobic; however, being a gay guy who loves fantasy, I am delighted that Hobb incorporates gay characters within her texts in such a teriffic way. As soon as Sedric said "No, he hasn't been with any women..." I was really excited to read on to discover if Hest and Sedric were in a relationship. It was brilliantly done. I am even more interested to discover how Sedric's and Hest's characters will be played out.

Does anyone else have any thoughts on this issue?

Thanks for reading ]]> http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=65 Fri, 25 Sep 2009 17:34:24 +0300 http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=65 Twitter announcement.]]> Twitter announcement.]]> http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=64 Wed, 16 Sep 2009 16:54:29 +0300 http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=64
I can accept that Fitz might prefer to go back to Molly, but for a start it seems like he hasn't learnt anything at all: once again, he is retreating back to relative isolation just like after the third book instead of dealing with his problems, and passively shrugging and laying about rather than thinking "oops once again I have given someone the impression I am dead, maybe I should do something about that". He was a rather likeable character even though he was prone to melodrama and laziness at times, up until the ending which made him seem like a complete moron.

The way the Fool is basically just given a "he disappeared and I never saw him again" handwave at the end is dreadful, especially since Hobb seemed, through all the books, to be setting up a specific ending involving him. The Fitz/Fool relationship is specifically compared to the Fitz/Nighteyes relationship, which makes sense considering the link and the life span issues. But Fitz has also specifically stated that he did not regret having the bond with Nighteyes, even though it may have in some ways hurt them both (Fitz by having Nighteyes die long before him, and Nighteyes by not being able to live a natural wolf life). So the Fool saying he doesn't want that sort of relationship to exist and Fitz just accepting this as some sort of wisdom doesn't make any sense. What about 'tis better to have loved and lost'? A complete retraction of the skill link and any contact seems like a childish "if I can't have it all, I won't have any at all!" response, which is out of character.

In addition, I think I may have missed something here but wasn't it also shown that the Skill, which Fitz definitely has, can be used to prolong your life? I think I might have missed some kind of conversation where it was revealed that doing this has horrible consequences or something. Can someone explain this to me?

(P.S. i don't think that many people actually use this forum but uh, i wanted to vent)]]>
I can accept that Fitz might prefer to go back to Molly, but for a start it seems like he hasn't learnt anything at all: once again, he is retreating back to relative isolation just like after the third book instead of dealing with his problems, and passively shrugging and laying about rather than thinking "oops once again I have given someone the impression I am dead, maybe I should do something about that". He was a rather likeable character even though he was prone to melodrama and laziness at times, up until the ending which made him seem like a complete moron.

The way the Fool is basically just given a "he disappeared and I never saw him again" handwave at the end is dreadful, especially since Hobb seemed, through all the books, to be setting up a specific ending involving him. The Fitz/Fool relationship is specifically compared to the Fitz/Nighteyes relationship, which makes sense considering the link and the life span issues. But Fitz has also specifically stated that he did not regret having the bond with Nighteyes, even though it may have in some ways hurt them both (Fitz by having Nighteyes die long before him, and Nighteyes by not being able to live a natural wolf life). So the Fool saying he doesn't want that sort of relationship to exist and Fitz just accepting this as some sort of wisdom doesn't make any sense. What about 'tis better to have loved and lost'? A complete retraction of the skill link and any contact seems like a childish "if I can't have it all, I won't have any at all!" response, which is out of character.

In addition, I think I may have missed something here but wasn't it also shown that the Skill, which Fitz definitely has, can be used to prolong your life? I think I might have missed some kind of conversation where it was revealed that doing this has horrible consequences or something. Can someone explain this to me?

(P.S. i don't think that many people actually use this forum but uh, i wanted to vent)]]> http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=63 Tue, 01 Sep 2009 18:27:16 +0300 http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=63

What is the dedication in everyone' copies of Royal Assassin like? I just bought a UK hardback that has the same line as Assassin's Apprentice does (for Giles, Raphael and Freddy...) but the UK paperback, the US paperback and the Finnish translation all have "For Ryan". The dustjacket also lists the original price as 15,99 when Willem's old bibliography says it should be 14,99 for the first printing, which makes me think this is a 2nd printing. If you have the UK hardback, can you please check what your copy has for the original price and the dedication. All help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks. :)
(If anyone's RA or any other Hobb book has other oddities in dedications, I'd love to know. These are something I'm planning on adding to the wiki as well.)]]>

What is the dedication in everyone' copies of Royal Assassin like? I just bought a UK hardback that has the same line as Assassin's Apprentice does (for Giles, Raphael and Freddy...) but the UK paperback, the US paperback and the Finnish translation all have "For Ryan". The dustjacket also lists the original price as 15,99 when Willem's old bibliography says it should be 14,99 for the first printing, which makes me think this is a 2nd printing. If you have the UK hardback, can you please check what your copy has for the original price and the dedication. All help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks. :)
(If anyone's RA or any other Hobb book has other oddities in dedications, I'd love to know. These are something I'm planning on adding to the wiki as well.)]]> http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=62 Sat, 22 Aug 2009 22:40:49 +0300 http://forums.theplenty.net/showthread.php?tid=62