Does it get better after this one?

I loved the first book, and I did enjoy this one as well, but the ending put everything into focus, and it pissed me off.
Spoilers below.
Judging from the first two Elderlings books, or Farseer Trilogy books, Robin Hobb's greatest strengths are characters, world building, and prose. Telling a story that isn't forced, however, is where she definitely dropped the ball in Royal.
TL;DR: First book ends on with a plot to usurp the throne thwarted. Second book ends with another plot for the same goal working because nobody decided to do anything about the traitor they all knew existed.

If having a bastard son was enough to force Chivalry into abdicating and removing himself and Patience from the public eye, how are we supposed to accept that the worst son Shrewd has ever had, Regal, is above as much as a fine for:

1. Lying to the king and court about the political climate in the Mountain Kingdom
2. Setting up his nephew Fitz to either be assassinated/executed for doing what he advised, or to assassinate a friendly prince.
3. Flirting with his Verity, his brother's fiance. (Reminder that Verity is the heir and that woman would be the future queen)
4. Trying even harder to set up his nephew again for the exact same shit, this time accomplishing two of his goals, disgracing his nephew, and poisoning his would-be brother-in-law.
5. Then, pulling an improvised hitman scheme on the stablemaster, which hospitalizes him for at least a week.
6. Attempting to DROWN Fitz, his nephew, HIMSELF.
7. Conspiring to have Verity, his brother, assassinated on the same day.

Fortunately, 6. and 7. fail, but Fitz, only current grandson of the king, is left with a crippling disability similar to epilepsy but maybe worse from the poison.

Almost everything not having to do with Red Ship Raiders (aka soul stealing vikings) hinges on this Regal prick being completely above the law. The worst part is that to those who are in a position to do something, it's no secret what he did. Even Fitz (the protagonist if you're reading this rant without having read the books) complains to his master about the ongoing treason that nobody is addressing. Not that he's ever given a good reason why they don't address it. And, lo and behold, the bad guy wins. Not because he outplayed the heroes, but because they only decided to start playing in the fourth quarter.

So, is it worth reading the third book? It's also worth mentioning that as engaging as the storytelling is, the premise can get really stretched, with some scenes giving off serious deja vu.

This might look like reddit spacing. I don't know. I was trying to avoid walls of text, because it's obviously a long rant.

You spent all that time reading garbage. That's what you get for trusting a woman.

That's another thing, it took so LONG to read, because I have trouble getting through repetitive filler. The prose and characters were still pretty interesting, though. I really wish it could be just all bad or pretty good overall. That would make this easier to discuss,

OP here, I'm gonna say I see my typos. There. Assuming there are enough Robin Hobb fans for there to be shills, they can't use that.

>So, is it worth reading the third book?

Yes, absolutely

Why tho? Does it fix the problems I mentioned, like having a forced premise? Come on, let's get some real discussion going here.

On a side note: I'm convinced that GRRM is a paid shill for book reviews. He said the exact same thing about some random scifi book. The creepy old hack.

Another thing: I noticed between the two books a considerable increase in the number of fighting female characters.
You might have a point.

I can't shake the feeling I'm the only one who read this book. Who visited the website today, at least.

I read all of them back in 2000. Unfortunately, I don't remember anything about them except one thing which is really spoily.

I liked them but I had crappy taste back then so who knows.

kind of a trash got a little better
funny thing is that her rainwilder/liveship stuff is so much better it was almost hard to believe that it was by the same author

How is that book called? I have them all but I didn't even know it was a trilogy.

You're in luck, I've read all 9 Fitz books (skipping over the Elderlings series that take place between the three Fitz trilogies).

I had similar frustrations with the second book, though I was never truly inclined to stop reading. There 's definitely payoff in the third book, though there's more of the same 'draggy' feeling sometimes (though for plot reasons it's quite fitting).

Put it this way: Hobb's not about leaping from one set-piece to the next. Each development takes its time and with that comes the pleasure of character-building, world-building, interactions. Accordingly the actual plot developments are satisfying and feel earned (even though they don't exactly fly at you).

The 'free pass for Regal' stuff did irritate me, but Hobb does delineate some reasons for all that/ People being slow to react or fully apprehend emerging crises is not entirely unrealistic.

If you decide to read all 9, expect some compelling character stuff, interesting world-building, and some nice dramatic set pieces. But Hobb definitely takes it at her own pace, with can be good or bad depending on your proficiency as a reader. I'm glad I read them.

If you have that copy, it should be impossible to miss. It's advertised with the other two, on the paperback I have.

hmm... I used too many commas.

It's not that the book was slow that bothered me. It's that some scenes felt like they happened over and over again. Which can happen in real life, of course, but that's why they call it fantasy. I just have a hard time believing nobody would snitch on the fact that Regal tried to murder basically his whole family save the king in the first book. Yes, in the second book Hobb gives the justification that Shrewd is blinded by his love for his son, and maybe even the drugs. Yes, Chade acts smug and condescending while chiding Fitz for talking "treason". But that doesn't make a whole lot of sense. If anything, in practice, Chade's loyalty should be first to King and Queen(when there is one) and then to King and Queen in Waiting, then everyone else. Wouldn't allowing someone you know is trying to kill you, the king, and all your friends to do as he pleases be MORE treasonous than killing him? Why wouldn't Verity do anything? Yeah, the guy who was the main target of all of these conspiracies does literally nothing about any of it. It's just insane.

I'm quoting myself here.
>Chade acts smug and condescending while chiding Fitz for talking "treason"
I just think it's kind of funny in an irritating way that they eventually agree to do what kind of is treason, but they're only forced to do it because Chade refused to solve the problem in the first place.

Also, I'm not sure if it's intentional characterization or not, because Fitz never comments on it via the narration, but it's very big of him to not say, "I told you so," to pretty much everyone, but especially Chade, when things turn to shit at the end.

Entirely don't agree.

I thought those were extremely dull and occassionally frustrating books to read. Fitz is acceptable tier. Though I only read the first of this recent series' books and it was... alright. Probably one of her slowest books, and that's saying something, but the character makes it bearable.

I loved these when I first read them, and liked the second trilogy even more than the first. Tried a reread last year and couldn't go through it, it just reads like misery porn.

OP here
Yeah... the ending was a little much. It's especially cruel how she keeps baiting the reader with the potential for something, ANYTHING good to happen to the protagonist. I'm gonna make another list. Please let me know if I leave anything out.

book 2 and 3 of these are actually decent with some pretty cathartic moments

only book 1 was suffering

OP
Okay, so here's list of every bad thing that happens by the end. Don't worry, i'm saving the good news for last.

1. Fitz returns home to find that the villain of the last book gets off scot-free, and everyone begs/orders him to do nothing about it. The villain then provokes him throughout this book.
2. Fitz is diagnosed with life long side effects of the poison that took him out for a bit in the last book. This haunts him when it'd be least helpful for awhile.
3. Fitz's childhood friend, I believe he was named Kerry, who we haven't seen since the last book, is revealed to have been Forged(soul stolen by tanned vikings, so they're like animals or sociopaths or something). We learn this by Fitz recognizing his face in a pile of Forged corpses to be burned.
4. He's advised not to see the woman he loves, for a bunch of reasons, some really good, some ... eh. Also she starts out hating him.
5. The King, Fitz's grandfather, is slowly drugged out of his mind, and we see every step of this journey.
6. Nearly everyone closest to Fitz who wasn't hurt by the bad guys in the last book is either beaten, hurt in "accidents" or threatened.
- His mentor's pet is poisoned in an attempt on his mentor's life. It doesn't work, but Regal taunts Fitz like it did. Yeah, he's the kind of guy who'd laugh at a kid reeling from the loss of an uncle if he thought he could get away with it.
-His GF is threatened for associating with him.
-His mother figure and her friend have their belongings taken by Regal.
-The Fool, one of his only friends who isn't an authority figure, gets battered.
-There's an attempt on the princess, or Queen in Waiting's life, that goes unaddressed.
I think that's it. Maybe.
7. The capital is practically looted by Regal once he's in charge.
8. The raiders all but destroy an entire Duchy.
9. Forged ones seem to be drawn to the capital, Buckeep, somehow. This leads to a few serious problems, including the awful death of a little girl, which Fitz is too late to stop.
10. Fitz gets his ass kicked. In a variety of terrible ways, ranging from physical trauma, to supernatural super headaches.
11. He's stalked by his former classmates in Skilling(a sort of telepathy-ish magic) class throughout the second half of the story. From breaking into his room, to following him, to trying to mindrape him (over and over again) sometimes to learn something, later to try to kill him. Finally, to try and break his will, and make him say and do whatever Regal wants, like outing himself as the man who killed the king (no, it didn't happen, if you didn't read the book and are reading this. Why are you reading this?)
12. They come close to civil war due to how Regal is mistreating the coastal Duchies. It's only solved by the dukes chickening out at the end, and letting him install a puppet(his cousin) at Buckeep.
13. Everyone is convinced by Regal that Verity died on a quest of his. Until Fitz learns otherwise, this includes his pregnant wife.
to be continued...

Wow, that's a longer list than I thought it would be. And it ain't over yet.
14. Fitz loses some of his freedom of movement, and is eventually placed under house arrest by Regal.
15. Oh yeah, at some point around halfway through, Fitz tries to get approval from the king to marry his love, and at first, the king happily says yes, like any good grandfather might. Next, he doesn't remember any such thing, and absolutely refuses.
16. King Shrewd is murdered.
17. Fitz is captured, accused of the killing of the king, and his actual killers(who he did kill, that was satisfying). Of course, when he wakes up in his cell, he realizes that once again the shit has been kicked out of him. He also has been outed as a wit user, which is as shameful to the public as witchcraft, or beastiality.
18. His father figure loses everything.
19. He literally dies by the end, as the only means of escape from his fate, only to come back via magic. He loses basically everything. But, so do the people who kept telling him not to take care of business, so that's fair, I guess.

I think that's it.

Oh, he also loses his gf.

Did I mention he has no close guy friends his age? The closest he gets is a stable hand named Hands, who is younger, and he sees maybe once or twice a month.

Since basically everything is taken from the hero by the end, it would probably be a better list if I went on to what good things we were TEASED with, instead of what permanent good happened.

1. Teased with Fitz leaving it all behind with his GF. She leaves it all behind, including him. For now. She probably comes back for the third book, I haven't read it.
2. We're teased with Fitz instead marrying a noble qt, in a story arc that starts with him doing her father a favor and her having a crush on him, to her father offering Fitz the support of every coastal duchy including his own, if he marries his daughter and makes a claim to the rule of Buckeep. FTW, right? Nah, they all chicken out when he gets captured avenging the king.
3. Sure everything's going to hell, but maybe the king can escape with Fitz, before Regal kills him. Right?
4. Teased with the assassination of Regal. This one was so cruel it's downright sadistic.
5. "Yeah, we won our first fight against the raiders! Maybe we can beat back these monsters! (no matter how they try, after that day, the ships seem to always be where their patrols are not)

Did I miss anything?

Okay, the good things that happen:
1. Fitz makes a wolf friend, that doesn't die by the end. This is a first between the first and second book.
2. He does connect with his GF.
3. He finds a more suitable weapon for himself, and gits gud with it. Not that he carries one wherever he goes or anything sensible like that.
4. The queen in waiting becomes popular, she earned it.
5. Fitz's friends escape with their lives. He sort of does.
yaaaaaay....

what's your point? if you hate the books this much, just stop reading them

are you fucking retarded?

I enjoyed the first one, which is impressive, since for most of it, there isn't a plot as much as there is a chronicle of Fitz's youth(very engagingly told). The second one I enjoyed some of.

I'm just putting into perspective that it's a hard knock life in the Six Duchies, my man.

This looks fucking awful and makes me appreciate normal Veeky Forums posting

OP here. If you're talking about the book, I'm glad to help. If you're talking about how I did something, please tell me where I went wrong.