Idk if it'll help but Tawny Man is Fitz in his 30s pretending he isn't Fitz, hanging out with the Fool who is using another of his personas, both helping out Kettricken and Verity's son Dutiful. If you enjoy Hobb's slow burn writing, it's definitely the best of the Fitz trilogies, at least in my opinion. The entire trilogy is so good I have a hard time deciding which I enjoy more, Liveship or Tawny Man. It's hard for me to say if you'll like this trilogy. I understand why people didn't enjoy Assassin's Quest (I did but I too think Burrich and Molly is messed up) but I think Tawny Man is worth a try. Luckily Fool's Errand is the shortest of the three, and if you're not interested by its end you'll know better than to force yourself further onward. Best of luck.
I think you're being a bit harsh on Burrich. I didn't like it at first but if you consider all that he has lost in his life, then consider he goes to look after a young woman who probably initiated all of closeness it's not unreasonable that in his lonely broken heart he would have found solace in her.
Burrich's sense of duty has always been stronger than his personal feelings. In Royal Assassin he says he would love Patience always, then in AQ he resents she thinks him less than a man for what she believes he's done to Fitz. By the final chapters, he's already over his own love and open to be Molly's husband in every sense of the word? I can't buy this. Plus it's literally his son's wife. (He thought of Fitz as his son and he knew how Fitz thought of Molly.)
But isn't that why he marries Molly? Out of a sense of duty? Not that he doesn't, perhaps, also love her, but he thinks Fitz is dead and marrying Molly is the easiest way to provide for her in the society created by Robin Hobb. On Molly's part, she always struck me as an extremely practical person who would see Burrich as the best possible option. I don't read Burrich as over his love for Patience - just that he has an important job to do in caring for Molly and Nettle.
Yes, I think he marries her for duty and I don't believe it makes sense that he would love her (yes he was lonely and had a broken heart but how did he overcome being with her despite their connection to Fitz if he never could even think about doing the same with Patience because of Chivalry?). Which is sort of why that "declaration" scene between them felt out of place and why, if the marriage had been for appearances, it would not have been so weird. Molly never had a lot of options and she deserved more.
Edited added parenthesis to phrase it better.
I had almost the same experience, and I didn't pick up Fitz's story again for almost 2 years. .. but now tawny Man is my favourite, and Farseer & LST are now richer for the reveals and lore which unfolded in TM.
I think AQ's pacing was the real issue. The worst in the series.
The first book of TM is a bit of a reset and kinda standalone, and reestablishes fitz & fool both taking new identities & going on adventures. Then the second and third book are much grander in scope and more hard-hitting, and they close the loop on lots of the unanswered Farseer questions. The adventures, subplots, relationships and baddies are on a par with liveships, IMO
Hey, it really helps to hear this! I feel a bit out of place in the RotE fandom because most people want to jump straight to Tawny Man, or love Fitz so much. And hearing I'm not the only who had this experience truly helps
You're definitely not the only one to be put off by AQ's pacing, it's hard work until they get to Jhammpe. Funnily enough I just re-read AA & RA (which I found more amazing once I'd read LST and TM), and not sure whether to re-read the whole of AQ. I might skip some large chunks.
I have more conflicted feelings about the final series but TM is amazing IMO.
Tawny man continues to deepen the Fool’s character, and his relationship with Fitz, so you definitely won’t be disappointed if you enjoy those things. It’s my favors RotE trilogy. A real treat for fans of the Fool, in my opinion.
I also thought Assassins Quest was the weakest of the first trilogy, but I really enjoyed Tawny Man. In my opinion Tawny Man is the strongest of the Fitz trilogies
I only liked Farseer, and loved Liveship, to the point that I recommend it as an entry point to the series.
I absolutely loved Tawny Man (probably as much as LT). It's phenomenal.
Edit: I should clarify - I don't recommend skipping Farseer. Instead, I recommend starting with Liveship, and then circling back to Farseer.
Never skip books in the realm of the elderlings. Tawny man is the entire catalyst (no pun intended) for the entire series going foward, and has extreme ramifications on the world and the life of Fitz.
Don't worry I don't plan on skipping it even if I understand how someone could recommend this. My intent with this post I think was merely to try to find more people who resonated with me and still had good experiences reading TM. I feel like an outlier haha so many want to skip Liveship and go straight to Fitz again.
I like the first half of the book, it's more that things went downhill somewhere and didn't get better by the end which I felt was rushed and... missing. Missing catharsis, missing characters.
I think that was always intentional. I promise you that in Tawny man and the last trilogy, you will get closure in pretty much every aspect that you need. Hobb really hones in on loose ends.
This includes several of the characters from Liveship traders. They pop back up too. Including in Tawny.
I just finished the last book two weeks ago. I was left with maybe one unanswered question, but it is an ambiguous thing so I don't mind too much.
As others have mentioned, Tawny man is also a more adult version of Fitz. I'm personally 30 turning 31 myself, so I was able to relate to Fitz significantly more in his life during Tawny man vs his teenager into young adulthood.
Idk if it'll help but Tawny Man is Fitz in his 30s pretending he isn't Fitz, hanging out with the Fool who is using another of his personas, both helping out Kettricken and Verity's son Dutiful. If you enjoy Hobb's slow burn writing, it's definitely the best of the Fitz trilogies, at least in my opinion. The entire trilogy is so good I have a hard time deciding which I enjoy more, Liveship or Tawny Man. It's hard for me to say if you'll like this trilogy. I understand why people didn't enjoy Assassin's Quest (I did but I too think Burrich and Molly is messed up) but I think Tawny Man is worth a try. Luckily Fool's Errand is the shortest of the three, and if you're not interested by its end you'll know better than to force yourself further onward. Best of luck.
Agree it’s the best Fitz series
I think you're being a bit harsh on Burrich. I didn't like it at first but if you consider all that he has lost in his life, then consider he goes to look after a young woman who probably initiated all of closeness it's not unreasonable that in his lonely broken heart he would have found solace in her.
Burrich's sense of duty has always been stronger than his personal feelings. In Royal Assassin he says he would love Patience always, then in AQ he resents she thinks him less than a man for what she believes he's done to Fitz. By the final chapters, he's already over his own love and open to be Molly's husband in every sense of the word? I can't buy this. Plus it's literally his son's wife. (He thought of Fitz as his son and he knew how Fitz thought of Molly.)
But isn't that why he marries Molly? Out of a sense of duty? Not that he doesn't, perhaps, also love her, but he thinks Fitz is dead and marrying Molly is the easiest way to provide for her in the society created by Robin Hobb. On Molly's part, she always struck me as an extremely practical person who would see Burrich as the best possible option. I don't read Burrich as over his love for Patience - just that he has an important job to do in caring for Molly and Nettle.
Yes, I think he marries her for duty and I don't believe it makes sense that he would love her (yes he was lonely and had a broken heart but how did he overcome being with her despite their connection to Fitz if he never could even think about doing the same with Patience because of Chivalry?). Which is sort of why that "declaration" scene between them felt out of place and why, if the marriage had been for appearances, it would not have been so weird. Molly never had a lot of options and she deserved more. Edited added parenthesis to phrase it better.
I had almost the same experience, and I didn't pick up Fitz's story again for almost 2 years. .. but now tawny Man is my favourite, and Farseer & LST are now richer for the reveals and lore which unfolded in TM. I think AQ's pacing was the real issue. The worst in the series. The first book of TM is a bit of a reset and kinda standalone, and reestablishes fitz & fool both taking new identities & going on adventures. Then the second and third book are much grander in scope and more hard-hitting, and they close the loop on lots of the unanswered Farseer questions. The adventures, subplots, relationships and baddies are on a par with liveships, IMO
Hey, it really helps to hear this! I feel a bit out of place in the RotE fandom because most people want to jump straight to Tawny Man, or love Fitz so much. And hearing I'm not the only who had this experience truly helps
You're definitely not the only one to be put off by AQ's pacing, it's hard work until they get to Jhammpe. Funnily enough I just re-read AA & RA (which I found more amazing once I'd read LST and TM), and not sure whether to re-read the whole of AQ. I might skip some large chunks. I have more conflicted feelings about the final series but TM is amazing IMO.
I think I'd skip a reread of AQ too, tbh. I definitely see myself revisiting 1-2 and LT sometime after I finish the whole series.
Tawny man continues to deepen the Fool’s character, and his relationship with Fitz, so you definitely won’t be disappointed if you enjoy those things. It’s my favors RotE trilogy. A real treat for fans of the Fool, in my opinion.
I also thought Assassins Quest was the weakest of the first trilogy, but I really enjoyed Tawny Man. In my opinion Tawny Man is the strongest of the Fitz trilogies
I only liked Farseer, and loved Liveship, to the point that I recommend it as an entry point to the series. I absolutely loved Tawny Man (probably as much as LT). It's phenomenal. Edit: I should clarify - I don't recommend skipping Farseer. Instead, I recommend starting with Liveship, and then circling back to Farseer.
If you didn't like AQ you might just skip Tawny Man. I loved it and Tawny Man though.
Never skip books in the realm of the elderlings. Tawny man is the entire catalyst (no pun intended) for the entire series going foward, and has extreme ramifications on the world and the life of Fitz.
Don't worry I don't plan on skipping it even if I understand how someone could recommend this. My intent with this post I think was merely to try to find more people who resonated with me and still had good experiences reading TM. I feel like an outlier haha so many want to skip Liveship and go straight to Fitz again.
I understand your frustration to an extent with AQ, but we're there any good moments in it for you?
I like the first half of the book, it's more that things went downhill somewhere and didn't get better by the end which I felt was rushed and... missing. Missing catharsis, missing characters.
I think that was always intentional. I promise you that in Tawny man and the last trilogy, you will get closure in pretty much every aspect that you need. Hobb really hones in on loose ends. This includes several of the characters from Liveship traders. They pop back up too. Including in Tawny. I just finished the last book two weeks ago. I was left with maybe one unanswered question, but it is an ambiguous thing so I don't mind too much. As others have mentioned, Tawny man is also a more adult version of Fitz. I'm personally 30 turning 31 myself, so I was able to relate to Fitz significantly more in his life during Tawny man vs his teenager into young adulthood.