Group read of Robin Hobb's Farseer/Realm of the Elderlings series

Welcome to our group read of Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings series - it's a 16 book series but subdivided into 5 subseries.

Rather unusually we are starting with the second book in the series, Royal Assassin, in March but hopefully that gives people enough time to read Assassin's Apprentice first if they want to join in (these books absolutely do need to be read in order)



The Realm of the Elderlings (original publication date in brackets)

The Farseer Trilogy
Assassin's Apprentice (1995)
Royal Assassin (1996)
Assassin's Quest (1997)

Liveship Traders Trilogy
Ship of Magic (1998)
The Mad Ship (1999)
Ship of Destiny (2000)

The Tawny Man Trilogy
Fool's Errand (2001)
The Golden Fool (2002)
Fool's Fate (2003)

The Rain Wild Chronicles
Dragon Keeper (2009)
Dragon Haven (2010)
City of Dragons (2011)
Blood of Dragons (2013)

The Fitz and the Fool Trilogy
Fool's Assassin (2014)
Fool's Quest (2015)
Assassin's Fate (2017)

2018 proposed reading schedule:

The Farseer Trilogy
Assassin's Apprentice - already read
Royal Assassin - read in March. Thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/287725
Assassin's Quest - read in May. Thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/290825

Liveship Traders Trilogy
Ship of Magic - reading in August. Thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/294434
The Mad Ship - to read in November/December. Thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/298371
Ship of Destiny - to read in November/December. Thread: http://www.librarything.com/topic/298372

And I haven't really thought it through beyond that but I'm guessing it may be helpful to set up separate discussion threads for each book when we get to them. Please let us know if you're interested in joining in for all or part of the read. And if you've read them before but don't want to reread right now please feel free to follow along and comment too.

I read the first two, then somehow lost track. We'll see if I can work it in. I promised mrsdrneutron that I'd read down the stack of 30 or so by my reading chair. Of course, I'll be spending lots of time in Florida over the summer by myself, so I could promise to take care of them then... 😁

Hmmm, I have the first book, unread. This might spur me to get on and read that - though whether I should then start seeking out any remaining volumes when I have so many other books to read, will perhaps depend on how much I enjoy the first one!

Starred and following along. I read The Rain Wild Chronicles last year and am planning to do The Fitz and the Fool Trilogy this year. I might push it to next year if the group is planning to read through the series.

I have the first, and will try to read by March.

The Assassin/Fool trilogies I have on Kindle, the Ship/Dragons were all from the Library. It was the covers on the Ship books that drew me in - and then the favorable comments on the first trilogy.

I have the first book as well so will try to read by March ...

Looking forward to this! I'll also be joining those doing an Assassin's Apprentice catch-up (in my case, re-read) in Feb.

If I can get all of my ARC books read by then, I'm in. I'll have to catch-up on Assassin's Apprentice as well. I've got it on hold on Overdrive.

I have read the The Farseer Trilogy recently, so I most probably won't read them again this year but may join the discussion.

Liveship Traders Trilogy is on my buy-soon short-list, so if I can find it locally, will surely join that one.

>10 Arifel: Same here.

Thanks for setting this up Heather.

And we're on our way!

Maybe the Assassin's Apprentice catch-up-ers can chat in this thread and we'll open a Royal Assassin thread nearer March? And then one for each book? That'll keep things organised and easier to follow, I think :-)

Thanks for setting up the thread, Heather. We're going to have fun!

>4 drneutron:, >5 gennyt:, >6 Narilka:, >7 swynn:, >8 quondame:, >9 SandDune:, >10 Arifel:, >11 rretzler:, >12 aqeeliz:, >13 humouress: Welcome everyone and lovely to see so much interest!

>14 archerygirl: Great idea to use this thread for Assassin's Apprentice discussion if people are catching up before March. I'll set up separate threads for the other books as we get to them and add links in the opening posts.

I'm looking forward to this!

I'm joining in. I've never read a Robin Hobb book in my life, but I've been in a fantasy mood of late, so here I am.

I'm currently reading Assassin's Apprentice. I'll admit that I've been struggling with the first part of the book. There was nothing very compelling about the main character, but now that he is semi-grown, I'm starting to come around. I feel like if I can hang in there, the series will really start to take off.

Why do all his dogs keep getting killed? It's really bumming me out.

>16 rosylibrarian: Welcome to the group read!

Yes, I found this series very difficult to read on my first read-through as the author puts the main character through a lot emotionally. Particularly loss of friends whether human or canine. For some reason I'm compelled enough by how she writes her characters to reread but these are definitely not happy books.

>18 archerygirl: I didn't finish my first attempt at Assassin's Apprentice and I think I found the same issue as you - Fitz didn't become interesting until he was semi-grown. I've been warned about the amount Hobb puts Fitz through, but so far it's not been bad enough to stop me reading. It is a thing, though. But I'm hoping that knowing these aren't light happy books and having a group to read with will help!

I didn't know much about these books before starting the series, but I also imagined it to be a somewhat lighter series, so it took me quite some time to read through the first part, but couldn't put it down after that.

I'm in! I have Assassin's Apprentice and I've read the first few pages so I'll pop back here when I've read a bit more. I'm liking it so far and I think my local library has quite a few of the larger series so if I get the taste for it I could be up for reading quite widely in this universe.

I'm about 1/3 of the way through Assassin's Apprentice and really enjoying it so far. Right now, the royal entourage has just started out on their journey to Neatbay, and Fitz has had to take care of Lady Thyme. At first, I thought since she was so bundled up, she was really Chade disguised. But Hands and the others are now making such a big deal about the previous journeys she has gone on, that I think that she is probably actually Lady Thyme.

Just finished AA and absolutely loved it! I'll taking the second one on holiday today, so I'm starting a little ahead of schedule, but by the standards of the 75ers I'm a slow reader and it's a bit of a chunkster, so I think it will actually work out perfectly!

>21 rretzler: I should have stuck with my first instinct on that one! I had also suspected that Chade must somehow be related to King Shrewd based on something he said earlier, so I was glad to see that I didn't miss the foreshadowing on that. There have been some foreshadowing-type comments made by Fitz in the intro to each chapter, so I am very interested to find out where this is all going to go. I must admit to being intrigued by the Fool and wonder how he fits into the whole story.

Finished Assassin's Apprentice today - what a great book! I'm looking forward to Royal Assassin in March (but maybe not its length.)

I do have some questions about Assassin's Apprentice though, so if anyone who has read the series happens to visit this thread and cares to chime in, I would love the insight.

First, it is clear that Fitz is writing this account looking back a number of years, in the Epilogue, the first sentence is "You are wearied,' my boy says. Do we ever find out to whom he is referring? Similarly, the last sentence is Somewhere, a friend says softly, "No." Do we know who the friend is? Is the friend a human or a dog?

Next, there is the earring that Burrich gave to Chivalry, which Patience then gave to Fitz. Near the end of the book, Fitz says I think I finally guessed then what the earring signified. Now I could read a lot of things into that comment, but don't know which idea is correct. Do we know at this point? Can someone enlighten me?

Last, it seems that the Skill and the Wit are very similar, except that the Wit is used on animals (and I guess to some extent Fitz uses it to sense emotion in humans) and the Skill is used on humans. Are either or both of them explained further in subsequent books? It seems that Burrich is able to use the Wit but doesn't - he seems to be able to sense when Fitz uses it, so he must also have the ability.

I probably could think of more questions, I'll leave it at that for now.

Oh, just thought of another one - Fitz (I think) says something shortly after meeting the Fool which makes me think that the Fool may be female instead of male, however, for the rest of the book Fitz refers to the Fool as him. When Fitz visits the Fool's room, it seems as though the furnishings are more stereotypically female instead of male. It this something that is touched on in later books, or am I making too much out of it?

>24 rretzler: It is touched on or dealt with but never in an expected way. The fool is different and the differences are a significant element of all the books, but mostly not obtrusive.

>24 rretzler: It's been a while since I read the books, but I think the answer to your (second) last question is 'Yes'.

>24 rretzler: To your second and third questions, you with find out more later on.

I also just finished reading Assassin's Apprentice in preparation for next month. The first time I read it was over 15 years ago, and it must have been one of the first adult fantasy series I ever read - I know I read the Liveship Traders books in 2001 and I think I must have read the existing Fitz books in 2002-3 as the final book in the Tawny Man trilogy wasn't out when I caught up.

I enjoyed it very much, although the oppressive court atmosphere is a lot more obvious to me on rereading, and I'm more inclined to wish the Six Duchies could invent family counselling quickly for the sake of all the Farseers. There's also a huge streak of prudishness over Fitz's status which I think is coming from specific characters and distortion through the first person viewpoint, rather than being any sort of accepted societal fact (or, worse, an authorial stance). My memories of how I reacted to the characters were more or less confirmed - I was a bit cautious about Verity for the first half of the book, but he becomes the character I remember in the second half, and I either remembered or quickly recalled most of the broad plot elements (especially the trip to the Mountain Kingdom). Things I'd forgotten included Galen and his abuse, and Fitz's general difficulties with getting trained in the Skill; the details around the Red Ship raids and Forging; and the entire climax sequence with the poisoning of Rurisk - which Fitz gets off from extraordinarily lightly, given the mess he ends up in and the uncompromising attitudes we've been led to expect people will have towards him. I also got some of the plot elements mixed up with different books (for instance, for those who have read book 2, I found myself waiting in vain for Nighteyes).

Looking forward to reading Royal Assassin next month - if I recall correctly, that's the one where (MAYBE BOOK 2 SPOILERS) everything is allowed to go quite well for like a chapter before crashing down to a really brutal resolution in which Fitz ends up crippled, disgraced and presumed dead? But also with a wolf for a buddy, so it's not all bad...

>22 HanGerg: Glad you enjoyed it!

>24 rretzler: Glad you also enjoyed AA. Great questions - on your first question it's been ages since I read the trilogy but I think we get some answers at the end of the first trilogy.

>28 Arifel: I think 2002-2003 must have been when I read the Fitz books as I read the first trilogy and the first two books of the Tawny Man trilogy but the final book wasn't out and I never went back to it.

Just a reminder that we're reading Royal Assassin in March - I'll set the thread up later this week.

I had a little laugh about LT a few minutes ago that I thought I would share. I rated AA 5-stars and I went to its page on LT a few minutes ago. I clicked on the "Will You Like It?" and was told:

LibraryThing thinks you probably won't like Assassin's Apprentice (prediction confidence: very high)

I have no idea how LT might have come to that conclusion!

Rethink your stars?

Looks like AA is next on my reading list.

>31 humouress: Absolutely not, Nina! 😜 I guess it just means that my LT pals know a good book more than some mysterious algorithm - or else I'm an eclectic reader (both of which I suspect are true.)

>30 rretzler: That is funny - I'd never thought to click on that tool for a book I'd already catalogued. Mine says I will probably like AA (prediction confidence very high). I think I read that it's based on books you've catalogued and compares to books others with that book have catalogued but it doesn't take ratings into account (or whether you've already catalogued that particular book!)

I've started the thread for Royal Assassin - link below (and updated the introductory posts with a link). Come and join us when you've finished AA.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/287725#

Struggled a bit with chapter two of Assassin’s Apprentice; Hobb can be callous but I suppose it was necessary, this time.

I haven't read past AA, but I had a couple of thoughts.

Second question, I have some definite thoughts on the earring and what it signifies, particularly after various things that were hinted at, so I'm hoping that question gets answered by the end of the series.

On your last, but not last, I've been assuming that Burrich has the Wit and that's why he's so against it. He's seen what it can do and knows it could take him the same way, so he's afraid of it. And that's why he tries to keep Fitz from using it, but he doesn't know enough about it to really understand it. In a way, his lack of understanding is what's making him so afraid.

And as for the Fool, I'm really hoping all those ambiguities and hints are building to something interesting and I'm not reading too much into it!

>35 archerygirl: You are an attentive reader and while it takes some time(pages/volumes) I think you will be find satisfactory the resolutions to your questions.

>24 rretzler: >35 archerygirl: Thanks, Katherine for your thoughts. I'm starting to read Royal Assassin now, and regarding my second question the earring is explained a little further at the beginning, but Burrich tells us that there is still more to be divulged. So I guess we're still waiting for a complete answer.

Re my last, but not last I too think its pretty clear that Burrich has the Wit, and it almost seems that he is using it at times, which is how he knows that Fitz has been using it on his animals - not using it to communicate with an animal but at least to sense that there is communication going on. I guess I'm wondering if he may be lying to Fitz - I wonder if what he's saying about the adverse consequences (eventually turning into a beast) isn't really true, but that he's saying it because there is another reason to fear the Wit. It makes me wonder what has happened in the past that makes everyone either afraid of or look down on those who use it. Perhaps its the possibility of a human turning into a beast, but could it be something more?

>37 rretzler: About Wit (not really a spoiler, but) The issue isn't what can happen, it's history see The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince

>38 quondame: Thank you, Susan. That is very helpful to know that there is an answer is another book, which was my initial question way back.

I am finding that I must not be able to communicate clearly here, so I'll stop.

>34 humouress: I wouldn't say she was callous exactly but she definitely puts her characters through a lot.

>37 rretzler: Oh, I didn't know that - thank you. Now pondering whether we should add that to the group read and when....

I was actually wondering whether Burrich was also part of the royal family, the way Fitz is, but he does say pretty clearly “I’m not a prince’s bastard, either” when Fitz doesn’t want to move from the stables to the keep.

>39 rretzler: No, your original question was clear - I suspect people didn't answer because they didn't know the answer themselves (although I have read this trilogy before it was about 15 years ago and I've forgotten most of the details). Please don't stop posting here.

>39 rretzler: Like Heather said, don't stop posting here! You were perfectly clear, but a lot of people are probably in the same boat we are - new readers who don't know :-)

>40 souloftherose: I'd definitely like to add that one to the group read. Does anyone know where it fits best?

>37 rretzler: I’m still at the beginning of Assassin’s Apprentice, not finding enough time to read, but enjoying it. So I’m not answering your questions because
a) you’re ahead of me
b) I have read a lot of this series before (up to but not including the Rain Wild Chronicles) but I’ve forgotten a lot of the details as it was so long ago
c) if I answered what I do remember, it would constitute spoilers

But don’t stop posting!

I'd like to join this group read. I have read a number of the books a long time ago.

I have now finished Assassin's Apprentice and loved it again. It's such a colourful book! I love the figures, the Fool is intriguing, and lots of others come to life so well, that you start to love or hate them.

The difference between the Wit and the Skill are interesting. Why is it that the Wit is feared and also seen as negative, and put down, while the Skill is exceptional and special and to be reserved for royalty?

>45 EllaTim: It seems to be the difference between animals and people. I think there’s more explanation later on.

This quote, halfway through Assassin’s Apprentice caught me. Lacey to Fitz:

‘Now I’ve had boys of my own, and I know boys aren’t that way. They don’t learn, or grow, or have manners when you’re looking at them. But turn away, and turn back, and there they are, smarter, taller, and charming everyone but their own mothers.’

>45 EllaTim: Welcome to the group read and thanks for joining us!

>45 EllaTim:, >46 humouress: Re your question on Wit and Skill, from the post in >38 quondame: there's a prequel story The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince which gives some back story as to why the Wit is feared (I haven't read it myself though).

I suppose if the Skill is seen to be only something highborn folk have and the Wit is open to everyone that may also explain why the Skill is more revered.

>47 humouress: :-D

>48 souloftherose: Certainly those in power don't stigmatize themselves, but are likely to attack uncontrollable abilities in those they want subjugated.

Oh, if Chivalry hadn’t abdicated, then Patience would have been happy and Fitz could have been happy.

And the series would have been shortened by at least two books, of course, not to mention no follow on series :0)

I've finished it!

>48 souloftherose: Towards the end there's an exeprt from The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince that gave the first really clear clue to why the Wit is viewed so negatively, but it's still not stated outright. The idea that people can become closer to beasts than men would be frightening, though.

And yes, I can definitely understand that if the Skill is more associated with royal lines and the Wit to everyone then that would also explain it.

>50 humouress: It would have been around half a book :-) So it's probably a good thing that didn't happen, but as I read, I kept wishing Chivalry hadn't abdicated!

>51 archerygirl: Congrats on finishing! Did you mean to post on the Royal Assassin thread?

I did like the peek at those excerpts from The Wilful Princess and the Piebald Prince and it made me more eager to read that story.

>52 souloftherose: Yes, yes I did *face palm*

Thank you for setting up this discussion! I'm a little late to this party but am working on catching up. Currently reading and really enjoying Assassin's Apprentice. I'm nearing the end and have been finding the book quite a compelling read. I really appreciate how carefully everyone here is using spoiler tags, which brings me to...

I wonder why publishers insist on putting massive spoilers in their book blurbs? I just went to reserve Royal Assassin and Assassin's Quest from Overdrive and both books have huge spoilers in the first sentence of their blurbs. Annoying!

>54 ScoLgo: Welcome!

That is frustrating about the spoilers - I've found other series that do that too.

>54 ScoLgo: >55 souloftherose: Note to self: don't read the blurbs when buying the next books!

Thread for Assassin's Quest is up - come and read along:

http://www.librarything.com/topic/290825

I've finished the Elderlings trilogy and am pondering my review.

Are we continuing with the Liveship trilogy as a group?

ETA: >54 ScoLgo: The blurb on mine (published by Harper in the 1990s) is frustratingly brief - but if you're already invested in the series, it doesn't matter of course.

>58 humouress: Sorry, I know we had originally agreed on July to start the Liveship trilogy but this month has really gotten away from me. I would still like to read the trilogy though - would August work for The Ship of Magic?

>59 souloftherose: That’s fine with me. I’ve only just finished the Farseer trilogy so I’m happy to delay starting Liveship.

>59 souloftherose: That would be amazing because I've only just got my hands on Assassin's Quest so I'm rather behind!

Thread for Ship of Magic here - come and read along. My understanding is that this trilogy works as a stand-alone so even if you haven't read the Assassin's Apprentice/Farseer trilogy you could join in with Ship of Magic.

http://www.librarything.com/topic/294434#

Where exactly are we on this? Will it be continued into next year? I didn't have time this year, but am thinking of starting it in 2019

Also, we were thinking of reading one a month, but it seems you are having trouble with one every two months? Are they dense and difficult to read at that pace?

>63 The_Hibernator:, >64 The_Hibernator: Hi Rachel. We're currently up to Ship of Magic which is the first book in the second trilogy. I've finished reading that one but I'm not sure that anyone else has which is why I held off on starting the thread for the next book, The Mad Ship.

I wouldn't say the books are dense or difficult to read but they are long (800 pages+) and Hobb does put her characters through a lot.

I'm keen to continue with the series but happy to do so on my own if there's not sufficient interest to continue with the group read. Or we could come up with a new schedule for 2019 if people have been struggling to keep up?

Anyone else want to chip in with their thoughts?

>65 souloftherose: Thanks Heather. The person with whom I'm currently thinking of starting the series is on Litsy (not sure she has a LibraryThing account - I haven't asked). She seems excited about one a month, which means we'd eventually catch up with you. Though I'm skeptical we can keep up that pace since you all (on this thread) haven't been able to keep up one every two months as a group. It sounds like this would take some dedication.

I wouldn't mind continuing at a slower pace. As you know, I'm not the fastest reader. So many books, so little time...

>67 humouress: What sort of pace would work for you Nina? I'm ready to read The Mad Ship whenever you are - I don't want to leave it too long between books in case I start forgetting what happened.

>68 souloftherose: Go ahead and start, Heather. I've read this sub-series before, so I don't mind.

I've just been cranking along at our one every other month pace even though I haven't been on LT much. I'm ready to read The Ship of Destiny. I think I'll still read it in November, because this trilogy was sooo good that I can't wait to see how it turns out. I could discuss Ship of Magic and The Mad Ship at any time.

I would love to keep reading the series next year. I could read one a month, but I think every two months is a little more doable - or perhaps one a quarter. It was difficult for me to hold off wanting to just read the next book in the Liveship Traders trilogy right away, but the space in between the Farseer trilogy was fine - I've been enjoying this one way more than the first. Funny, I thought that I might not like the Liveship Traders as much as Farseer, as it was about a different group of people, but I ended up like it quite a bit more.

I'm willing to keep this group read going until the series is finished - they are great books and I'm really glad that this group read was introduced!

>69 humouress:, >70 rretzler: In that case I will start separate threads for both The Mad Ship and The Ship of Destiny in the next couple of days. I will aim to read The Mad Ship in November and The Ship of Destiny in December but Robin, please feel free to add your comments for The Ship of Destiny as you read in November. Then Nina, you can add your comments when you pick up the books again?

And then we can discuss 2019 (eep) planning when the new group is set up - I'd like to keep reading these books next year too. Perhaps one every two or three months is a good compromise - I often feel like starting the next book straight away but sometimes it's good to have a bit of space to recover from the emotional trauma!

Does that work for everyone?

Sounds good to me! I'm eager to continue in 2019 I think! And will read along with The Mad Ship in November.

That’s fine for me; but don’t run circles around yourself just for me.

>71 souloftherose: That sounds great, Heather. I also often feel like starting the next book straight away, but I think spacing them out works better for me actually. It does give me some time away - although too much time and I forget what happened in the last!!

>72 HanGerg:, >73 humouress:, >74 rretzler: Sounds like a plan!

Threads for the books 2 and 3 in the Liveship Traders now set up.

The Mad Ship: http://www.librarything.com/topic/298371
Ship of Destiny: http://www.librarything.com/topic/298372

I've just started Assassin's Quest so I'm catching up slowly! And it seems like the Liveship Traders might be easier going, so it's not impossible for me to catch up with you all :-)

I'd like to keep going, but a one book every two or three months pace might be more doable. Definitely couldn't do one a month!

I am thinking of setting up a general Robin Hobb group read thread in the 2019 group in the next few days but wondering whether it's best to keep to one general thread that people can post comments on (with spoiler tags) as they read because I think we're all in different places in the series and I have not been very good at getting discussions going on the individual book threads (or even remembering to post there). What do people think?

I didn't read Ship of Destiny when I planned to in December so still have that one to read before I've finished the Liveship Traders series. I would like to continue with the read but at the moment don't feel like I will be very good at committing to reading particular books in particular months.

>79 souloftherose: I'm good with whatever you decide, Heather. I see pros and cons both for having individual book threads or a general thread. I think perhaps a general thread where everyone comments on the book that they're currently reading might become confusing if we're all at different places in our reading. But it would be a little more work to have several different threads going. Overall, I guess I think I would like to see a general 2019 thread with links to the threads of the individual books - just like you've done above. Perhaps you could just set up all of the discussion threads at one time and people could contribute when they are able.

Since I seem to be farther along than most, I think I'm going to go back and post in the individual threads (assuming that I can remember what I read months ago!) I'm ready to start the Tawny Man trilogy and I thought I'd do so in February and read a book every 3 months. My problem is that I seem to forget in 2-3 months what happened in the previous book, so I need to do a better job of keeping notes and posting on the threads as I read.

I've really been loving Hobb's book and want to thank Heather for starting this and introducing me to the series.

>79 souloftherose: I'm happy with whatever you decide, although I do like Robin's idea of setting up all the threads at the beginning and linking to them from the general thread - it would be a bit less confusing and if people need to reference earlier series books in later threads, there wouldn't need to be quite such a sea of spoiler cuts!

I've just finished (last night!) Assassin's Quest so I'm a long way behind but looking forward to starting the Liveship Traders very soon. Committing to an actual schedule of books looks beyond me - I didn't manage it well last year and I can't imagine I'll be any better this year!

I'm happy with whatever you decide, Heather. My reading of the series has stalled but I do (really I do) intend to see it through until the end.

If it's not too much work, I like Robin's idea of setting up individual threads (with a general thread that links to them) and then letting them take care of themselves. I've seen people in the Green Dragon are reading the series, so maybe they might discover us and post, too?

But, you know, whatever you decide :0)

Yes, happy to go with whatever. I have really got the Robin Hobb reading bug, so I've finished the Livership Traders trilogy. I'm tempted to press on with the next set of books that continues that story arc, but no, back to Fitz I shall dutifully go, so I've got hold of Fool's Errand and will be starting that one very soon. Someone at my local library is clearly a Robin Hobb fan, as they seem to have nearly all of the books, which is making this so much easier for me.

>80 rretzler:, >81 archerygirl:, >82 humouress:, >83 HanGerg: I think the consensus is to continue to have separate threads for each book for discussion so I will get a general thread set up in the 2019 group (equivalent to this one) and then set-up threads for the Tawny Man trilogy and link to all of the individual book threads set up so far on the 2019 main thread (hope that all makes sense).

I'm hoping I get back into my Robin Hobb groove soon and get back to the books - I think I just read too many chunksters towards the end of last year and still feel reluctant to start another 900 page book (even though I know I will enjoy it once I start).

I'll add a link to the 2019 general thread here once everything's setup.

>82 humouress: Yes, I saw the discussions in the Green Dragon thread but have been avoiding the specifics because I think they're reading the final trilogy. But it's encouraging to see they are enjoying the read so much.

New thread in the 2019 group here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/302108