Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

April 5th

Is anyone still reading this? I have been waiting for this BR to continue with the series. Should I still wait or carry on by myself?

I'm still reading the first. I don't know if anyone else is reading it :(

If you want to read book 2 at least there will be the 2 of us. :D

I'm swamped in books and not making any progress with #1. I'll keep reading it on the side but probably won't finish it in time for this BR :(

That's ok Virginie. I'll read it by myself. :)

Soldier son 1,2,3 are simply boring.

I will be reading this one; I just need to finish Among Thieves first!

in that case just let me know when you start Shaitarn and I'll start it also. I was planning to read it next week anyway. :) It will be good to read it with you.

Laura wrote: "in that case just let me know when you start Shaitarn and I'll start it also. I was planning to read it next week anyway. :) It will be good to read it with you."

I'll be finishing Among Thieves today (Sunday) so I'll be starting either this evening or Monday. It's not Farseer, but I'm looking forward to it!

Actually I'm also looking forward to it.

I'll finish Blood of Tyrants and Flame of Sevenwaters today and start this tomorrow. I still have Kushiel's Scion open but I keep avoiding that book - don't know why. I loved the first trilogy but now I keep setting it down so I'll take my time with that at a snail pace. :) Hobb will be a nice diversion. And to be honest, I didn't find Shaman's Crossing to be that bad as everyone seems to say.

Laura wrote: "Actually I'm also looking forward to it.

I'll finish Blood of Tyrants and Flame of Sevenwaters today and start this tomorrow. I still have Kushiel's Scion open but I keep avoiding that book - don..."

I wonder if the problem was that the Farseer/Liveship books are so good this trilogy seemed poor by comparison? I actually enjoyed the first book once I'd got into it and was really rooting for Nevare at the Cavella. I'm looking forward to see what happens next.

It was the same with me.

I think the reason people don't really warm up to this may be the magic. It is a bit unusual and creepy. That forest woman for instance from book 1 sounds disgusting. I kept trying to picture her and wondering how a man would fall for something like that. Not because of her size but because of the creepy way she was described - I sort of see a kind of monster when I think about her.

I have just finished chapter 5 and need to go find some food. Preferably the tasty savoury kind, wich brings a whole pallete of flavours on the tongue. Boy! The way Nevare gets lost in his food and appreciates it!!!
And it would take a lot of strength to appreciate it that much after (view spoiler)[3 full days of fasting. Normal people would probably gobble everything down without even thinking of particular flavours. (hide spoiler)]

That being said, I feel really sorry for Nevare. The way he was received home was difficult for me to read. I felt like shouting at those people: Why the hell won't you give him a break! He's just fat for crying out loud! It's not like he sprouted a pair of horns overnight. And the father sending him straight of to (view spoiler)[work on the rocks without even bothering to exchange a few words! And then getting angry he didn't know about the news of the plague before Nevare told it at the wedding! That was really cruel. (hide spoiler)]

At the end of chapter 8 and I feel like crying for Nevare. :(

I've just finished chapter 12 and I've forced myself to stop reading for now.

Some of my thoughts:

The forest woman is frightening (view spoiler)[particularly that nightmare Nevare had at the beginning where he saw how he had slashed her open with his sabre. That was genuinely scary and appalling! (hide spoiler)].

I'm fascinated by that business at the Spindle and wonder how that will play out. (As an aside, that stupid boy carving his name on it really infuriated me: I can't bear it when people damage ancient artefacts, whether they're natural wonders or man-made monuments. It's like the people that scratch graffiti inside the burial chambers of the pyramids or break off bits of Stonehenge as souvenirs. I want to shout at them!)

I love the physical pleasure Nevare is getting from food, as well. I think that subtle description is something Hobb does so well. I feel like I need a tray of snacks on hand while reading about it, though! (I only ever have had to fast for one day, and that was enough!)

I hate his father, he's terrible! His refusal to belief that Nevare wasn't responsible for what's happening to him was another thing that made me want to howl; I don't believe someone can be so cold towards their own child.

Chapters 9 & 10: (view spoiler)[No, it's just getting worse! Poor Nevare! To lose so much of his family to the plague! To see so many of them die so horribly and to have to deal with the results, to bury them!
I love the way he's stepped up to his responsibility and grown into the role as the manager of the estate, and the way his relationship with Yaril was healed.
And then his father ruins everything! Ugh, what a terrible man (to wish one of his children dead - oh no you don't do that!)! To disown his son, throw him out and then remove his weapons - I really can't believe anyone sane can do that, I just can't! I think his father has honestly lost his mind. If not, he seems completely twisted up with bitterness and spite.
I hope Yaril will be all right; at least she has Sergeant Duril to help her out here and there. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 11 & 12 (view spoiler)[And now Nevare has to lose his horse! I know Robin Hobb tortures her characters if they need it, but Nevare is really being forged in fire here! I'm thinking maybe it's a symbolic removal of all the trappings of his old life, so he can start a totally new life.
The way his 'speck twin' is occasionally taking control of him is frightening - I wouldn't be at all surprised to find out in the future that something terrible has happened to the soldiers at the relay station.
I like his interaction with Amzil and her children. If he spent a chapter or two helping them out, I'd be happy to read it. It's interesting to see so graphically how hard that life is for the convicted criminals and their families as well, and it's a good point: how can a group of people who have always been involved in street crime in the cities be given a couple of bags of seed and be expected to become successful farmers? I guess the law-abiding citizen of the kingdom don't care.

I hope things get better for Nevare soon, but given there's another book to read, I'm not anticipating anything - Farseer taught me that much! (hide spoiler)]

😁😁😁 even I make sure snacks are at hand while reading this book. Too much nice talk about yummy food. :)

I had the same thoughts about chapters 9 to 12 and I think the father is just twisted because his plans didn't work out. He's a real monster to do all that to his own kids.
And speaking of bad things to come, I have a very strong feeling even Carsina will (view spoiler)[probably get smth really bad coming to her after what Nevare told her at Rosse's wedding. (hide spoiler)]

I reached Chapter 19 and find it difficult to set this book down.
I suspected from chapter 12 that (view spoiler)[if he uses magic he gets thinner (hide spoiler)]

But now after chapter 18 I wonder (view spoiler)[what price is he supposed to pay for using that magic. It's clear to me now that Nevare is just like the great ones of the Specks but what I don't get is where Tree Woman comes in? Is she with the Specks? Or is she with those big trees that are being cut for the road and seem to be more than trees (gods perhaps)? Or are the trees simply enchanted by the Specks to make the Gernians back off?
And Tree Woman isn't really dead!!! She is a part of Nevare?! Part of that other self?! I knew killing her was way too easy. And now she's turning into a tree!?
I wonder - and this is just a wild theory now (probably absurd) if the Specks are controlled by those trees. Why would they take out bodies and hang them in trees? Tree Woman was eating the magic or life force from the dead. And Nevare's other self did that too. So now I wonder if that is the purpose behind taking out the dead. (hide spoiler)]

All in all, I am intrigued and this is keeping me at the edge of the seat.
I hope Nevare will (view spoiler)[go and see Ephiny faster. That girl is really smart and she'll probably be able to help. Is it because of the curse on Gentis that Nevare can't see that? I'd like to give him a nice shake right now. (hide spoiler)]

And you are right about the troubles Nevare is facing. I'm also expecting a lot more of them after Farseer. And Nevare seems to be so much more unlucky than Fitz.

forgot to ask. Would you like to read the next book with me as soon as we finish this one? I really like this and I'd rather finish with the series now than wait for one more month for book 3. Not that I don't have other BRs planned but this is too good and I wouldn't mind it at all to let other books wait their turn. 😁

But if you have other reads planned I'll wait.

Chapters 12 - 19. I've forgotten what happens where, so I'm putting it all together:

The Tree Woman:(view spoiler)[I don't think she's 'alive' in the true sense of the word; maybe she's a spirit or minor goddess of some sort (I'm thinking very much of the Native American tradition here, I think). I honestly found that scene where she was attached to a tree and somehow still 'alive' revolting! I wonder if this is something the Specks used to do as nature ritual but now it's become twisted by a desire for revenge (hide spoiler)].

Ephiny: (view spoiler)[I wish Nevare would see her as well; I think she'd be able to help him more than anyone else right now. And she would react with intelligence and compassion to what's happened to him, not like the rest of his family. I'm glad that Spink has recovered - I wonder if the 'medicinal water' would help Nevare? The talk of the brass whistles bothers me; I'm guessing they're a sort of 'rape alarm' for the women of the town. (hide spoiler)]

Magic: (view spoiler)[It's clear that when Nevare uses the magic he gets thinner, isn't it? I think someone even referred to him as being 'stuffed with magic' at one point. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 20: (view spoiler)[ Oh my - the stolen dead are becoming the trees?! No wonder they feel such fear or despair when they are near the forest! Ths kind of magic is making me feel a bit queasy. It's almost like I'm reading this book between my fingers, terrified of what will happen next!

And Carsina is in town; oh, I do hope she doesn't make trouble for Nevare, even though I fear she will. (hide spoiler)]

I'm supposed to be reading The Cold Commands with Mayim, but apart from that there's nothing that can't wait. How about we schedule this for next Wednesday? I'd quite like to get this series finished as well; I just hope it ends on a positive note!

After chapter 20 I incline to believe that Tree Woman is indeed (view spoiler)[a tree now. Just as the dead become trees, perhaps she became one too? But I still think she isn't dead.
And did you notice how that Speck woman spoke to Nevare? She said he could reach a very big size if he was properly taken care of. Do they keep Great Ones just to fatten them with magic and make them do their bidding? And she said she's gonna get him proper food. Why do I get the feeling that food will be something foul? (hide spoiler)]

Carsina - she already started making trouble for Nevare. I'm expecting a lot more from her.

Next Wednesday is ok for Renegade's Magic. I'll finish my due BRs in between. :)

I'm starting to feel Robin Hobb tricked me by giving me the illusion of a happy ending at the end of book 1 and making everything go so badly wrong in this one!

Chapter 21: (view spoiler)[I wonder if Nevare is going to have to choose between the two worlds in the end. I think apart from his few friends and his sister he has very little to lose in his original life. I could imagine he'd be tempted to live with in the Speck world instead. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 22: (view spoiler)[ So the repulsive Caulder Stiet is going to marry Yaril? I suppose that was obvious since he first wrote a letter to Nevare, but poor Yaril! I hope Nevare or one of his family (Ephiny!) will be able to put a stop to it somehow.

And Carsina has managed to get Nevare accused of assault! Thank goodness Spink was there, or I fear what the consequences might have been. Again, I really think Spink should tell Ephiny the truth - as the wife of a lieutenant I think her word might carry some weight with the other ladies of the town and I think he desperately needs a female champion right now. I worry if he stays away for a while it will encourage rumours to spread. (hide spoiler)]

I'm getting the same feeling here! Everything seems to be going from bad to worse.
Damn! It looks like those whistles are exactly what you thought they would be but it's so unfair that (view spoiler)[Carsina ended up using one to get Nevare into so much trouble. (hide spoiler)]

I worry the same as you. Nevare's absence will deffinitely make rumours grow worse. And I also think he may have to choose between (view spoiler)[the 2 lives. And after the horrible things happening to him in his normal life, who could even blame him if he considered Speck life better? (hide spoiler)]

Finished chapter 25 and we're finally getting answers!!!!

Tree Woman (view spoiler)[is still alive but as a tree. Damn, I wish I would have been wrong about that one! And the huge trees being cut are alive also - they are the ancestors of the specks - the great ones absorbed into trees after their death! No wonder the Specks don't want them to be cut down. (hide spoiler)]

Nevare's purpose is (view spoiler)[simply to stop the road going through that forest. Which makes me wonder why the heck the Specks themselves didn't send some of their elders and explain all of it to the Gernians? They probably would have listened in that case and made the blasted road through another route. Or perhaps they did and their plea was disregarded? (hide spoiler)]

I have a feeling worse is yet to come. (view spoiler)[The body of that woman was found and they will deffinitely blame it on Nevare now.
He keeps eating from the Specks and the forest which makes it very probable his new uniform won't fit him anymore by the time the inspection comes. And those poles he planted around the graveyard - they are alreadu sprouting branches and leaves and he is watering them also. Can't he see that everyone will consider that as magic? I think they are the same kind of trees that absorb bodies and they will probably again bring terror down on Gernians. They will think it's all Nevare's doing! (hide spoiler)]

I really really hope I'm wrong in this! :(

The magic (view spoiler)[The Great Ones themselves are slaves to the magic?! Tree woman made Nevare into a Great One because the magic wanted her to!? And the Speck Great one was summoned into the night to show Nevare to the trees. So everybody listenes to the magic! Magic seems to have a life of its own and be a sort of entity in itself. In that case how can Nevare ever get rid of it? Or will he still want to? (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 27

Dear God! Doesn't this ever end!!
(view spoiler)[They know about the sacred trees and still want to make the road. And now the captain is blaming Nevare just like the father did. He even orders him to make himself scarce if the inspection comes his way! That was so sick!

And then he gets shot in the head and as those people are dead why do I just know Nevare will be blamed!!! What will they do next! Blame him for the plague?! (hide spoiler)]

I was browsing through the net and found some pictures

Tree Woman



Jodoli
He looks kind of cute.
And from what I understood Nevare is bigger than him.



And this is the only one I found of Nevare

Oh my gosh! I tried to write something earlier but got distracted so read to the end of the book. Phew! How anyone can say this is 'boring' is beyond me; 'upsetting' or 'distressing' yes, but certainly not boring!

I don't know - it's like Robin Hobb has a mantra 'the hero must suffer in book 2!' Fitz suffered and boy, Nevare has certainly suffered!

I've just finished, so apologies for this being all over the place:

Chapters 27 - 28: (view spoiler)[Ugh, the stupidity of the people in charge makes me despair! Re-route the road, and the Speck will leave you alone - they told you that themselves! But nooo, the king has decreed this is where the road will go, so this way it will go! Like the king would care if the road was shifted to the left or right, so long as it was built!

And people ignoring Nevare's insistence that the Dust Dance causes the Speck Plague is infuriating - wouldn't it at least be worth investigating? I'm hoping someone like Epiny manages to get that done in the future (I love that girl!) (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 29 - 30: (view spoiler)[ That was horrifying - I hated what the magic made Hitch do - that poor girl! At first I was angry with him, but I couldn't stay that way when he told Nevare how the magic twisted his life, just as it has Nevare's. I was glad Nevare let the Speck take him as he wanted.

Carsina visiting Nevare because he'd demanded an apology from her - oh my gosh, I swear the hairs stood up on my neck when I thought she'd come back from the dead! And the other bodies all going and attaching themselves to the growing posts Nevare had planted and the body going out of the quicklime pit - what did I say earlier about reading between my fingers?! Those honestly creeped me out; I'm not squeamish, and I occasionally read urban fantasy/horror but that was awful! (hide spoiler)]

Chapters 31 - 34: (view spoiler)[ Oh, I knew this was going to end badly, but I didn't know it would be this bad! Poor Epiny, accidentally ruining Nevare by delivering that letter! I really felt for her! And I was so glad that Spink stood by Nevare and was a true friend.

And the way Tree Woman sacrificed herself to save him - that touched me! And I did laugh when Amzil blew up the wrong prison! And I liked her offer to take the children to Darth to be with him - I love it when we see that characters have grown over the course of a book. I liked the way she told Nevare off for both him and Spink treating Epiny like an idiot when she's probably cleverer than they are as well! (hide spoiler)]

Epiny & Spink: I love these two! I think they're coming up fast as my favourite secondary Robin Hobb characters, along with Patience and Burrich from Farseer (I count the Fool and Nighteyes as main characters). I love how Epiny has such a fiery spirit and a rather eccentric mind as well as being so kind, rather than a horrible spoilt little brat. I hope Epiny manages to have her child safely (I was worried the magic would use her to force Nevare to do what it wanted).
Spink is just brilliant - he is such a good friend to Nevare, even when Nevare tries to push him away. I want to hug them both! I almost want them to turn up in the third book, but given that they think Nevare is dead, I'm not sure that can happen - maybe they should be left in peace to grieve.

I pretty much felt the same as you. But I do have a feeling we'll get to see everyone again in book 3. The magic has to go away somehow or at least make peace with Nevare right?! Or at least I hope so!!

We'll leave the next book for Wednesday then? I really want to know how it will end.

I wonder if it's possible for Nevare to make peace with the magic; I also wonder if he'll learn how the Speck use magic, or if it's even possible for him to do so - maybe he has to find his own way to wield the power.

I want to know how it ends, too; I hope this won't be the first Robin Hobb book I read with an unhappy ending!