I do want to add the narration of Ship of Magic I did not particularly like. Would recommend physically reading. Ship of Magic: amzn.to/343mKH1 Project Hail Mary: amzn.to/2RGuqfs
I'm still on the first review, but I'm going to guess you liked Ship of Magic a lot better than the first three books. I love Althea so much, and something other than bad stuff happens to Fitz.
Hear me out- she SUCKED for me for the majority of SoM but I actually started to like her in MS and SoD. Definitely keep going with them! I was so surprised by how much I loved all of the characters by the end of the trilogy.
I loved how Rocky always said “question” and how they became such good friends. It’s like being alien to each other wasn’t a big deal and they had their own special relationship aside from all the problems going on. I also felt that their science people all dying and our engineers dying led to the best outcome. We had better science and they had better engineers. I was disappointed that I didn’t get to hear about what happened on earth though.
For me The Martian and PHM read very differently because of the amount of intrigue and mystery in PHM. I was able to do a dozen smaller reading sessions for The Martian while loving it, but the punches kept coming nonstop in PHM and I ended up reading ~80% of it in my first session. Loved both.
Hey Daniel! As a 19-year-old college freshman, I just wanted to thank you for playing a HUGE part in rekindling my love for literature (especially Sci-fi and Fantasy) at this important juncture in my life. I discovered Mr. Sanderson (the fantasy god himself) and his books through your videos, and that alone should suffice to say that you are indeed helping inspire countless people out there to rediscover their love for reading, and maybe to even try writing a work of literature themselves. I can’t wait to read your novella-I just got it in ebook form-and I am looking forward to seeing you and your channel grow even bigger! Cheers, man ✌🏼
Okay the shirt off Kyle scene had me rolling. Hobb is my pick for best character writer of all time after Liveships, I'm not sure it's really even close.
Tempted to get it on audio also. I read the book in less than 3 day when it came out but everybody is talking about how great the audio is and also I miss the story! I want to revisit it!
Finished it 12 hours ago and I couldn't agree more. I want to see how he performs other books. I'm trying to decide if I like listening to this actor or RC Bray (The Martian) more. It's really close for me.
It makes me excited because I knew right away but imagine having it revealed to you in Ship of Destiny when Hobb makes it clear as day who they are…I’d be screaming
@@britwww I can't remember exactly where it clicked but it was such an awesome moment! Hobbs masterful is giving you enough hints without beating you over the head with it.
I think what's great about Kyle as a character, that he is not some fantasy villain, not a dark lord or evil sorcerer or even a royal son (like Regal), but he is simply an abusive, misogynistic narcissist, who is just too real to read about because a lot of us know such people. He is just a bad person. I never wanted a character to die as much as Kyle :D Btw, what did you think of Amber? I really like her and there is so much to her story :)
I know this is spoiler territory, but is he in the whole trilogy? because I’m barely into Ship of Magic and I hate him so much that I don’t want to keep reading.
Totally agree with her character work made it so good but also the first 100-150 pages, knowing whats coming I was so hurt and almost not having fun, she is just so immersive and loved to put people through realistic injustices. And Kyle is THE WORST
That's probably why I loved it so much. I was looking for some more good sci-fi since I read The Andromeda Evolution in late 2019. Andy definitely went above and beyond this time around and I hope he can do it again.
I have never cared as much about book characters as I did for Grace and Rocky. The jazz hands, “fist my bump”, asking a question and ending it with “question?” was always humorous. By far one of my favorite books and I’m only sad that it ended.
I loved the way your T-shirt reinforced your feelings about Kyle - "I could murder" ("a Curry" only briefly appearing above the desk on a couple of occasions).
Noticing you didn’t make mention of specific characters and their connection to previous Hobb books makes me excited for your review of Ship of Destiny where she makes it Very Clear for those who may have missed the hints throughout the first two books 😭 What a ride you are about to have!
I have to say I really like the double stack review format. I often dont watch reviews for books that I have no interest in but by making a video like this I'm far more likely to watch.
As with everything Hobb, she asked the connections between the series to happen naturally and organically... It is a beautiful thing. I'm envious that you've got so much of her work yet to uncover and experience for the first time.
The worst thing about Kyle is that he genuinely believes what he's doing is right. After Regal, who the first person writing didn't give room for a lot of depth, Kyle is a terribly human monster.
Ohhh Daniel, sweet child, just you remember everything you're gushing about w.r.t character work....come the end, you will hate her for doing the things she's going to do to your heart. (Not a spoiler, shes just going to break you with the Highs and the Lows buddy)
After the disaster that was Artemis, I have no issue whatsoever with Andy Weir reusing The Martian's formula. So much so that I refused to add Project Hail Mary to my TBR until I read numerous reviews assuring me it was more like The Martian than Artemis.
Ah! Ship of Magic. Been a few years. Currently doing a reread of her Farseer series, and I know I will probably skip these until after I have read the Tawny man trilogy because that was the order I read them in the first time. I heard about the Liveship Traders AFTER I had read the Tawny Man trilogy. And I am trying to relive the way it happened the first time. Then I read the Rain Wilds Chronicles before the Fitz and the Fool trilogy!
Yup, F Kyle sideways with a crowbar. We can all agree there. :D In Liveship Traders Robin Hobb does an excellent job with switching POV. Usually I find many POV tiresome (because often I just plain don't like some POV characters or find them interesting) but in LT I just like pretty much all of them. They each have their own interesting voices that keep me engaged. And the arcs are so strong in LT. Wintrow is my absolute favourite.
Awesome review of Ship of Magic. The start of an unbelievably epic saga. That fact that you didn’t even mention the best character of all speaks to how much BETTER Liveship Traders gets as it progresses. Looking forward to the subsequent reviews. I wish I was reading it for the first time again!
HI Daniel, I just want to say that I love your channel! I discovered it a couple months ago and it's really helped me out of some bad days (anxiety sucks as you know). I've binged pretty much all of your videos that I could find. Your sense of humor is hilarious and your reviews always make me feel like I'm learning something. Also, I appreciate your attitude of "My opinion is just my opinion and you can have yours" since a lot of people on the internet seem to have... the exact opposite. Thank you!
In regards to people saying you won't like Liveship Traders, I think you might actually like it more than the Farseer trilogy. It is an absolute masterclass in storytelling and especially worldbuilding. The characters are exceptionally well written but the only reason why I personally didn't like it as much is because I never got very invested in any specific character, the tale intrigued me more than it drew me in (I read mostly for character). Even still I'm glad I read it because the worldbuilding adds sososo much to the overall world and will help you understand and appreciate more the trilogy that comes after it (my favourite books in fantasy). Anyway, carry on, I think you'll really love where the story is going to take you. Edit: yes yes ges on your point of just how insanely hatable Robin Hobbs characters can be, sometimes you just get tired of following these perfectly flawed individuals that it starts to drag you down (especially a problem for me because I am not a fast reader). Fitz is an exception because I would die for him.
I was so distraught over having to leave Fitz & the Fool to embark on another whole trilogy that I almost considered skipping and going to Tawny Man. Thank god I didn’t. I took a one month breather after Assassin’s Quest to collect my thoughts before diving into SoM. Wound up finishing all of liveship within a week. Robin Hobb quite literally blows my mind. How she was able to make me love and connect with so many characters again is beyond me. Excited to hear your thoughts on Mad Ship and Ship of Destiny!
I've been a Robin Hobb fan for decades and yes, the ship trilogy is my favourite among her works, for all the reasons you mention and of course for those things you've yet to encounter. The series is simply stellar.
SO I did the opposite of you and accidentally skipped Mad Ships and The Rain Wilds and went straight to Tawny Main trilogy because I thought I was just supposed to read Fitz's stories. Then a friend I recommended Hobb to read the Elderlings "correctly" told me what I was missing.
Start Mad Ship as soon ASAP. The twists in this trilogy are phenomenal. And her epic scope for this land is beyond beautiful. And if you enjoy Hobbs Prose Daniel, the further you go is almost like reading poetry. It flows like water. And there’s an arc that will catch you off guard. Keep going.
So glad you reviewed this. I loved the Farseer trilogy, but the Live Ship trilogy is one of my all time favorite fantasy series. I love ships...I am a big Patrick O'Brien fan, so what's not to love about a series that combines fantasy with ships?
Appreciate the honest review of hail Mary. I will try to listen to the audiobook.. as I did with the Martian... I'm forwarned about the redo of storyline.
Project hail mary-- what an absolutely bananas book. I listened to it on audio and I had to lay down on the floor with my hands over my eyes for a solid portion of the second half. I think the similarity to the martian is a solid criticism, i reread the martian as soon as i finished PHM because i was nostalgic and reading them back to back was interesting. I think PHM deals a lot more with existential questions than the martian-- Mark Watney hits a road block and makes a quip, then solves it-- its very episodic, literally written as a daily log by watney himself telling us what has happened after it has happened. Ryland hits a rocky patch and we actually get to sit with it AS he deals with it and figures out the ramifications. Its still episodic at times, but i think being able to live in conversation with these rocky moments that makes the difference for me. (and if youve read this book please read into my word choice-- it is on purpose, trying to say what i want to say with no spoilers.)
Every character in the Liveship cast have AMAZING arcs. The series in Real of the Elderlings, go like: Fitz Ship Fitz Ship Fitz I still have the last trilogy to read so i might be wrong but so far thats it.
I'm of the unpopular opinion that Kyle is not so bad. Kyle clearly loves his wife and spoils his daughter. He recognizes the family is heading towards financial ruin and steps up to fix it. Kyle recognized Althea wasnt ready to be captain (and very spoiled), and by end of the book he was right. Kyle recognized Wintrow could be contributing more to the family's business by sailing more than sitting in a monastery, i'd say he's right again. His choice to trade slaves is repulsive but he grew up in a society that accepted the practice and he tried to stick to those with trade skills. Desperate actions for desperate times. So I recognize him as a story villain but I didnt see pure evil like Joffery (f that guy).
Your feeling that people who liked Dresden would like Project Hail Mary as well, is very true, at least in my case. Especially if you listen to the audiobooks.
BEWARE: SPOILERS! I honestly didn't see PHM as all that similar to The Martian. Sure, we have a protagonist who is alone(at first, anyway), separated from the rest of Humanity and having to deal with an overwhelming challenge. But apart from this, their situations are very different, the stakes are much higher for Grace than for Watney. And there's also the, to me, most relevant and enjoyable part of PHM, the relationship between Grace and Rocky, which has no parallel in TM. The problems that have to be "scienced the sh*t out" are also of an entirely different nature. No 'poop potatoes' harvesting here! Anyway, to me Weir went far beyond anything he did in TM, the scope is much wider. The only thing I missed, as someone already said in the comments, was some information about what happened on Earth.
While our dear Greene Goblin is quite right about the unoriginality of the plot of Project Hail Mary, I feel like there is originality of a different type present in this novel. I’ll be cagey about spoilers: some of the “rockier” aspects of the novel involve some really interesting and novel takes on sensory input and linguistics. While this is not an original plot, it is a lovely blend of ideas with excellent characterization of one particular side character (if you know, you know). Hope that wasn’t too vague, but I don’t want to spoil the book.
I’m sure your TBR is pretty loaded, but you should consider adding Terry Mancour’s Spellmonger to the list. It’s a huge epic fantasy series (12 books in the main series), with continual world building, amazing characters, and a surprisingly enjoyable lecture style for explaining how magic works.
I just have about 30 pages left in Ship of Destiny and that whole series was amazing. The character arcs were so interesting. By the third book, you have about 15 different POVs and all of it interesting. Some characters I have loved throughout, others I hated with a passion, some I started off hating and then loved.
@@muhammadhashir6136 I hate my life so much right now for real. I have this cool ass outline next to me but I have to drag around with these fucking idiots from my last book.
@@milospollonia1121 just give them a small emotional arc, fulfil it, and kill them all off gruesomely by an epic and formidable foe, but give them heroic last moments...or don’t, because the book will suck if you follow these instructions. Seriously, writing a book is so fun, I have to study for economics and accounting! If I were continuing my fantasy novella right now I’d be having the high life.
@@muhammadhashir6136 I know, I absolutely love writing, but editing is just so boring. I already have all of the fundamentals you mentioned, but I just dislike rereading my writing.
The author does a really good job at creating a "Mark Watney" like character. I treat the books more like an anthology of stories that revolve around Mark Watney like characters. I wonder if the author might be struggling with branching out with different characters types of main characters? The author does a great job making a Mark Watney like character. Mark Watney would do really well if he had his own series, But the problem is "The Martian", "Artemis", "Project Hail Marry" are pretty much stand alone. Maybe they can take place in the same universe, but you can't have the same character be in all three without substantial changes. But if you have a really likeable character why change it up? I think its about expectations. If you read individual books you are expecting a different range of characters. If you are reading a series you expecting "more of the same". Just my thoughts. I like the books but maybe not the handling/branding of the books? Like i said an Anthology of "Mark Watney" like main characters in what if scenarios works for me.
I’m glad to hear Project Hail Mary was good I wasn’t sure if I should pick it up. Unpopular opinion I love all of Robin Hobbs books so much but Farseer Trilogy is my favorite of her trilogies. I agree about her character work though she really can make you hate or love a character and she is so good at developing a hated character into a loved character.
I really enjoy what you said about Hobbs incredible character work almost making the story worse because that's exactly how I felt about SoM, it was the book that took me the longest to read out of all the RotE books just because it was so frustrating to see characters take one step forward and then imediately being forced to take two back because of Kyle. Kennit stuff somehow ended up being one of the few chapters where I could chill out lol. I feel like Malta ends up being the perfect evolution and subversion of Hobbs work with Kyle/Regal/etc. In a way that could really only ever be written by a woman.
I've just finished the Liveship trilogy yesterday, and it is amazing! Please continue reading it, you won't be disappointed. 👍 Great review btw. "I hate him more than Joffrey" 😂😂😂
I got Project Hail Mary from my local Waterstones for £16, and the ASDA (Wallmart) closest to me had it for £10... wth is that about. Thats a massive undercut to bookstores.
The Algorithm led me here, not sure why. It’s been almost a decade since I found time to read a novel. I can. Not. Wait. To see your video after you finish Liveship. Seriously, it’s galaxy brain levels of world building. Stronger than WoT, for my taste. Certainly not as gigantic, but I found it much more cohesive. One of those series I wish I could un-read just to experience again.
I have The Martian book but have not read it yet. I liked the movie. I just finished PHM and loved it! Should I still read The Martian? probably. I own Artemis but have not read that either, yet.
1:42 I found Mark Watney and Ryland Grace, apart from both being good at science, to be very different. Mark's character felt more flat and he really comes off as an engineer, hell his Mech Engg specialisation was as much if not more of a focus in the book as his Botany one. Meanwhile Grace as a character has much more depth, and is a hard science person through and through with minimal engg knowledge. their personalities are also very different. Mark being this funny guy of the room who is an astronaut through and through, and Grace is the friendly school teacher, who also does _not_ like taking risks if he has a choice. Agreed on Ryland feeling more human. But again, that's just my take. Good review.
My god... Kylie. I don't think I've ever hated a fictional character so much. Also, I hope you continue by reading the Tawny Man Trilogy because that's where Fitz and all the characters related to him continue to develop and where we get a wider world-view in relation to him.
My first fantasy book ever was actually the Royal Assassin (the 2nd in the Farseer trilogy) and I have never turned back. I absolutely fell in love with fantasy because of Robin Hobb. I could go on and on but ultimately her writing draws me in deep enough that I lost reality while reading. I hated the end of FitzChivalry but it had to come at some point.
I was wondering if Daniel ever covered (or plans to cover) the Peter F Hamilton books? I would love to see him introduced to the Commonwealth world, through Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained... Thanks friends!
Daniel i was just wondering. What are your thoughts on «eastern fantasy» and «RPG/level up fantasy» sub genre. I know there are many low Quality works in those genre, but they can be incredible when done right.
In Project Hail Mary, I didn’t understand how Ryland was able to get Astrophage to replicate in his lab using a lightbulb and filter projecting the light wave length of Venus, since it is later explained that CO2 is needed for replication and Venus’s atmosphere is CO2. Did the lightbulb and filter create CO2? How did the Astrophage replicate on just the filter/bulb setup?
Hobb only does first person perspective with Fitz, when it's about other characters there's third person pespective Farseer Trilogy: First person Liveship Trilogy: Third person The Tawny Man: First person The Rain Wilds Chronicles: Third person Fitz and the Fool Trilogy: First person
I do want to add the narration of Ship of Magic I did not particularly like. Would recommend physically reading.
Ship of Magic: amzn.to/343mKH1
Project Hail Mary: amzn.to/2RGuqfs
Soso glad you finally continued with Robin Hobb again.
Regards, a massive fanboy.
Hard agree. Anne Flosnik is one of my least favorite narrators.
I'm still on the first review, but I'm going to guess you liked Ship of Magic a lot better than the first three books. I love Althea so much, and something other than bad stuff happens to Fitz.
you reacted the exact way i thought you would to ship of magic. btw pay attention to Amber she is going to blow your mind.
Hear me out- she SUCKED for me for the majority of SoM but I actually started to like her in MS and SoD. Definitely keep going with them! I was so surprised by how much I loved all of the characters by the end of the trilogy.
TAP TAP TAP. Project Hail Mary's audiobook is Amaze! Yes Yes yes!
Happy happy happy
I could hear this comment.
Amaze amaze amaze!
Omg love it
Fist my bump
I loved how Rocky always said “question” and how they became such good friends. It’s like being alien to each other wasn’t a big deal and they had their own special relationship aside from all the problems going on. I also felt that their science people all dying and our engineers dying led to the best outcome. We had better science and they had better engineers. I was disappointed that I didn’t get to hear about what happened on earth though.
I loved how the ending leaves you wondering if Ryland ever went back to earth.
F***ing Kyle. I haven’t read that book in a year and I’m still seething
For me The Martian and PHM read very differently because of the amount of intrigue and mystery in PHM. I was able to do a dozen smaller reading sessions for The Martian while loving it, but the punches kept coming nonstop in PHM and I ended up reading ~80% of it in my first session. Loved both.
Wil Wheaton butchered The Martian, especially after the epic reading of that book by R.C. Bray. Not sure why Audible changed that.
Hey Daniel! As a 19-year-old college freshman, I just wanted to thank you for playing a HUGE part in rekindling my love for literature (especially Sci-fi and Fantasy) at this important juncture in my life. I discovered Mr. Sanderson (the fantasy god himself) and his books through your videos, and that alone should suffice to say that you are indeed helping inspire countless people out there to rediscover their love for reading, and maybe to even try writing a work of literature themselves. I can’t wait to read your novella-I just got it in ebook form-and I am looking forward to seeing you and your channel grow even bigger! Cheers, man ✌🏼
"i want to commit homicide on a fictional man" SAME
"fuck lysander" ™
Okay the shirt off Kyle scene had me rolling.
Hobb is my pick for best character writer of all time after Liveships, I'm not sure it's really even close.
The audio book for Hail Mary was phenomenal. The performance was 10/10
Same guy who did Bobiverse. Highly recommend.
Just finished the audiobook and it was fantastic!
Tempted to get it on audio also. I read the book in less than 3 day when it came out but everybody is talking about how great the audio is and also I miss the story! I want to revisit it!
Finished it 12 hours ago and I couldn't agree more. I want to see how he performs other books.
I'm trying to decide if I like listening to this actor or RC Bray (The Martian) more. It's really close for me.
Just finished int on audible. Incredible!
(Ship of Magic) These books are more connected to the first book characters than you first think, keep reading!
*Laughs knowingly*
I did watch part of this and thought.... just you wait ✋
It makes me excited because I knew right away but imagine having it revealed to you in Ship of Destiny when Hobb makes it clear as day who they are…I’d be screaming
@@britwww I can't remember exactly where it clicked but it was such an awesome moment! Hobbs masterful is giving you enough hints without beating you over the head with it.
I made the mistake of reading Liveship Traders after the second Fitz trilogy and spoiled myself on one of these connections, honestly regret it.
I was that one vote! When I got there Ship of Magic was exactly tied with IQ84 at 61 votes and I was the 62nd. That was cool.
Thanks for doing the good work ;)
I've been looking forward to Daniel reviewing Ship of Magic for a while
You are a hero, I tip my hat at you.
Thank you!!!
I think what's great about Kyle as a character, that he is not some fantasy villain, not a dark lord or evil sorcerer or even a royal son (like Regal), but he is simply an abusive, misogynistic narcissist, who is just too real to read about because a lot of us know such people. He is just a bad person. I never wanted a character to die as much as Kyle :D
Btw, what did you think of Amber? I really like her and there is so much to her story :)
Yeah, he is really bad, and a real person. That only make me hate him more. A great character and a rotten person.
You've really said it in a nutshell perfectly.
I know this is spoiler territory, but is he in the whole trilogy? because I’m barely into Ship of Magic and I hate him so much that I don’t want to keep reading.
@@xJillie you can keep reading, he's present in book 2 and 3, but way less prominently, and we don't see him for a big period of time.
"If you're going against a monster, is it ok to behave monstrous towards them?"
-Journey before destination radiant.
Haven't seen the video yet, but I know Ship of Magic is going to be a positive review. Because everything Robin Hobb writes is just so damn good
I just grabbed ship of Magic! Im loving the realm of the elderlings
I'm really interested to see what you think of Kennit and Malta by the end of this series.
Yes!
you will certainly not know do you love or hate them.
Totally agree with her character work made it so good but also the first 100-150 pages, knowing whats coming I was so hurt and almost not having fun, she is just so immersive and loved to put people through realistic injustices. And Kyle is THE WORST
For me Project Hail Mary is like the child of The Martian and The Andromeda Strain. I really enjoyed it!
That's probably why I loved it so much. I was looking for some more good sci-fi since I read The Andromeda Evolution in late 2019. Andy definitely went above and beyond this time around and I hope he can do it again.
I have never cared as much about book characters as I did for Grace and Rocky. The jazz hands, “fist my bump”, asking a question and ending it with “question?” was always humorous. By far one of my favorite books and I’m only sad that it ended.
I just finished a certain scene in Shadow Rising where a character receives his Dragons. Holy shit I'm so in love with this series.
Like, Daniel I can't thank you enough for introducing me to WoT. This is my life now.
I just finished book 6. And recovering from that blow. What a series!
@@reinierovertoom7123 Yeah, I've heard the climax to Lord of Chaos is intense
@@reinierovertoom7123 I've just started book six. The prologue is basically a novella.
Liveship trader is my favourite trilogy ever written ever, but I'll never read it again.
I loved the way your T-shirt reinforced your feelings about Kyle - "I could murder" ("a Curry" only briefly appearing above the desk on a couple of occasions).
Noticing you didn’t make mention of specific characters and their connection to previous Hobb books makes me excited for your review of Ship of Destiny where she makes it Very Clear for those who may have missed the hints throughout the first two books 😭 What a ride you are about to have!
This channel deserves all the praise it gets.good work.👍👍
I have to say I really like the double stack review format. I often dont watch reviews for books that I have no interest in but by making a video like this I'm far more likely to watch.
Rocky is the best.
That is all.
You convinced me to read Project Hail Mary, so thank you for that! I'm loving it! 💚
As with everything Hobb, she asked the connections between the series to happen naturally and organically... It is a beautiful thing. I'm envious that you've got so much of her work yet to uncover and experience for the first time.
Daniel, I am with you on Kyle. SO with you.
Liveship Traders is my favorite among Hobb's works and remain so to this day.
The worst thing about Kyle is that he genuinely believes what he's doing is right. After Regal, who the first person writing didn't give room for a lot of depth, Kyle is a terribly human monster.
Ohhh Daniel, sweet child, just you remember everything you're gushing about w.r.t character work....come the end, you will hate her for doing the things she's going to do to your heart. (Not a spoiler, shes just going to break you with the Highs and the Lows buddy)
She building a Domino Palace only to crush it.
We're bringing him over to the dark side Elderlings!!!!!
After the disaster that was Artemis, I have no issue whatsoever with Andy Weir reusing The Martian's formula. So much so that I refused to add Project Hail Mary to my TBR until I read numerous reviews assuring me it was more like The Martian than Artemis.
Ah! Ship of Magic. Been a few years. Currently doing a reread of her Farseer series, and I know I will probably skip these until after I have read the Tawny man trilogy because that was the order I read them in the first time. I heard about the Liveship Traders AFTER I had read the Tawny Man trilogy. And I am trying to relive the way it happened the first time. Then I read the Rain Wilds Chronicles before the Fitz and the Fool trilogy!
"I hate him more than Joffrey" Accurate 👏 I felt red rage when reading his parts as if he existed in real life! Great review.
Yup, F Kyle sideways with a crowbar. We can all agree there. :D
In Liveship Traders Robin Hobb does an excellent job with switching POV. Usually I find many POV tiresome (because often I just plain don't like some POV characters or find them interesting) but in LT I just like pretty much all of them. They each have their own interesting voices that keep me engaged. And the arcs are so strong in LT.
Wintrow is my absolute favourite.
Awesome review of Ship of Magic. The start of an unbelievably epic saga. That fact that you didn’t even mention the best character of all speaks to how much BETTER Liveship Traders gets as it progresses. Looking forward to the subsequent reviews. I wish I was reading it for the first time again!
HI Daniel, I just want to say that I love your channel! I discovered it a couple months ago and it's really helped me out of some bad days (anxiety sucks as you know). I've binged pretty much all of your videos that I could find. Your sense of humor is hilarious and your reviews always make me feel like I'm learning something. Also, I appreciate your attitude of "My opinion is just my opinion and you can have yours" since a lot of people on the internet seem to have... the exact opposite. Thank you!
In regards to people saying you won't like Liveship Traders, I think you might actually like it more than the Farseer trilogy. It is an absolute masterclass in storytelling and especially worldbuilding. The characters are exceptionally well written but the only reason why I personally didn't like it as much is because I never got very invested in any specific character, the tale intrigued me more than it drew me in (I read mostly for character). Even still I'm glad I read it because the worldbuilding adds sososo much to the overall world and will help you understand and appreciate more the trilogy that comes after it (my favourite books in fantasy). Anyway, carry on, I think you'll really love where the story is going to take you.
Edit: yes yes ges on your point of just how insanely hatable Robin Hobbs characters can be, sometimes you just get tired of following these perfectly flawed individuals that it starts to drag you down (especially a problem for me because I am not a fast reader). Fitz is an exception because I would die for him.
Oh I think I wasn’t clear. People said I wouldn’t like Farseer and I did. Everyone said id love this and I did :)
@@DanielGreeneReviews ah okay very good, Hobb's writing only gets better and better thats a certainty.
One thing really cool about Robin Hobbs is she's really expands her story and everything is both disconnected and highly connected the more you learn.
I was so distraught over having to leave Fitz & the Fool to embark on another whole trilogy that I almost considered skipping and going to Tawny Man. Thank god I didn’t. I took a one month breather after Assassin’s Quest to collect my thoughts before diving into SoM. Wound up finishing all of liveship within a week. Robin Hobb quite literally blows my mind. How she was able to make me love and connect with so many characters again is beyond me. Excited to hear your thoughts on Mad Ship and Ship of Destiny!
I've been a Robin Hobb fan for decades and yes, the ship trilogy is my favourite among her works, for all the reasons you mention and of course for those things you've yet to encounter.
The series is simply stellar.
Okay, Night of Knives is slowly edging up the polls, I can accept this. Hopefully we will get a review by 2025
SO I did the opposite of you and accidentally skipped Mad Ships and The Rain Wilds and went straight to Tawny Main trilogy because I thought I was just supposed to read Fitz's stories. Then a friend I recommended Hobb to read the Elderlings "correctly" told me what I was missing.
Start Mad Ship as soon ASAP. The twists in this trilogy are phenomenal. And her epic scope for this land is beyond beautiful. And if you enjoy Hobbs Prose Daniel, the further you go is almost like reading poetry. It flows like water. And there’s an arc that will catch you off guard. Keep going.
So glad you reviewed this. I loved the Farseer trilogy, but the Live Ship trilogy is one of my all time favorite fantasy series. I love ships...I am a big Patrick O'Brien fan, so what's not to love about a series that combines fantasy with ships?
This was my favorite series in the realm of the eldering series(that I read i haven't read the last trilogy yet). Happy you liked it too
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You`re in for a ride. I`m reading it for the second time now and I love it.
Appreciate the honest review of hail Mary. I will try to listen to the audiobook.. as I did with the Martian... I'm forwarned about the redo of storyline.
Project hail mary-- what an absolutely bananas book. I listened to it on audio and I had to lay down on the floor with my hands over my eyes for a solid portion of the second half. I think the similarity to the martian is a solid criticism, i reread the martian as soon as i finished PHM because i was nostalgic and reading them back to back was interesting. I think PHM deals a lot more with existential questions than the martian-- Mark Watney hits a road block and makes a quip, then solves it-- its very episodic, literally written as a daily log by watney himself telling us what has happened after it has happened. Ryland hits a rocky patch and we actually get to sit with it AS he deals with it and figures out the ramifications. Its still episodic at times, but i think being able to live in conversation with these rocky moments that makes the difference for me.
(and if youve read this book please read into my word choice-- it is on purpose, trying to say what i want to say with no spoilers.)
Liveship Traders is by far my favorite trilogy in the Realm of the Elderlings.
Yeah, I loved the Farseer trilogy and jumped to Tawny Man before reading Liveship, but I think Liveship is my favorite trilogy in the series, too.
Every character in the Liveship cast have AMAZING arcs.
The series in Real of the Elderlings, go like:
Fitz
Ship
Fitz
Ship
Fitz
I still have the last trilogy to read so i might be wrong but so far thats it.
The last trilogy is amazing, it competes with liveship for the favourite spot.
@@vaffel81 But makes some mistakes and leaves a lot more threads unresolved.
I'm of the unpopular opinion that Kyle is not so bad. Kyle clearly loves his wife and spoils his daughter. He recognizes the family is heading towards financial ruin and steps up to fix it. Kyle recognized Althea wasnt ready to be captain (and very spoiled), and by end of the book he was right. Kyle recognized Wintrow could be contributing more to the family's business by sailing more than sitting in a monastery, i'd say he's right again. His choice to trade slaves is repulsive but he grew up in a society that accepted the practice and he tried to stick to those with trade skills. Desperate actions for desperate times. So I recognize him as a story villain but I didnt see pure evil like Joffery (f that guy).
Your feeling that people who liked Dresden would like Project Hail Mary as well, is very true, at least in my case. Especially if you listen to the audiobooks.
BEWARE: SPOILERS! I honestly didn't see PHM as all that similar to The Martian. Sure, we have a protagonist who is alone(at first, anyway), separated from the rest of Humanity and having to deal with an overwhelming challenge. But apart from this, their situations are very different, the stakes are much higher for Grace than for Watney. And there's also the, to me, most relevant and enjoyable part of PHM, the relationship between Grace and Rocky, which has no parallel in TM. The problems that have to be "scienced the sh*t out" are also of an entirely different nature. No 'poop potatoes' harvesting here! Anyway, to me Weir went far beyond anything he did in TM, the scope is much wider. The only thing I missed, as someone already said in the comments, was some information about what happened on Earth.
To me Robin Hobbs work is about trauma. Exhausting. Liveships is my favourite trilogy of hers
While our dear Greene Goblin is quite right about the unoriginality of the plot of Project Hail Mary, I feel like there is originality of a different type present in this novel. I’ll be cagey about spoilers: some of the “rockier” aspects of the novel involve some really interesting and novel takes on sensory input and linguistics. While this is not an original plot, it is a lovely blend of ideas with excellent characterization of one particular side character (if you know, you know). Hope that wasn’t too vague, but I don’t want to spoil the book.
I’m sure your TBR is pretty loaded, but you should consider adding Terry Mancour’s Spellmonger to the list. It’s a huge epic fantasy series (12 books in the main series), with continual world building, amazing characters, and a surprisingly enjoyable lecture style for explaining how magic works.
My Husband binged it in 3 days. He was listening to parts of it around our 11 yr old...who was engaged and really interested in it.
I just have about 30 pages left in Ship of Destiny and that whole series was amazing. The character arcs were so interesting. By the third book, you have about 15 different POVs and all of it interesting. Some characters I have loved throughout, others I hated with a passion, some I started off hating and then loved.
At 0:28 I see five books on the shelf next to Dan's face, just to the left of the Dune book. I love the covers! WHAT ARE THOSE BOOKS???
been waiting for more of Hobbs books. Thank you and keep going. its get better by the book
The way u say hello in first few seconds might have given u 80% of ur subscribers.
It's too early in the morning for me to see shirtless yet disheveled goblins! (Great review of Hail Mary, definitely looking forward to this one)
When you should be studying because exams are around the corner...but you watch a disheveled goblin instead.
I'm editing my book, which is equally boring, so Daniel is a very happy distraction
@@milospollonia1121 Oh the editing process, yeah I know how that can be. I feel for you.
@@muhammadhashir6136 I hate my life so much right now for real. I have this cool ass outline next to me but I have to drag around with these fucking idiots from my last book.
@@milospollonia1121 just give them a small emotional arc, fulfil it, and kill them all off gruesomely by an epic and formidable foe, but give them heroic last moments...or don’t, because the book will suck if you follow these instructions.
Seriously, writing a book is so fun, I have to study for economics and accounting! If I were continuing my fantasy novella right now I’d be having the high life.
@@muhammadhashir6136 I know, I absolutely love writing, but editing is just so boring. I already have all of the fundamentals you mentioned, but I just dislike rereading my writing.
The author does a really good job at creating a "Mark Watney" like character. I treat the books more like an anthology of stories that revolve around Mark Watney like characters.
I wonder if the author might be struggling with branching out with different characters types of main characters? The author does a great job making a Mark Watney like character. Mark Watney would do really well if he had his own series, But the problem is "The Martian", "Artemis", "Project Hail Marry" are pretty much stand alone. Maybe they can take place in the same universe, but you can't have the same character be in all three without substantial changes.
But if you have a really likeable character why change it up? I think its about expectations. If you read individual books you are expecting a different range of characters. If you are reading a series you expecting "more of the same".
Just my thoughts. I like the books but maybe not the handling/branding of the books? Like i said an Anthology of "Mark Watney" like main characters in what if scenarios works for me.
Don't worry Daniel there are still lots of Fitz books ahead of you
I’m glad to hear Project Hail Mary was good I wasn’t sure if I should pick it up. Unpopular opinion I love all of Robin Hobbs books so much but Farseer Trilogy is my favorite of her trilogies. I agree about her character work though she really can make you hate or love a character and she is so good at developing a hated character into a loved character.
I really enjoy what you said about Hobbs incredible character work almost making the story worse because that's exactly how I felt about SoM, it was the book that took me the longest to read out of all the RotE books just because it was so frustrating to see characters take one step forward and then imediately being forced to take two back because of Kyle. Kennit stuff somehow ended up being one of the few chapters where I could chill out lol. I feel like Malta ends up being the perfect evolution and subversion of Hobbs work with Kyle/Regal/etc. In a way that could really only ever be written by a woman.
It's obvious that Robin Hobb was once a teenage girl and remembers it vividly.
"Pirates are f**kin' cool." LOL! Yep.
Double the review, Double the fun ;)
I've just finished the Liveship trilogy yesterday, and it is amazing! Please continue reading it, you won't be disappointed. 👍
Great review btw. "I hate him more than Joffrey" 😂😂😂
I perceived rocky as a super charming space dog alien.
I will be reading the liveship trader series this summer you were so right about assassins apprentice I dnf it 🤔😕☹🤯😬
You`ll have great summer. That series is truly great.
@@vaffel81 thank's I'm really hoping that I will enjoy this series 😳🤔😇
We say "push through, it gets good" because with every new RH book, the bar is raised.
I got Project Hail Mary from my local Waterstones for £16, and the ASDA (Wallmart) closest to me had it for £10... wth is that about. Thats a massive undercut to bookstores.
The Algorithm led me here, not sure why. It’s been almost a decade since I found time to read a novel.
I can. Not. Wait. To see your video after you finish Liveship. Seriously, it’s galaxy brain levels of world building. Stronger than WoT, for my taste. Certainly not as gigantic, but I found it much more cohesive. One of those series I wish I could un-read just to experience again.
Every video you put out, I find at least 1 book that I have to read
I read ship of magic ages ago and you saying that about Kyle made me reignite my own hatred for that bastard 😂
I'll just wait until you get back from book two of Ship praising Malta's development (probably loving her by then)
So... Can one skip straight to Ship of Magic, or is the Farseer Trilogy necessary first to really enjoy this to the utmost?
Farseer isn’t necessary but enhances the reading experience as the series progresses quite a bit.
I'm at 50% of ship of magic and I'm not having so much fun. But I have high hopes that it will improve cuz i really liked the 1º trilogy.
PHM was the second best book I have read this year. Dogs of War by Adrian Tchaikovsky is the first.
I have The Martian book but have not read it yet. I liked the movie. I just finished PHM and loved it! Should I still read The Martian? probably. I own Artemis but have not read that either, yet.
1:42
I found Mark Watney and Ryland Grace, apart from both being good at science, to be very different.
Mark's character felt more flat and he really comes off as an engineer, hell his Mech Engg specialisation was as much if not more of a focus in the book as his Botany one. Meanwhile Grace as a character has much more depth, and is a hard science person through and through with minimal engg knowledge.
their personalities are also very different. Mark being this funny guy of the room who is an astronaut through and through, and Grace is the friendly school teacher, who also does _not_ like taking risks if he has a choice.
Agreed on Ryland feeling more human.
But again, that's just my take. Good review.
I don't know, I thought there were new themes introduces in Hail Mary. The structure points I completely agree with. Loved the book!
Oh man! You're in for a treat! These were my favorites for sure! Robin Hobb Rules!
My god... Kylie. I don't think I've ever hated a fictional character so much. Also, I hope you continue by reading the Tawny Man Trilogy because that's where Fitz and all the characters related to him continue to develop and where we get a wider world-view in relation to him.
My first fantasy book ever was actually the Royal Assassin (the 2nd in the Farseer trilogy) and I have never turned back. I absolutely fell in love with fantasy because of Robin Hobb. I could go on and on but ultimately her writing draws me in deep enough that I lost reality while reading. I hated the end of FitzChivalry but it had to come at some point.
I was wondering if Daniel ever covered (or plans to cover) the Peter F Hamilton books? I would love to see him introduced to the Commonwealth world, through Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained... Thanks friends!
The whole realm of the elderlings series is amazing, and the only reason it's not my favorite all around is WoT and the Cosmere exist
Daniel i was just wondering. What are your thoughts on «eastern fantasy» and «RPG/level up fantasy» sub genre. I know there are many low Quality works in those genre, but they can be incredible when done right.
Just finished Project Hail Mary and completely agree with your review! I liked it because I liked The Martian, which this was but... BIGGER.
In Project Hail Mary, I didn’t understand how Ryland was able to get Astrophage to replicate in his lab using a lightbulb and filter projecting the light wave length of Venus, since it is later explained that CO2 is needed for replication and Venus’s atmosphere is CO2. Did the lightbulb and filter create CO2? How did the Astrophage replicate on just the filter/bulb setup?
Hobb only does first person perspective with Fitz, when it's about other characters there's third person pespective
Farseer Trilogy: First person
Liveship Trilogy: Third person
The Tawny Man: First person
The Rain Wilds Chronicles: Third person
Fitz and the Fool Trilogy: First person
I just finished Ship of Magig and was looking for a good, objective review, only to find this was published a few hours ago! Not even Kennit's luck!
i love how the rest of your shirt is cut off and it just says “i could murder”
Also been really enjoying the Liveship traders
I laughed so hard when he said I hate him more than Joffery , by that you can understand that how evil the character is
Dude your awesome and I can’t wait to read your books
"I hate him more than Geoffrey" speaks VOLUMES!
Daniel, can you do a spoiler review for SoM please?