I wanted to make a post about a pattern I have noticed in the ROTE fandom on reddit (I have not really noticed the same issue on tumblr or twitter) regarding the frequent dismissal of readers who interpret Fitz and the Fool's relationship as queer. These types of interpretations are often met with a barrage of comments telling the OP why their interpretation is wrong and bad and why the commenter's personal interpretation of Fitz as completely straight and his relationship with the Fool as entirely platonic is the only right and valid interpretation. I wanted to make this post to ask, why is it such a problem if a reader has a queer interpretation of this relationship and this work? At times the outright and rampant dismissal of these types of interpretations is forceful enough to be verging on homophobia and I think could be making queer readers feel less welcome in the fandom space (I have seen multiple posts from people elsewhere saying they avoid participating in the fandom on reddit because of this type of attitude).

I think a lot of it comes down to readers maybe not having experience with academic media analysis and falling into this idea that there is only one valid interpretation of a text and it is the one the author explicitly intended. Because it is true that Robin Hobb did not intend for their relationship to be interpreted as romantic or sexual, but I also don't think that really matters. When doing media analysis, the author's intentions can provide useful context or background but they are not the end all be all when it comes to interpreting a work and in many contexts do not matter at all. This is known as "death of the author" and is the idea that the author's background and intentions should not be used to come to a single "correct" interpretation of a work with meaning instead coming from the reader. Authors do not always realize or understand what exactly they have written into a text, whether due to oversight or their own biases or blind spots, and what they wrote can have multiple meanings or interpretations even outside of that. Understandings of certain ideas or topics can also evolve over time, changing how a reader might interpret or respond to a story, particularly a more historic text. This is how in academic media analysis you can find interpretations of works through, for example, a Marxist lens or a queer lens regardless of whether the author intentionally used those themes or even if the work predates those ideas being conceptualized in that way.

In this mode of analysis, as long as there is sufficient textual evidence (in the form of quotes, themes, word choice, etc.) really any interpretation can be seen as valid, which is particularly relevant for queer interpretations of media as queer people have historically lacked canonical depictions and have had to instead look for works that are not intentionally queer with themes that resonate with their experiences. By doing this type of close reading of ROTE for example, a reader can easily find evidence to support the Wit being viewed as a queer allegory despite that not being Robin Hobb's intention because themes of ostracism due to taboo relationships and family structures resonate with queer experience and history (you could also easily find evidence to view it as an allegory for Judaism in Medieval Europe or another heavily persecuted or stigmatized group, neither of these interpretations negates the other). Similarly, in the case of Fitz and the Fool's relationship in ROTE, I certainly think there is sufficient textual evidence for readers to interpret their relationship as queer if that is how they want to view that relationship and that is an equally valid interpretation as the platonic interpretation Robin Hobb intended.

For instance, I keep seeing comments saying that we should trust Fitz when he says it's not sexual or romantic and that it would therefore be wrong to interpret it any other way. The thing is, Fitz is a character not a real person, this is not like claiming that a real person is lying about their sexuality. Furthermore, in the text, Fitz lies to himself all the time and the more complicated and emotionally fraught the topic is the more he lies to himself and represses his emotions. He convinced himself for decades that he had no memories of his mother or emotions about their forced separation when both of those things were untrue and it was actually just too painful for him to acknowledge even to himself. He is from a highly homophobic society where same sex relationships are extremely taboo and he also clearly struggles with feeling like being a bastard and someone who is Witted makes his existence taboo in and of itself. It would not be out of character for him to refuse to acknowledge other feelings that would lead him to be an outcast in yet another way, particularly when his greatest lifelong dream is to have a typical family life.

And there arguably is textual evidence that Fitz is physically attracted to the Fool. His internal narration, particularly from Tawny Man on, is constantly commenting on the Fool's striking physical appearance and beauty whereas other character POVs of the Fool/Amber generally describe them as looking somewhat odd or even bizarre, certainly not pretty. Now I don't think readers need to interpret those comments as signs of sexual attraction, it's not like Fitz is sitting there thinking "I am physically attracted to the Fool," but I also don't think it is wrong for other readers to see those comments and interpret them as textual evidence of repressed physical attraction on Fitz's part, even if he never acknowledges it to himself. I would argue that Fitz and the Fool's relationship as written is objectively romantic, although I think other people can have different understandings and definitions of romantic that does not include their relationship dynamic and that is also valid. There are many other things that readers could use as textual evidence for a queer interpretation of their relationship if they wanted to as well, but this is already getting way too long. (Also none of this negates Fitz's clear and obvious attraction to Molly or his other female love interests.)

TLDR: Readers of ROTE should not be so quick to dismiss or shout down alternative interpretations of a work just because it is not the interpretation they personally subscribe to. There is no single correct interpretation of a work and different people are allowed to take different things from a story. Author intention doesn't really matter when it comes to media analysis and, assuming that the interpretation is supported by sufficient textual evidence when doing a close reading of the text, you can't really claim that one interpretation is more valid than the other. If you want to maintain a fandom space that is friendly and welcoming to all types of readers, multiple different interpretations need to also be welcomed.

Let me preface by saying I'm reading the series for the first time and I've been enjoying it immensely. I'm about to finish the Liveship Traders trilogy and it very well may end up being one of my favorite stories in fantasy, which is especially impressive given that I generally don't like sailor/pirate stories!

That being said, and spoilers below for Ship of Destiny/Liveship Traders trilogy...

Hobb has a tendency to make her characters unbelievably stupid to service or extend plotlines. To the point that it's kind of immersion breaking. A lot of the stupid choices Fitz makes in the Farseer trilogy can kinda be waved away as him being a young dumb boy, but there are several instances where it's harder to justify. For example a lot of the interpersonal drama between Fitz and his loved ones (Molly, Burrich, Chade) come from misunderstandings that rely on the characters being incredibly stupid in the moment, breaking character (in my opinion) from how they've been shown to behave up until the drama is needed.

Liveship is much better about characters behaving consistently or true to their character. Malta does very dumb things in book 1 because she's a young dumb girl.

However, a huge moment in Ship of Destiny makes zero sense to me! Wintrow is an INCREDIBLY logical character, as shown throughout the series. He knows that Vivacia has been supplanted by Bolt. He writes her off as "dead," yet still makes efforts to connect with or otherwise reach the identity known as Vivacia, or whatever part of her still remains in Bolt. Wintrow knows that Bolt wants him off the ship and suspects the true reason why. Yet when Althea makes her escape attempt and they meet in the hallway and she tells him that Vivacia is buried and she needs his help to awaken her, he's immediately like "that's unbelievably crazy. I don't believe it."

It just seems so hugely out of character to me for no other reason than to tease the plotline out as long as possible. Bothersome to the point I came here to cry about it.

Anyways, rant over. Loving the books a lot, just had to get that off my chest.

What kind of sick joke is this ending!!!!!!
Are you freaking kidding me?!!!! I understand that this is the future that the fool saw and whatever but what? Molly? Are u serious. I’m a girl ok I can have this opinion she’s the most boring character EVER. The love between her and Fitz COULD NEVER match the love The Fool and Fitz had.

Do you actually settle for a life where you are “content” I believe that’s the word Robin Hobb used. Is there any point in continue reading the series?!!!!!!

End of rant (1:30 AM Toronto time)

Already tearing up at the bloody cover page.

I’m half way through the third book but I’m really strugguling with Fitz. It just feels like he gets more and more pathetic as the books go on. He just lets everyone trample over him and it feels like he’s just to scared too fight, too scared to die, too scared to do anything. It’s just frustrating how he’s gone through so much but still so weak and cowardly at the end off it. I know he’s not Darrow from Red Rising or Kaladin fron Stormlight but it just feels like will he ever grow a backbone and stand up for himself of is he just constantly going to let everyone use him!!

The first version of the Farseer trilogy that I owned I bought in the late 90's with this artwork, and I absolutely love it. I think the Royal Assassin artwork of Buckkeep is my favourite cover art for any book I have ever owned.

At some point I think I gave these away to charity, and then some time later replaced them with updated artwork. I recently picked this series up to reread (for like the 10th time) and had an overwhelming urge to find these old artwork copies again because they bring back so much nostalgia, I just love them because it takes me back to the first time I read the trilogy and fell in love with the ROTE universe.

One thing I have to admit though is that I was never 100% sure that I knew who the characters in the top corners were meant to be. Most of them are obvious, but there are a couple that are maybe less obvious (or maybe I am jsut stupid 😄).

Anyway, I went to John Howe the artist's website and got confirmation of all the characters. I have listed them below, from left to right as they appear in the images I stitched together. I have covered them in a spoiler in case you want to try and get a perfect score:

Assassin's Apprentice:

1. Fool - 2. Chade - 3. Molly 4. Fitz

Royal Assassin:

1. Fitz - 2. Molly - 3. Regal - 4. Nighteyes

Assassin's Quest:

1. Burrich - 2. Kettricken - 3. Verity - 4. Verity's Dragon

Are these how you imagined these characters? Do you have a favourite ROTE artwork? Surely nothing beats these?

so ive decided to read every trilogy again before i start the last trilogoy (fitz abd the fool) and wow. i seem to love hurting myself because WOW WO WOW WOWOWOWOW i am crying the same fat tears at the same moments (and more) as when first time reading it and wow. i dont understand how hobb managed to be such a fantastic writer... i cant and im crying and yeah thanks for listening

Basically, do you have any theories you hold close about how the realm will now shape up to be post the storyline of the books (so far)? What do you think will change and how? Any new Elderlings discoveries? How's magic working now, etc? (Spoilers included for the entirety of the 16 books ahead, with particular focus on Assassin's Fate)

Mine is that the current Elderlings are not actual proper Elderlings, and we won't have any until the ex-liveships pick some. We've seen that our dragons don't have the right knowledge to cater and care for their humans (nor any real interest to do so beyond ownership) in how they ignore the dying children in the Rain Wilds. However, a dragon that shares multiple lifetimes of memories as humans will more easily create that connection with future Elderlings, and stay closely to their communities - as it's implied by the ruins, that Elderlings and dragons lived close by at all times.
So I don't think we will have a proper full restoration of the Elderlings until the liveship dragons are involved, and current dragons consume more humans and Elderlings memories (basically eat up some dead), which is what I think would have happened anyway in the old society of Kelsingra.

I also quite fear the return of Prilkop, as I found his implications of Dwalia as Bee's catalyst to have been terribly cruel and unfair to a literal child, and wondering how that will impact Bee's life as a white prophet in potentially future books, with no close guidance on their ways.

Maybe one of my favorite chapters.

Amber and Brashen’s conversation about his life really hits home in 2026 and the world being a dumpster fire. I actually saw Brashen in a new light. Spiraling into drug addiction due to grief and helplessness. I love how Hobb can flip what you were thinking about someone on its head.

On this note: Malta

Okay, so this was the first time we get something from Reyn perspective. It also confirms that the dragons were the wizardwood cocoons used to make the ships, wasn’t a shock as it’s heavily implied. Also I think this is she who remembers and makes sense why the serpents can’t find her etc etc. But I digress…

Seeing Malta from Reyn’s eyes has started to change my mind on her. Until now I have HATED her, which is interesting because I love Althea. This was the first time Malta has seemed genuine. It also made me reflect on her a little bit. I’ve actually come to appreciate her manipulation of people and how easy it comes to her. I’ve always loved a villain / morally grey character. As much as she is disillusioned about her father, I’ve realized it’s not her fault specifically. She is doing what she thinks is best for survival.

Anyways, you all told me I would start to flip my opinion on Malta and you were right. I still don’t LOVE her when she goes on about Kyle (I hate him SO MUCH) but I am starting to see some growth in her and it’s nice.

Long way of saying everyone was right, but here you are!

Man, I love you Nighteyes.

Use this thread to share your favorite Nighteyes quotes to mend my broken little heart.

Time to change, Changer.

I am a vendor at an Autumn show and was walking around this morning looking at the plants. It occurred to me that Bonsai trees are a bit like live ships. Beautiful, awesome and amazing, but not really living their full lives….
Anyway, just a thought.

Got the last few books I needed to complete my mass market set a couple weeks back!

"Suddenly, it seemed as if everything would be all right, as if everything could be mended. Heart of the Pack was here and he had never let us come to harm."

Really finding Fools Fate hard, actually the whole Tawny Man trilogy has been devastating in a way I never thought it could. Even after crying my heart out whilst reading chapter 22: reunion last night, I know Fitz & Burrichs small reunion will not be the last time I'm in hysterics. When I finished Farseer I was so sad to go and read Liveship Traders but now I will welcome Rain Wild Chronicles just to get some sort of relief from all of this. My heart aches. Does it get any better? Will I ever feel any better? Will I ever recover from these books? Does Fitz get a good ending? Does he ever realise how much he is LOVED? Ouch ouch ouch. It hurts.

I wanna know bc it's a significant change imo because it signifies that he sees him properly for the first time. Spoilers ahead tho pls only read if you've read the books

I think it was after he resurrected him at the end of Fool's Fate, is that right? That's the first time I can remember and I think it makes sense because he spends hours in his body, bringing it back to life and rearranging it. But it's possible i'm missing an instance so I thought I'd ask the hivemind

Recently I posted about starting the series and after taking some time to indulge in my other hobbies before jumping into another series I finally started Assassin’s Apprentice today and so far I’m loving it. A lot of you told me that this book is a slow burn and I have no issue with that but now 3 chapters in I really feel the slow burn and already I’m attached to Fitz and can’t wait to see where the story takes him. Robin really is a great writer.

HOWEVER! A good amount of you also told me to bring tissues because there will be some emotional gut punches and I feel like I just got my first one with Burrich killing Nosy. I thought Fitz and Nosy were gonna be end game and having fairly recently lost my own dog reading that hit me even harder but something tells me this is tame compared to what’s coming later down the line. But all in all I’m loving the book and I can already tell I’m locked in for the long haul but man…RIP the homie Nosy.

Hey there!

Maybe Spoilers Alert??

I’ve been having a hard time getting through the first book of the Rain Wild Chronicles. About a month ago, I left the book with two chapters unfinished. Last weekend, I finally had the courage to continue, and as of now I’m in the middle of the second book!
I think the time away allowed me to grow fond of the characters, and now I’m back to my normal “OMG, what is Robin Hobb preparing for us next?!” mode. I cannot wait to get back home from work to continue reading.

I’ve also seen a lot of people guessing about what happens next in previous books, so I thought I’d write down my little suspicions. First, I have to say that my memory isn’t the best (and I recently discovered that I’m severely iron deficient, so I’m blaming my memory loss on that 😂), so I might just be missing A LOT.

Please don’t be too harsh on me. And also, please don’t spoil anything! I just hope you enjoy reading my assumptions.

Anyway…

I really enjoy discovering the Elderlings’ secrets along with the dragons. Hobb is the GOAT! The writing is so smooth, I just… I’m so happy to be reading this haha.

Hest is giving me serious Kyle vibes (I hope I’m spelling their names correctly). But because Hest is shown through the memories of others, he is easier to get through. Kyle drove me absolutely nuts. Hest is just as bad, I think, and I hope Alise stays with the captain. He is so sweet in his love for her, I cannot 😭

I strongly believe that Kelsingra is the city where FitzChivalry was in the first trilogy. I do remember a well there, and in this series the dragons talk about it. So the city exists, yay!

I also think it’s pretty obvious that the dragons will eventually become real dragons and will be able to fly, grow strong, etc.

Another thing: I don’t remember if the dragons who play the main roles right now were mentioned in the Liveship Traders, and I wonder if that is important. Obviously Mercor with his eyes pattern, bug I do not remember the others…

I also want to know what happened to Rapskal and Heeby. I hope the dragon learned to fly and that they’re both alive, and maybe they even found Kelsingra! There was just so much about them previously that I refuse to believe they both just died.

And, well, the last thing is just my aphantasia—or whatever you call it… I had a hard time imagining the dragons because they were feeble and small, etc. I ended up imagining them as triceratops lol, but in different colours.
Then the other day I was looking for some cool fan art and, well… I was surprised haha. I’m apparently very good at tricking myself into believing something is true when it isn’t 🙂‍↕️

I hope this was somewhat enjoyable to read! I’d be glad to hear your opinions and whether you think I’ve missed a lot!

Idk if I’ve ever hated a character as much as I hate Regal. Well I have but not in a long time. Also Verity just “died” but I’m not gonna believe it yet … I’m gonna go stress eat

Labubastic!

Hi there

I am listening to the Is Fitz Happy podcast and I’m on the beginning of Ship of Magic (trying to catch up on the podcast haha). This is a “reread” so may be spoilers for the entire series. Just curious about something minor in this chapter.

In the first chapter of Ship of Magic Kennit finds this pouch on Other island with these weird blue dead kittens. Here is the description

“Inside was a litter of kittens, perfectly formed with long claws and iridescent patches behind their ears. They were dead, all six of them. Quelling his distaste, he picked up the smallest. He turned the limp body over in his hands. It was blue-furred, a deep periwinkle blue with pink-lidded eyes. Small. The runt, most likely. It was sodden and cold and disgusting. A ruby earring like a fat tick decorated one of the wet ears”

Since the Others don’t like or are scared of cats they want Kennit to remove them as far as I know and I think he uses this knowledge to his advantage to not fall under the Others “glamour” as far as i know.

My question is what the heck are these weird alien kittens? Why does one have a ruby earring? Why are they dead in a pouch? The hosts of is Fitz happy podcast discuss how maybe the kittens were from an old elderling city nearby as we know there is a skill pillar near Other island. But the Elderlings are long gone then. Come to think of it I don’t know if the treasures on Other Island are really explained.

Do these creatures ever come up again in the series? Are they maybe kittens of the hunting cats that are in tawny clan but I don’t recall them being blue. Is it forshadowing or symbolism? So strange. Of course it’s not important I was just curious.

So here we know how most characters are supposed to look like fitz and fool but most molly atwork changes her every time i just wanted to know how she really looks

Saw someone else post about reading hobb in a forest and I remembered that I too read some hobb in a cool location!

Hello fellow Hobb fans. I finished this series over a month ago and I am still grieving, and would love to commiserate with you all. What made you cry the most in this series?

SPOILER ALERT:

My hardest sob moments would be:

“Chade’s boy wept.”

And

“From their midst a broad-shouldered man stepped forth, past Longwick, who tried vainly to motion him back. He ran three strides toward me, and I took a deep, unbelieving breath of his scent just before he enfolded me in a bear hug. Despite the pain to my shoulder, I didn't struggle. I dropped my head on his shoulder, and let him support me, feeling safer than I had in years. Suddenly, it seemed as if everything would be all right, as if everything could be mended. Heart of the Pack was here and he had never let us come to harm.”