[LMB] Robin Hobb and other authors

[Elizabeth Holden]

--- Kalina Varbanova <kikibug13 at gmail.com> wrote:

> And, with the best books - the more you learn, the
> more you can appreciate of the book. 

Some of my favourite books are those for which a
second reading is like reading a whole new book
because everything takes on a new meaning.

Tracy:
> (Of course, there are some books that are
> unrelenting "difficulty", like Robin Hobb's, Stephen
> Donaldson's and George R.R Martin's - and I
> haven't ever been in such a Pollyanna mood 
> as to be able to finish them.)

I read the first Robin Hobb novel. I read a bit of the
first Stephen Donaldson, disliked it, and stopped.  I
am a big fan of George R.R. Martin's novels and I
think they are worth the struggle - but it's the only
author I can think of where I stopped halfway through
"A Clash of Kings" because it was just too much, and
didn't pick it up for another six months.

It wasn't that I was in a Pollyanna mood, just that I
was feeling a little braver.

Kalina:
> I actually somewhat liked Robin Hobb (the Assassins
> trilogy, I haven't found others by her) 

I have just read the first book and I haven't decided
whether to continue.  It wasn't the world itself that
I didn't like - though the people didn't make
psychological sense to me, didn't seem real in their
actions and reactions, by and large.  I found it
difficult to like the protagonist, whose name I've
already forgotten.  Yet I know lots of people love
those books. Should I persevere and try the next one?

> Martin, as I have already noted, I
> couldn't swallow at all, I gave
> up about a third through the first book... 

Ah. Believe it or not, things are relatively happy and
sunny at that point. You haven't even started to get
to the really bad stuff.

> But I do know what you mean... it does take a
> Pollyanna mood. :)

Or at least a certain teeth-gritting stamina.

But I really do like his writing style and I think his
books are extraordinary and remarkable.

namaste,
Elizabeth