Robin Hobb Fantasy Author Works & Writer Profile

Robin Hobb is an American author who mainly writes fantasy fiction. She was born in 1952 and has spent most of her life living in Alaska. Robin Hobb also writes under the pen name Megan Lindholm and has written a few sci-fi books under this name. Robin Hobb or Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden as she is acutally known published her first book in 1983. She had a decent amount of success under her original guise but did not really hit the big time until she adopted the pen name Robin Hobb and started writing fantasy.

Since she started writing under her new pen name she really has gained many fans the world over. Hobb's wonderful style of writing keeps readers coming back time and time again and with every new novel she increases her following. This is an author who looks like she is going to be drawing in readers for many more years into the future.

The first series Robin Hobb wrote was the Farseer Trilogy. The first book, Assassin’s Apprentice, came out in 1995 and thrust Robin Hobb into the spotlight. On the back of this book she also released Royal Assassin and Assassin’s Quest to complete the Farseer trilogy. These books won Robin Hobb international acclaim amongst other fantasy writers and really put Robin Hobb on the map.

The books tells the story of Fitz Chivalry Farseer who is trained to become an Assassin. The Farseer Trilogy tells of court intrigue and political unrest within the kingdom of the Six Dutchies. These books really are something a little different when it comes to the fantasy genre. They move away from the standard fantasy story and take the reader on a journey that really challenges the mind and gets the reader thinking. Robin Hobb has here created a world that has stunning depth and an intriguing society. The Farseer Trilogy really is something special and the final book, Assassin’s Quest is nothing sort of breathtaking. If you want something a little different then the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb really is for you. This is a set of books that will keep you reading non stop for a good few weeks.

A few years after the Farseer Trilogy Robin Hobb released her second trilogy, The Liveship Traders. This was set in a different world with new characters and a very different feel to the first set of books. This really shows how versatile a writer Robin Hobb is and really showed her range and ability to mix up her writing .

Although the Liveship Traders is set in a different area to the Farseer Trilogy there are still some links between the two books. One thing unusual about this series is that it is mainly set out on the ocean, something quite unusual for a fantasy series, again something that really sets Robin Hobb apart from many other writers. These books came out between 1998 and 2000 and again did very well for the author.

Following the success of the Farseer trilogy Robin Hobb decided to the world she had created and revisit some of the old characters that we had grown so familiar with. Widely regared as her best writing the Tawny Man Trilogy takes places around fifteen years after the Farseer Trilogy. We find out more about the characters we left and how they have lived their lives and what has become of them.

The Tawny Man Trilogy came out between 2002 and 2003, the three books, Fool’s Errand, Golden Fool and Fool’s Fate were massive sellers for Robin Hobb and really cemented her place as a classic fantasy writer. These books move at a relentless pace and take the reader on a wonderful journey through strange and mystical lands. The language Hobb uses in these books is wonderful and this really is the pinnacle of fantasy writing. I can not recommend these books enough, they are simply as good as it gets when it comes to fantasy fiction.

The final completed trilogy that Robin Hobb has released is the Soldier Son Trilogy. Again this series sold very well for Hobb but never quite won the acclaim that some of her earlier work managed. These books were far darker then the previous books, something Hobb was not previously known for. The books brought a different flavour and were something a little bit unusual, the kind of books you will either love or hate. It will be interesting to see if Hobb takes readers down this sort of story again in the future or she reverts back to her old style of writing that brought her so much success.

Currently Robin Hobb is working on The Rain Wilds Chronicles which takes place later on than the Farseer Trilogy and has a few new characters. She has already released three books which are Dragon Keeper,Dragon Haven and City Of Dragons. The next release from this series will be Blood of Dragons and this is expected to be out sometime in 2013.

If you do enjoy reading fantasy fiction then Robin Hobb comes highly recommended. She has a way of creating real depth in the worlds she creates and also has a stunning way of developing her characters. If you want to read something a little different from the more well known fantasy authors then Robin Hobb really could be for you! Although you tend to find her books can take a little bit of getting into, if you stick with them you really will reap the rewards.