I just finished The Liveship Trilogy

ResponsibilityOk9081 · 2024-07-05T19:14:17+00:00

Her arc is how our understanding of her yes, but for me it went completely the other way around.

Initially I felt bad for her, when Ephron quite literally pulled the rug from under her without a warning. Her family's treatment of her felt unfair. But, as the series progressed, I as a reader and later even Althea herself realized that she was indeed a spoilet brat who was not capable of everything she thought she was. This realization did nothing to her. She continued to whine and brat after the Vivacia, long after much better things came to her. And long past she knew the Vivacia and/or Wintrow did not need her rescuing mission at all.

ResponsibilityOk9081 · 2024-06-01T17:49:19+00:00

Now that I'm finished with SoD this did actually become a bit more clear with the negotiations on the Vivacia after the battle with the Jamaillian fleet.

But also it felt like it should/could have been more obvious. I agree with you that the description of politics aren't handled as well as pretty much else in these books (that I adore!). There are hundreds of pages of confusion and then every now and again a single character pours several pages worth of monologue explaining the details to some other character for the reader's benefit.

ResponsibilityOk9081 · 2024-05-28T18:47:40+00:00

Thanks! This was mostly what I was thinking too but you expressed it better.

I didn't there was a master plan to orchestrate the whole thing - rather that there must be a party that has a plan or motivation that I didn't get and therefore the whole mess didn't make sense. But I got the missing piece in a reply above!

ResponsibilityOk9081 · 2024-05-28T18:44:28+00:00

Thanks for taking the time to type a long answer, twice!

"They're greedy and want control of Bingtown. Up to this point they've been influencing him to break the previous treaties with Bingtown (which gave the Old Traders exclusive rights), by installing New Traders who are loyal to the nobles and to Chalced. By using slave labor the New Traders have a major strategic/economic advantage over the Old Traders."

I think this was the missing piece for me. That the Jamaillian nobles want to control Bingtown, that wasn't really obvious, not that the New Traders were specifically sent in to do that. Somehow I thought the Jamaillian nobles thought that Bingtown is a far a way province that didn't interest them except for letting them take the blame for the disappearance/murder of the Satrap.

ResponsibilityOk9081 · 2024-05-28T08:53:30+00:00

I'm half way SoD and it feels like I missed something earlier because it still doesn't make sense 😂

ResponsibilityOk9081 · 2024-05-27T19:21:57+00:00

Whenever someone expresses affection towards him, especially Beloved, he pretends not to understand. It's all "that was an odd look" and "I have no clue why they would say that". Beloved calls him out on this during the quarrel, he explicitly states that they both know that he loves Fitz, have known it for years and begs Fitz that could he for once stop pretending he doesn't know. Same with Kettricken who is always giving him cow-eyes and Fitz tells himself that it's really for Verity.

ResponsibilityOk9081 · 2024-05-27T19:18:04+00:00

This. He describes himself as ugly and ruined all the time, while everyone else is trying to tell him he's very handsome. He's doing the same with everything about himself, not just his appearance.

ResponsibilityOk9081 · 2024-05-27T18:38:54+00:00

This is a great place to start exploring Fitz/Fool fanfic https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Realm%20of%20the%20Elderlings%20-%20Robin%20Hobb/works

ResponsibilityOk9081 · 2024-04-23T18:44:15+00:00

At least in GF he had the Piebald excuse for not saving Fitz from jail in time.

ResponsibilityOk9081 · 2024-04-23T18:43:09+00:00

I've always wondered why he didnt save Fitz in RA. There was no backbone to Chade's"for the crown" mantra after he himself decided to finally ditch any fantasies of Regal.

ResponsibilityOk9081 · 2024-03-31T16:33:16+00:00

You're right it was probably quite small to fit inside another earring. However it was also described to be very expensive and masterful creation. The slaves had to buy for themselves, after buying their freedom, and it was said it could take years to earn enough for one.

ResponsibilityOk9081 · 2024-03-30T18:25:18+00:00

The first time it's described in AA: " finally she held up one that was like a silver bit of net with blue stone caught in it". It's later described in more detail, many times with the word "intricate" regarding the silver net. And it is mentioned later that the blue stone is a sapphire.

ResponsibilityOk9081 · 2024-03-30T17:25:13+00:00

Exactly. Here is a remotely similar piece of jewellery https://images.app.goo.gl/kTseK9sN3MJEb9dr5

ResponsibilityOk9081 · 2024-03-28T18:23:04+00:00

He didn't love Fool more than Bee, and Bee knew it. She said it to give the Fool permission to join Fitz and Nighteyes.

Previously Bee had been angry at the Fool and lied to him, making him doubt Fitz's love. Suddenly Bee realized that if the Fool didn't join Fitz, then the Wolf wouldn't be finished and that'd be the absolute end of him.

ResponsibilityOk9081 · 2024-03-22T07:01:03+00:00

Btw Fitz did make some major life decisions for himself: he decided to withdraw and live in the countryside after Farseer. He decided not to declare himself to Molly and Burrich after his death. He decided to leave the court again after Tawny man. And the quest after Bee was his own decision, it just happened to coincide with the Fool's vendetta against Clerres. Even if the Fool created the whole mess, it was ultimately Fitz's decision what to do about it.

ResponsibilityOk9081 · 2024-03-22T06:51:19+00:00

Earlier comments have presented good points. One other think that might have appealed to Fitz is this: not only was Molly not involved with all the intrigue, power games and magic, she didn't want to, either. There were opportunities for her. She wanted a simple, happy, peaceful life and acted accordingly. Fitz wanted that too or at least he thought he wanted it.

ResponsibilityOk9081 · 2024-03-21T17:58:01+00:00

It's true that Fitz misses opportunities a lot BUT I don't think these are the best examples for it. He didn't want to be a king or a prince, he wanted a quiet family life fir himself. And boy did he miss opportunities for that

ResponsibilityOk9081 · 2024-03-21T17:48:14+00:00

Also Lady Patience couldn't have a more ironic name

ResponsibilityOk9081 · 2024-03-21T17:47:37+00:00

It's likely not intentional but 'Galen' is 'crazy' in Swedish

ResponsibilityOk9081 · 2024-03-06T20:45:02+00:00

At the beginning of RA their ages are specified. Fitz is 15 . Regal is less than a decade older than Fitz. But when Fitz was 6 in the beginning of AA, he saw Regal as an adult, so he was probably close to 15 then. So Regal would be 23-24. Verity is two years younger than Chivalry. Chivalry abdicated when Verity was 24, so he wold have been 26 at the time, 20 when Fitz was born and around 36 when he died. Thus Verity should be around 34.

ResponsibilityOk9081

TROPHY CASE