Fantasy is usually about the map. You open a chunky hardcover, see some crinkly coastline with names like "The Forsaken Peaks," and you know exactly what you’re getting. There’s a dark lord, a chosen one, and probably a very shiny sword. Robin Hobb didn't really care about any of that. When she started The Realm of the Elderlings back in 1995 with Assassin’s Apprentice, she did something much meaner and much more brilliant. She made us care about the person holding the sword more than the kingdom they were supposed to be saving.
Most people come to this series expecting a fun romp about a royal assassin. It's not that. Honestly, it’s a sixteen-book endurance test for your tear ducts.
If you haven't read it, the series is a massive, interconnected tapestry. It’s split into several sub-trilogies (and one four-book series) that span decades. You have the Fitz and the Fool books, which follow a royal bastard named FitzChivalry Farseer, and then you have the Liveship Traders and the Rain Wild Chronicles, which broaden the scope to sentient ships and dying dragons. It’s all one world. Every single book matters.
The FitzChivalry Farseer Problem
Let’s talk about Fitz. He’s the heart of The Realm of the Elderlings, and he is, quite frankly, a disaster. Robin Hobb is famous—or maybe infamous—for how much she puts her protagonists through. Fitz isn’t a superhero. He’s a guy who grows up in a stable, gets beaten down by politics he doesn’t understand, and lives with the permanent trauma of being a "disposable" tool for the crown.
Hobb uses a first-person perspective that is claustrophobically intimate. You aren't just reading about Fitz; you’re trapped in his head while he makes the worst possible decisions for the best possible reasons. It’s frustrating. You’ll want to reach into the pages and shake him. But that’s the magic of the writing.
The Farseer Trilogy introduces us to the Wit and the Skill. These aren't your typical "fireball-throwing" magic systems. The Skill is a telepathic connection used by the royals, and it’s addictive. It feels like a drug. The Wit? That’s the ability to bond with animals. In Fitz’s world, having the Wit is seen as perverse. It’s a social death sentence. This creates a fascinating tension where the hero’s greatest source of comfort—his bond with a wolf named Nighteyes—is also his greatest shame.
Nighteyes is arguably the best-written non-human character in the history of the genre. He doesn't think like a human in a wolf suit. He thinks like a predator. He values the "now." He finds human concepts like "revenge" or "inheritance" to be bafflingly stupid. Their relationship is the emotional anchor of the entire series. When people talk about why The Realm of the Elderlings sticks with them years later, they’re usually talking about the wolf.
It’s Not Just About One Guy
After the first trilogy, Hobb does something risky. She leaves Fitz behind.
She moves the action south to Bingtown for the Liveship Traders trilogy. Suddenly, we aren't in a cold, medieval castle anymore. We’re on the deck of ships made of "wizardwood" that literally wake up and start talking once three generations of a family have died on their decks.
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It sounds weird. It is weird.
But this is where Hobb’s world-building really flexes. She connects the biology of dragons to the existence of these ships in a way that feels like a scientific discovery. It’s a masterclass in "show, don't tell." You see the decline of a species and the unintended consequences of human greed.
The character work here is even more complex than in the Fitz books. Take Althea Vestrit or the villainous (yet strangely charismatic) Kennit. Hobb doesn't do "pure evil." She does broken people who justify their cruelty through their own internal logic. You might hate Kennit, but by the end of Ship of Destiny, you understand exactly how he became the monster he is.
Why the Reading Order Actually Matters
You’ll see people on Reddit or fantasy forums saying you can skip the non-Fitz books.
They are wrong.
If you skip Liveship Traders and go straight to the Tawny Man trilogy, you are missing about 40% of the world's lore. You won't understand who the Fool really is. You won't understand the significance of the dragons. Most importantly, you won't feel the weight of the ending in Assassin’s Fate.
The recommended path is:
- The Farseer Trilogy (Apprentice, Royal, Quest)
- The Liveship Traders (Ship of Magic, Mad Ship, Ship of Destiny)
- The Tawny Man Trilogy (Fool’s Errand, Golden Fool, Fool’s Fate)
- The Rain Wild Chronicles (Four books starting with Dragon Keeper)
- The Fitz and the Fool Trilogy (Fool’s Assassin, Fool’s Quest, Assassin’s Fate)
It’s a long journey. Roughly 4 million words. But the payoff is unparalleled.
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The Fool: A Masterclass in Ambiguity
We can't talk about The Realm of the Elderlings without talking about the Fool. Is the Fool a man? A woman? Something else? Hobb keeps it fluid. The Fool is a "White Prophet," a being who sees potential futures and tries to nudge the world toward a "better" path.
The relationship between Fitz and the Fool is the most beautiful, agonizing, and "it's complicated" romance—if you can even call it that—in fiction. It transcends gender and physical touch. They are "two parts of a whole."
Hobb explores queer themes and gender identity with a subtlety that was way ahead of its time in the mid-90s. The Fool changes personas, names, and appearances, but the core soul remains the same. The way Fitz struggles to understand his own feelings for the Fool is some of the most honest writing you'll ever encounter. It’s messy. It’s confusing. It’s human.
Dealing with the "Slow" Pacing
Let's be real: these books are slow.
If you want a series where something explodes every twenty pages, look elsewhere. Hobb spends pages—sometimes entire chapters—describing Fitz making tea, or cleaning a wound, or just sitting in the woods feeling depressed.
But this is why the series works. Because she spends so much time on the mundane, the moments of violence or magic feel incredibly high-stakes. When Fitz finally uses the Skill, it feels earned. When a character dies, it isn't just a plot point; it’s a hole in the story that never truly gets filled.
The Rain Wild Chronicles is often cited as the weakest part of the series. It’s a bit more "Young Adult" in tone, focusing on a group of outcasts escorting stunted, deformed dragons up a toxic river. Even here, though, the ecological storytelling is top-tier. Hobb explores what happens to a world when its apex predators—dragons—are forced into a symbiotic relationship with humans just to survive.
What Most People Get Wrong
A common misconception is that The Realm of the Elderlings is "grimdark."
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It’s not.
Grimdark, like The First Law or A Song of Ice and Fire, often relies on nihilism. It suggests that everyone is terrible and hope is a lie. Hobb is the opposite. Her books are full of suffering, yes, but they are also full of immense love, loyalty, and sacrifice. The characters suffer because they care too much, not because they don't care at all.
It’s "Hope-Pike." Even in the darkest moments of the Tawny Man trilogy, there is a sense that doing the right thing matters, even if no one ever knows you did it.
Final Thoughts on the Journey
By the time you reach the final book, Assassin’s Fate, you’ve spent a lifetime with these characters. You’ve seen Fitz as a boy, a man, and an old soul. You’ve seen the world change from a fragmented group of duchies to a global power influenced by the return of dragons.
There is no other series that handles the aging of a protagonist this well. You feel the ache in Fitz’s joints. You feel his regret.
If you’re looking for a series to lose yourself in, this is it. But go in with your eyes open. It will hurt. You will probably cry in public. And you will never look at a wolf the same way again.
Next Steps for the Aspiring Reader:
- Start with Assassin’s Apprentice: Don’t try to jump in elsewhere. The emotional payoff relies on the foundations laid in the very first book.
- Keep a Character Map: The Farseer family tree gets complicated, especially when people start having bastards and hidden identities.
- Don't Google Character Names: Seriously. The spoilers for this series are massive. One "Is [Character] dead?" search will ruin a twist five books away.
- Commit to the Second Trilogy: If you finish the first three and feel "done," try the first hundred pages of Ship of Magic. The shift in perspective usually hooks people who thought they only cared about Fitz.
- Check out the Illustrated Editions: If you're a collector, the MaggsGS illustrated versions are stunning and capture the mood of the Six Duchies perfectly.
The Elderlings are waiting. Just bring some tissues.