Let me be your fantasy.....

Continuing my thread of 1001 books you should read before you die, my second choice that I think I should mention is actually a series of novels. Some of you who know me either from Babbling Books or RISI online, may be aware that I am something of a fan of the highly acclaimed fantasy writer, Robin Hobb. So it is then, that my second choice that joins my own personal list of 1001 books to read before you die is Robin Hobb's complete collection....

2)The Complete Works of Robin Hobb: Robin Hobb has become, over the last few years, one of the most highly successful and imaginative fantasy writers that I have ever come across. The worlds she has succeeded in creating are both totally unique and utterly believable and her characters quite literally spring to life on each and every page. The reason why I have decided to include all of her collected work as one single choice is because the majority of her novels are all part of one great, big over-reaching story arc; the tale of the gradual return of Dragons to the world and that of a mysterious race called The Elderlings who disappeared from the lands of The Six Duchies and beyond many centuries ago leaving behind only their ruined and abandoned cities full of majestic and exotic treasures.... One of the things that I have always liked most about Robin Hobb is the way that, rather than write one long and ongoing fantasy saga that stretches on and on with potentially no end in sight (much like The Wheel Of Time books which author, Robert Jordan, never lived to fully complete), she instead has written a series of trilogies that fit together as a whole but which can still also be enjoyed seperately as complete tales in themselves. Though she had previously written under her real name, Megan Lindholm, her debut as Robin Hobb came first with The Assassin Trilogy..... The Assassin books follow the life of a young illigetimate boy named Fitz who belongs to the ruling Farseer family of The Six Duchies. An embarrassment to his father, the King-In-Waiting Chivalry, he is trained in secret as a Royal Assassin by King's Advisor, Chade who is himself illigetimate and in fact the King's brother. When The Six Duchies are attacked by The Red Ship Raiders from across the ocean, Fitz finds himself constantly thrown into the thick of many dangerous situations but quickly discovers that the most deadliest place he can be is in the Court itself as political machinations take hold threatening to tear apart the Ruling family of Farseers. An absolutely awesome series, I remember being fascinated by Fitz the first time I read these books and indeed this remains the strongest of all Hobb's trilogies to date. When I reached the end of the second book, Royal Assassin, I was almost moved to tears by events in the story; so intense were the final few chapters. Overall, it had been such a long time since I had been caught up and swept away by a story that this series remains my favourite fantasy trilogy of all time. Hobb's second trilogy, The Liveship Trilogy, moved down the coast and dealt exclusively with the Traders of Bingtown and their Rain Wild cousins who lived further North; excavating the lost cities they had discovered of The Elderlings of legend and suppling The Traders with a mysterious substance known as Wizardwood. Wizardwood, when used as material to carve the figureheads of The Traders' ships, seemingly made the ships come alive earning them the name of Liveships. But the source of this mysterious substance would have far-reaching consequences and it is both this story and that of Bingtown's troubles with their neighbours in Jamillia and Chalced that made up the crux of The Liveship Trilogy. Although not as gripping as The Assassin books before it, this second series was as equally well written and every bit as involving though it is fair to say that at times, it did become much more plot-heavy than it's predessecor! Hobb returned to the story of Fitz for her next set of books entitled The Tawny Man trilogy. This continued with events set in motion the last time we saw FitzChivalry Farseer and followed on neatly from The Liveship books with some very clever and not-so-subtle links that saw characters from both series' merging for the first time. Much of the story concentrated around the attempts to bring Dragonkind back into the world and a fools quest to a remote glacier with the attempt to find a mate for the sole surviving Dragon in the world. It brought happy closure to the lives of many of the characters of Hobb's first trilogy and was equally as sad as anything The Assassin novels had to offer whilst bringing Fitz's story full circle. For her next series, Hobb moved away from the world of The Elderlings and introduced us to a whole new universe for The Soldier Son trilogy. Addressing the theme of modern settlers taking on an ancient Tribal nation, it followed the story of Nevarre, the Soldier Son of the title, who found himself caught up in a battle between two very different peoples as modern technology faced off against ancient, failing magic. Very much a Cowboys And Indians style tale, this series nonetheless managed to combine everything about her previous novels that had proved so successful along with the equally strong characterisation that fans had come to expect! This is my second favourite of her five trilogies to date and resonated with me as strongly as The Assassin novels had originally done to the point where, again at the end of the second novel in this series, I once more found myself choking up!! Finally we come to Hobb's most recent trilogy which is only just beginning. The Dragon Keeper is the first in another set of three novels that once more returns to The Rain Wilds and the Realm of the mysterious Elderlings of legend. Following on directly from The Liveship Trilogy, the story looks at the sea serpents that featured at the end of that series as they form themselves into cocoons with the intention of hatching into Dragons. But the serpents have journeyed too late, are too weak and, upon hatching, many of them perish. Those that survive are weak and stunted and, as they become a drain on the resources of The Rain Wild peoples, a plan is hatched to help them try and find the fabled city of Kelsingra; a place where Elderlings, humans and Dragonkind once walked as one civilisation. But does Kelsingra still exist or has it been destroyed like the other Elderling cities? And does anyone know where it is anymore? One thing is for sure, if the rest of the trilogy lives up to the potential of this first novel, then Hobb fans are in for yet another treat! And the second book in the series is due out this March!!! The problem with Hobb and the reason why I find myself compelled to include all her novels as part of my second choice for 1001 books to read before you die is simple: all of her work is so outstanding that it would be nigh impossible to single out any single one of her trilogies or even any of her individual novels for inclusion without including them all! I have never found an author before who is so consistently brilliant and every one of her characters holds a place in my heart. Words cannot describe how much I have enjoyed each of these series' and it is for that reason that Hobb has become my favourite author of all time! Even though The Assassin novels and The Soldier Son trilogy remain my favourites to date, not a single one of her trilogies so far has failed to impress. The Liveship books are perhaps my least favourite, being a bit hard-going in places, but it would be wrong to call these the weakest of her books because, in their own way, they still manage to surpass anything written by any other author. I could wax lyrical about the talents of Mrs.Robin Hobb in my eyes for a long time to come but would still not manage to do her enough service. Needless to say, no list of my 1001 books to read before you die would be complete without mentioning her work! I hasten to add that I am suitably unimpressed by anything I have read under her own name of Megan Lindholm but that is just personal taste ~ of which this list is all about. But as Robin Hobb, this author can do no wrong in my eyes and so it is that I approach the end of The Dragon Keeper with both a hint of trepidation and sadness and yet also anticipation for the next chapter to come in what looks to be yet another outstanding fantasy series..... So thats choice number two for my 1001 books to read before you die. What's coming next...? Only Sparky has the answer.......