Whether you picked up one of the robin hobb books by chance, read about them, or a good friend told you to check them out, you’ve probably landed here with the same question that fans old and new alike run into. at some point on this journey. : “how do you read the robin hobb books in order?”
Naturally, the scope of the Elder Saga—Robin Hobb’s best-known work—was originally divided into four trilogies, a tetralogy, a novella, and six short stories. With this amount of material, the reading order could be confusing.
You are reading: Robin hobb books reading order
In this article, you’ll find out exactly how to read all the Robin Hobb books in order. Please note that Robin Hobb has other books besides the Kingdom of the Elders Saga, but we will focus on him here as he is the only one to have many different books.
who is robin hobb?
robin hobb is one of the pseudonyms that novelist margaret astrid lindholm ogden uses to publish her work, which focuses primarily on fantasy, although she has written some science fiction.
From 1983 to 1992, she wrote exclusively as Megan Lindholm, her first pseudonym. his works under that alias tend to be contemporary fantasy. In 1995 he began using the pseudonym Robin Hobb for more traditional epic medieval fantasy related books. In this period, he first published his famous Clairvoyant trilogy and continued under this alias for the Kingdom of the Elders series.
His personal story begins in 1952 when he was born in California. At the age of nine, she and her family had to leave California to live in Alaska. quite a change of weather.
This lifestyle adjustment was sudden and dramatic. the family made a living running a butcher shop in the front yard. this store eventually became his first quiet place to work writing during the summer when not in use.
He has won the World Fantasy Awards and many fantasy writers have praised his work. orson scott card card has said that she “certainly sets the standard for today’s adult fantasy novels.”
robin hobb books in publication order
To make this list easier to digest, we have divided the Robin Hobb books in order of publication and series.
the kingdom of the elders
the clairvoyant trilogy
- the assassin’s apprentice (1995)
- royal assassin (1996)
- the assassin’s quest (1997)
the living ship merchants trilogy
- magic ship (1998)
- crazy ship (1999)
- destiny ship (2000)
the reddish man trilogy
- the fool’s quest (2001)
- the golden fool (2002)
- the fool’s destiny (2003)
the rain wild chronicles
- guardian of dragons (2009)
- haven of dragons (2010)
- city of dragons (2011)
- blood of dragons (2013 )
the fitz and the fool trilogy
- The Fool’s Killer (2014)
- The Fool’s Quest (2015)
- The Killer’s Fate (2017)
the kingdom of the elders novellas & tales:
- the obstinate princess and the pious prince (prequel to the seer trilogy)
- “the inheritance” in the inheritance & other stories
- “homecoming” in legends ii
- “words like coins” in a fantasy medley
- “blue boots” in love songs and death
- “cat meat” in inheritance & other stories
- “the sword of his father” in the book of swords
- “the triumph” in warriors
collections
- inheritance & Other Stories (2011) contains seven stories written as Megan Lindholm and three stories (all set in the realm of the elders: “Homecoming”, “The Inheritance”, “Cat Meat”) written by Robin Hobb.
- the homecoming, the obstinate princess and the pious prince, and the meat of the cat take place hundreds of years before the first book: they recount the origins of the kingdom.
- words like coins , her father the sword and the blue boots are placed in the middle of the clairvoyant trilogy.
- the inheritance takes place between the clairvoyant and the living ship merchant series.
how to read robin hobb books in order?
The most common way to read the robin hobb books in order is as follows:
The Clairvoyant Trilogy → The Living Ship Trader Trilogy → The Reddish Man Trilogy → The Rain Savage Chronicles → The Fitz and the Fool Trilogy.
You will get more profit this way. however, some exceptions can be made.
the clairvoyant, the tawney man, and the fitz and the fool follow the story of the main character fitzchivalry clairvoyant in chronological order, so they should be read in this order.
The Living Ship Traders and The Wild Rain Chronicles take place in different far flung regions with different characters, so could theoretically be read independently of the other three trilogies.
Is something missing? Read on if you’re wondering when you should read each tale in the kingdom of the elders universe.
kingdom of the ancient stories
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It’s not really that important.
the robin hobb short stories are told by different characters, giving only subtle hints about what is going on in the universe at the time of each story. its purpose is to delve into the literary universe rather than to contribute to the main stories.
however, if you still want to follow a reading order established by robin hobb, below we will specify at what point in the main story each of these tales takes place.
summary of robin hobb’s books
The Farseer Trilogy
consists of three books called the assassin’s apprentice, the real assassin and the assassin’s search; The three books are placed in the Six Duchies, an ancient trading coalition ruled by the lineage of the seers from the fortress-city of Elk Tower.
The story begins around the enigmatic character Fitz Chivalry Clairvoyant, a bastard king whose destiny it will be to serve as the king’s personal assassin and protect his kingdom from the shadows.
This trilogy begins from the moment in which the bastard is handed over to the care of the king so that he takes charge of his care, so throughout the trilogy we will see him grow up and suffer hardships due to his status as a bastard.
In addition, he will have to face the difficult task of two problems: the war of the red sails, a kingdom that comes from the seas to fight against the six dukedoms; and on the other hand, the conspiracy of his uncle, the royal prince who wants to become king at all costs.
The Liveship Traders Trilogy
These books are set in a different kingdom—bingtown—located southwest of six dukedoms. geographically, it is described as a small piece of coastal land. The unique thing about this place is that it is the only place where the revived ships are built; merchant ships with the ability to have a consciousness of their own, after three generations spent their lives on them. this is possible through a magical type of wood. the conflict arises as a result of bingtown seeking independence from jamalilla.
In this trilogy many things are explained, such as the origins of the clairvoyant and some revelations about the existence of dragons. It is also important to say that there is not just one main character, but above all the Vestrit family, Bingtown merchants. the three books are the ships of magic, the ships of madness, and the ships of destiny.
The Tawny Man Trilogy
Events here take place 15 years after the War of the Red Sails, shifting perspective back to clairvoyant Fitz, now an adult and despondent after his latest adventures. The Fool, a character who appears in both the Clairvoyant trilogy and the Living Ship Traders trilogy, returns to guide Fitz in fulfilling his prophecies.
In this story, the reader will see how the first two sagas intertwine, introducing bingtown characters to all six dukedoms. We will notice how the roles are reversed, going from disciple to instructor.
another noteworthy detail is that it focuses on explaining more about the magic of skill and ingenuity, refining more information than the previous story. in this literary universe, magic is subtle and exists in two degrees. both are extremely difficult to master.
The ability is only available to a few descendants of the seer. in ancient times, cliques of people who dominated him were formed to support the king in battle with the energy of him. but by the time of fitz, this magic has fallen somewhat out of use, and only four cats can use it well.
The person controlling the ability mentally communicates with others or even imbues them with thoughts without them realizing it. however, the skillful (as those who use this magic are called) are always tempted to let themselves be carried away by the river of its power and end up lost in its currents.
ingenuity, on the other hand, is more widespread, albeit secret. the society of the six dukedoms pursues this form of magic. It allows you to create bonds with animals. even among its practitioners, care must be taken when using it, and there are certain rules. publicly admitting that an ingenious use would lead to death on the gallows.
The Rain Wild Chronicles
the rain wild chronicles is a story about dragons, their dragon-human guardians and their quest to find the lost city of kelsingrain. In a desperate attempt to discover the whereabouts of the silver pits that the malformed newborn dragons need to survive, the guardians undergo a “memory walk,” searching through the genetic memory of ancient elders.
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Furthermore, the Duke of Chalced has sent his forces into the rainy wilderness with a bloody mission: slay the dragons to prevent his own death, casting a shadow over his fate.
A final clash is about to change the course of history forever, deciding the fate of these creatures thought to be extinct. the royal serpents will rule the globe once more if they prevail. and if they lose, the dragons will disappear from the face of the earth, never to return.
many readers have said that this tetralogy feels like a direct sequel to the living ship merchants, and that it doesn’t get much out of the reddish man.
The Fitz and the Fool Trilogy
fitz had convinced all but his closest relatives and friends that he had been killed after his previous great efforts. He now spent ten years as landowner of Withywoods, his father’s country estate, with his wife and his children under the name of Tom Badgerlock.
One day, she goes to oaksbury with her daughter, bee, to pick up some things for the annual winterfest celebration. riddle, lant, and shun join them much to bee’s dismay.
At a tavern, Bee is upset by the presence of her father’s friends and decides to go out. she meets a beggar and decides to emulate her father’s bravery. she helps the blind beggar, but he can see through her when she touches him.
Fitz runs to Bee, terrified that something has happened to him, he stabs the beggar, mistakenly believing he is trying to harm Bee. The Fool, Fitz’s good old friend, is revealed to be the beggar, tortured, blinded, and unlike himself.
Clairvoyant fitzchivarly is now full of questions after nearly killing his oldest friend and having his daughter kidnapped by the same people. Fitz may have neglected his abilities during his lull years, but once learned, those abilities are hard to forget.
conclusion
While it is true that each of the books in the Kingdom of the Elders saga was published in a linear chronological order of events, two subseries tell stories more or less independent of the rest.
You can see why reading the Robin Hobb books in order is not such a simple task, but with this guide, you are set for success.
the living ship merchants and the wild rain chronicles are two stories quite far from the original tale of fitz farseer, the central character of the first trilogy; the clairvoyant, which continues later in the reddish man and reaches its conclusion in the fitz and the fool, so at least these three trilogies should be read in order.
Short stories are stand-alone tales that enrich the literary universe rather than provide context related to the main stories. however, if you are a very picky reader, we share with you at what point in the main story each one happens.
homecoming, the stubborn princess and the pious prince, and cat meat take place hundreds of years before the first book.
Words like coins, his father’s sword and blue boots are placed in the middle of the clairvoyant trilogy, you could read them before or after the second book, and you would benefit in the same way.
Finally, the inheritance takes place between the clairvoyant and the living ship merchant series.
Looking for more books in order?
Check out this list of cosmere books by brandon sanderson in order.
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