Latest / Galaxies and Goddesses: A Sci-Fi & Fantasy Bookcast / Assassin's Quest Deep Dive: Prophecy, Purpose, and the End of a Trilogy
Transcript
- Assassin's Quest Deep Dive Andrea: I’m Andrea. Elizabeth: And I'm Elizabeth. Andrea: Join us as we chat about sci-fi and fantasy books and beyond. Elizabeth: Looking for a little escape from reality. So are we. Andrea: Welcome to Galaxies and Goddesses. Elizabeth: On this week's episode, we're discussing Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb, third and final book in the Farseer Trilogy. Andrea: We'll be talking about Fitz's journey to rebuild his life after everything he knew has been taken away. Elizabeth: Along with the characters who shape his journey, the mysteries that keep us guessing, and whether this epic quest delivers a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. Andrea: So, it's a long book, but I'm wondering, Elizabeth, do you still remember what your first impressions were when you started reading it? Andrea: For me it felt like the first 100 pages did a really good job of recapping the previous two books. I felt like it was Robin Hobb's way of updating people and reminding them what happened, but it didn't really seem to progress the story that much. Elizabeth: I guess the first 100 pages is, him in that cottage, Burrich and Chade and Nighteyes, he's recovering basically. Andrea: Right. Or remembering how to be a man. Like he kind of is in wolf mode for a while, you know? And they're worried that he's not gonna remember everything. They're surprised when he remembers people's names, and aren't quite sure whether to believe him when he says things, right? Elizabeth: Yeah. ‘Cause like when he essentially dies at the end of, Royal Assassin, and his soul is basically kept safe with Nighteyes, so then, early on in Assassin's Apprentice, when Burrich is warning him against using the Wit and telling him that it's dangerous and it's bad and it essentially, like, makes the person become the animal that the person has bonded with. I took that to mean, like, basically what happened with this. Andrea: Yeah. Elizabeth: Is that essentially his soul is joined with Nighteyes. His soul leaves, or his consciousness leaves his body behind, so that everybody thinks he's dead, and then he joins up with Nighteyes. Until that it's ready for him to go back into his own body, and so then he has to remember or relearn how to be a man and not a wolf anymore. I didn’t necessarily have the impression that it was all just recap. Andrea: Okay. Elizabeth: I mean he has to recover and I suppose there were parts that were recapped because that always seems to be what happens when you start the next book in a series, is there's some amount of recapping what happened in the previous books, but I didn’t necessarily feel struck by it. Andrea: Okay. I thought it was intentional, but in a way that like, if you hadn't been reading the books for a while say a couple years had gone by, or I don't know how long it took for her to publish this book, you know, as they were coming out, but it was a, a courtesy almost to the readers to be like, "Remember, this is what happened." Andrea: You didn't have to actually go back and read the books, and you didn't have to read it immediately after the next one, but there's enough there that you're like, "Oh yeah, that's what was happening. That's how King Shrewd died." And they mention the whole bubble popping again. Elizabeth: Oh yeah. Elizabeth: Like when you're watching a TV show the, “Previously on The Farseer Trilogy”. Andrea: Exactly. And so that, was interspersed throughout a lot of that, and, yeah, I think it felt like a gradual reintroduction back into this world, which at this point now I know to kind of expect, and I appreciated it. Like I wanted the story to move along, but I also didn't want it to end because I just love her writing so much, and I guess that's the nice thing about these books is that there are more of them this doesn't have to be the last one. Elizabeth: So did you think it was too much, or did you not like how much “previously on” there was? Andrea: Thought it was just the right amount. Yeah. Elizabeth: Yeah. I don't always notice it if I don't need it. Unless it's really, really obviously too much and, it's just kinda wasting time, but I definitely notice it if it's not there and I feel like I need it. so I didn't even really notice it much, I guess. Andrea: Mhmm. Elizabeth: But also I finished the Royal Assassin very recently. I think there was at least one book that I read in between them. So I didn't go immediately from Royal Assassin to Assassin's Quest, but it was very shortly after reading Royal Assassin. Andrea: Yeah. Andrea: I think we left off the other book and I was like, "I don't know where they're gonna pick up. I don't know what he's gonna do." And it feels like he doesn't really know what he's gonna do either. Andrea: He's like, "What am I doing here?" And he has to figure that out. And so it's kind of fun to explore that and be there with him in that uncertainty and for him to rediscover who he is and what his purpose is in all of this. And initially the only thing on his mind is getting back at Regal. So that drives him for the first probably half of the book, I'd say. Elizabeth: Yeah. Andrea: I couldn't remember exactly, how long it took for him to reach Regal, but that's its own process and then after that, after the assassination attempt, or one of the assassination attempts, he is then summoned. Basically he finds his calling, you could say. Elizabeth: It struck me as I mean, have you watched the show True Blood? You've watched it? Andrea: Yes. Yes. Elizabeth: But then you haven't started the… Andrea: The books. I have not started the books, correct. Elizabeth: I forget if it's in True Blood or if it's some other ... It strikes me as a vampire thing though, but like the, when, it's like your vampire master maybe… Andrea: Oh, your creator? Elizabeth: Or whatever the term is, depending on which vampire world you're in, that can essentially like order you to do something and then you have to do it. Elizabeth: You can't physically disobey whatever the command is. And so it almost struck me like that that, Verity says this like, "Come to me." And not to say that like he has to literally be walking or moving towards Verity at all times, but.. Andrea: He can't disobey. Elizabeth: Yeah, there's no way for him to disobey. Andrea: Yeah. Elizabeth: He can stop and sleep and eat and you know, he doesn't necessarily have to always be making a straight line to Verity, but yeah, he has to always essentially be making his way towards him. Andrea: Mhmm. Elizabeth: Sort of what struck me as similar to that. Elizabeth: Okay, the Assassin's Quest of the title is then this quest to find Verity? 'Cause I didn't necessarily feel like that was … I mean that was the ultimate quest in the end, but I feel like he had to, he had this like personal quest to try to assassinate Regal. Andrea: Right. Elizabeth: So I thought that was still, he was questing. There was quest. Maybe not the ultimate quest. Andrea: So yeah, his quest for vengeance against Regal, or his quest to find Verity, but also I think it's his quest to discover who he is, like a self discovery quest of what is his purpose after he's no longer, associated with Buckkeep anymore. And yeah, I think there was part of it that I really enjoyed that it wasn't an immediate resolution, that it took a little while for him to figure things out, and he keeps making mistakes, and he keeps kind of screwing up, and he gets out of it by the skin of his teeth. Andrea: He's barely escaping these situations. Andrea: Also in terms of, well, what does quest mean? His name, the name that is given to him by the Old Blood, they call him Changer, and the first time that the term changer comes up, I assumed that was because he could basically change into the wolf, and he changes back into a man. But what do you think that means by the end of the book? did that change your opinion of it, the ending? Elizabeth: Now I'm trying to remember. So the Fool calls him the Catalyst, and there are other people that then refer him to, refer to him as the Catalyst. But there was something else that he was called… Andrea: Right. Changer. Andrea: He's able to not just change the course of events because he's the catalyst, so he's changing history. Andrea: I think by the end of the story, you realize that the term changer relates to the elderlings. It relates to the elderlings, right? Andrea: He has the ability to change something related to the elderlings. And so I liked that the, the meaning of that word kept changing throughout the course of the book, and that the idea of prophecies, they kind of make sense in hindsight, but along the way, you might not understand the full scope of them. Andrea: So there's just a lot of concepts in this book that I really like and that I think will stick with me for a while. Yeah. Andrea: And so yeah, I noted for myself that I felt like the quest started around page 500, but then after finishing it, I think the whole book is the quest. The entire book is his quest of self-discovery. Elizabeth: Yeah. Elizabeth: Speaking along the lines of like changer or, we mentioned like this, this prophecy. There was something that I thought was really interesting, that just reminded me of something that you don't get in, like Western books or, when so much of like fantasy can be feels very reminiscent of like, medieval European culture and history. I thought there was something that seemed very Eastern that I thought was really cool and different. And it goes along with this, this idea of changer. Elizabeth: So we learn more about the character Kettle and who she is and what her role is to play, page 362, basically it says, "All of history is a great wheel turning inexorably. Just as seasons come and go, just as the moon moves endlessly through her cycle, so does time. The same wars are fought, the same plagues descend, the same folk, good or evil, rise to power. Humanity is trapped on that wheel, doomed endlessly to repeat the mistakes we have already made, unless someone comes to change it." Andrea: Ahh. Elizabeth: And then later, lower down on the same page, Fitz says, “So they work for the end of the world to come?" And she says, "Not the end of the world, Tom." At this point, she thinks his name is Tom. He had so many names. the end of the world, Tom, the end of time. To free humanity of time, for time is the great enslaver of us all." It reminded me of Buddhism and how people are reincarnated and continue to try to do these good works to try to improve upon your previous lifetime, like the mistakes that you made in your previous life, so that you can eventually achieve nirvana, to achieve this state of enlightenment. And I'm not any sort of expert in comparative religions, but that's sort of my understanding of the really super basics of Buddhism. But that description just made me think of Buddhism, that like, they're stuck in this wheel of time, repeating, doomed to repeat the same mistakes over and over again until someone comes along and changes it to the wheel or to put history on a different wheel, so that you can then improve upon and stop making the same mistakes that you made before. Elizabeth: I dunno. I just thought it was very… very not Western, a very sort of Eastern idea. Andrea: Well, that relates to a moment in the book also where Fitz and the Fool sort of travel back in time with a memory, and they see each other, but in a different shape or form. Like they're in the body of a person that was living at the time kind of. Do you remember that? Elizabeth: Oh and they like travel through the rock? Andrea: Right. At one of the stones. Elizabeth: Yeah. And then the fool is like in the body of this woman that's like on top of a stage in like a market center surrounded by a crowd of people. Andrea: Which seemed like it was a previous White prophet. That's the impression that I got. Yeah. Elizabeth: Yeah. Andrea: So, that also kind of relates to this idea of once in a generation, I don't know if it's the same person or soul, coming back but, to try to right the wrongs or improve on their past. Elizabeth: Yeah. To try to achieve enlightenment. Elizabeth: To reach Nirvana or something. Andrea: Maybe that's why Kettle's so frustrated, because she's like, "How can you two be the Catalyst and the.. Elizabeth: Yeah. Andrea: Prophet? Like, you're just bumbling around. Elizabeth: And you have no idea what you’re doing. Andrea: And you don't know what you're doing. Elizabeth: Yeah. Andrea: How can you save us?" But it's really through their character and their perseverance and sometimes their, ignorance that it turns out okay. Andrea: And they try things that maybe somebody who's more seasoned wouldn’t. And there's things like maybe the elf bark was protecting him, like growing up. Elizabeth: Yeah. Andrea: Maybe that was somehow protecting him instead of hurting him. Who knows? I don't know. Andrea: Fitz, he lost his team at Buckkeep. There's no Patience and Burrich and Chade around him anymore, but his new pack becomes a few of the women that he meets on the road, Kettle and Starling, and then Kettricken and the Fool, and they become a unit working together to try to find Verity, along with Nighteyes. We can't forget Nighteyes. Nighteyes is crucial. It's like a new found family in a sense. I’m glad he found that again this book. Andrea: The new characters? Did you have any thoughts about Kettle or Starling? Did you trust them? Elizabeth: I knew that there was more to Kettle than she was letting on, but didn't quite know what, but she seemed to know what she was talking about, so I didn't distrust her I think. Starling I kinda wasn't sure. She seems to always be watching out for herself. Elizabeth: So I don't know if I necessarily always really trusted her. And when her whole thing is that she's just trying to be present so that she can write a song to be remembered by, I'm sorta like, "Well, that's not helpful." If you're gonna be around, you gotta help, or you gotta like contribute, and it's like I don't know if that's contributing. That's just like trying to cement your place in history by writing a song that people remember. Elizabeth: What about you? Did you like his sort of new pack? Andrea: I really liked Kettle, more than Starling. Starling is like a alternative to Molly. She is that Fitz could potentially see himself being with. So I think she serves a purpose, but I didn't necessarily like her character. Whereas with Kettle, I really enjoyed Kettle's character, and I would read her backstory, like if that were a spinoff series, I would like to find out more about her, but that's probably a sad story too. and I think it's encouraging that not all of the characters have to be in their 20s. Elizabeth: No. Andrea: Kettle is not in her 20s, and yet she is still important character. Elizabeth: She’s a lot older than you think she is. Andrea: I still am left at the end of this having a lot of questions. Like Kettle and Kettricken, because those names sounded familiar, it made me think, is there any connection there? Andrea: Is there any relationship? But that's never really touched upon, and I think there's a lot of things that still go unanswered with this book. I still have questions. Elizabeth: I'm also like, with the other, what is it, like 13 books in the Realm of the Elderlings? I know like the Liveship Traders trilogy is different characters, just from what Google has told me, is that then all the books in the end tie back around back together, but, I can't help thinking like, "Well, how?" Because it seems like these three books, not to say that it all is solved and done in the end, but… Andrea: You kinda feel like you know how it ends. I don’t know where it would go from here again. Elizabeth: Yeah. Elizabeth: The pacing is interesting 'cause it felt like most of the book, my book was like 864 pages or something. Elizabeth: I wanna say like 850 of them or 825 of them, were similar, and then the last chapter or like 30 to 40 pages or something, it almost felt like it skipped to the end. Andrea: The ending felt really fast. It was like, “Oh we found Verity” and then boom, boom, boom, boom. Done. Elizabeth: Or like they, release the Elderlings or however you wanna say it, and then once that happens, then it goes, yeah, like boom, boom, boom, boom, done. You know, and it's like, oh, let's make sure to like tie up that loose end, tie up that loose end just really quick, and we're just gonna mention them real quick and then fast-forward like 40 years, and now we're done. Elizabeth: It's like, “oh, okay.” Elizabeth: Yeah, like, not to say that it wasn't a good ending, it was a good ending, but I just felt like the ending didn't fit or something. It just felt really rushed. And then, yeah, with like knowing that there's another 13 books in this whole series, it's like, “well, what do those other books do?” Andrea: Well and it's like we were talking about how the quest was him finding his purpose, and he felt like this was his whole purpose. I don't know how much time goes by between, when he awakens in the hut with Burrich and Chade to when he finds Verity, like I don't remember exactly what that time span is, but he's still young. He's still young. Is that saving the world? Is that it? Elizabeth: To kind of go back and compare it to like A Song of Ice and Fire, where each of the books and storylines that happen between the main characters, there's all of those storylines in each of the books. Elizabeth: It wraps up or it comes to a conclusion or some sort of cliffhanger between the storylines of the characters, but there's still the overarching villain, the White Walkers, So it sort of felt like this too, that there's the conflict with Regal managing the succession of the Farseer throne and the Six Duchies but then there's sort of the overarching villain to this whole world, which are the Red Ship Raiders. And so I kind of thought as I was getting towards the end, I thought to myself like, "Oh, it must end with the conflict with Regal maybe sort of figured out to kind of bring an end to a conclusion to this particular trilogy. Elizabeth: But then I wonder if the Red Ship Raiders will still be a problem, and that's sort of what the overarching, like the 16 book series kind of gets towards.” But that isn't necessarily what happened. Like, it seems like yeah, it brings a conclusion to the Red Ship Raiders very quickly at the end. Andrea: Yeah. Elizabeth: When she was writing it, did she know that in her mind these other 13 books? Elizabeth: Or did she kinda just like wrap up this trilogy and then was like, "Oh wait, I can go back and I can like flush this out some more"? Andrea: I do think there are moments towards the end where it leaves some space for ambiguity in that it mentions how the Elderlings previously came and flew over the Outislanders, and how that influenced future Red Ship raiders wanting revenge for what, the Elderlings did, and wondering if this second wave of Elderlings is going to cause another wave of retaliation, right? Because the Elderlings have this kind of ambiguous, magical almost like shockwave or something. They have these unintended consequences, right? Elizabeth: Oh. Andrea: And so the Outislanders didn't really understand exactly how Elderlings were created, but they learned enough to be dangerous, and it was related to how the Forged ones were created, right? Elizabeth: Oh yeah. Andrea: So I liked that a lot of the threads all got tied up, right? There was a lot of, "Oh, that's why the Forged ones were the way they were. Oh,” you see Regal is dealt with in his way. Elizabeth: Oh yeah. Elizabeth: It all happened so fast that I honestly kind of forgot some of those details. So much of the rest of the three books, the trilogy, is really rich in detail, Andrea: Mhmm. Elizabeth: You're sort of more invested in the story. But those details at the very end, because it seemed to happen so fast, I almost forgot. Andrea: But I think there's some interesting if you try to connect the dots that like, Galen, the old Skill Master, that apparently, back in the day, Chivalry, Fitz's father, imprinted or Skill imprinted, whatever you wanna call it, Skilled into him that he would be loyal to Chivalry, which Fitz says at one point, "Maybe that's why he hates me so much, because he had no choice but to adore Chivalry." And so I wonder if being Skilled so heavily in certain directions is going to then have a negative impact on the next generation, where he's no longer being forced to feel a certain way, if that Skill will wear off. Like, how long will that last? Will Regal come back meaner than he was before? and again, that idea of this wheel of time is that gonna come back around again? So I think they're all really interesting questions. I don't know if they get answered in the future books because I have not read them. I've only read the trilogy that we've, talked about so far on the podcast, but I think they're interesting things to think about. Elizabeth: The end of Assassin's Quest does kind of seem like... it's not like Fitz dies in the end, but, it does kind of fast-forward a lot of years it clearly makes it seem like he's like an old man at this point. But then when you know that one of the series within the Realm of the Elderlings is called Fitz and the Fool, obviously there's a lot more that Fitz does, and I just can't help thinking like, does that sort of pick up where this ends, like where he's an old man? Elizabeth: Or does it pick up and maybe fill in some of the details or something in those intervening years? Andrea: Right. Elizabeth: Or skip over? I don't know. Andrea: Well and also I think the boy, and he isn't really given a name at the end, who shows up with Fitz, he has mismatching eyes, which, doesn't seem like that big of a detail, but when you consider that's something that probably stands out and maybe he is, wanted or in trouble of some sort, and maybe he's been left with Fitz because Fitz has become a hermit at the end of the book. So you wonder, "Okay, who is this kid? Is he important? What's gonna go on from there?" Elizabeth: Yeah, where did he come from? Elizabeth: Is it the fool that brings the boy to him, and he just kinda shows up on his doorstep? Andrea: No, Starling. Elizabeth: Oh, yeah. Yeah,” and it's like, "Here's this boy, and now you're gonna take care of him." Andrea: And he's like, "Is he mine?" And she's like, what do you mean? No." Elizabeth: Oh, yeah. Yeah. Andrea: And also, the fact that we know that Fitz just is a very generic name, it makes me wonder if it's a future Fitz. Maybe it's a future Fitz and the Fool. Am I being fooled in thinking that it’s the same Fitz and the Fool? Is it a different Fool? Elizabeth: Oh. Elizabeth: Oh yeah. True. Andrea: Future Fitz future Fool, maybe. Andrea: Is there one word that you think best describes the ending? When you think of the end, what word comes to mind? Elizabeth: It did feel rushed. So much of the rest of the story does not feel rushed. Andrea: Mhm. Elizabeth: Like I said during Royal Assassin that there were like, what, 300 pages of him just faffing about the castle? And that didn't feel rushed at all. And then the last like, I don't know, 30 pages, then it skips ahead in time a lot, and kinda jumps over a lot. Elizabeth: Yeah, it did feel kinda rushed. Elizabeth: I mean, I guess with what happens at the end, it feels complete, but like you don't necessarily have to keep reading if you didn't want to. It does feel like it wraps itself up just fine. But yeah, there are still questions that are kind of unanswered, I suppose. Elizabeth: And so, not to say that I would not read the rest of the books, but you know, if a reader didn't feel like going on, you wouldn't have to. What did you think? What word would you use to describe the ending? Andrea: To me, I'd say it was bittersweet. He lives, but he's pretty alone. And, he has Nighteyes, but it’s a very small pack. Yeah, I think it's a sad ending, I think, to the story. Andrea: Even though he saved day. He doesn't really get to reap any of that benefit. He doesn't get to see those he loves again. Andrea: He says that " I don't get to see them again." Elizabeth: Oh, oh yeah. Is Nighteyes alive still alive at the very end? Andrea: He’s talked about as being very gray, a very gray wolf. Elizabeth: Oh yeah, and like just wants to hang out by the fire and doesn't move around a whole lot. Andrea: Yeah. Elizabeth: Oh yeah. Andrea: So I’m hoping that there's some aspect that oh, he has an extended life because he has the to connection Fitz. Elizabeth: I'm pretty sure wolves don't live that long. Andrea: I think especially in this case, we could say that due to the fantasy element of this world he can have an extended lifetime. Elizabeth: Sure. Yeah. Elizabeth: Do you feel satisfied with the ending? Andrea: Like I said, I think it's bittersweet, and I do wanna know a little more about what happened with the Fool. I did like the way that the Elderlings appeared. I thought that was very cool. I liked the Elderling aspect at the end. I liked how prophecies had multiple meanings. So I liked how everything came together in the end. I enjoyed the buildup. I thought it had a satisfying kind of climax to the story, and the way that all the little threads of the story from the previous two books had a nice little bow put on it, I enjoyed that. So yeah, it was well done in my opinion. What about you? Did you enjoy it? Elizabeth: Am I satisfied with the ending? I mean, once again, it did end fully, so that is satisfying in and of itself. Like, knowing that there are 13 other books as part of the Realm of the Elderlings, you could definitely see how this could end, but not really end. Andrea: Mhmm. Elizabeth: And then that would maybe be a little unsatisfying, feeling like you have to keep reading. So I think it is satisfying that I don't feel this sense like I have to keep reading. Will I keep reading? I don't know yet, actually. I will probably. I don't know that I'm like, jumping straight into the next part, the next chunk of books in the Realm of the Elderlings. Elizabeth: I have all sorts of other books that I need to read, especially having just unpacked all of my books. I just packed them all up, and I feel like packing things in boxes, I wasn't necessarily, analyzing the presence of the books. I was just putting them in boxes. Whereas now unpacking them I'm like, " Oh my God, I have so many books. I need to read these books." 'cause I, just added a couple of shelves that I did not have at my last house, and I've filled those shelves, and I still have more books that don't fit entirely on the shelves. Oh my gosh, I need to read more books. I'm not necessarily rushing to the library to go check out the next one, but, someday I, could see myself continuing on. Elizabeth: Going back to what we were saying about the, “previously on the Farseer Trilogy,” knowing that she does that makes me feel good about I could easily take a long break and come back, and it would be okay. Because I think she's the type of author that will make sure to give you the backstory that you need in order to keep reading without having to go back and read them again, 'cause I don't know that I'd read them again. Elizabeth: Once again, so many more books to read. Andrea: Yeah. Elizabeth: I don't know that I'd read them again, but, yeah, I could see myself continuing to read. Elizabeth: What rating would I give them? I think as I was reading, I liked this one a lot more than Royal Assassin. Andrea: Okay. Elizabeth: Because, once again, like 300 pages of him just, like, faffing about the castle. Elizabeth: I mean, stuff was happening, but it wasn't, like, moving the plot forward. I didn't always feel that way. But with this book, for most of it, it seems like the plot is always moving forward. He is always on the move. There's always something happening. The number of times that he has a very narrow escape I enjoyed that part of it, that there's just one thing after another, after another, that he almost gets caught, and then he just barely gets out. Elizabeth: And then the fire and he just barely gets out. And, the traps being set for him and people that ambush him or that, the hiding their identity undercover, the betrayals, and the number of times that he has such a close call, I really enjoyed that. So for most of it, I was like, "Oh, this is way better.” Elizabeth: I thought the pace was good from the beginning, and I just thought that there was a lot of plot moving forward. But I still don't think I'm gonna give it five stars, 'cause once again, I think the ending just felt kinda rushed. Elizabeth: But would I have given it five stars if it didn't necessarily tie all the loose ends up really fast at the end? Maybe I wouldn't, 'cause then I would've been like, "Well, but then you don't get the conclusion." So I think I'm gonna give it four and a half. Elizabeth: It's very close. Andrea: Okay. Elizabeth: Yeah. Andrea: Something I was thinking about earlier when you said it was rushed, is that this is also him recounting his epic quest, right? And so maybe Fitz as the author of this story doesn't wanna spend time talking about the after parts, right? Andrea: Or like maybe all of that got thrown in the fire, right? Elizabeth: Oh. Andrea: It’s like maybe there's a reason that it felt rushed just 'cause he didn't want to put that to paper or something. But, yeah, I don't know. Andrea: I'd give this five stars. I enjoyed it throughout, I feel like it can go on my five-star trophy shelf books, so… Elizabeth: Didn't you also give Royal Assassin five stars? Andrea: I did. I did. Elizabeth: And then what did you give Assassin's Apprentice? Andrea: I think four or four and a half. Yeah. Elizabeth: I did four and a half, and then four, and now again four and a half. Andrea: And I do plan to keep reading, but I'm gonna take a little break and I'm gonna come back and start them up again in January. So it'll be part of my New Year's resolutions: read one book out of the Realm of the Elderlings a month. And we'll see if I can keep up with that goal. That’s quite the goal, I think. Elizabeth: So then you, will you try to finish the rest of it by the end of the year? I mean, that's 13 books. There aren't 13 months Andrea: So I won't be able to finish it by the end of the year. I'll finish it by the end of the next year. But, maybe that would be a stretch goal. 'Cause there's also a lot of other books I wanna read too. Elizabeth: There are a lot of other books. I don't know how long the other 13 are, but I'm assuming that they're probably fairly similar. probably definitely more than 400 pages, that's a thick book that you're gonna have to read every month. Andrea: And if you want to join a gigantic buddy read, folks should check out ThankTheGodsForSmut on Instagram. She created a Discord group for a Realm of the Elderlings buddy read, and you can find the link in her bio to join. And so I joined that, and they've been reading book a month starting in October. Andrea: So in January I'll be caught up, and that's why I'm planning to start reading it again in January. And one of the things I liked about it is when you join the Discord server, you can vote in a poll, as either a fool or an elderling, the fool being someone who has not read the books before, and an elderling if you have read the books already and this is a reread for you, so you don't see certain spoiler threads, which I thought was really cool. Elizabeth: I like that. Yeah Andrea: It's fun. And yeah, I don't know anybody in my real life that is also reading these, so it's fun to find that community online. Elizabeth: I forget if I said this during our last episode or if I just said it to you separately. I don't remember now, but I recently at a friend's wedding, ran into somebody who, 'cause this friend who got married, I went to high school with her, and so there were some other friends from high school days, and I had not seen this person in 20 years, since high school. Andrea: Wow. Elizabeth: And she is currently reading the Liveship Traders trilogy, so it was kind of fun to see a person in real life who's actively reading this book right now. Andrea: That's awesome. Elizabeth: Unfortunately, that concludes this week's episode. We've reached the end of another cosmic journey on Galaxies and Goddesses. Andrea: Don't worry, the adventure never really ends. There are always more stories to explore and more bookish tangents for us to go on. Elizabeth: But hey, that's part of the fun. If you loved today's episode, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share the magic. Andrea: Stay tuned for our next episode where we'll be chatting about books you might like if you enjoyed the Farseer Trilogy. Elizabeth: And in the meantime, keep your mind fueled by the magic of stories. Andrea: And never stop chasing. The world's waiting for you between the pages. Thanks everyone.