The Pen Pal Club

            The final book of the Farseer trilogy, I have to admit that I was kind of eager to read it and then be done with the whole series. The farther I got in the series, the more Beth’s comment about the similarities between Fitz and Harry Potter became more apparent. Especially when just a small list of his heroic accomplishments was named back to him by the minstrel. How many times can one guy save the world, narrowly escaping death only to be needed again? The Catalyst is awfully close to the Boy Who Lived. The murderer with a heart of gold, who has magical abilities that cannot be matched by anyone and is surrounded by a loving network of friends that will die for him even when he rants and complains and takes out all his anger on them. 

            The farther I got in this series, the more irritated I got at the introductions at the beginning of each chapter. Fitz's excerpts from his histories that he is writing pretty much for no one but to pass the time in his lonely existence post-war and death. That was another Harry Potter similarity, the whole cheating death thing, which I honestly hate. I accepted Aslan's return in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe when I read that book in middle school (and was naively unaware of its strong Christian undercurrents and teachings) but cheating death is usually cheap in my eyes.

            But there was a gnawing at me the entire time I read these three books. Why does this often used writing trope bother me so much with this particular series when I so readily accept it for other stories? I wish I had an answer to this but I'm just glad that I am done with these books, I do not recommend them to the general public. Our next book is Casino Royale by Ian Flemming, the first James Bond book. I'm eager to find out if I love the books that the movies are based on.