I will say that Fitz was more whiny than I could eventually handle; I gave up on book 3 around the halfway point.
In general, my impression of Hobb's work is that she's drawn to stories about The Horrors Of Life Beating Down On Our Heroes And Destroying Their Spirit, And Then They Get Better. But the process by which they get better is slow, grinding, and frequently drenched in self-pity. Though Hobb's characters are more psychologically realistic than many in epic fantasy, they tend not to be people whose heads you want to spend much time in.
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In general, my impression of Hobb's work is that she's drawn to stories about The Horrors Of Life Beating Down On Our Heroes And Destroying Their Spirit, And Then They Get Better. But the process by which they get better is slow, grinding, and frequently drenched in self-pity. Though Hobb's characters are more psychologically realistic than many in epic fantasy, they tend not to be people whose heads you want to spend much time in.