Robin Hobb is a she :)

[nixie]

Ace, your reading out of sequence, how could you Thats Forest Mage second book in the Soldier Son trilogy

 

[The Ace]

Ace, your reading out of sequence, how could you Thats Forest Mage second book in the Soldier Son trilogy

It was in the library.

 

[nixie]

thats why I never use librarys

 

[Kitera]

All i know is i am guilty of thinking she was a man
But, as soon as i learned she was a woman, i couldnt see it any other way.

I thought she was a man as well, when I was reading the Faseer trilogy. It was embarrassing when I found out the truth.

 

[Pyan]

Whereas I always thought that Robin Hobb was female, what I didn't know was that she was also Megan Lindholm. How many other multiple-named writers are out there? Is Robert Jordan really Anne McCaffrey?

(edit) then I found this:
Science Fiction Author Pseudonyms

and this:
Pseudonyms of Horror and Fantasy Writers

 

[papercut]

Tracy Hickman is a male author? That explains a lot, like all the quest books. I absolutely cannot stand quest books. Actually, they're precisely why I don't often read male authors. IMO, many have no imagination. Every book is a quest, some even with the same formula (e.g. a group formed of one elf, one dwarf, one swordsman, etc). I don't even glance at an author's name when looking for a book, but I usually find myself more attracted to female authors, who sometimes delve a little deeper in their stories and enjoy more creativity. Despite all that, I love Robin Hobb, though I originally thought she was a male author. There were many factors pointing to "male" when I first read her books.

- The androgynous name first and foremost, lol.

- The content itself, perhaps. Violence (assassins), journeys, and scant romance (initially).

- Most importantly, the first person narrative is told -very convincingly and in scrupulous detail- from a young man's perspective, which in my experience is not too common for female writers. Hobb herself says that she chose an ambiguous name partly for that reason.

Oh, and Scott, I thought Lian Hearn was a male too for the same reason. I read Liam, not Leanne. I'm sure she chose that name for much the same reason that Robin did. I'm sure I never saw an author's picture in the book jacket.

 

[Kitera]

Tracy Hickman is a male author? That explains a lot, like all the quest books. I absolutely cannot stand quest books. Actually, they're precisely why I don't often read male authors. IMO, many have no imagination.

Tracy Hickman male? *echos Papercut* I always thought Tracy was female! Though I did liked reading his book...


See, you learn new things every day!

 

[Commonmind]

Why is it that many people think Robin Hobb is a he?
Is it because of the spelling? for instance, i know someone called Robin who is male, but i also know someone called Robyn, who is female.
Is it this spelling which determines the gender of a certain person?
Or is it *here's my turn to be a raving feminist * because they are a successful writer in the fantasy genre? Would it be unfair of me to imply that people automatically think she is a he because they have sold many books and are very good at what they do, in a genre, which to be fair, is not actually overly male-dominated? I think it would be unfair.
If you look through the sub-forums in the authors box, and are sad enough to count, like i am, then you will find that only 9 out of a total 36 authors are female, if i'm right, which isn't always.

It is however, a common mistake, and a completely forgivable one. ive had my rant now, so i'll sit in a corner and be quiet now.

The observation is purely subjective, as you've stated yourself, in not so many words. And, sadly, despite your claim, the Fantasy genre is dominated by male authors, like it or not (and though some of my favorite fiction authors are female, my shelves, containing hundreds of books, are filled with male writers by majority; the proof is in the pudding, as they say). I don't feel the mistake being made is necessarily indicative of genre norms, but because quite a large amount of the fantasy readership is male, and will likely associate names that could be either male or female as being male. This is more an issue of sexual psychology than anything else. A man hears the name Robin, Gene, Jamie or Frances, etc. and we can assume he believes the person to be male, whereas a female will likely think the opposite. Again, a matter of psychology.

I don't really understand why it is an issue however. Far-be-it-from-me to be insulting, but the very nature of this thread is sort of counter-intuitive to its point. If someone loves the work, who cares what he or she assumes of the author; gender or otherwise. We aren't, by any means, handing out credits based on sex.

 

[Beesting]

Robin Hobb is definately a She!! I met her at an Ottackers book signing. She was really lovely. I asked her some kind of really stupid question because I was so flustered!! I wish i'd asked her a better question. I asked her if she hoped her books would become films and she laughed and said that would be good wouldnt it if they would want to do it.
Although I think risky they might bodge it up like the last Harry Potter films that were done!
I'm not so keen on the books she writes under the name Megan Lindholm there good but dont seem to be as good!

 

[Rahl Windsong]

I found out Robin Hobb is a woman by stumbling across this site: Favorite Newsgroups Where Robin often posts in the various discussions on her site.

 

[sassy1]

Ace, your reading out of sequence, how could you Thats Forest Mage second book in the Soldier Son trilogy

Noooooo now I know something that happens in Forest Mage (I'm halfway through Shaman's Crossing at the mo) *wills self to forget*


I have to admit, I assumed Robin Hobb was male at first - for no real reason, I never really thought about it at the time... She's my favourite author, and most of my favourite authors are female, I never really noticed before now but when I counted my books I do have more with female authors than male

 

[Wyvern]

yes, she used to write under a psydoe.... something... mmm.. must learn to spell long words properly. I mean, she used to write under a different name didnt she?

Actually, Robin Hobb is a psuedonym (think that's right) too. Her real name is Margaret Ogden. And she chose Megan Lindholm as her other psuedonym because Lindholm is her maiden name. And I agree, obviously a woman's writing!

 

[Patchface Killa]

I didn't know she was a woman until about the third book. It amazed me that she could write a man's psyche so well! Fitz thinks about things exactly the way a man would. His desperation to cut through all the games and be practical for a second . . . the way he doesn;t understand his own emotions most of the time abd so he does stupid things that he knows will get him into trouble . . . the FIRE he feels to defend his people and those he loves even if it costs him his life! And, of course, his tender and intense love for Molly.

Women - this is what your man is thinking. Minus the talking to birds and cats and such. We're all just thinking about carris seed cakes and chicks who make candles!

 

[dustinzgirl]

I have always thought Robin Hobb was a guy.

And, my mother's name is Robin, and she is not a guy.

So, I find that kind of interesting. Maybe its the Hobb part..that has a very masculine ring to it.

 

[Pyan]

At the extreme risk of contradicting you, Dusty, I really can't think how you thought she was male - everything that I've ever read by her fairly shouts to me that she's a she..

I think it comes out most if you read the whole three trilogies end to end - I thought that the writing of Fitz and the writing of Althea made it quite obvious that RH was female...

 

[dustinzgirl]

At the extreme risk of contradicting you, Dusty, I really can't think how you thought she was male - everything that I've ever read by her fairly shouts to me that she's a she..

I think it comes out most if you read the whole three trilogies end to end - I thought that the writing of Fitz and the writing of Althea made it quite obvious that RH was female...

I have no idea. On my contract work I use my initials and last name and people always assume I'm a dude. Of course, these are mainly dudes themselves, except a few.

 

[ratsy]

Frankly I didn't care if Robin Hobb was a man or a woman. I just picked up the Assassins Apprentice while I was waiting for my car to get tuned up at a grocery store. Am I ever glad I did. After obbsessivly reading the first book I read up on Hobb and found out it was a woman.

It really didnt surprise me. I dont think a man could have pulled those stories off...Especially the relationship of the Fool and Fitz or the emotion of connecting with Nighteyes. Those are the best books I have ever read. (I had to struggle through Shamans Crossing though and Forest Mage has been put on the sideburner while I delve into the wonderful world of Tad Williams, in The Dragonbone Chair)

She really has opened my eyes to reading Female authors. Not that I ever had a reason not to before but for some reason would gravitate to male authors.

 

[Pyan]

Not that I ever had a reason not to before but for some reason would gravitate to male authors.

That's probably why she chose that particular name in the first place, Ratsy - so that people that have this leaning, whether consciously or not, would buy the books...

 

[chongjasmine]

I actually thought of her as a man, until I read the author's profile section. I was shocked she is a woman.

 

[thaddeus6th]

I thought she was a bloke, but only because Robin is (or I think it is) more usually a man's name than a woman's. Wasn't shocked she turned out to be a lady, just marginally surprised.