Rating: 
Summary: Good book
Review: Hob's Bargain grabs you from the first moment you pick it up. Other reviewers have laid out the story and plot, so I won't repeat their words, but suffice it to say, this book is well worth your time and money.I started to read it late one night and didn't stop until 4am! When I awoke, I had to finish it ASAP. One thing though. I have to agree with the others when they say that the people of Fallbrook, for the most part, didn't deserve Aren. I know she feels an obligation to save them all despite how nasty they are to her, but if I had been her, I would have let the Hillgrims have the worst ones. :¬) Mark E. Cooper
The Warrior Within
Rating: 
Summary: Pleasant Fantasy
Review: Hobb's Bargain is a light, pleasant, but ultimately forgettable tale. A cleanser for your palate, if you will, before you take a deep drink of some doorstopper fantasy. It has a satisfyingly plucky heroine named Aren, a little action, a litle romance and some fey. I appreciated that Briggs borrowed some traditional Celtic fey, but didn't feel compelled to adhere slavishly to convention in how they looked or acted. The Hob was mysterious and had a sense of humor and his tail was definately his best feature! Unfortunately his 'bargain' wasn't all that horrible or difficult . I also found the world -building and magical systems development adequate but nothing to write home about. Obviously in a short novel like this you can't expect the same depth as you might get in a 600 page one, still a little more thought and creativity would have gone a long ways towards improving the book. I was also confused on a few points, including what the whole deal was with Kith and the boodmages. As nasty villains go, the bloodmages were rather ho-hum,standard evil fare without any distinguishing features. Despite all this, Briggs is short if nothing else, and her writing is certainly competent, which can't be said of everyone selling fantasy/sci-fi out there. For some reason Doranna Durgin came to mind when I was reading this, perhaps the mountain-community setting. For the reviewers recommending War for the Oaks by Emma Bull, I highly second their opinion. Really interesting fey with an attitude and if you like the somewhat mischievous Hob, you'll love the phouka!
Rating: 
Summary: Unenchanting...
Review: Hobb's Bargin was a good fantasy read. The heroine deals with the hardship of losing her loved ones and then being out cast for having her magical powers. The bloodmages(evil magic users)have bound the magic of the land. Using the Church, the blood mages control all the magic and either ... any child with magic ability or take them away to be used as a blood mage.
She must make a bargin with the Hobb ( magical creature that is the last of his kind)to save her people. It has elements of beauty and the beast but is quite original.
Patricia Briggs is a nice change for the formula fantasy that is clogging our book stores. She keeps the story moving and incorparates romance with out it seeming overly romantic.
Rating: 
Summary: Patricia Briggs deserves more recognition....
Review: Hobb's Bargin was a good fantasy read. The heroine deals with the hardship of losing her loved ones and then being out cast for having her magical powers. The bloodmages(evil magic users)have bound the magic of the land. Using the Church, the blood mages control all the magic and either ... any child with magic ability or take them away to be used as a blood mage.
She must make a bargin with the Hobb ( magical creature that is the last of his kind)to save her people. It has elements of beauty and the beast but is quite original.
Patricia Briggs is a nice change for the formula fantasy that is clogging our book stores. She keeps the story moving and incorparates romance with out it seeming overly romantic.
Rating:
Summary: For Those Who Like a Romance With Their Fantasy
Review: I like Patricia Briggs' fantasy novels (published as PBO's by Ace) and recently lucked into her latest -- Hob's Bargain. Her books tend to have a satisfying combination of action and emotion. In this fantasy magic creatures (wildlings) were bound by Bloodmages who receive their power from death and suffering. However this also brings madness and one day the binding is released by an insane bloodmage causing both physical upheaval of the landscape and social upheaval. The heroine is mage born which means that she has some limited ability to see the future before the unbinding. Afterwards the presence of magic in the earth increases the scope of her powers. Had she been discovered before the unbinding she would have been either killed by the Bloodmages in search of power or killed by fanatical anti-mage elements in her village. Afterwards, because of the circumstances the villagers find themeselves in, she is grudgingly accepted. Within the first chapter her life is turned upside down by raiders. She sets out on a quest for vengeance and to save her people. One of the wildlings that has reappeared is the Hob, the last of his kind, who has the ability to help the villagers, if he could find some one of them who would be willing to accept the Hob's Bargain. The lessons the heroine (and others) learn along the way are not preachy but sincere. There is a good dollop of humor and a nice touch of romance. Briggs is definitely growing as a fantasy author. She deserves a wider audience-- and more publicity (hear me, Ace?) In fact I enjoy her books more than I have enjoyed more ballyhooed books by some of the bigger names in fantasy. Let's have some more, soon.
Rating:
Summary: Another Fantastic Book by Patricia Briggs
Review: I loved this book. As with all of Ms. Briggs stories, "The Hob's Bargain" is not simply a fantasy novel that has different "wildling" creatures. She explores how prejudice and hatred can damage a community. Also, she is one of the few writers that uses romance so deftly that you don't always recognize that it started with the gentle wordplay among the characters. Ms. Briggs does not glorify the power of evil. Instead, she names it for what it is and with her writing forces the reader to acknowledge that evil, although powerful, should be destroyed. It would be easy to say this book is a simple fantasy, yet there are aspects of the book that speak to the world that we live in today. The Hob's Bargain is a joy to read, yet a closer inspection of the book reveals there are lessons in it for us to learn.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasing Fantasy Elements--but Ho-Hum...
Review: I thought I would like this. It's a variation on Beauty and Beast tales, which always seem to hit a soft spot with me. However, nothing seemed to gel in this story. The heroine--a perfectly NICE girl, I'm sure, never gained my sympathy nor interest, despite BAD things happening to her (perhaps I hate being so obviously manipulated? Yes, she goes through a lot; I feel bad; she's still not fleshed-out enough to get me to really care about her and what happens to her). The world seemed limited to one valley (definitely limited after magical changes seal the valley off from the rest of the kingdom... but even BEFORE that--I get no concept at all of the world this story is set in). The Hob. Could be very neat. But, again, no quirks of personality that made him interesting or unique. I read the book through, which means that it wasn't awful. It was OK as a fantasy goes. 'Just nothing I'd want to recommend to anyone. Sorry.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasing Fantasy Elements--but Ho-Hum...
Review: I thought I would like this. It's a variation on Beauty and Beast tales, which always seem to hit a soft spot with me. However, nothing seemed to gel in this story. The heroine--a perfectly NICE girl, I'm sure, never gained my sympathy nor interest, despite BAD things happening to her (perhaps I hate being so obviously manipulated? Yes, she goes through a lot; I feel bad; she's still not fleshed-out enough to get me to really care about her and what happens to her). The world seemed limited to one valley (definitely limited after magical changes seal the valley off from the rest of the kingdom... but even BEFORE that--I get no concept at all of the world this story is set in). The Hob. Could be very neat. But, again, no quirks of personality that made him interesting or unique. I read the book through, which means that it wasn't awful. It was OK as a fantasy goes. 'Just nothing I'd want to recommend to anyone. Sorry.
Rating:
Summary: Good book
Review: I tried to like this book, really I did. The story centers on a women, Aern, coming into her own magic after raiders kill her whole family and threaten the existence of the village where she lives. The problem is her talent is a mortal crime and even with it the village will be doomed without outside help. Enter the Hob, a magical half man whose help could mean their survival but comes with a price, Aern herself. For his help the Hob demands the Aren become his wife to ensure the continuation of his race. An interesting premise, the bare bones of which could make for a very interesting story. Unfortunately the book doesn't live up to the potential. Flawed would be the best way to describe it. How flawed? Let me count the ways. First, the characters. Aern, our principle protagonist, is little more than storybook fluff with no depth of feeling and few redeeming characteristics. He husband of one night is killed, didn't seem to bother her overly much. Her parents, brothers and pregnant sister, also killed brutally, a little more reaction but after spending a few days hiding in a cellar she seems to get over it. To be honest she's not someone it is easy to get emotionally attached to. Then there's the Hob, another bit of insubstantial fluff. Other than he's is purported to be the last of his kind, a fact contradicted in the text of the story, where is his motivations, his drivers. Does he love Aren? Doesn't seem to, but then she doesn't seem to really care whether or not she is mated to this half man either. They are both emotional vacuums. In other words it is difficult to care what happens to either of them. So the characters are incomplete, I can live with that. The real problem with this story is that it is incomplete. Not only does it drag a bit, the 'bargain' doesn't even surface until more than half way through the book, the story just ends! Bam! Almost everything is still unresolved. Will the village survive? Will Aren go to the Hob? Who knows! Maybe there was meant to be a sequel, although I can find nothing to indicate there was or will be one. It was published in 2001 and as of yet there is nothing to indicate a follow-up. Without knowing if there is something else coming up you will be disappointed in the abrupt and unsatisfying ending. Without more I have to say this is a nice try but not quite good enough. At this time I have to say this book is NOT RECOMMENDED.
Rating:
Summary: A Near Miss, But Still a Miss
Review: I tried to like this book, really I did. The story centers on a women, Aern, coming into her own magic after raiders kill her whole family and threaten the existence of the village where she lives. The problem is her talent is a mortal crime and even with it the village will be doomed without outside help. Enter the Hob, a magical half man whose help could mean their survival but comes with a price, Aern herself. For his help the Hob demands the Aren become his wife to ensure the continuation of his race. An interesting premise, the bare bones of which could make for a very interesting story. Unfortunately the book doesn't live up to the potential. Flawed would be the best way to describe it. How flawed? Let me count the ways. First, the characters. Aern, our principle protagonist, is little more than storybook fluff with no depth of feeling and few redeeming characteristics. He husband of one night is killed, didn't seem to bother her overly much. Her parents, brothers and pregnant sister, also killed brutally, a little more reaction but after spending a few days hiding in a cellar she seems to get over it. To be honest she's not someone it is easy to get emotionally attached to. Then there's the Hob, another bit of insubstantial fluff. Other than he's is purported to be the last of his kind, a fact contradicted in the text of the story, where is his motivations, his drivers. Does he love Aren? Doesn't seem to, but then she doesn't seem to really care whether or not she is mated to this half man either. They are both emotional vacuums. In other words it is difficult to care what happens to either of them. So the characters are incomplete, I can live with that. The real problem with this story is that it is incomplete. Not only does it drag a bit, the 'bargain' doesn't even surface until more than half way through the book, the story just ends! Bam! Almost everything is still unresolved. Will the village survive? Will Aren go to the Hob? Who knows! Maybe there was meant to be a sequel, although I can find nothing to indicate there was or will be one. It was published in 2001 and as of yet there is nothing to indicate a follow-up. Without knowing if there is something else coming up you will be disappointed in the abrupt and unsatisfying ending. Without more I have to say this is a nice try but not quite good enough. At this time I have to say this book is NOT RECOMMENDED.
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