World Famous Comics: Royal Assassin (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 2)
Royal Assassin (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 2)
By: Robin Hobb Publisher: Spectra Average Rating: Binding: Mass Market Paperback Label: Spectra Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 675 Publication Date: February 03, 1997 Release Date: February 03, 1997
Product Description: Young Fitz, the illegitimate son of the noble Prince Chivalry, is ignored by all royalty except the devious King Shrewd, who has had him tutored him in the dark arts of the assassin. He has barely survived his first, soul-shattering mission, and returns to the court where he is thrown headfirst into the tumult of royal life. With the King near death, and Fitz's only ally off on a seemingly hopeless quest, the throne itself is threatened. Meanwhile, the treacherous Red Ship Raiders have renewed their attacks on the Six Duchies, slaughtering the inhabitants of entire seaside towns. In this time of great peril, it soon becomes clear that the fate of the kingdom may rest in Fitz's hands--and his role in its salvation may require the ultimate sacrifice.
The Emotional Roller Coaster Continues Truly after having become instantly enamored with Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin had me hooked before I even finished the first page. I will begin this review with my sincere puzzlement in the fact that there is so much overhyped fantasy in the world by highly decorated (see award winning) authors that it amazes me to no end how the Farseer trilogy tends to slip through the proverbial cracks. This series is easily on par with the efforts of George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire and perhaps some of the finer moments of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time.
That said, this tale picks up literally where the first book ends (with no recapping) and continues in the first person narrative of Fitz Chivalry as he recounts his life in effort to document the history of the Six Dutchies.
Like before, the imagery is just stunning and Hobb once again demonstrates that her greatest strength as an author is through development of incredibly rich characters that the reader can't help but feel like they know personally.
Perhaps therein lies the greatest source of frustration mingled within the beauty of this series: Robin Hobb isn't afraid to let the bottom drop out and does so very frequently. They say that hopelessness is a powerful literary tool (and certainly a motivator to turn the pages in effort to find resolve). The trouble some have with Hobb is that resolve is painfully slow to come (and often times doesn't come at all). Readers were treated to a taste of this in the first book but it pales in comparison to the mental and physical torture they will endure through Fitz's eyes in this one!
Without giving away too much of the plot's key moments, let me just summarize by saying that nearly everything Fitz has worked for comes crashing down by the conclusion of this novel. How Robin Hobb plans to tie up all of the loose ends of the saga in the third entry (Assassin's Quest) is truly anybody's guess. Although I must confess that it will be nearly impossible for anyone (regardless of how frustrated) to finish this book without desperately seeking the third entry with ravenous passion.
Upon completing Royal Assassin last night, I concluded that:
1) Robin Hobb may just be one of the most powerful authors in our time and certainly one of the most under appreciated in the fantasy genre.
2) This series is absolutely gripping in every sense of the word but requires a reader willing to "ride out the storm" in the distant hope that resolve will come.
3) Readers who rely on fantasy to escape the drudgery of daily life/ world affairs may want to steer clear of this entire melancholy-riddled saga. This book has the ability to cast a gray cloud over the mood of even the most optimistic reader (that can follow into real life).
4) If you decide to forge through this book, have the third entry handy- it ends on such a note that you just may find yourself standing outside the bookstore at dawn waiting for them to open.
frustration at every page Overall the story is a page turner that will have you staying up all night to read. Characters have a good depth to them; with 5 or 6 with very realistic personalities that will stick with you throughout the story. The bad guy is a perfect example of a villain that will have you turning page after page to see his demise.
On the other hand this story introduces staggering amount of problems with no resolutions. The ending is one of the most wretched i have yet to encounter in a trilogy; basically the worse form of a "to be continued".
The characters have all these amazing powers that develop through the story (char development, key to all great fantasy books), also trained as a assassin. All of the "good" chars are supposely the to be fear types that are capable of great feats. Yet the "good" characters are completely impotent in using any of there abilities. The entire story is about them running around and avoiding confrontation for 400+ pages... Its like a story of complete wimps, the frustration you feel while reading is almost unbearable, many times i thought of putting down the book and picking another author...
I finally get to last chapters, and there is no END!!!! Just bigger issues are introduced and advertisement for buying the next book. If you do make the plunge and purchase this book, be sure to buy the third at the same time...
Then ending was so upsetting, i trudged out of my room, downstairs, booted up the ol' puter to write this review...
Brillaint declaration of high fantasy "Royal Assassin" is a worthy sequel to its predacessor "Assassin's Apprentice". This is where our charming young hero Fitz really comes into his own in his strange little world where he is caught between the royal family with whom he can never quite truly bond and his duty as the court assassin.
The fantasy and plot continue to strengthen in this amazing novel, and open us up to an entirely new world outside the palace walls where Fitz grows into more than he ever dreamed possible. That is my testament to Hobb's talent at character development.
The characters are wonderful, and the entire book vibrates with intense mystery and passionate love.
I don't read a heck of a lot of fantasy, but this is certainly worth reading. Hobb is a wonderful writer with a marvelous sense of prose and a feeling for high fantasy.
One of the best fantasy series of all time... This entire series from Assassins Apprentice all the way through the Fool books has been incredibly good. Once I start them, I can't put them down. I suggested this book to my brother & several friends & they all became addicted to the series too. The characters are intense, the plot is fascinating & I've even reread them several times which I NEVER do. Can't recommend Robin Hobb enough.
A dark and realistic sequel, keep it up! I agree with brannonc below when I say the book covers leave a LOT to be desired; I disagree with users like eryk and judah who view the good guys as wimps that repeatedly suffer at the hands of the bad guys in spite of having various powers like the Skill, the Wit, the King's support, etc. The one thing that really strikes me about this series is how realistic (an oxymoron for this genre I know) the protagonist's response to Regal's evil-doings is: nothing. It reminds me of stories that might take place in medieval Europe with peasants living under an unjust aristocracy. All you can do is watch and wait while bad things happen. Yes, Fitz is of royal blood, but only Shrewd's power shades him from the dangers of the court politics. This is realistic because everything is so clandestine. No matter how sweet it would be to simply throttle Regal's throat, a promise is a promise and Fitz and company need to rely on a cat and mouse game like the Cold War where everything happens backstage unseen to the general audience. If you read Le Carre spy novels or understand the CIA's proxy methods, then you will appreciate this novel and why the characters act (or don't act). However, if you don't have the patience for real character development or the intrigues/realities of the game of thrones, then skip ahead to Book 3 whose prologue sums up 1/2 of this novel in 2 pages.
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