Assassin's Quest (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 3)
From an extraordinary new voice in fantasy comes the stunning conclusion to the Farseer trilogy, as FitzChivalry confronts his destiny as the catalyst who holds the fate of the kingdom of the Six Duchies...and the world itself.King Shrewd is dead at the hands of his son Regal. As is Fitz--or so his enemies and friends believe. But with the help of his allies and his beast magic, he emerges from the grave, deeply scarred in body and soul. The kingdom also teeters toward ruin: Regal has plundered and abandoned the capital, while the rightful heir, Prince Verity, is lost to his mad quest--perhaps to death. Only Verity's return--or the heir his princess carries--can save the Six Duchies.
But Fitz will not wait. Driven by loss and bitter memories, he undertakes a quest: to kill Regal. The journey casts him into deep waters, as he discovers wild currents of magic within him--currents that will either drown him or make him something more than he was....
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Editorial Reviews
In this conclusion to the Farseer saga, FitzChivalry's quest for revenge on the usurping Regal requires him to journey to the Elderlings (wise old mages in the classic mold) and afterwards to realize the emergence of his own magical gifts, at which point the quest comes to an end after a mere 688 pages. Like much high fantasy these days, the book could have been pruned more than a trifle; on the other hand, along with the extra wordage come extra measures of characterization, world building, and emotionally compelling scenes of both magic and battle. And this is definitely the end of one story, although the world Hobb has created is now sufficiently developed (even why the characters have such archetypical names is explained) to be the scene of future books. In all, this is an improvement over its predecessors that will please their readers and probably whet their appetites for more from Hobb. Roland Green
Final installment--each entry independently intelligible--of Hobb's stunning fantasy trilogy (Royal Assassin, 1996; Assassin's Apprentice, 1995) about the beleaguered Six Duchies and their Farseer kings. Months ago, King Verity vanished into the far mountains in search of the semi-mythical Elderlings, whose help he must have in order to defeat the rampaging Red Ship Raiders, leaving his murderous, venal, and insanely ambitious brother, Prince Regal, to dispose of Verity's last few loyalists at his leisure--including narrator, spy, and assassin FitzChivalry. Poor Fitz, unable to contact his beloved Molly (she thinks he's dead) and daughter (by Molly) for fear of exposing them to Regal's attentions, uses his magic Skill to locate Verity and receives an imperious summons: ``COME TO ME!'' So, abandoning his plan to assassinate Regal, Fitz enters the mountains with a small band of helpers. Eventually, having evaded Regal's minions, Fitz comes upon Verity Skill-carving a huge dragon out of black rock; nearby stand other lifelike dragon-sculptures that, to Fitz's animal-magic Wit, seem somehow alive. Are these eerie sculptures what remain of the Elderlings? Yet, for all his Skill, Verity cannot bring the dragons to life; and soon Regal will arrive with his armies and his Skilled coterie. An enthralling conclusion to this superb trilogy, displaying an exceptional combination of originality, magic, adventure, character, and drama. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
"Superbly written, wholly satisfying, unforgettable: better than any fantasy trilogy in print--including mine!"--Melanie Rawn
"With shimmering language and the alluring garb of Faerie, Hobb concludes her Farseer trilogy with this immense coming-of-age novel."--Publishers Weekly -- ReviewCustomer Reviews
Great book. Robin Hobb is a gifted writer, rich style and an amazing sensitivity in describing emotions.
While I like to think that my opinion of this work could be useful to others (a claim further boosted by Amazon's new reviewer ranking system), it is with great difficulty that I set out to critique this, the final installment of the Farseer trilogy. I suppose I should start by admitting that I came into this trilogy quite late (nearly fourteen years to be exact) thanks to a strange but consistent string of published compliments passing between Robin Hobb and George RR Martin. I was immediately enamored with Hobb's wonderfully rich characters, realistic world, and political dynamic. I was able to immediately dismiss fears that fantasy told through first-person perspective could not possibly work and found myself glued to the seat until both the first and second books in the series were read, often forsaking appointments, sleep, and nourishment in the process. The second to third book transition is such that I recommend having this, the third on hand to anyone who attempts to read the second. This is one story spread across three installments and Hobb wastes no time recapping. Close one; open the next as if you traversed only a standard chapter break.
But I digress; since you are reading this review, it's safe to assume you've likely already read the first or second or are considering the series as a whole. To that I have to rate the series as follows:
Book One (Assassin's Apprentice) 5 Stars
Book Two (Royal Assassin) 4 Stars
Book Three (Assassin's Quest) 3.5 Stars
The pattern here, in case you haven't noticed, is that the series begins about as strong as any fantasy work out there and with an unrivaled emotional tie to boot. The problem is that as the story progresses, two things happen that, in my opinion anyway, degrade some of the brilliance shown early on. First, Hobb is not afraid to drag her readers through the proverbial mud. Sure most authors will allow things for the lead character(s) to get ugly along the way but they usually counter the trend with a plateau of resolve. It isn't uncommon for Robin Hobb to pull her protagonist into a miserable downward spiral that takes the full three books to level out (and in some cases- to never fully recover from at all). Yes it is realistic writing and yes it mimics reality in that real life doesn't always end happily ever after, but I must confess that there is an underlying feeling of depression and frustration that accommodates such an epic torture-fest.
Secondly, the structure of the story itself takes a radical shift in this, the third installment. It is still told in first-person as the lead character recaps his trials and tribulations as a scribe documenting the history of the Six Duchies, but the once grand scheme of the world around him is reduced to a day-by-day journey of survival. Gone are the grand battles being waged on the coast, gone are the family betrayals and political intrigue, gone is the lifestyle of Buck Keep and the cozy scenes with the enigmatic assassin Chade, the stable master Burrich, or the good king Shrewd. Instead we are dragged along on what basically boils down to a hiking expedition with some of the lesser-developed cast members.
I suppose in all honesty, Hobb set herself up with a struggle so perfectly overwhelming that nothing shy of a completely unforeseen solution would suffice and in that regard she delivers. I'm not big on spoilers, so I won't get into specifics here but let's just say that the resolution to the struggles beautifully built up in the first two installments is a bit too "fantasy" in nature and not nearly as fulfilling as I had hoped. Worse still is that Hobb has managed to prove to me that we are all hopeless romantics under our hard shells- in other words deep down we all want our hero to get the girl in the end. Sure we complain about the lack of realism in it and whine that there's nothing original out there but this novel is an example of what happens when we don't get a fairy tale ending we love to complain about. It turns out that this stings too but for an entirely different set of feelings: Frustration and melancholy mostly.
I'm left feeling like this series is truly one of the finest in the entire genre and manages to accomplish the same sense of richness that rivals George RR Marin's Song of Ice and Fire saga through a single viewpoint (where Martin tells his tale by bouncing around a cast of hundreds).
I've noticed similar complaints of depressing tone in Hobb's later works and will likely revisit her world after a tour of some more lighthearted fantasy to numb a bit of the residual emotional attachment the Farseer trilogy left behind.
I must agree with what a lot of the other people have said about this book. The author victimizes the main character way too much, makes Regal way too evil. They make everything go wrong for him, I seriously think it would've been a happier book if the main character died. *SPOILERS AHEAD* Then at least his heart wouldn't have been broken. The kings and princes demand too much from him, the characters become suddenly stupid after the first book. In the 3rd especially everyone is stupid, everyone is willing to believe the propaganda, even the stupidest lies. Fitz himself turns into a blundering idiot who falls into traps too often. *SPOILERS OVER* I already got the first book of another of her series (I got it before reading the 3rd book) but I am wary to read it because I don't wish to be so disappointed by later books in the series. IF YOU LIKE A TRAGEDY THIS BOOK IS PERFECT FOR YOU.
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