Assassin's Quest (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 3) [Mass Market Paperback]

Robin Hobb (Author)

Book Description

Release date: January 5, 1998 | Series: The Farseer

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....

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 757 pages
• Publisher: Bantam Books (January 5, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553565699
• ISBN-13: 978-0553565690
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1.5 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (353 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #19,042 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robin Hobb lives and writes in Tacoma, Washington. Robin is best known as the author of the Farseer Trilogy (Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin and Assassin's Quest.) Other works include The Liveship Traders Trilogy, the Tawny Man Trilogy, and the Soldier Son trilogy. The Rain Wilds Chronicles is now complete, published as Dragon Keeper and Dragon Haven. A story collection, The Inheritance, showcases my work as both Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm. In April of 2012, City of Dragons was published as the 3rd volume in the Rain Wilds Chronicles. That tale will conclude in April 2013 with the publication of the final volume, Blood of Dragons. Robin Hobb also writes as Megan Lindholm.

A short story, Words Like Coin, is available as an illustrated e-book from Subterranean Books. Soon, a Six Duchies novella, The Wilful Princess and the Piebald Prince, will also be published by Subterranean.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#26 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#29 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#46 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#26 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#29 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#46 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 53 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Gritty and heart-rending fantasy May 22, 2000

By shel99

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I had never heard of Robin Hobb until a friend recommended her. Having just finished this trilogy, I am immediately ranking her as one of my favorite fantasy authors. Her characterization of FitzChivalry is breathtaking - one of the best-written characters I've ever read. I usually don't much care for first person narratives but this is definitely the exception to that rule.

This, the third book of the trilogy, kept me turning pages at an incredible rate. However, like many of the other reviewers, I was disappointed in the ending. Not because it was depressing - on the contrary, stories in real life don't always have happy endings, so why do books always have to? - but because it seemed rushed. All of the mysteries that were built up over the course of the trilogy (the Elderlings, the Raiders and Forged Ones) were suddenly summed up and solved in just a few pages, leaving me thinking, "That was it?"

But regardless of my dislike for the ending, this trilogy was fantastic and I am looking forward to reading more of Robin Hobb's work.

32 of 36 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A good trilogy hits its low January 29, 2006

By R. Seehausen

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy started out strong, but each of the books became slightly disappointing when compared to the last. Where the first book was almost perfectly crafted, the second book was powerful but flawed, and the third was well-written but comparatively disjointed and unmoving.

The problem with this book is that from the get-go it severs too much of its own emotional power. The main character, FitzChivalry, already believes he has lost everything at the beginning of the story, and the book's ending only confirms his belief. The first two books thrived on the familiarity of Buckkeep and the characters residing within it; it drew on both the setting and the relationships of those characters to sustain its drama and emotional resonance. In this final installment, FitzChivalry never again sets foot in Buckkeep, and those characters are not present at all for at least half of the story. When they are present, they've changed almost beyond recognition.

In that way, reading Assassin's Quest is like having the rug pulled out from under you in much the same way it was for its main character. I'm sure Hobb knew this would be the effect of her decisions, and perhaps she even strove for it. That doesn't change the fact that this story is that much less engaging and emotional than the last two.

It is a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy, though, and probably the inevitable one. Why Hobb had to tell this story, I don't know, but she accomplished what she set out to do. It's a good read and necessary if you read the preceding books. It is not, however, their equal.

25 of 28 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Really quite excellent September 26, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I was greatly surprised, reading the reviews here, to find so many mixed, not to mention downright negative, reviews. So I'll try and actually write out why I thought this book, or perhaps, more accurately, this series, was, as far as I'm concerned, about the best thing to come out in North America in recent memory.

The most refreshing thing about the series, has to be its take on the whole heroic fantasy bit, which has, to be honest, been done to death and beyond. However, the equally overdone, morose antihero type cliche (equally over done in contemporary fantasy, I fear) has also been avoided. This book, and you'll forgive me for being full of myself in saying this, takes, not the protagonist who isn't a hero (a la George RR Martin, or Elric), but the hero who isn't the protagonist.To clarify, I believe that while Fitz is the protagonist, obviously, of the book, he's not the protagonist of the story being told in the book.

I liked the ending a lot, although I can see what there is to dislike there, especially since we've been following Fitz around for as long as he remembers. It was in keeping with the hero not protagonist bit, however. I didn't think that the Red Ship thing was too rushed, and while it could have been spread out a bit more, I quite enjoyed the implication that, what with everything that had happened, the Red Ships were hardly important anymore.

The characters were extremely well done as well. The main characters, from Patience to Kettle to Fitz himself, were all characterized, not explicitly, which is the easiest way, but implicitly, through their actions. They all seemed human to me, which is another thing that is sometimes difficult to pull off in fantasy literature.

The plot was good too. 'Nough said about that I think. It wasn't exceptionally original, but it was carried off extremely well, and had a good level of complexity (not overly simplistic, but not to the monsterous levels of untrackable complexity of, say, WoT)

A final word is on the length of the series itself. I like trilogies. It means that you get closure within a period of a couple years, and that things can happen in book two without having to worry about book 8. And Robin Hobb writes them far quicker than most epic writers.

Ahhh... yeah. That's about it. Read this book, but not in the expectation of either a heroic, TSR fantasy or of a dark, gritty expose of the darkest corners of the human soul, but of something wonderful in between.