Customer Reviews

Assassin's Quest (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 3)

5 star:		(135)
4 star:		(76)
3 star:		(38)
2 star:		(35)
1 star:		(20)

 

 

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.

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.

First off, I just have to say that all of Ms Hobb's books are incredibly well-written and 'Assassin's Quest' is no exception. Ms Hobb's characters are more completely fleshed out than any other authors' that I've read. My only complaints of the book are the hasty defeat of the Red Ships (a little detail would've been appreciated) and the state of mind and body that Fitz was in at the end. I'm not childish enough that I have to have the protagonists of the fantasy books I read become kings or omnipotent wizards by the end of the book but to know that Fitz's fate is that of a forgotten and unrecognized cripple is just too much. A lot of the other reviews for 'Assassin's Quest' applaud it for its realism but in my opinion making a book realistic doesn't have to mean that that book is mind-numbingly depressing. However, there is a light at the end of this tunnel- Robin Hobb is writing a sequel trilogy about FitzChivalry right now.

If you've read the first 2 books in the Farseer Trilogy I do recommend reading 'Assassin's Quest' but don't start reading it expecting a great ending to this great trilogy because there isn't one in this book. I can only hope that the next Fitz trilogy that Ms Hobb is writing will grant Fitz some of the honor that he deserves.

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.

From the first pages of the Assassin's Apprentice until a hundred pages shy of this final book, I was quite convinced that I was reading what would become my favorite fantasy series ever. Don't get me wrong- I still loved it, but the ending let me down. (and many other readers I think) I can't help but get the impression that Hobb wanted to write a forth book to wrap it up (but was pressured not to by publishers), and its a shame she didn't take it, because the end result seemed rushed and chaotic, and just plain sloppy.

From having been a well-laid out, intelligent and gritty novel that kept you on your knees waiting to see how it would end- it went on to a hasty, summed-up ending that was a shadow of Hobb's ability. If ever an ending needed to be redone- its here. No dragons. Just a simple, bloody, final confrontation, as in the first two books- and this series would have ended solidly. I would gladly buy a revised copy if she ever makes one, for I will certainly reread this series down the line.

Before I start, I'll admit it openly: I get too caught up in books, and so this trilagy depressed me. When I finally finished AQ after not stirring all day, I felt almost like I was waking from a nightmare. Only I'm so upset about the ending that I can't can't stop thinking about it, so I'm writing this to try to snap out of Fitz's head and remember that life still exsists.

I think that far from falling off in character development, Robin Hobb has only gotten better. I thought that nothing could be done with Fitz after the way she ended the second book, but I have to say something was done, and it was done well. Fitz grew up...very realistically, which is perhaps why the series is so sad.

I have two big problems with this book: The first is that it got very weird after awhile. The self destruction and the forming of the dragons was too starnge, and it was easy to lose the charcters there. Also, what is it that she has with self-sacrafice/destruction? Verity has to give up everything for the Kingdom, Fitz has to give up everything for Verity. Something seems a little off here.

The second problem was the end. I understand that there couldn't be a happy ending for Fitz and Molly. Much as I hated it, I came to that realization on my own, somewhere in the middle. However, there was no reason to finish the set on such a dark note. Fitz's life with Molly was over, but one ending doen't mean there isn't another beginning. Kettle's prophasy to Fitz even identicated that there would be. But insread of allowing us to hope for that, Hobb writes the most hopless closing chapter I have ever read, in which the general impression you get is that Fitz is cut of from everybody, and has given up on ever trying to connect to anyone else. Even the boy is called "Boy". You'd think that the original Boy would know better then that. What takes the cake is the last line, that Fitz and Nighteyes are waiting to create their own dragon. Wonderful. Robin Hobb closes the trilagy by having the main character in! whose head we've been in sinse he was six, say that he basically wants to be forged. No wonder I'm depressed.

I admire authors who refuse to take the easy way out, and understand that life is not always perfect (most fantasy authors have a hard time grasping this). The Farseer trilagy, however, took this a little to far. Life isn't perfect, but it's not hopless either.

Reading these books (Assasin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin, and this one in turn) is like being punched in the mouth. The story is rudimentory, the characters do exactly the wrong thing in nearly every situation (Fitz is a tragically terrible strategist), and the evil is poorly defined -- and yet...I cared more for these characters and was more enthralled by their actions than I have been with any book in quite some time. It's amazing really, how this trilogy can get under your skin, long sittings are difficult with it, but you'll still be chronically picking up to sneak in a chapter at a time.

It's true, what other reviewers have said - the books do go very slowly. Speaking as a person who usually cannot stand slow-moving books, I was impressed still with how the book remained rivetting despite this. Somehow, Hobb uses those slow portions to cleverly develop her many characters - so much so that, when those characters are interacting or are put in danger, we feel like we know them and experience some truly remarkable catharsis.

Hobb knows the limits of her characters unlike any author I've yet read. They are fallible and human, they hide from eachother and have secret agendas. They have personalities we're not accustomed to and passions we struggle to understand. Fitz, bless his heart, has broken countless bones, lost gallons of blood, and even nearly died because he cannot think before he acts. Kettricken cannot stand by and watch her kingdom fall apart - even though her actions bring it to destruction all the faster. They're human, they don't know what's going to happen, and they don't make the best decisions for themselves or others - well, in all fairness, there aren't good decisions to be made. Here is a kingdom brought to complete ruin, nothing spared - and the people who stand between right and the world's end are the Catalyst and the White Prophet - Fitz, the overagressive [...] of a prince and a court fool without gender or discretion. Not even the other characters want to believe that these morons are their only hope of survival - but who would be? Not superhumans, not the extraordinarily clever or brave, just humans, fallible but with intense passion. Passion in these books is not made to be idealistic and romantic, but is about pain and complication and restraint - they love and are loved, and in being so, were loved by me.

Well I must say that I enjoyed this book much more than I expected after the last. To its credit, the protagonist is much truer to what I would expect a real person to be in his shoes, also the book moves at a steady clip that moved it beyond the walls of the royal abode, where most of the action took place in the previous two books. This book is quite a change from the last two books in that it almost wholly abandones many of the characters that played prominent roles there. I didn't mind that. The new characters are interesting and add to the story, but I did sometime miss the old characters. Some might feel the abscence of Chade and Burrich more keenly than I did though.

After completing the trilogy I was struck by how poorly they were named. The stage that Hobb set initially seems much more interesting to me than the direction that she took it. I liked the idea of an assassin employed for nothing more in some cases than for political gain. I liked the idea of confronting how this would reflect on the assassin and those that employed him. Unfortunately, there is very little of that in the series and I think that the protagonist is generously named "assassin" given his tasks.

A couple of the things that bothered me about this book: implausible barriers thrown up so the author can take the story where she wants it to go. I just didn't buy Fitz' reluctance to reveal his resurrected self to his old friends. The reasons he gives felt manufactured. This feeling increased by the reception he receives from those to whom he does reveal himself. In fact, it seems that there is hardly anyone close to him who is repulsed by his use of the wit. But the author has somewhere she wants to take us, so he must refuse to reveal himself. It detracted from the story and I didn't buy it.

The author is unmerciful to poor Fitz. He suffers and how. The whole series is chalk full of one abuse after another. This did not bother me throughout the entire series, because it seemed that it was building to a payoff. Not so. I don't mind if everything doesn't turn out as expected at the end, in fact I prefer it - it adds verisimility of the story - but the way she ends this book was entirely unsatisfactory. It turns out that Fitz truly is a dog who needs his master to lead his life given what he does with it when it is his own. It really detracted from the story. So much so that tainted the whole book and the series.

Finally, Hobb showed a penchant for a brief denouement in her first two books, so I should have seen it coming, but I was still surprised at how broadly she treats overriding mysteries at the end of the book. I think that many will be left scratching their heads about the significance of certain events and items. I don't know why, after painting such a rich picture in developing the story, she doesn't do the same in finishing it. Hobb feels stingy in giving up those payoff moments in the series, and given that this is the last of the three, it really stings here.

That said the world was great and the characters were sympathetic. I believe that the story will leave a lasting impression on your mind - unlike many other fantasy novels - just not a completely satisfying one.

Oh, how bittersweet The Farseer Trilogy developed and ended. Fitz really broke my heart this time.

In some way there is a classic battle between good and evil in this saga. Young Chivalry lives an outcast live; most of his old friends think him dead and he his consumed with hate and fear for usurper Regal. King Verity is far away on a quest to find the Elderlings, and he seems to be one of the few people Fitz could really trust. Fitz decides to help Verity and his dark, dark voyage over the Mountains kept me spellbound.

In some way good will win over evil in Assassin's Quest, but this does not mean we readers become happier of it. Fitz does not get the reward he deserves, no matter how much pain and torture he has been through and because the book is composed out of his memory the readers' impression is dark and we feel terribly sorry for him.

Still I think this is a quality of the story. It was the first time I was both happy and intense bitter after I finished a book, and it changed my view on classic fantasy. Too many series always have a happy end, with the major characters become all-powerfull, beloved kings and queens. Not this time; our hero is a hermit and he is as good as dead, with much to be proud of, but with no way to express it.

Some readers will feel that some questions have not been answered or have been hastily worked out. I disagree. First of all this story has not ended yet, and why should all information be given in the trilogy? In 'The Liveship Traders' we already learn more from a different point of view and that's very refreshing.

So, do not read this book as a faery-tale, but as a reading-experience. And cry if you want; there are enough books to laugh and feel a champion.

I read these books one after the other over three days. I was very much involved as a reader in the stories. In fact, they filled my dreams and nightmares while I was reading them. There is a great deal of writing skill in this trilogy. Plot twists abound and the characters are deeply drawn. This is well worth reading!

The style and feel of the introductions reminded me a little of Proust's Remembrance of Things Past. The descriptions of scenery and life were all rich in the Proustian tradition she recalled. The ending recalled to me The Prisoner of Zenda, but not in as positive a light, but for the sake of comparison.

The Prisoner of Zenda ended up much the same as Fitz except that it was entirely by his own choice, his own enlightened view of what was not only best for all of the people involved but what had to be the case if all that he had personally done to bring it about was to mean anything.

I am one of the readers of this trilogy who was a little disappointed in the resolution (and the haste of it). I also hope that it is correct that another work concerning FitzChivalry is in progress (as one reviewer stated). It seemed to me that Kettricken, seeming somewhat royally petulent in the last volume, and Chade who became the court dandy and popularly conceived hero of the events made out quite well in the story. And the minstrel was still unfeelingly barging her way through any life she touched. I'm not sure whether the resolution is realism and cynicism or the fantasy writer/reader's love of royalty.

I mean, I guess I can understand why royalty did what they did, but I would have felt more satisfied if, say, Kettricken hadn't just shown up at Fitz's once in awhile to not say anything, but simply sit there in silence with him ... because there was nothing that could be said. Read these books and hope with me that there is more of Fitz to come!