Assassins Quest by Robin Hobb
A fitting finale to a wonderful trilogy.
" We are here, Fitz, you and I, to change the future of the world... "
Assassin's Quest brings to a conclusion The Farseer Trilogy, a rich tale that improves with each book. As Royal Assassin improved upon Assassin's Apprentice, Assassin's Quest takes the trilogy to a new level and gives the reader what they want, and much more.
At the end of Royal Assassin Fitz had taken poison and died. Although we were sure that this was not the end for him, we eagerly anticipated how Robin Hobb might bring him back to life for the final installment of the trilogy. She did not dissapoint.
The pervading sense at the beginning of this book is hopelesness and Hobb must be commended for making this topic so enthralling to the reader. She has our hero being thwarted at every turn and no lucky breaks seem to go his way. There is a hope though, and Fitz's own dreams support this, that someday, somehow, everything will turn out OK. Don't bet on it though.
Assassin's Quest: The Unremembered
Fitz has The Wit, which allows not only to communicate with animals ( Nighteyes, his wolf ) but also to also ride with them and to affect their mannerisms. This leads to Fitz hunting and killing his prey and eating will it's still warm as would a wolf. This is quite hard for the reader to take, as the majority of us would not touch meat until it has been removed completely from the carcass and cooked to become unrecognisable from it's giver. AS the reader you can begin to understand why Fitz is spurned and reviled due to his Wit, his behaviour repulses many, even Burrich and this leads to a small disassociation between the reader and Fitz. This is possibly one of Hobb's masterstrokes as this sets the trilogy apart for the normal fare and gives us far more than the "Golden Hero" of some recent fantasy genre writing.
As the story builds towards the finale, twists and turns lead the reader back and forth. All the unexplained happenings are explained and the ending is exactly what the trilogy called for.
The Farseer Trilogy weighs in at over 2,000 pages and is a rewarding and immensely enjoyable read. Not only fans of the fantasy genre could enjoy these books as there is such a large human element to them that they appeal to all. The three books improve upon each other and Assassin's Quest is a perfect conclusion to an absorbing tale.
I would thoroughly recommend the Farseer Trilogy to everybody and hopr that they get as much enjoyment out of them as I did. Robin Hobb's work here has made me not want to go out and buy The Liveship Traders so that I can furthermore enjoy her work.
The book's cover illustration's are once again drawn by the excellent John Howe.
"Robin Hobb writes achingly well" SFX
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Jamie from UK
This was the best book in an enthralling trilogy. I was with Fitz all the way and just hoping that things would finally work out OK for him. It was a very moving ending that still makes me misty eyed now when I think about it. I went out and bought the follow up trilogy the next day, that's how good this is!
Natalie from Cheshire
How do you complete a trilogy? Like this! Assassin's Quest was everything that I hoped it would be, Fitz is a great character and by making him far from perfect Hobb makes him more identifiable. Burrich is probably my favourite character of them all, his strength and dignity (when sober) make him a good role model.
The ending is the most important part of a trilogy and is what you will always remember first when thinking back. It's perfect, if I could have asked Hobb to let me help her finish the book I don't think it would have been too different. A happy ending tinged with sadness and left open for more stories with the same characters.
The Farseer Trilogy is a must read for fantasy lovers, characters, setting and storyline all excellently written.
John from UK
The most captivating trilogy I have ever read. I love these books and I can't express enough how enjoyable they were to read. An amazing stroy teller. After reading this trilogy I went onto reading all of her work back to back.
