You are here: Home / Author / Robin Hobb / Royal Assassin

Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

9-stars

Rate and review Royal Assassin! | What does everyone else think?

Summary Brilliant continuation of a tale full of treachery and injustice.

"We are here, Fitz, you and I, to change the future of the world..."

Royal Assassin is the second book in Robin Hobb's fantasy series The Farseer Trilogy and follows on from the events in Assassin's Apprentice.

The book begins precisely where we left off and FitzChivalry is slowly recovering from the poision administered to him. The effects have left him prone to fits and spasms and in this state he must travel back to Buckkeep to face his tormentor and poisoner, Prince Regal.

The main character Fitz has grown and is now a teenager. The books narrative has also matured and there is a distinctly darker feel to this middle novel. Although we are with Fitz in his struggle, Robin Hobb does not shirk from showing us his failings as a human being and how his actions also hurt others.

"My body spasmed and the back of my head rebounded sharply off the bedstead. I cried out involuntarily, a gargling wordless cry. In an instant Jonqui was there, calling Burrich back, and then they were both holding down my flailing limbs. Burrich's body weight was flung on top of me as he strove to restrain my thrashing. And then I was gone."
Royal Assassin: Dreams and Awakenings

The Red Ship Raiders are still attacking the coast of the Six Duchies and Prince Verity is hard pressed to use his skill to keep them at bay. King Shrewd's health is failing and Regal continues plotting to further his own position. In to the midst of all this comes Molly, Fitz's childhood friend and companion. They embark on a relationship that brings her into danger as there are those who would hurt her to get to FitzChivalry.

This is a continuation of a tale full of treachery and injustice. The superb writing makes you angry at the unfairness of life and enables you to become closely attached to the central characters in this tale. This a marked improvement on the first book ( not that the first wasn't good). This tale will not leave you with a feel-good factor so it only goes to show just how well written it is. It is no small task to get a reader to follow characters through misery, unfairness and injustive, but Robin Hobb manages it with ease.

She turned and walked away from me. She still hugged herself, as if to keep herself from flying apart. She looked very alone, in her draggled blue skirts with her proud head bowed. 'Molly Red Skirts,' I whispered after her, but I could no longer see that Molly. Only what I had made of her."
Royal Assassin: Threats

The book's ending leaves you reaching for (or buying) the final part of this wonderful trilogy because you simply must know how everything turns out. You will be left hoping for a happy ending for Fitz and those close to him and an unpleasant end for Regal and some others. Be warned though, judging by the events that have already occured, Hobb may not give us what we hope for...

The book's cover illustration's are by the wonderful John Howe.

"Refreshingly original" Jenny Wurts

Royal Assassin (The Farseer Trilogy - Book 2) (Amazon.co.uk)

Author: Robin Hobb
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 768
Publication date: 1997-03-03
Publisher: Voyager

RRP: ~~£8.99~~
Lowest new price: £0.45
Lowest used price: £0.01

Royal Assassin (The Farseer Trilogy) (Amazon.com)

Author: Robin Hobb
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 768
Publication date: 1997-03-03
Publisher: Voyager

RRP: ~~$16.50~~
Lowest new price: $7.70
Lowest used price: $0.99

The second volume in Robin Hobb's internationally bestselling Farseer series, now reissued in gorgeous new livery. Fitz dreams of Red-Ship Raiders sacking a coastal village, leaving not a single man, woman or child alive. Tortured by this terrible vision he returns to the Six Duchies court where all is far from well. King Shrewd has been struck down by a mysterious illness and King-in-waiting, Verity, spends all his time attempting to conjure storms to confuse and destroy the Red-Ship Raiders. And when he leaves on an insane mission to seek out the mystical Elderings, Fitz is left alone and friendless but for the wolf Nighteyes and the King's Fool with his cryptic prophesies.
Product Description

Natalie from Cheshire
"George Lucas got it right with The Empire Strikes Back. The middle of a trilogy is a time to expand on the story and characters and set everything up for a fantastic finale. This is what Robin Hobb does, a great middle book!"

Estel from Lucknow
"The tale of FitzChivalry gets more intriguing and mesmerizing. But sadly, things don't always go so well for Fitz. Characterization, the hallmark of Ms. Hobb's creativity, is once again subtle and deep. All the characters mature throughout the novel, be it Fitz, Molly, Burrich, or Kettrickern. And the ending ... the ending will just grab you by your guts. So, my advice: buy this novel only along with its sequel, otherwise not."

Submit your own mini-review

Let people know what you think about Royal Assassin. You can write your own mini-review and give the book the rating that you think it deserves. Your reviews will go towards giving Royal Assassin its overall rating that will decide where Royal Assassin finishes in the top 100 fantasy books of all time.

Books you may also enjoy...

The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece. The Lord of the Rings is the best known as most enjoyed fantasy book of all time. If you have never read this, or The Hobbit before, then you are in for a real treat! ... read the full review

Summary: It is hard to put into words the happiness that can be felt when reading literature as good as this.

Reader reviews | Write review

The Earthsea Quartet by Ursula Le Guin

The Earthsea Quartet brings together Ursula Le Guin’s four legendary Earthsea sagas for the first time in a single volume. ... read the full review

Summary: Stunning, thought-provoking fantasy.

Reader reviews | Write review

The Mad Ship by Robin Hobb

The Liveship Traders series continues with the second book, The Mad Ship. Althea Vestrit continues her quest to reclaim her rightful inheritance, the liveship Vivacia. The Vivacia has been seized by pirates led by the enigmatic Kennit, a man who believes that destiny leads him to become King of the Pirate Isles. The Vestrit family are nearing financial ruin which leads them closer to the mysterious Rain Wild Traders who own the ship. Amidst these events the mad ship, Paragon is once again launched despite the history of death and despair that surrounds him. ... read the full review

Summary: A spell-binding story full of wonderful characters and intrigue.

Reader reviews | Write review

Also in this sub-genre...

Book of the Month

Dust of Dreams by Steven Erikson
On the Letherii continent the exiled Malazan army commanded by Adjunct Tavore begins its march into the eastern Wastelands, to fight for an unknown cause against an enemy it has never seen. The fate awaiting the Bonehunters is one no soldier can prepare for, and one no mortal soul can withstand - the foe is uncertainty and the only weapon worth wielding is stubborn courage.

Previous winners of Book of the Month

Latest interviews

Interviews plus question and answer sessions with authors, narrators and publishers.

Must-reads

The following reviews are of books that begin the very best fantasy series available.

Competition: Win Frank Beddor’s The Looking Glass Wars trilogy

Alyss, born in Wonderland, is destined to be a warrior queen. After a bloody coup topples the Heart regime, Alyss is exiled to another world entirely, where she is adopted into a new family, renamed Alice and befriended by Lewis Carroll. At age 20 she returns to Wonderland to battle Redd and lead Wonderland into its next golden age of imagination.

Enter the competion now!

Special Feature: Fantasy Book Review talks to the Book View Cafe

Book View Cafe is a cooperative site created by a group of writers - including internationally renowned authors Katharine Kerr, Ursula Le Guin and Vonda N. McIntyre - who want to take advantage of the internet's possibilities for reaching a wider audience and to distribute their work directly to their readers. The Book View Cafe is a place where you can find free, original fiction plus the authors' best and out-of-print work for a fee. Fantasy Book Review spoke to Book View Cafe member, science fiction author and memoirist Chris Dolley in February 2010.

Fantasy Book Review talks to the Book View Cafe

Special Feature: Understanding the author of Alice in Wonderland

Lewis Carroll, the elusive author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, has been the subject of enduring fascination for the past hundred years. The destruction of many major documents about his personal life by his descendants has only magnified the mystery. Jenny Woolf's biography, published to coincide with the release of the new Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland film, lays waste to the myths and suspicions that have obscured Carroll's reputation by placing him firmly in the context of his own time.

Lewis Carroll on Fantasy Book Review