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Lunch » Tags » Books » Reviews » Royal Assassin

Royal Assassin

1 rating: 3.0

A book by Robin Hobb

Continuing in the tradition of her first book (Assassin's Apprentice) Hobb propels the Farseer saga into its second installment with irresistible plotting and memorable characters. Fitz is a trained assassin in the service of King Shrewd and also the … see full wiki

Tags: Books

Author: Robin Hobb

Genre: Science Fiction & Fantasy

Publisher: Spectra

1 review about Royal Assassin

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The Emotional Roller Coaster Continues

Oct 10, 2008

by JRider
posted in Cafe Libri: Reviewing Books & More

Rating:

Truly after having become instantly enamored with Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin had me hooked before I even finished the first page. I will begin this review with my sincere puzzlement in the fact that there is so much overhyped fantasy in the world by highly decorated (see award winning) authors that it amazes me to no end how the Farseer trilogy tends to slip through the proverbial cracks. This series is easily on par with the efforts of George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire and perhaps some of the finer moments of Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time.

That said, this tale picks up literally where the first book ends (with no recapping) and continues in the first person narrative of Fitz Chivalry as he recounts his life in effort to document the history of the Six Dutchies.

Like before, the imagery is just stunning and Hobb once again demonstrates that her greatest strength as an author is through development of incredibly rich characters that the reader can't help but feel like they know personally.

Perhaps therein lies the greatest source of frustration mingled within the beauty of this series: Robin Hobb isn't afraid to let the bottom drop out and does so very frequently. They say that hopelessness is a powerful literary tool (and certainly a motivator to turn the pages in effort to find resolve). The trouble some have with Hobb is that resolve is painfully slow to come (and often times doesn't come at all). Readers were treated to a taste of this in the first book but it pales in comparison to the mental and physical torture they will endure through Fitz's eyes in this one!

Without giving away too much of the plot's key moments, let me just summarize by saying that nearly everything Fitz has worked for comes crashing down by the conclusion of this novel. How Robin Hobb plans to tie up all of the loose ends of the saga in the third entry (Assassin's Quest) is truly anybody's guess. Although I must confess that it will be nearly impossible for anyone (regardless of how frustrated) to finish this book without desperately seeking the third entry with ravenous passion.

Upon completing Royal Assassin last night, I concluded that:

1) Robin Hobb may just be one of the most powerful authors in our time and certainly one of the most under appreciated in the fantasy genre.

2) This series is absolutely gripping in every sense of the word but requires a reader willing to "ride out the storm" in the distant hope that resolve will come.

3) Readers who rely on fantasy to escape the drudgery of daily life/ world affairs may want to steer clear of this entire melancholy-riddled saga. This book has the ability to cast a gray cloud over the mood of even the most optimistic reader (that can follow into real life).

4) If you decide to forge through this book, have the third entry handy- it ends on such a note that you just may find yourself standing outside the bookstore at dawn waiting for them to open.

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