The gripping finale to Robin Hobb's classic Farseer trilogy. Keystone. Gate. Crossroads. Catalyst. Fitz is about to discover the truth about the Fool's prophecy. Having been resurrected from his fatal tortures in Regal's dungeons, Fitz has once more foiled Regal's attempts to be rid of him. Now, back in his own body, and after months of rehabilitation, Fitz begins the painful and slow process of learning the ways of a man again. Under the watchful eye of Burrich, old King Shrewd's Stablemaster, ...
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The gripping finale to Robin Hobb's classic Farseer trilogy. Keystone. Gate. Crossroads. Catalyst. Fitz is about to discover the truth about the Fool's prophecy. Having been resurrected from his fatal tortures in Regal's dungeons, Fitz has once more foiled Regal's attempts to be rid of him. Now, back in his own body, and after months of rehabilitation, Fitz begins the painful and slow process of learning the ways of a man again. Under the watchful eye of Burrich, old King Shrewd's Stablemaster, Fitz must learn to cast off the wild but carefree ways of the wolf and enter once more the human world: a world beset ever more viciously by the relentless Red Ship Raiders who are now left free to plunder any coastal town they please. But more immediately, a world in which he finds he is utterly alone. Regal has stripped the kingdom of its riches and retired to the inland city of Tradeford. Of Verity, on his quest to find the legendary Elderings, there has been no word; Molly, Kettricken and the Fool have all vanished. Unless Fitz can find Verity and help him in his quest, the Six Duchies will perish and there will be no safe place to live.
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Hobb does a good job of weaving togehter all the many elements she lays out in this trilogy. Too often, writers cannot close the deal, but Hobb does a solid job without leaving me feeling cheated. I will say, I did feel somewhat rushed at the end, with a lot of narration and detail-filling outside of the action of the individual characters. But the road she had me travel to get to this point had me so fully satisfied that I did not mind. I am a fan for life. I cannot wait to start the next trilogy-- Liveship. I love Hobb's writing, her world-buidling, her dramatic, soul-wrenching, spirit-soaring, fulfilling writing. Fully immersive. Thank you!
chasingshadows
Feb 10, 2008
Readers-on-a-Dragon are swept away in body & soul
I must say I revelled in the beginning of this story the very first time I read it, carrying on as it does from the excruciating cliff-hanger that brought `Royal Assassin' to a stunningly climactic close. It's a measured, thoughtful and yet utterly engrossing entrance into the final chapter of the Farseer trilogy and sets the tone very well indeed for all that's to come in this revelatory, far-removed and yet exhilarating concluding story.
The first time I read this book I was so excited to learn how the events in the lives of FitzChivalry, the Fool, Verity and Kettricken would conclude that I realise now (having just read it for the second time) that I overlooked some lulls in the story, and there are some lulls in the middle particularly, albeit brief and still in the traditional, maddeningly-addictive Robin Hobb style. These lulls are necessary however , for Fitz needs to come to terms with his own demons, delusions and short-falls before he can confront the powerful forces in Wit, Skill, brute force and cunning that will thwart him in the final series of battles at the end of this story. Therefore `Assassin's Quest' holds a special place in my heart, as the story that takes Fitz beyond the confining and defining walls of Buckeep, into the world and finally sees him become a part of it, aware of his failings, but accepting of his role as Catalyst, despite all the sacrifices from him it demands.
In retrospect (and since Hobb has published the Tawny Man trilogy, which continues on the events in the lives of these characters) it's easy to read this book and have the certain feeling that much is left undone and unfinished in `Assassin's Quest' for Fitz and his followers. Or perhaps that's simply due to Hobb's expert story-telling ability in how she was able to gather all the many minute loose threads of this tale and weave them together into another trilogy of books so absorbing and incredibly worthy of being told as the tales in the Tawny Man trilogy. But I must admit `Assassin's Quest' still feels to me to be an incomplete tale, or rather, only a stepping stone leading to an even greater tale of heart-wrenching decisions and engrossing adventures. Luckily for us all this immensely satisfying and yet bittersweet example of story-telling is continued in `Fool's Errand', which you might be able to guess is precisely the book I am currently re-reading as you finish this review...
