If anyone noticed I wrote about The Assassin’s Apprentice, but not the Royal Assassin. I did intend to, but the story was so good I couldn’t stop to write about it. I then decided I’d get to it while reading the Assassin’s Quest. Of course, by now, you see I have finished that too…oops. I guess at this point I will just write about the Farseer Trilogy altogether. As usual I’ll do the spoiler free review first.
Robin Hobb is one of my top favorite authors after reading this trilogy. I’ve never read a first-person perspective this brilliant and well done. While everything was from Fitz’s perspective, Hobb manages to find a way to keep the reader aware of the world outside of Fitz through ingenious story telling. Her words flow effortlessly so that at times even with a chapter break I did not want to stop reading. Often, I felt like I was part of Fitz and that I understood him. With him being younger than I am it really did feel like a boy and then a young man as the story progressed. All his decisions, feelings, and actions felt real. I could not detect much in terms of forcing plots points.
I enjoyed Hobb’s precise descriptions of the world around Fitz so that I could picture the world without issue. The other characters around Fitz feel alive and distinct. The story may be from his perspective, but everyone he interacts with fees like a true character that you get to know. There are no random NPC characters to serve plot or to fill out Fitz’s story. A true testament to a first-person story is the ability to make the world and other characters feel alive. Hobb does this with so much ease I am kind of jealous of this ability.
The world building and lore builds slowly. It trickles in as Fitz grows up. It starts from the small village outside the castle he lives into the wider world as he gets more involved with reacting to issues and politics of the greater area. The conflicts and political intrigue all makes sense, especially in a geo-political light. The lore is fascinating as well. There still seems much more to learn about this world I am grateful there are many more books I can read in the future.
The magic system is a bit chaotic in the fact that all the experts in how it works and the intricacies of it are not around. It’s a bit of learning about it along with Fitz. It is a fascinating system though. It helps make communication and knowing what is happening far off much easier for Hobb to convey to the reader. It really complements the world building quite a bit. One skill is quite dangerous in the wrong hands. The other can be more dangerous for the person using it than anything.
Now do not go into this series misled. Fitz goes through many tough trials, loss, and abuse. His life is no easy task. You will be riding shotgun through it all. You will come to hate and love those around him, sometimes both. It’s not quite grim dark, but it’s pretty realistic in what he goes through in the world Hobb set up. You will feel emotions as he deals with the worst of it. This series also has one of the most detestable antagonists in all my time in reading fiction. If you want someone to hate, then this series is for you.
Keep in mind as well that the writing is also quite descriptive with plenty of political intrigue, some action, but this is not a fast-paced series. It is a character and world building series. There are many more trilogies connected to this one; though you can just read this and be satisfied if that’s all you are looking for. I do not read much first person, but I flowed right into it so if you do not like it, I would advise to still give it a try. It doesn’t fall into some of the same pitfalls as other first-person writings have. I of course highly recommend this as Hobb just shot up into my favorite author lists. My only first-person writer I can say is up there.
SPOILER SECTION
I have to say I love Fitz as a character. I enjoy his bad and good decisions. His tribulations and triumphs. His relationships good, bad, or grey. I find everything believable. His awkward father son type relationship with Burrich has real life trials they go through. His first love relationship seems 100% accurate. His naivete dealing with certain people feels true to his age. I do not like to see Fitz suffer, but let’s be honest, if he didn’t then he wouldn’t have come out the same character who learned many life lessons in this world.
I do have to say his first love and father figure ending up together felt sooo weird. I know they think he is dead, but I still am not sure how I feel about that. I also find it kind of crazy Kettricken’s child will essentially be Fitz’s too even though he wasn’t in control of his body during conception. Just a wild take on Verity creating an heir. Speaking of Verity, I like how him saving the Six Duchies had a price that wasn’t death. It was a fascinating take on dragons. He still lives, but just not as he used to. He cannot be with the woman he loves or rule the kingdom he loves. Its sad, but the sacrifice feels so much more satisfying. Then there’s the Fool I am still not sure exactly what the Fool is, which I’m sure is why there are more books with them in it. While I know the next trilogy is different characters, I am looking forward to coming across the Fool once more in a future series.
When it comes to the antagonists of the books, I liked how Galen and Regal got their comeuppance. Though I think it would have been more fun to keep Regal alive in his condition. It would probably be quite useful to have an inner duchies stooge. I guess the only thing I’m disappointed in is the info dump to explain the Red Ship Raiders in the end. It felt anticlimactic, but it all made sense. It seems like this is some kind of cycle that will probably happen in a far future once again.
I love the skill and the wit. They are used so well to enhance the narrative and ability to understand the world better. Nighteyes bring so much depth to the story as well as to Fitz. He really does seem real in how communicating with a wolf in such a way would be. I am glad Hobb wrote that in the end Fitz trained with Old Bloods for a year to get better using the Wit along with Nighteyes. As for skilling I can only imagine how powerful Fitz could have been if he wasn’t so sabotaged in his life. Its frustrating to think about. Not much can be done about it as far as I can tell.
In the end I am glad he has some company as a hermit in the end with the boy. I am not sure where that’s going. I’m glad Starling visits him. I love that character, her personality, and understanding her trials better. I do hope she is in a future series and is making out well in life working for Kettricken. I also missed Lady Patience’s presence around Fitz in book three. She is the closest to a mother figure Fitz had, though I am quite curious about his real mother. I want to know more about that someday. I’m glad Patience pretty much became a true leader essentially keeping up hope against the Red Raiders. Imagine if she became the Queen as she was supposed to, though I have plenty of faith in Kettricken of course. Its also quite funny how much of a ladies’ man Chade became once he was free. He is such a well written character and for him to finally be set free from Shrewd and secrecy was a fun twist, good for him.
Overall, I am very satisfied with how this book ended and where all the character ended up. This series could have ended here and been satisfying though I’m glad it didn’t. I feel like there is so much more to learn about the world, lore, characters, and even the magic. I loved this series so much and am told its not even many peoples top trilogy in the Realm of the Elderlings, cant wait for more.