Apr 26

Apr 26 Royal Assassin (The Farseer Trilogy, #2)

About the book

Author: Robin Hobb
Publisher: Harper Voyager

More info:
The StoryGraph | Goodreads
Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the review.

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Bookshop.org (print or ebook) | Libro.fm (audio)

My Review

As a reader who loves both fantasy and character-driven literary fiction, Robin Hobb’s books are a special kind of reading experience — one I can really sink into and let both halves of my heart enjoy. They just have this perfect classic fantasy vibe (minus, thankfully, the misogyny).

I enjoyed Assassin’s Apprentice, but I think I liked Royal Assassin even more. The pacing is better: it covers a much shorter timeline, focusing on a specific set of events instead of 10 years of Fitz’s life. That means it avoids most of the “and then and then and then” that occasionally plagues the first book. Both the Skill and the Wit are explored more deeply, which I appreciated. I also respected the way Hobb gave Fitz time to work through the impossibilities of his situation; it was very believable. Nighteyes is a true gift. And I definitely did not have that ending on my bingo card!