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Assassin's Quest (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 3)

Assassin's Quest (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 3)

List Price: $7.99
Your Price: $7.19
Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 2 stars
Summary: nasty ending
Review: Although I loved the first two books in this trilogy (and I wrote a review of the first book accordingly), I found this third one very different. Many writers say that ending a novel is the most delicate and difficult part of the writing creative process. I don't doubt it and,if we have to judge by this trilogy, the ending can totally spoil the good time we were having so far. The only explanation I could find for the awful way in which this trilogy ends is that the writer got to hate her main character and she wanted to punish him. It is not that I only want happy endings, it is that here the author goes beyond unhappy.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Almost but not there at the end...
Review: Having read all three volumes of the Farseer Trilogy, I cannot think of this book separately.It is the conlusion of the story and as such, gives us the complete picture of the author's intentions.This is one reason that I must be "stricter" on my review.
So, why should you read that book? Read below!
1.The reader is able to connect immediately with the main character, our hero, FitzChivalry.You feel like Fitz is someone very close to you, you share with him his fears, his sorrows, his happiness...everything.I caught myself thinking of Fitz many times during the day while I was working, or eating or being with friends.
2.The concept of the Wit magic is a very interesting,original one
and immensely enjoyable.
3. The beginning of the book is breath-taking,I was enchanted by it.
4. The depiction of the book's world is very lively.

But,on the other side...
1.Somewhere in the middle, the plot slows down significantly and there were moments that I wondered if what I was reading was necessary to be told.

2.I found the ending somehow brief.I felt that there were things that had to be described in more detail.There were other parts of the book that details were almost boring and I expected that the author would "pay homage" to her hero and her book at the end.

3.There were some parts of the book that were incomprehensible. R.Hobb in her effort to surprise the reader or to give a dreamy essense, made me wonder "what the heck is she talking about?".The chapter "Verity's bargain" is one example.

I gave this book a 3, but if I could I would give it a 3 1/2.
Volumes 1 and 2 get a 4.I tried not to say anything that would betray the plot, because I think that one of the things we enjoy in reading a book is the unexpected.
I would recommend you to read the book, but I have to say that it didn't leave its mark on me and I am not going to include it on my top-ten list of good books.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Really enjoyable
Review: I'm very glad I didn't miss Robin Hobb's excellent trilogy. I almost didn't order these books because the title nor the cover art looked very interesting. However I read some reviews from some customers who liked the same books I like and took a chance. These books are very well written. The characters are well thought out. I was glad all the books were written when I ordered the first one because they are the kind of books that keep you wondering what happens next.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Stunning, fascinating, enthralling!
Review: This is the third and last book of the Farseer trilogy (after Assassin's Apprentice and Royal Assassin).

After faking his own death to escape Regal and his coterie's torture, Fitz has to slowly leave the body of Nighteyes, the wolf to whom he's Wit-bound, and learn to be a man again. But some months later, after a quarrel with his protectors Burrich and Chade, he leaves the old cottage where he's taken refuge, and decides to make for Tradeford to assassinate the newly self-proclamed King Regal. Yet in attempting to do so, he hears Verity Skill-calling him: "come to me". He has no choice but to obey his rightful king.

His journey to the Mountain Kingdom and beyond won't be an easy one, as Regal has just put a prize on his head. Soon everybody becomes a potential enemy. But he'll also make new friends on the way, such as a couple of Witted ones like him, or a mysterious old woman and a minstrel girl craving for songworthy events.

Robin Hobb has wrought a wondeful trilogy, managing to give each book its own distinct atmosphere. Her characters are stunningly real and loveable, some like the Fool gaining unexpected depth as the story flows. I came to care for Fitz so dearly, the upsetting yet beautiful ending left me panting for breath, tears stinging my eyes, and furious at Robin Hobb, at how could she hurt him so.

This is fantasy of the quality that leaves you with a dizzying feeling of utter emptiness when you reach the last word. Indulge yourself, read it!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Marvelous Conclusion
Review: Well if you've made it to the final book of Hobb's trilogy then you must enjoy her writing style and following along the plotlines she's set up. Assassin's Quest provides a strong conclusion to the trilogy, and focuses more strongly on Fitz and Nighteyes than the previous two volumes. For much of the novel Fitz and Nighteyes travel alone from the other main characters and this allows us to truly get to know him and the pains he suffers. This is a good thing, in my opinion, despite Fitz's life being rather depressing as he is consistently betrayed or physically injured.

The plot moves along in a logical and meaningful way with enough surprises at the end to be unpredictable but at no time did I feel anything was unfairly surprising. And her descriptions of how dragons are born as well as their qualities upon coming to life brought fresh ideas to these standards of fantasy fare.

Overall this is one of the best series I've read in fantasy and I'm very much looking forward to exploring Hobb's "Liveship Traders" series. The world she built for the Assassin series is realistic, contains many unanswered questions, and I have a real sense of loss now that I'll no longer be visiting its inhabitants.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A strong conclusion that leaves me hoping for a new trilogy!
Review: This book is a rousing conclusion to the Farseer Trilogy. Books like these three are rare. I have read and re-read them more than once, and even though I know, as I am re-reading, what will happen, I find myself affected the same way as I was the first time. (I spent the last hundred pages or so in tears!)

This book finally gives us a much-desired and highly intriguing character development of the Fool. He has always been one of my favourite characters, and in this book he absolutely shines! The shifting relationship between Fitz and the Fool is, to my mind, what makes this book; another strong point of the book is the shifting relationship between Fitz and his king.

This book does not have an easy ending; sacrifices are demanded from everyone, and in this regard, Kettricken comes into her own. She was raised with the idea of Queen as Sacrifice, and here she finds her true calling in service to the Six Duchies.

Hobb is very careful to keep her characters true to themselves. More than once you hope things will turn out great, only to find that, because of the characters' personalities, something not great has to happen. I never questioned the motivation behind people's actions.

I am eagerly awaiting The Fool's Errand (to be released after a VERY LONG WAIT in January). Just think, we poor lovers of Fitz and the Fool had to wait through the Mad Ship trilogy -- and I never had the heart to read it, because when I tried, it just didn't strike me as profoundly as the Farseer Trilogy.

Buy this book. Enjoy it. Then wait with bated breath for The Fool's Errand.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Innovative Conclusion - A Few Pacing Problems.
Review: Robin Hobb is a god, so this book is of course as wonderful as the rest of the trilogy. Rather than turning from the imense consequences of the previous book, Hobb uses the entire series up until now as a launching point for this wild new adventure. But the book falls a step short of its potential. After maintaining a terrific pace for the first half of the book, Hobb hits the brake, and the pacing is slower than it could be. The end, while finishing the story suitably, fails to bring true fullfilment. That's okay though, because Hobb is apparently working on a new book staring FitzChivalry as I type.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Earthshattering events without galactic consequences
Review: What bothers me most in too many fantasy novels, is that they read like Manga-stories: before you know it, what started as a small, nice enough story about 'ordinary' people develops into yet another epic battle of good and evil that will either make or break the entire Universe. And of course your hero plays the deciding part and turns out to be all-powerfull. over the top, waaay over the top. Not so with the Farseer trilogy. Time and time again I saw Robin Hobb come to points in her story where the easiest thing to do would have been to give Fitz a lucky break, a (inexplicable but 'cool') sudden insight or a quality or ability he never showed before and paint him the hero. Yet time and time again Robin Hobb seems to have thought: what would Fitz really do? And she turns away from the easy road to a heroic story, onto a much more realistic, difficult road of describing Fitz to us as he is, not as we would like to see him or would like him to be. I've cursed that boy for his weakness and his thickheadedness, but I understood his decisions and loved him for his wit and fate. And not only Fitz is (reasonably)well rounded, but so are Verity, Kettricken, the fool and several others. What 'Robin Hobb' does best is describe people's characters, motivations and personalities as they are, not so that you will like every part of them, but so that you, and the characters in the book, will believe every part of them. This way, you can enjoy these books much more; Fitz need not even be your favorite character.. Mine was the fool :)

It has been a very, very long time since I was this absorbed; a friend lent me book 2, but after reading the first pages I regretting reading summaries of what must have been described in book 1, so I rushed to the library and got it. When I finished book 1, I immediately turned to book 2, and ten minutes after I had finished book 2 I was on my bike to the bookstore to buy this book, book 3, as it was unavailable at the library.

Robin Hobb knows how to keep the flow of events going, knows when she needs to switch the view to other events and when to introduce new elements before readers have a chance to get bored. I loved the introduction of the minstrel Starling and couldn't wait to read more about her. And so within 6 days I had read all three books.

Of course, not everything was perfect; some events were not entirely believable and especially the parts concerning the 'Old Blood' were underdeveloped. The part with the ferret-rescue was one of the few mistakes, where 'Hobb' seems to have played God and intervened in what would have happened. I could almost see her write page after page, coming up to that inevitable capture and then stare at it for a week before going back to the early pages of the book to plant the seed for a possible escape.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: A letdown
Review: I enjoyed the first two books of the Farseer trilogy immensely, but found this conclusion to be overly longwinded and ultimately unsatisfying.

I have several complaint about Assassin's Quest. I think that some judicious editing could easily have cut 100 pages and made it a much better read. I didn't feel prepared for the the nature of the Elderlings; in a way the very nature of the fantasy world Hobb was creating seemed to shift about two thirds the way through this book. To the extent that the nature of forging and the motivation of the red ship raiders was ever explained I found the explanation confusing and unconvincing. As this book progressed I found FitzChivalry and Kettricken and Verity all becoming less sympathetic as characters.

Not to say that the book was completely without merit, and I especially enjoyed the development of the Fool's character. But it doesn't live up to the very high expectations created by the first two books of the series. Overall, I would recommend the trilogy, but I hope that the conclusion of the Liveship Traders trilogy proves more satisfying.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Spectacular
Review: This was one of the finest works of fantasy I have ever read. Hobb's characterizations are all superb and her setting is detailed and realistic. Her story is moving and compelling and it is intelligently written. She has her own distinct voice and she writes an original epic saga that successfully avoids the standard "fantasy by the numbers" plot contrivances. I highly recommend the entire trilogy. If you are a fan of the fantasy genre this is a "must" read.


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