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

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

List Price: $7.99
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Very enjoyable story, with some unbelievable characters
Review: Overall, I found this series to be very enjoyable. If there was a way to rate the entire series, I would give it a 4. The first and second books had me absolutely mesmerized. This third one, however, although good, was not great. Here characters are all very strong, however, I wish some had shown more change than they did, including the main character Fitz. Although he is young, still in his teens, I believe, the trials and tribulations that he worked through should have given him more maturity and worn off some of his naivete. Relationships between characters change for no apparent reason and grudges are miraculously dropped. Although the book was long, I would prefer a little more character development.

My biggest pet peeve about the entire series was the short histories that started all of the chapters throughout all three books. A number of them seem to be exactly like previous ones, and became quite redundant. Although some were very interesting and gave great insight into this new "world", I would have preferred less repetition.

I did enjoy the story development, from coming back from the dead, the botched assassination attempts, the characters he meets on the way to the mountains, finally finding Verity and the Elderlings, and the way Hobb slowly draws out character histories. I also enjoy the almost believable way that she keeps all the characters from the other books active in the final one. You still know what is going on with Lacey and Lady Patience, with Molly and Burrich, and even Chade.

I did find the ending to be lacking something. I would love to know more about his Wit training with Black Rolf and the Old Blood and about his travels to Chalced. Although he was looking to lead his own life, I don't find it plausible that Fitz or Nighteyes would be content to live a secluded life writing.

Even with the lack luster feeling I have from this book, I am leaving the series with a very positive feeling, and I am looking forward to the new installment coming out soon.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Well written, poorly plotted
Review: If the book were to be judged only on the writing, it would easily get 4 stars. Hobbs brings the characters alive. You can sense them, understand them, and share their struggles. She does much the same with the scenes and backdrops. Her world is easy to visualize as she escorts you through, mixing the familiar, the exotic and the fantastic. This is why I stuck with the series. Unfortunately, as a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, a story is only as strong as its weakest component. I see my sentiment echoed among many other reviewers. The plot is frustrating, slowly paced and the characters constantly make unbelievable decisions. Fitz is almost purely reactive. He and others around him witness the constant evil machinations of Regal, do little to nothing about it, and are surprised in the end that he was quite so evil. This harms the tragic ending, in which Fitz loses nearly all he held dear. If the protagonist must end with loss, the reader should understand that it was beyond him and he nevertheless fought a good fight. In this story, you sit there and sneer at the stupidity of Fitz and the other main characters. Regal himself is a rather poor villain. Again, his plots are not ingenious... they're foolish. Others have written that the ending was rushed and poorly done. I agree but, with the poor plotting, I'm not sure how a tragic ending could have worked. Finally, an editor is sorely needed for the second and third books of this series.

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Page turner, but with empty ending
Review: Ever read one of those books that was a page turner until the last 10 pages? That's this book. Great suspense throughout, but the ending was empty of any detail, action or suspense. The conclusion left something to be desired.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A wonderful ending.
Review: I loved this trilogy. I felt that Fitz was one of the most realized characters I've seen in fantasy. I truly loved him and I felt for him. Many times the end brought me to tears. I felt the bittersweet, more bitter than sweet, ending was true to the characters and I look forward to starting on the next series. If the're half as good as the farseer trilogy, I'll be very happy. I don't think the book was too long. I felt all the detail heightened the drama and tension at the end. I would highly reccommend this book.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Superb conclusion to a fabulous fantasy trilogy!
Review: I read an average of 75 or so books every year, many of them in the fantasy genre. I picked up the first book in this trilogy, Assassin's Apprentice, because of very favorable discussion in various fantasy chat rooms. I was very glad I did. After finishing this third novel, I have perhaps found my new number one fantasy series! And I don't say that lightly. Don't tell my boss but I even skipped work to finish this one!

I connected somehow with Fitz, from the very beginning. Perhaps that is due to the first person narrative that Ms. Hobb uses to such good effect, but perhaps more so, it was her story-telling style. Yes, this book could have been written with less words but that is like saying Mozart could have composed with less notes. The characterization is superb. The plot is intriguing and not-at-all predictable. The ending, I think, is appropriate, given the development of the major characters. In fact, I didn't see it as a particularly negative ending. If you are looking for a sweet, all-loose-ends-tied-up ending, read Eddings. If you are looking for an outstanding, hi-quality, epic fantasy, that completely suspends your disbelief, read this trilogy.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Fiction?: This is a gem of true human emotions
Review: Oh, how bittersweet The Farseer Trilogy developed and ended. Fitz really broke my heart this time.

In some way there is a classic battle between good and evil in this saga. Young Chivalry lives an outcast live; most of his old friends think him dead and he his consumed with hate and fear for usurper Regal. King Verity is far away on a quest to find the Elderlings, and he seems to be one of the few people Fitz could really trust. Fitz decides to help Verity and his dark, dark voyage over the Mountains kept me spellbound.

In some way good will win over evil in Assassin's Quest, but this does not mean we readers become happier of it. Fitz does not get the reward he deserves, no matter how much pain and torture he has been through and because the book is composed out of his memory the readers' impression is dark and we feel terribly sorry for him.

Still I think this is a quality of the story. It was the first time I was both happy and intense bitter after I finished a book, and it changed my view on classic fantasy. Too many series always have a happy end, with the major characters become all-powerfull, beloved kings and queens. Not this time; our hero is a hermit and he is as good as dead, with much to be proud of, but with no way to express it.

Some readers will feel that some questions have not been answered or have been hastily worked out. I disagree. First of all this story has not ended yet, and why should all information be given in the trilogy? In 'The Liveship Traders' we already learn more from a different point of view and that's very refreshing.

So, do not read this book as a faery-tale, but as a reading-experience. And cry if you want; there are enough books to laugh and feel a champion.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not a bad ending, but should have been longer.
Review: Robin Hobb has a tendancy to write incredible fatasy series, only to cut the ending short. The conclusion to the farseer trilogy, has the same brilliant prose and captivating magic that makes this a first class series. I disagree with the idea that these kind of fantasy series should be trimmed down. It is the depth of the description of the smaller detials of a story that makes the story come to life. Hobb spends a lot of time bringing the characters to their final destination, but then hurries the ending in a manner that somewhat unsafisfactory. The conculsion was not bad, she had the respect for her story to aviod the unseemly good ending that kills some lesser authors.

Overall this is a first class fatasy series that places Hobb as one of the premiere authors in this genre. She writes stories of a managable leangth, which allows her to try new ideas and new kinds of characters in ways that many authors cannot get away with in their 6,000 page epics.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Great series, but the ending was hasty
Review: From the first pages of the Assassin's Apprentice until a hundred pages shy of this final book, I was quite convinced that I was reading what would become my favorite fantasy series ever. Don't get me wrong- I still loved it, but the ending let me down. (and many other readers I think) I can't help but get the impression that Hobb wanted to write a forth book to wrap it up (but was pressured not to by publishers), and its a shame she didn't take it, because the end result seemed rushed and chaotic, and just plain sloppy.

From having been a well-laid out, intelligent and gritty novel that kept you on your knees waiting to see how it would end- it went on to a hasty, summed-up ending that was a shadow of Hobb's ability. If ever an ending needed to be redone- its here. No dragons. Just a simple, bloody, final confrontation, as in the first two books- and this series would have ended solidly. I would gladly buy a revised copy if she ever makes one, for I will certainly reread this series down the line.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: What can I say? I'm impressed.
Review: I am impressed. The ending to The Farseer Trilogy is tremendously bitter. And tremendously sweet.

I understand that many find such an ending to such a great work depressing or too negative. Or even unrealistic. I think that the ending seals this trilogy as a beautiful work of art. Having finished the trilogy, I'd recommend it to all hard-core Fantasy fans. While not stuffed to overflowing with complexity, nor gushing with emotion (although it does come close in that the reader is thrust headlong into the ups and downs of the characters) it is a rich tale of love and duty, conflicting loyalties - a man's quest for himself, which he finally completes, although the outcome is not what one may anticipate...

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: best of the series, truly epic
Review: Most of the reviews for this book are on the mark, both good and bad: Somewhat depressing ending, yes; fantastic characterization, yes; an ending that seemed a little rushed, yes.

All these qualities still add up to what was the best of the series. What impressed me the most was the newfound scale that the series achieved. The previous (middle) book seemed stilted and plodding with most of the events occurring in Buckkeep. Before reading this book I was worried--after hearing about the length--that this would be more of the same. But the tale expands and exceeds all prior constraints, in terms of both narrative and setting. Whole new parts of the realm are visited, and some of the places are quite imaginative. The Elderlings plot, suffused with an expanded role for the Skill, brings a focus to the story, and even imbues a sense of magic that was either avoided or excluded from the previous books.

As for the ending. I applaud Hobb for not tying everything up in a nice little bow. Part of why I liked the first book so much was that little Fitz didn't get the girl (Molly)--it was a bold, unconventional move; unforunately, it was undone in second book, the weakest of the three. But here we have a satisfying if not wholly pleasing ending. True, I would have liked a little more resolution in regards to Fitz with some of the key characters, Burrich and the Fool especially. You are left wanting more, but often that is what great books do.


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