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mightyjor's review against another edition
5.0
4.5/5 Stars
This is a long book and I had a lot of thoughts while reading it, so I wrote the review in 2 chunks, one from halfway and one when I finished it.
50% of the way through:
So I absolutely love this book. I was just so so about the other books, and I'm not sure if it's because I've just come off a number of first novels in fantasy series or I'm it's just a great book but this is such a cozy a comfortable and addicting read. I put it off since it was generally agreed to be the worst of the trilogy, but I don't know what people are talking about.
For one we get way more involvement of both the skill and the wit, which I always wanted more of. Nighteyes is also a much bigger part of the book, he's one of my favorite characters. Molly is mostly gone, I disliked her.
But most of all, Fitz is finally able to get away from all those awful schemers and can actually figure out who he is by going on an adventure far away from home. I just care so much about Fitz and all these characters and I just want to spend time with him. The writing is wonderful and the audiobook narrator is great, though I swapped to my ebook partway through because he just wasn't fast enough and I was hooked.
100% complete (still spoiler free review)
Ok, I see why some people don't like the book. At some point after the halfway mark, the book slows to a crawl where next to nothing happens and what does happen is intentionally strange and confusing. It reminds me of the Shadesmar sections of Oathbringer where I kept thinking "couldn't this all have been like a montage chapter?" While I think I understand why we needed so much time here, I won't deny that I was figuratively checking my watch hoping that we would hurry that plot along a bit. I still believe that the first half of this book is an absolute masterpiece. Even the second half isn't necessarily bad, it just takes the focus off the characters and the drama and instead places it on weird mystical plot that the reader doesn't understand, which can really make it drag on. I'm sure that this section is going to have a huge impact for the rest of the series, but I really don't think it needed to be as long as it was.
There's still some amazing scenes by the way and it ends with a real gut punch of an ending and some moments that even made me tear up. So still worth reading. But it's nearly 1000 pages and I think we could have easily cut 100-200 for a tighter read. Ultimately though I think this is still one of the best fantasy series I have ever read and I'm for sure continuing on. Most people say this is one of the weaker novels and that makes me even more excited to continue on.
Some thoughts with minor spoilers:
There's a thing that happens with Verity and Fitz that I really don't get. I feel a little disappointed that almost everything with the Red Ship Raiders happens somewhere else. This includes everything that happens with Buckkeep, and I'm a little bummed that significant things happened that just sort of happened in the background. Like, let's spend some time following that for a few chapters! He's already Skilling to get viewpoints of people, maybe we could have seen a bit from Patiences POV? I'm sure it's one of the reasons people felt disappointed by the book, but it wasn't enough to sour anything for me. I still loved it.
This is a long book and I had a lot of thoughts while reading it, so I wrote the review in 2 chunks, one from halfway and one when I finished it.
50% of the way through:
So I absolutely love this book. I was just so so about the other books, and I'm not sure if it's because I've just come off a number of first novels in fantasy series or I'm it's just a great book but this is such a cozy a comfortable and addicting read. I put it off since it was generally agreed to be the worst of the trilogy, but I don't know what people are talking about.
For one we get way more involvement of both the skill and the wit, which I always wanted more of. Nighteyes is also a much bigger part of the book, he's one of my favorite characters. Molly is mostly gone, I disliked her.
But most of all, Fitz is finally able to get away from all those awful schemers and can actually figure out who he is by going on an adventure far away from home. I just care so much about Fitz and all these characters and I just want to spend time with him. The writing is wonderful and the audiobook narrator is great, though I swapped to my ebook partway through because he just wasn't fast enough and I was hooked.
100% complete (still spoiler free review)
Ok, I see why some people don't like the book. At some point after the halfway mark, the book slows to a crawl where next to nothing happens and what does happen is intentionally strange and confusing. It reminds me of the Shadesmar sections of Oathbringer where I kept thinking "couldn't this all have been like a montage chapter?" While I think I understand why we needed so much time here, I won't deny that I was figuratively checking my watch hoping that we would hurry that plot along a bit. I still believe that the first half of this book is an absolute masterpiece. Even the second half isn't necessarily bad, it just takes the focus off the characters and the drama and instead places it on weird mystical plot that the reader doesn't understand, which can really make it drag on. I'm sure that this section is going to have a huge impact for the rest of the series, but I really don't think it needed to be as long as it was.
There's still some amazing scenes by the way and it ends with a real gut punch of an ending and some moments that even made me tear up. So still worth reading. But it's nearly 1000 pages and I think we could have easily cut 100-200 for a tighter read. Ultimately though I think this is still one of the best fantasy series I have ever read and I'm for sure continuing on. Most people say this is one of the weaker novels and that makes me even more excited to continue on.
Some thoughts with minor spoilers:
There's a thing that happens with Verity and Fitz that I really don't get. I feel a little disappointed that almost everything with the Red Ship Raiders happens somewhere else. This includes everything that happens with Buckkeep, and I'm a little bummed that significant things happened that just sort of happened in the background. Like, let's spend some time following that for a few chapters! He's already Skilling to get viewpoints of people, maybe we could have seen a bit from Patiences POV? I'm sure it's one of the reasons people felt disappointed by the book, but it wasn't enough to sour anything for me. I still loved it.
lischa3000's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
apauli02's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
charlattee45's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
orvillefartenbacher's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jayluke92's review against another edition
4.0
There were times in this one where I thought it was just a little bloated, but the highs were real high! Good ending to the first Elderlings trilogy/arc/whatever you want to call it!
fuyukko's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
As I grow, both as a reader and as a person, I've founded it more and more difficult to give a book 5 stars. But Assassin's Quest has definitely met the standard for me.
After following Fitz's journey for the past 3 books, it is definitely hard to say goodbye to the Farseer Trilogy. It has been a long and emotional ride and I'm glad to say that I've read this Trilogy.
This book is definitely my favourite out of the 3. We start with Fitz barely himself, and he works his way (with the help of Burrich) to becoming a man again. Robin Hobb does slow burn so well, and the build up is so good that the pay off is extremely rewarding.
I was told that there would be a lot of journeying and questing in this book, so I went into it with an expectation of traveling around the Six Duchies, and I was not disappointed. It was fun reading about Fitz travelling first from the hut to Tradeford, and then to Blue Lake and into the Mountain Kingdom. And finally onto the Skill Road and the city, then eventually back to Buckkeep. The challenges Fitz faces along the way just holds you in a chokehold and I couldn't stop myself from turning the page to find out what happens next.
The characters were also a delight. All except for Molly, but we all hate Molly, don't we? For all the times Fitz remained loyal to her, and she decides to marry Burrich because she "loves" him. Honestly I don't believe she truly understands the world love, but when I think from her point of view, I can see that it is realistically something someone might do, given the circumstances. Therefore I don't fault the book for it, instead I praise it for such realism.
This book has truly been a journey, and it ended off in such a wonderful way. I could think of no better ending for this trilogy and I'm glad Fitz didn't end up with Molly. Kettle's words on the topic were very wise.
After following Fitz's journey for the past 3 books, it is definitely hard to say goodbye to the Farseer Trilogy. It has been a long and emotional ride and I'm glad to say that I've read this Trilogy.
This book is definitely my favourite out of the 3. We start with Fitz barely himself, and he works his way (with the help of Burrich) to becoming a man again. Robin Hobb does slow burn so well, and the build up is so good that the pay off is extremely rewarding.
I was told that there would be a lot of journeying and questing in this book, so I went into it with an expectation of traveling around the Six Duchies, and I was not disappointed. It was fun reading about Fitz travelling first from the hut to Tradeford, and then to Blue Lake and into the Mountain Kingdom. And finally onto the Skill Road and the city, then eventually back to Buckkeep. The challenges Fitz faces along the way just holds you in a chokehold and I couldn't stop myself from turning the page to find out what happens next.
The characters were also a delight. All except for Molly, but we all hate Molly, don't we? For all the times Fitz remained loyal to her, and she decides to marry Burrich because she "loves" him. Honestly I don't believe she truly understands the world love, but when I think from her point of view, I can see that it is realistically something someone might do, given the circumstances. Therefore I don't fault the book for it, instead I praise it for such realism.
This book has truly been a journey, and it ended off in such a wonderful way. I could think of no better ending for this trilogy and I'm glad Fitz didn't end up with Molly. Kettle's words on the topic were very wise.
elsecallerreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
What an ending to this trilogy. It did not go exactly how I expected but I still found it pretty satisfying. This entire story was just so compelling and I loved it. I will say I think this book could have been shaved down 50-100 pages as there was some repetitiveness. Also there was one moment that felt out of place and like it was only there to move the story the way the author wanted rather than what actually makes sense.
snappy's review against another edition
3.0
This dragged a bit too much in the middle, which made me lose interest pretty quickly. After the ending of the previous book I was excited to jump into the final installment, but being met with this was kinda disappointing. There were parts I liked, and there were some story directions I didn't anticipate which was pretty nice though.