Reviews

I was worried about liking this just because of the style of fantasy that it is. But I absolutely LOVED this character-drive fantasy story with Fitz at the end. Immediately bought Royal Assassin. Robin Hobb knows how to create the perfect balance between plot movement and character development.

andradatm's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

pickledlettuce's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

deepsleepdarling's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.5

dashie's review against another edition

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5.0

I'm going to have to buy this book in a physical format because there's so much that I want to analyse. I want to look at the words I heard and see them on a page. I need to understand how this book was written!

I get the hype. Robin Hobb is a master craftswoman. It's been a while since I read such a carefully constructed introduction to a series and a world. The plot took an almost lazy amble towards the end of the book, where it picked up the pace as Fritz got older. The background to the story spilled out so delicately over the course of the novel, you didn't really notice, but you were also being educated on how this world works and where you, since you're in Fritz's head, belonged on it. The steady progress of the plot felt almost Ghibli-esque. That's the best way I can describe it. There's danger, sorrow, and maturity in there, but you don't notice until you really look because you're being enveloped in such warm, rich, and homely worldbuilding.

I'm lucky I'm broke right now, or I would've splurged on the entire series! I'm so excited that there's so many books left in Hobb's world for me to discover. And so much about writing that I can learn from them.

brookevol's review

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

searchandrescueteam's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is the first of a trilogy - recommended to me by family. Once I realised that the writer was Robin Hobb (not Robin Hood!) I found it.
It has moments of real violence (emotional and physical) that are told in sometimes told in painful and distressing detail. But this is only part of the story. It is also about connections and friendships and trust.
I found the development of the characters and the revealing of the facets of their personalities were an important part of my enjoyment. People are multi-layered and complex.

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