Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

68 reviews

ailsaod's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark slow-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? Yes

4.0

 Not gonna lie this book was a chore to read. I really enjoyed 'Assassin's apprentice' and was so hyped to read this book I pinched it from my dad and then quickly discovered why he had stalled halfway through. This book can be divided into three main segments: 1. sexy times and forbidden love, 2. political maneuvering and Regal being infuriating and 3. horrible atrocities committed by the Forged ones/the Outislanders. None of which I enjoyed.

The sex scenes were numerous and while vague managed to tell you way too much! I really did not want to know about Fitz's sex life and the pressures put on his relationship with Molly just made me wish they weren't together.

The sections covering the struggle for power in Buckkeep were very frustrating to read - why put yourself through this when you could just watch people being awful on the news?! I spent most of the book wishing I could smack Regal (and I very much enjoyed the scene where Verity slaps him)!

There are also a number of battle scenes, most of which are fine to an extent but there was one in particular that was extremely unpleasant and put me off my food for the better part of a day (content warnings for gore, cannibalism and child death). Just thinking about it now, over a month later I feel queasy.

There were however some good things about this book: the prologue had me weeping in a way I don't find disagreeable and the ending section was very tense. These parts and the characters of the Fool, Kettricken and Verity made reading this book bearable, though they sadly didn't take up a large enough portion to make the experience enjoyable! I don't think I'll be looking to read book 3 for some time, though it certainly isn't on my no read list.
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lemonlemonster's review against another edition

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adventurous tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Second time reading this one and I just love these books and the characters so much. I love how the Fool and Fitz's relationship evolves in this one and I'd forgotten how silly and playful Nighteyes can be. I especially noticed this time around how Fitz's decisions can be so rash and emotionally driven but also how much trauma he's already been through at such a young age. Whenever I read any of the ROE books it's all I want to do, and this book was no exception.
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skyeer's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense 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

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hornsounder's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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booksandtea997's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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elliekg's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny sad tense slow-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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aseaoftomes's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
For those of you who don't know me, the Realm of the Elderlings (RotE) is a series that means everything to me. It's impossible to review something I love and adore as much as I do. Anything I say about this book won't encapsulate the overall feeling and story, so I'm not going to do my normal routine (fully).

This is the second book in the Farseer trilogy and the second book in the overall RotE series and it picks up right where the first book left off. Fitz is in the Mountains recovering from the events from the prior book and when he finally returns to Buckkeep he's met with all kinds of political intrigue and turmoil and the continuing war. But there's so much more than that. 

Every element I normally do in my breakdowns (writing, plot, characters and world building) is just phenomenal. Hobb's characters and world building in particular are some of the best I've read. It's not a simple act of reading these books, you live them. 

This series is not for those faint of heart, but it's worth everything if you can manage it. 
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eleasily's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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