Reviews tagging 'Cannibalism'

Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

15 reviews

kabrahams's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

(Upgraded to a full five stars upon reread)

After reading two other Robin Hobb books, I knew the ending was going to be brutal, but wow. That was a lot. Yet I can't wait to read the next!

Beautifully written, character-driven fantasy world full of court intrigue, forbidden love, mysterious friendships, and a magical bond with a wolf. 
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prairieraven's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.0

I didn't enjoy this as much as the first book. The treachery, plotting, and kniving nature of the antagonist grates at the reader and the main characters which is for good writing. Again not very diverse cast and there is a bit of a slow start but quickly speeds up. 

There is a new wolf character introduced and I'm not too much of a fan. It doesn't fit as well as Fitz. However the purpose and reasoning of this character unfolds later in the book. There is much more violence and gore in this one than the first.
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cappuccino136's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book picks up right where the first book in this trilogy ended. We see the internal politics and the crisis with the Red Ship Raiders playing out and getting worse. We stay with Fitz as the only point of view. The pace is slow and the writing style is descriptive and just what you want for fantasy. The core characters are so well drawn, they feel like they live and breathe. And that can hurt, because the stakes are so high and the author does not protect them from horrible situations. The infighting and intrigues never stop and the rift between the coastal duchees and the inland duchees keeps growing wider. The worldbuilding also unfolds a bit at a time as characters struggle to piece together knowledge from myth and history to search for sources of help and ways to deal with the raiders who are only getting bolder and stronger. Kettricken, Chivalry's new wife and now the Queen in Waiting, does not have an easy road trying to navigate this very different court and at first finds little support or friendship. Her character development is so interesting and she is a favorite of mine. We learn more backstory and see the relationships between the core characters change and grow, too. Regal is an out and out villain, no apologies and no sympathetic shadings. I like that about him. It is refreshing after reading a lot of the traumatized, angsty, or misunderstood style villains. 
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emsavors's review against another edition

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

4.0

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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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