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A review by mav_ka
Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb
5.0
The best book in the series. A great conclusion.
A lot of people said that the first 40% or so of the book was boring and repetitive. I didn't see it until I got past that threshold. In the second part of the book, the story really picked up. And oh my. It was wonderful.
A great conclusion to a great series. The ending is the most bittersweet thing I've ever read. And I love it.
All the many mysteries of the series have been unraveled, and it was. Quite something. Hobb is the type of author who weaves her mysteries right under your nose, and then throws them at you when you least expect them.
I have a lot of kind words for this book, but a lot of them contain spoilers, so, I guess this is spoiler territory now.
I absolutely loved Nighteyes in this book. And I loved that everyone also loved Nighteyes. All the subtle interactions and ways that Nighteyes was caring for his pack, which at first consisted only of Fitz, and then expanded to Fool, Kettricken, Starling, and Kettle. That whole adventuring group that they had was delightful. I am sad their adventure is over, but I'm happy at the bond they shared. For as long as it lasted.
And Fool! Oh my goodness, Fool is a highlight of this book for me. I truly believe his "I love you" to Fitz was meant more than in a friendly way. But I also hesitate to call it romantic. It's almost like a bond that transcends those concepts, a kind of love shared between two people who are bound by fate. I absolutely loved how Fool cared for Fitz. And I loved even more how Fitz cared for Fool. Like, the amount of times that Fool fainted/was in a dangerous situation where Fitz had to come rescue him was... a LOT of times. I am not complaining, no. I enjoyed those times. But also, this is the stuff of romance books and novels. Like, the main character faints and wakes up in the arms of their love interest? HECK YEAH.
Now, I don't know what kind of love Fitz and Fool share canonically, but I ship these two. In a respectful manner. Whatever the canon says, I'm happy with it. But my heart will also leap from joy anytime these two fools share a moment.
The amount of PAIN in this book is. Absolutely unbearable. It's not even the pain. Like, I haven't cried even once during the book, even though I am quite an emotional person. No, it's that pain that comes from the realization that all good things must come to an end. Youth. Childhood innocence. Verity and his love for Kettricken. Molly and Nettle, who will never share a family with Fitz again. Fitz himself, who many of his loved ones believe to be dead. Even Nighteyes, who was a graying old wolf by the end of the book. It's not something that we can stop, and it's not something to cry about. It's simply how life is, but something about it still hurts and stings and itches. It's a weird feeling to describe, but somehow I'm sure everyone on this planet has shared it at least ones.
Now, I do not know what awaits Fitz. At the end of the book, he mentioned he already traveled by ship somewhere (which definitely did NOT happen in this trilogy, so maybe it's something from future books?), but he is still young and there are a lot of trilogies after this one that seem to be about him. I am particularly excited about "The Fool and Fitz" trilogy or whatever it's called
A lot of people said that the first 40% or so of the book was boring and repetitive. I didn't see it until I got past that threshold. In the second part of the book, the story really picked up. And oh my. It was wonderful.
A great conclusion to a great series. The ending is the most bittersweet thing I've ever read. And I love it.
All the many mysteries of the series have been unraveled, and it was. Quite something. Hobb is the type of author who weaves her mysteries right under your nose, and then throws them at you when you least expect them.
I have a lot of kind words for this book, but a lot of them contain spoilers, so, I guess this is spoiler territory now.
Spoiler
I absolutely loved Nighteyes in this book. And I loved that everyone also loved Nighteyes. All the subtle interactions and ways that Nighteyes was caring for his pack, which at first consisted only of Fitz, and then expanded to Fool, Kettricken, Starling, and Kettle. That whole adventuring group that they had was delightful. I am sad their adventure is over, but I'm happy at the bond they shared. For as long as it lasted.
And Fool! Oh my goodness, Fool is a highlight of this book for me. I truly believe his "I love you" to Fitz was meant more than in a friendly way. But I also hesitate to call it romantic. It's almost like a bond that transcends those concepts, a kind of love shared between two people who are bound by fate. I absolutely loved how Fool cared for Fitz. And I loved even more how Fitz cared for Fool. Like, the amount of times that Fool fainted/was in a dangerous situation where Fitz had to come rescue him was... a LOT of times. I am not complaining, no. I enjoyed those times. But also, this is the stuff of romance books and novels. Like, the main character faints and wakes up in the arms of their love interest? HECK YEAH.
Now, I don't know what kind of love Fitz and Fool share canonically, but I ship these two. In a respectful manner. Whatever the canon says, I'm happy with it. But my heart will also leap from joy anytime these two fools share a moment.
The amount of PAIN in this book is. Absolutely unbearable. It's not even the pain. Like, I haven't cried even once during the book, even though I am quite an emotional person. No, it's that pain that comes from the realization that all good things must come to an end. Youth. Childhood innocence. Verity and his love for Kettricken. Molly and Nettle, who will never share a family with Fitz again. Fitz himself, who many of his loved ones believe to be dead. Even Nighteyes, who was a graying old wolf by the end of the book. It's not something that we can stop, and it's not something to cry about. It's simply how life is, but something about it still hurts and stings and itches. It's a weird feeling to describe, but somehow I'm sure everyone on this planet has shared it at least ones.
Now, I do not know what awaits Fitz. At the end of the book, he mentioned he already traveled by ship somewhere (which definitely did NOT happen in this trilogy, so maybe it's something from future books?), but he is still young and there are a lot of trilogies after this one that seem to be about him. I am particularly excited about "The Fool and Fitz" trilogy or whatever it's called