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A review by brennanaphone
Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb
3.0
Hobb is almost too good at tension. She writes of court intrigue incredibly well, and I find that so stressful that I have to skim over the parts where I know something bad is going to happen. Except you can't do that here, because then you'd have to skim the whole damn book.
The stuff with Regal is infuriating, but I guess it's not unrealistic. He's pompous, spoiled, vicious, and so OBVIOUS in his intentions, and I kept wondering why no one was doing anything about it, and then I remembered how the world works and I was sad. Still, I wanted more than just Typical Villain stuff from him, more nuance. Fitz's stuff about loyalty and what you'll do for duty and honor was interesting and more examined than you usually see in these sorts of books. The Molly stuff was honestly tedious. I'm so tired of the '90s tropes of the love interest who doesn't know any of his secrets and is there purely to be an object of affection and a possible weak link for the male hero. However, I do love my girl Kettricken.
Overall, it's gripping and honest writing, and she has good and immersive worldbuilding. If you love suspense, go all in. I just found it wearying after a while. I also thought Burrich's reveal was some odd queerbaiting. Like... he was in love with Prince Chivalry, right? We all know that? Super obvious? The hasty decision to be like, "Nah, he loves Patience!" seemed out of left field and also hilariously untrue.
The stuff with Regal is infuriating, but I guess it's not unrealistic. He's pompous, spoiled, vicious, and so OBVIOUS in his intentions, and I kept wondering why no one was doing anything about it, and then I remembered how the world works and I was sad. Still, I wanted more than just Typical Villain stuff from him, more nuance. Fitz's stuff about loyalty and what you'll do for duty and honor was interesting and more examined than you usually see in these sorts of books. The Molly stuff was honestly tedious. I'm so tired of the '90s tropes of the love interest who doesn't know any of his secrets and is there purely to be an object of affection and a possible weak link for the male hero. However, I do love my girl Kettricken.
Overall, it's gripping and honest writing, and she has good and immersive worldbuilding. If you love suspense, go all in. I just found it wearying after a while. I also thought Burrich's reveal was some odd queerbaiting. Like... he was in love with Prince Chivalry, right? We all know that? Super obvious? The hasty decision to be like, "Nah, he loves Patience!" seemed out of left field and also hilariously untrue.