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A review by samanthaardenlockheart
Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb
5.0
There are spoilers in this review. Proceed with caution. ♥️
This story was just as captivating as its first installment, Assassin’s Apprentice.
The Prologue and Chapter One of this book really helped to tie events from the first installment together. Up to this point, FitzChivalry Farseer was still healing from his poisoning and attack from Prince Regal, grasping at little to no strength and regularly experiencing seizures, which served as a reminder to me that he is human. He was still feeling a great amount of shame and with Burrich still unable to heal him, it took everything in Fitz to find the resolve to keep moving forward with his life and head back to Buckkeep, despite the major setback of being in a severely weakened physical state. It was also fascinating to me how he was able to see a Forging attack in a town called Siltbay as though he was taking on Kind Shrewd’s perspective through the Skill, as tenuous as his grasp on that ability was; this vision of the Forging taking place at Siltbay was disarming, as it revealed to him great violence of innocent people being burned, raped, and murdered, which showed the plotline becoming much darker. Later, Lady Patience warned FitzChivalry that he was not to be seeing Molly, the girl he began falling in love with all those months ago, since it could cause a future scandal in the court, especially with all that had befallen him up to this point. This was very difficult for Fitz to accept since he wanted to make right everything with her, and explain his true feelings to her.
In Chapter Four, there was a scene where Fitz purchased a small wolf from a merchant and felt the wolf’s emotions as if they were his own. There was a lot of intensity to this specific scene but I took a lot away from it; it was an emotional whirlwind for sure, but the ending was sweet and also is a reminder of Fitz’s ability to bond with animals in such an intimate way through the Wit. Once again, the way Robin Hobb communicated the thoughts of animals in such a visceral, intuitive way is completely brilliant to me. Something else I appreciated a lot from this story is how Fitz and Prince Verity, particularly towards the end of Chapter Six. Verity was experiencing a time of wishing Chivalry was the King-in-Waiting since following him was so easy; he always seemed to have the answers. During a very heartfelt scene at the end, he subtly reminded Prince Verity that he is very gracious of his direction and wisdom. When Fitz was out on his important task of leaving out poisoned goods for the Forged, he was fortunate enough to be in a position to assist Queen-in-Waiting Kettricken as she herself was attacked, left alone on a horse ride by Prince Regal—who of course assumed no responsibility of his terrible actions. This scene was so visceral, and the true courageous and brave heart of Lady Kettricken shone through. However, this was yet another reminder that Regal is truly a very insufferable character who has gotten away with so much, especially since there was already enough King Shrewd and Buckkeep had to deal with during that winter. In Chapter Eight, I could tell that Lady Kettricken is a very strong character, even though she may not be the perfect wife for King-in-Waiting Verity, she was exactly the strength Buckkeep needed to fight against the Red-Ships and the Forged ones. Even Chase was exultant about this, and how she had turned such a dark situation into a high tragedy, and brought a feeling of pride back to the people. I admired the way Lady Patience developed a sense of protectiveness over Fitz, even if he never required her to be there for him in that way; I thought that component of this book showed revealed her heart in an intimate way
From this point forward, I will be going into less detail on the actual plot since it is a little unnecessary and ruins the reading experience. Thank you for understanding. I thought that the whole beginning dynamic between Cub, now know as Nighteyes, is very fascinating. I did not think they would remain separated. Nighteyes saved Fitz’s life after he unbonded himself from the world. In Chapter Twelve, I found Fitz’s desire for Molly to be completely beautiful. That is the way women should be desired, and it reminds me of how much I have come to adore Fitz as an intelligent character but also as a chivalrous man, no pun intended. Watching the love story between Molly and Fitz towards the end of Chapter Twelve was very beautiful; I very much love the way that Robin Hobb has articulated their feelings for one another. In terms of emotions and passion, I felt great sympathy for Queen-in-Waiting Kettricken because she deeply loved Verity and was growing more passionate towards him as he was still not loving her with that same fervency, at least this was my interpretation of those feelings. I know what it is like to have that desire for someone and be denied it. Additionally, I greatly loved seeing how Fitz’s and Verity’s relationship was expanding. During his initial quest to seek out the Elderlings for aid, Verity did not wish to bring Kettricken with him. In Chapter 20, it was alarming to me, seeing how King Shrewd was beginning to decline in health and also wits, with Fitz becoming very suspicious that someone was poisoning him with the herbs and supplements, namely, Wallace. When he went to assassin Chade Fallstar about killing someone out of his own will instead of the King’s will, Chade disagreed with this and told him to not make such moves, and reminded Fitz of his place within the court as a misbegotten son. Fitz is left rather feeling trapped and finds himself very weary and out of ideas about how to keep himself but also the Six Duchies in stable condition, with Verity being on his quest, King Shrewd growing weak, and Prince Regal acting selfish and greedy as all hell.
After the attack that ensued in Neatbay, I was enraged to read about how Prince Verity had been found dead—leaving Regal essentially in control of the court at Buckkeep along with King Shrewd and Queen-in-Waiting Kettricken’s respective futures. As if his attempt at murdering Fitz and Burrich in Assassin’s Apprentice was’t enough to make me hate a character, this hatred for him had increased tenfold at this point in the trilogy. This book ended with a turn of many complex events regarding the future of Buckkeep, the Six Duchies, and Fitz himself. Essentially, King-in-Waiting Verity was deemed dead by Prince Regal and his vexating cronies before Fitz was able to Skill to him, proving that Verity was alive. He, Burrich, Chade, Shrewd, and Queen Kettricken, devised a plan that would secretly get themselves out of the Keep under the noses of all around them, which was a task that proved to be as difficult as it promised. Eventually, King Shrewd ended up changing his mind about agreeing to this plan, which ultimately led to his death before he was able to make it out of the Keep. His health had essentially been ailing throughout the entirety of this installment of the Trilogy. Shrewd’s death led to a crack in the incredible plan the three men and Queen conjured, which led to an upsetting turn of events. Fitz Skilled to Verity through King Shrewd one last time, but this led to Shrewd dying, but it was not Fitz who killed the King. It was actually Justin and Serene, the antagonists of this story part of Regal’s coterie. At Regal’s behest behind the scenes, the two of them had been weakening Shrewd this entire time, which is why his health had been ailing so much, and he had to be drugged up with herbs and wines. This was honestly very saddening; I felt great sympathy for old Shrewd to be reading of him in such a condition. Regal thus charges Fitz with the murder of the King through using the Wit, a highly frowned upon magic that results in torture and execution by hanging of the worst kind, as ancient wisdom stated. The Wit is a lesser form of magical power that people fear and generally has an extremely deplorable reputation. This is in direct contrast with the love readers likely come to have for Fitz, showing irony at this ridiculous idea that the Wit could someone make someone less worthy of a good life. I even find the Wit to be beautiful.
Anyways, the book culminates with Fitz being left in the dungeons. He was repeatedly beaten and fought against by members of Regal’s guard, particularly a man named Bolt. That greedy, selfish princeling took great pleasure in seeing Fitz being hurt and tortured in such a way. He started losing his grip on reality after being tortured and kept in a cell with only bread and water to eat, his morale slipping away with every page. The only thing he had left was his connection with his wolf (named Cub at the beginning) Nighteyes. There was a particularly devastating scene where Burrich had found his way into the dungeons and rebuked Fitz for incessantly tapping into the Wit, which is what Regal wants to have Fitz hanged for, as mentioned. Fitz finds a small parcel of a leaf on his floor that is Carryme, a very simple sedative that causes a painful death. This implied that Burrich wished for Fitz to simply take his own life instead of allowing himself to be hanged—he was as good as dead regardless. This was the alternative that he ended up succumbing to. What ended up happening was Fitz that FitzChivalry himself to Nighteyes through his death, and then came back to life after being led to his body by the likes of Burrich, Heart of the Pack, and Chade. This scene felt extremely emotional yet also something that miracles are made out of. Yet he can never go back to the life of being FitzChivalry Farseer. Aside from Burrich and Chade, no one knows he is still alive. If anyone were to find out about his extraordinary survival, it would be more than evident that he was a Witted one.
All in all, this book has wonderfully showcased FitChivalry’s ultimate transition from boyhood to manhood, both regarding the passion in his soul yet also for his desire to protect his people. It made me feel very sad that he and Molly did not end up together, and he loved that woman as much as he possibly could even though he ended up breaking her heart and she had no choice but to leave him since he never put her first in his life; Fitz always put being a King’s man before fighting for her heart. I also incredibly loved the story of Fitz and Nighteyes, which is the essential plotline and conclusion of this Royal Assassin. Little did Fitz know that the little Cub he rescued so long ago would be the very same animal that saved his life, in the end.
This story was just as captivating as its first installment, Assassin’s Apprentice.
The Prologue and Chapter One of this book really helped to tie events from the first installment together. Up to this point, FitzChivalry Farseer was still healing from his poisoning and attack from Prince Regal, grasping at little to no strength and regularly experiencing seizures, which served as a reminder to me that he is human. He was still feeling a great amount of shame and with Burrich still unable to heal him, it took everything in Fitz to find the resolve to keep moving forward with his life and head back to Buckkeep, despite the major setback of being in a severely weakened physical state. It was also fascinating to me how he was able to see a Forging attack in a town called Siltbay as though he was taking on Kind Shrewd’s perspective through the Skill, as tenuous as his grasp on that ability was; this vision of the Forging taking place at Siltbay was disarming, as it revealed to him great violence of innocent people being burned, raped, and murdered, which showed the plotline becoming much darker. Later, Lady Patience warned FitzChivalry that he was not to be seeing Molly, the girl he began falling in love with all those months ago, since it could cause a future scandal in the court, especially with all that had befallen him up to this point. This was very difficult for Fitz to accept since he wanted to make right everything with her, and explain his true feelings to her.
In Chapter Four, there was a scene where Fitz purchased a small wolf from a merchant and felt the wolf’s emotions as if they were his own. There was a lot of intensity to this specific scene but I took a lot away from it; it was an emotional whirlwind for sure, but the ending was sweet and also is a reminder of Fitz’s ability to bond with animals in such an intimate way through the Wit. Once again, the way Robin Hobb communicated the thoughts of animals in such a visceral, intuitive way is completely brilliant to me. Something else I appreciated a lot from this story is how Fitz and Prince Verity, particularly towards the end of Chapter Six. Verity was experiencing a time of wishing Chivalry was the King-in-Waiting since following him was so easy; he always seemed to have the answers. During a very heartfelt scene at the end, he subtly reminded Prince Verity that he is very gracious of his direction and wisdom. When Fitz was out on his important task of leaving out poisoned goods for the Forged, he was fortunate enough to be in a position to assist Queen-in-Waiting Kettricken as she herself was attacked, left alone on a horse ride by Prince Regal—who of course assumed no responsibility of his terrible actions. This scene was so visceral, and the true courageous and brave heart of Lady Kettricken shone through. However, this was yet another reminder that Regal is truly a very insufferable character who has gotten away with so much, especially since there was already enough King Shrewd and Buckkeep had to deal with during that winter. In Chapter Eight, I could tell that Lady Kettricken is a very strong character, even though she may not be the perfect wife for King-in-Waiting Verity, she was exactly the strength Buckkeep needed to fight against the Red-Ships and the Forged ones. Even Chase was exultant about this, and how she had turned such a dark situation into a high tragedy, and brought a feeling of pride back to the people. I admired the way Lady Patience developed a sense of protectiveness over Fitz, even if he never required her to be there for him in that way; I thought that component of this book showed revealed her heart in an intimate way
From this point forward, I will be going into less detail on the actual plot since it is a little unnecessary and ruins the reading experience. Thank you for understanding. I thought that the whole beginning dynamic between Cub, now know as Nighteyes, is very fascinating. I did not think they would remain separated. Nighteyes saved Fitz’s life after he unbonded himself from the world. In Chapter Twelve, I found Fitz’s desire for Molly to be completely beautiful. That is the way women should be desired, and it reminds me of how much I have come to adore Fitz as an intelligent character but also as a chivalrous man, no pun intended. Watching the love story between Molly and Fitz towards the end of Chapter Twelve was very beautiful; I very much love the way that Robin Hobb has articulated their feelings for one another. In terms of emotions and passion, I felt great sympathy for Queen-in-Waiting Kettricken because she deeply loved Verity and was growing more passionate towards him as he was still not loving her with that same fervency, at least this was my interpretation of those feelings. I know what it is like to have that desire for someone and be denied it. Additionally, I greatly loved seeing how Fitz’s and Verity’s relationship was expanding. During his initial quest to seek out the Elderlings for aid, Verity did not wish to bring Kettricken with him. In Chapter 20, it was alarming to me, seeing how King Shrewd was beginning to decline in health and also wits, with Fitz becoming very suspicious that someone was poisoning him with the herbs and supplements, namely, Wallace. When he went to assassin Chade Fallstar about killing someone out of his own will instead of the King’s will, Chade disagreed with this and told him to not make such moves, and reminded Fitz of his place within the court as a misbegotten son. Fitz is left rather feeling trapped and finds himself very weary and out of ideas about how to keep himself but also the Six Duchies in stable condition, with Verity being on his quest, King Shrewd growing weak, and Prince Regal acting selfish and greedy as all hell.
After the attack that ensued in Neatbay, I was enraged to read about how Prince Verity had been found dead—leaving Regal essentially in control of the court at Buckkeep along with King Shrewd and Queen-in-Waiting Kettricken’s respective futures. As if his attempt at murdering Fitz and Burrich in Assassin’s Apprentice was’t enough to make me hate a character, this hatred for him had increased tenfold at this point in the trilogy. This book ended with a turn of many complex events regarding the future of Buckkeep, the Six Duchies, and Fitz himself. Essentially, King-in-Waiting Verity was deemed dead by Prince Regal and his vexating cronies before Fitz was able to Skill to him, proving that Verity was alive. He, Burrich, Chade, Shrewd, and Queen Kettricken, devised a plan that would secretly get themselves out of the Keep under the noses of all around them, which was a task that proved to be as difficult as it promised. Eventually, King Shrewd ended up changing his mind about agreeing to this plan, which ultimately led to his death before he was able to make it out of the Keep. His health had essentially been ailing throughout the entirety of this installment of the Trilogy. Shrewd’s death led to a crack in the incredible plan the three men and Queen conjured, which led to an upsetting turn of events. Fitz Skilled to Verity through King Shrewd one last time, but this led to Shrewd dying, but it was not Fitz who killed the King. It was actually Justin and Serene, the antagonists of this story part of Regal’s coterie. At Regal’s behest behind the scenes, the two of them had been weakening Shrewd this entire time, which is why his health had been ailing so much, and he had to be drugged up with herbs and wines. This was honestly very saddening; I felt great sympathy for old Shrewd to be reading of him in such a condition. Regal thus charges Fitz with the murder of the King through using the Wit, a highly frowned upon magic that results in torture and execution by hanging of the worst kind, as ancient wisdom stated. The Wit is a lesser form of magical power that people fear and generally has an extremely deplorable reputation. This is in direct contrast with the love readers likely come to have for Fitz, showing irony at this ridiculous idea that the Wit could someone make someone less worthy of a good life. I even find the Wit to be beautiful.
Anyways, the book culminates with Fitz being left in the dungeons. He was repeatedly beaten and fought against by members of Regal’s guard, particularly a man named Bolt. That greedy, selfish princeling took great pleasure in seeing Fitz being hurt and tortured in such a way. He started losing his grip on reality after being tortured and kept in a cell with only bread and water to eat, his morale slipping away with every page. The only thing he had left was his connection with his wolf (named Cub at the beginning) Nighteyes. There was a particularly devastating scene where Burrich had found his way into the dungeons and rebuked Fitz for incessantly tapping into the Wit, which is what Regal wants to have Fitz hanged for, as mentioned. Fitz finds a small parcel of a leaf on his floor that is Carryme, a very simple sedative that causes a painful death. This implied that Burrich wished for Fitz to simply take his own life instead of allowing himself to be hanged—he was as good as dead regardless. This was the alternative that he ended up succumbing to. What ended up happening was Fitz that FitzChivalry himself to Nighteyes through his death, and then came back to life after being led to his body by the likes of Burrich, Heart of the Pack, and Chade. This scene felt extremely emotional yet also something that miracles are made out of. Yet he can never go back to the life of being FitzChivalry Farseer. Aside from Burrich and Chade, no one knows he is still alive. If anyone were to find out about his extraordinary survival, it would be more than evident that he was a Witted one.
All in all, this book has wonderfully showcased FitChivalry’s ultimate transition from boyhood to manhood, both regarding the passion in his soul yet also for his desire to protect his people. It made me feel very sad that he and Molly did not end up together, and he loved that woman as much as he possibly could even though he ended up breaking her heart and she had no choice but to leave him since he never put her first in his life; Fitz always put being a King’s man before fighting for her heart. I also incredibly loved the story of Fitz and Nighteyes, which is the essential plotline and conclusion of this Royal Assassin. Little did Fitz know that the little Cub he rescued so long ago would be the very same animal that saved his life, in the end.