Assassin's Quest (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 3)

mass market paperback, 757 pages

English language

Published Jan. 5, 1998 by Spectra.

ISBN:: 978-0-553-56569-0

(4 reviews)

From an extraordinary new voice in fantasy comes the stunning conclusion to the Farseer trilogy, as FitzChivalry confronts his destiny as the catalyst who holds the fate of the kingdom of the Six Duchies...and the world itself.King Shrewd is dead at the hands of his son Regal. As is Fitz--or so his enemies and friends believe. But with the help of his allies and his beast magic, he emerges from the grave, deeply scarred in body and soul. The kingdom also teeters toward ruin: Regal has plundered and abandoned the capital, while the rightful heir, Prince Verity, is lost to his mad quest--perhaps to death. Only Verity's return--or the heir his princess carries--can save the Six Duchies.But Fitz will not wait. Driven by loss and bitter memories, he undertakes a quest: to kill Regal. The journey casts him into deep waters, as he discovers wild currents of magic within him--currents …

From an extraordinary new voice in fantasy comes the stunning conclusion to the Farseer trilogy, as FitzChivalry confronts his destiny as the catalyst who holds the fate of the kingdom of the Six Duchies...and the world itself.King Shrewd is dead at the hands of his son Regal. As is Fitz--or so his enemies and friends believe. But with the help of his allies and his beast magic, he emerges from the grave, deeply scarred in body and soul. The kingdom also teeters toward ruin: Regal has plundered and abandoned the capital, while the rightful heir, Prince Verity, is lost to his mad quest--perhaps to death. Only Verity's return--or the heir his princess carries--can save the Six Duchies.But Fitz will not wait. Driven by loss and bitter memories, he undertakes a quest: to kill Regal. The journey casts him into deep waters, as he discovers wild currents of magic within him--currents that will either drown him or make him something more than he was....From the Paperback edition.

10 editions

Phil in SF reviewed Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb (Farseer Trilogy (3))

Bogged down by the mechanics of magic

2 stars

Content warning mild spoilers, although not much more than can be gleaned from reading the chapter titles

Waking up from the dead, Fitz vows to kill Regal, the would-be king who had him arrested and tortured, and who has usurped the throne of the Six Duchies.

There's an overlong journey to the new capital of the Six Duchies, a visit with the Old Blood (aka others who can talk to animals like Fitz) that feels shoehorned in so that some of the later magic doesn't feel as rough around the edges, way too many heel turns by new characters, and finally many many chapters in the realm of the Elderlings where the characters have to figure out how Elderling magic works.

This book needed to be about half as long as it was.