Royal Assassin

The Farseer Trilogy, Book 2

By: Robin Hobb

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer

Young Fitz, the illegitimate son of the noble Prince Chivalry, is ignored by all royalty except the devious King Shrewd, who has had him tutored him in the dark arts of the assassin. He has barely survived his first, soul-shattering mission, and when he returns to the court, he is thrown headfirst into the tumult of royal life.

With the king near death, and Fitz's only ally off on a seemingly hopeless quest, the throne itself is threatened.

Meanwhile, the treacherous Red Ship Raiders have renewed their attacks on the Six Duchies, slaughtering the inhabitants of entire seaside towns. In this time of great peril, it soon becomes clear that the fate of the kingdom may rest in Fitz's hands - and his role in its salvation may require the ultimate sacrifice.

©1999 Robin Hobb (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

“Hobb manages to create a kingdom that looks like a fairy tale but feels like the real world---which makes it almost impossible not to become immersed in Hobb's fantasy epic.” ( Publishers Weekly)

frustrating

the political intrigue was frustrating. everyone was an idiot for not dealing with Regal at the end of the first book

Sustains the Good Work of the First Book

I’ll repeat my earlier conclusion in this, the second of Hobb’s Farseer trilogy: after George R.R. Martin, she is the most capable person writing in this slice of the fantasy genre. She has a clear vision of the world she’s describing, she has the ability to move a plot forward (though, given the constraints of the way the genre is marketed, she does so very slowly), and she has a sense of deep detail. When you read her stuff, you get a sense of the very specific economy of the seven duchies. You see what it means to run a stable, to make and market your scented candles, or to learn the hard lessons of how to fight. Many of her competitors try, but they fall far short of what she accomplishes. She runs on, but she does so in a careful survey of the world she’s invented.

On top of that, in this volume particularly, she is using her “system of magic” (a term I don’t like since it treats something potentially wondrous like an algebra problem) to explore a legitimate, human question: to what extent are we “selves” in the sense of being locked in our own experience, and to what extent are we connected to others who are sorting out what it means to be alive.

One of the magics in play here, the wit, is precisely that. It’s an extra sense that allows you to know what animals are experiencing. In its extreme form, it means “bonding” to an animal, making an alliance with a creature very different from yourself and thereafter seeing the world through two sets of senses.

Hobb is at her best and most compelling here when she brings that material out. The scenes where Fitz comes to bond with his wolf, Night Eyes, are among the best. Hobb avoids the easy way of describing it, avoids the notion that getting to see through a wolf’s eyes is somehow an addition to oneself. Instead, she makes clear that it exacts a price. It’s too much like love, too close to giving ones full self over, to be something that is merely empowering.

We get the voice of Burrich who knows to fear the wit, who knows the potential for it to turn a man into an animal. Fitz insists he’s wrong, but we see enough to know that Burrich has a point. Giving that much of yourself to anyone – even in the more conventional sense of dedicating oneself to king or country – is somehow wrong. I almost used the word “sinful,” but that’s not quite right. The concept is more fundamental, more a matter of deep gut instinct than any larger system of ethics.

We get a parallel concern in the way ‘the skill’ works. At its best, in the hands of Prince Verity, it allows someone to send his or her strength to others. (It also allows someone to beguile another, but Verity makes clear that such magic isn’t to his taste, even as he spends much of the book practicing it.) It lets you give of yourself to others in ways that simultaneously deplete you. For Verity, it’s also about love, loving his subjects, but it’s wearing him out.

So, with those kinds of ideas in play and the rich detail that Hobb gives, this middle book in the trilogy sustains the strong work of the first book. I can’t entirely forgive what seems like unnecessary slowness, but I did find myself caught up in the action as Fitz found himself going up against Regal and his coterie.

If you don’t care for the genre – and there is enough silliness inherent in it that I get your concern – this isn’t the one to start with. If you’ve enjoyed Game of Thrones, though, this is better than any of the dozens of door-stopper imitators and wannabes I’m aware of.

The Fitz takes his lumps

this one is a hard listen at times because of how much Fitz suffers. there's an aspect of teen angst at times but there are serious traumatic events as well. it makes me want to hurry up and get to the next books so he can (hopefully) find some relief. having read all of Hobb's work in this world a while back, going back through and listening is like getting it for the first time.

An original saga

Would you listen to Royal Assassin again? Why?

Possibly it was a great story and well preformed.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Chade he was the man in the shadows, who knows everything and pulls the strings.

Which character – as performed by Paul Boehmer – was your favorite?

Burich the old gruff, no nonsense man.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The ending where Fitz tried to kill everyone.

Pretty Good for Most of It

Hobb does a fantastic job getting you to care about a lot of the characters she has created. While the narrator, Fitz, can be very frustrating in that you wish he would be better, it lets the characters around him really shine. It's a sign of well drawn characters where I just want to know more about and hear more about from just about every main character except the villain. I especially wish we got more from Lady Patience, whose relationship with Fitz I find to be extremely interesting.

The narration is good. I really love his intonation and his character voices are distinct and he rarely loses them. I feel as if I would hear the Fool differently if I were reading this in print, but I still think it fits. A lot of times these fantasy titles can have bad narrators, but I was extremely satisfied with Paul Boehmer.

I have yet to listen to the third one and while I do want to know where this goes, it did not leave me craving more Farseer Trilogy. Yet, I have to say the writing is so superb and the characters so great I feel sort of required to finish it.

As to whether this book is better than the first one I have to say I preferred the first book, as I found the climax much more compelling. I still liked this one a lot though.

Fine story and great performance

Fine story and great performance. Only weak point would be why would king in waiting go on a quest when father dying/demented and half brother wanting the throne.

Very exciting!

Starts off slow building up to an epic climax! Cant wait to see how this fantastic series ends!
Awesome book

Literary sustenance

If you have read Assassins Apprentice then prepare to rejoin Fitz in his life at Buckeep. As he fast approaches manhood he learns more of his strengths, weaknesses and loves. As always Robin Hobb intertwines the story with a familarity that makes you think of the characters as friends & in the case of Regal enemies. If you havent expereinced Robin Hobb do so NOW

As good as the first...

Wonderful series, great character development, and a super listen. As with most epic tales at some point the story drags a little, but overall still a 5 star with me.

Great!

An excellent book excellently delivered! I look forward to the next chapter , Assassin's Quest !