Royal Assassin (Farseer Trilogy, #2) in Hobb-A-Long Read-A-Long

Jul 28, 2016 Zezee rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

As posted on Zezee with Books.

My thoughts:

The plot in this installment is much richer. Fitz is now a young man developing more meaningful relationships that will have greater impact on his standing at court, and his actions carry greater consequences in his life and that of those who are close to him.

The threat of the Red Ships is more palpable as they strike more frequently and Verity expends his energy in protecting the kingdom’s shores, and Regal is gaining more influence at court as the king ...more

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Jun 05, 2016 Alreem rated it really liked it · review of another edition

4.5

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Dec 04, 2015 Asma rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I'm so glad I gave it another try after months of abandoning it. The beginning bored me into a reading slump that was hard to get out of, but by the time I reread and reached 300 pages, I could not put it down. A really really really gooooodread!!! Starting book 3 ASAP. ...more

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Jun 22, 2016 Ana Clara rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2016, high-fantasy

This book had everything to be great. A lot of interesting things happened, there were a few plot twists I didn't see coming, people spitting on each other's faces, all a novel needs. But there were so many things that seemed specially written to frustrate the reader on purpose. Like they would never happen in "real life" or what real life in this fantasy world would be, but Robin Hobb wanted us to be nervous and frustrated so they happened anyway.
The sheer refusal from both Verity and Fitz to j This book had everything to be great. A lot of interesting things happened, there were a few plot twists I didn't see coming, people spitting on each other's faces, all a novel needs. But there were so many things that seemed specially written to frustrate the reader on purpose. Like they would never happen in "real life" or what real life in this fantasy world would be, but Robin Hobb wanted us to be nervous and frustrated so they happened anyway.
The sheer refusal from both Verity and Fitz to just DO SOMETHING to stop the kingdom from going downhill was unnerving. More, it was outraging. They had already underestimated Regal at the end of the last book, and yet, through this entire installment, they do it again. Fitz thinks he's so smart, a man, but honestly he is the worst of all. They keep refusing to even discuss the things that are happening fully, and when they finally make decisions, those decisions are the dumbest decisions I've ever seen. They honestly just sit down and wait for Regal to do everything he wants. There were so many things they could've done to counteract Regal's actions (like putting a few spies here and there, to say the least) and yet they stood and let everything happen.
How Fitz never understood anything the Fool said, even though some of his messages were obvious...
And Shrewd's disease was the worst part of it all. It just dragged.
I took a long time to read this book because I had to read two chapters and then put it down. I felt exhausted.
It seems like I hated it. I didn't. I hated these elements, and they made me angry because I've read Ship of Magic, I know Hobb's characters can be better written than this. The main character being super dumb is never a good plot device, and nor is his refusal to do anything about it.
But I did enjoy it. I enjoyed the story a lot, and Ketricken is honestly my favorite. I hope everything works out for her. And for the Fool, I love him too.
I hope the next book is better, character's decision making wise. There are still a lot of mysteries to be solved, and I wanna now how it all ends. ...more

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