Assassin's Apprentice - Chapter 21-Epilogue

[William]

I hate regal I think he is a total bastard for what he did to fitz

[Yakayaka]

William wrote: "I hate regal I think he is a total bastard for what he did to fitz"

Well in that case, Fitz is the real bastard ^^
Bad joke i'm sorry...

[Katie]

I felt really unsatisfied at the end. This entire book felt more like an introduction to the world or a training montage for Fitz with a little plot at the end. I have a lot of questions though so I am definitely continuing with the series. Also Regal is the worst.

[William]

have to continue to switch between eBook and physical book since my library doesn't have all of her books but when I go to thrift/boom stores will definitely be on the look out for her books

[Abner]

This is the unraveling of the buildup. Here we get the confirmation that Regal and Galen are half-brothers and Galen is the Queen's bastard. Now we know and confirm why are they so evil, at first I though they where the responsible for Chilvary's death but I sincerely doubt it. I also noted that Regal knew about Lady Thyme but not of Chade, which I'm starting to think that no one knows about him except Shrew and Fitz. Burrich basically pledged his life to Fitz (hence we get the meaning of the earring). Overall good scenes in Jhaampe and a few surprises and twists (they wine was really poisoned!!) and a trail of bodies. I gotta admit after your plot fails and no one seeing you as a threat and treating it like it was a child's tantrum has to sting i.e Regal is saltier that the Dead Sea lol

[[deleted user]]

Samantha wrote: "Katie wrote: "I felt really unsatisfied at the end. This entire book felt more like an introduction to the world or a training montage for Fitz with a little plot at the end. I have a lot of questi..."

Yes, I was reading some reviews by Kaitlin from KittyG (BookTube) and she says the same thing: Assassin's Quest was very good, Royal Assassin just ok...but then the Liveship Trader and Tawny Man series really take the cake. I'm trying to hang on until we get to those books because I want to experience the WOW factor that some others rave about. I want a "Name of the Wind" moment with Hobb.

I'm glad you did this read-a-long because the discussion is making it so interesting. I love seeing everyone else's perspective. It's helping identify things I may have missed if reading these on my own.

[[deleted user]]

LilistarReads wrote: "Dang that conclusion, does that mean that Fitz was unknowingly getting strength from Burrich the whole time? Also enjoyed Burrich's slight admission that he has the Wit.

I hope that in the second..."

Yes!!! I really wanted to know much more about the redship raiders! What is that magic system that creates the forged? How are they going to stop them? What part will Fitz play in that?

Though this wasn't my favorite read - I am intrigued enough to go on and see what else will transpire with this kingdom. What I REALLY can't wait for is the Liveship Trader and Tawny Man books. However, I understand we need the background info in this trilogy before we can get to those.

[Anita Reads]

Oh my god that ending. Regal is just so horrible!
I really liked how Fitz got to learn a little more about the skill in this last part of the book. I hope he gets a real good teacher in the next books, so he can master it better.

Looking forward to the next book.

[Sophie]

The ending was definitely my favourite part of the whole book as I suspected it would be. The bluff poison scene was intense as was Fitz's drowning while contacting Verity scene! Verity is still my favourite character so I really hope we see more of him. Overall I liked this book even though I had problems with it and I'm looking forward to the next ones.

[John]

The revelation that Galen had actually been skilled by Chivalry into permanently being in a mental state of wanting to hero-worship Chivalry( when in actuality he loathed him) leads to an interesting (albeit speculative) explanation about why Galen hated Fitz with such sadistic passion.

It may be possible that Galen's initial hatred of Chivalry was yet retained deep within his subconscious mind and not actually eradicated by the skilling; but had to find an outlet once the skilling made it impossible to focus the hatred on its original object, Chivalry; and it is certainly possible and highly likely this alternative target was Fitz( who is of course blood relations with Chivalry - the next best thing to hating Chivalry).

Ironically, this particular skilling ability was eventually practiced by Galen himself to induce the other members of the coterie to develop an irrational hatred of Fitz as well.

[Alicia]

What a conclusion! I really enjoyed reading this book and had trouble putting it down! The writing, characters, and plot blow me away! I love the intricacies of the story!

[John]

The most relevant thing to take away from the end of the book is that the characters have to do pretty inexplicable things in order for the marriage and its aftermath to take place.

When Regal drunkenly reveals to the mountain royalty that Fitz is in effect an assassin ( a clandestine role that is never supposed to be made public because it permanently exposes the assassin and thus makes him useless for further spy work), it should have alerted King Eyod that the Farseers had sinister motives and so would place Eyod, Rurisk, their entire family and their kingdom at risk if they proceeded with the marriage. That should have been an absolute deal breaker right there.

Incredibly they go ahead with the ceremony, even after Prince Rurisk is poisoned! It seems preposterous that Eyod and his family would have so little common sense as to not realize that someone in the Farseers camp was responsible for the attempt on Rurisk's life and that that would be enough cause to send them all packing, and to cancel the wedding.

As it stands in the epilogue, you have a ridiculous situation where the reader is asked to believe that Kettricken, Verity and Fitz are so obtuse that they think they can reside civilly at the same castle with Regal, knowing that he tried to kill Verity and Fitz, and did kill Kettricken's brother.

This is a hard ending to swallow (to say nothing of the terrible,and possibly permanent physical and neurological shape that Fitz is left in at the end of the book). Apparently the author decided to leave this hot mess for the next volume to give her time to work out a better resolution( which, fortunately, she is able to do fairly early in "Royal Assassin").

P.S. I realize upon rereading this that i didn't convey how terrifically exciting I thought the action climax sequence was!

[Sarah]

That was quite a finale.
I think it was a good first book in a fantasy series. Everything was set up, we have some storylines that came to a conclison and others that were left open.
I hate the king and I don't understand why, if he likes Regal so much he never told him about Chade. Verity obviously knows about Chade, although, maybe he doesn't know about Lady Thyme.
I kind of think Kettricken is annoying. She's so impulsive and naive and that's never a good combination.
I was really sad to see Rurisk die, he was such a great character.

Is there anybody else who is really intrigued by that epilogue?

[John]

Sarah wrote: "That was quite a finale.
I think it was a good first book in a fantasy series. Everything was set up, we have some storylines that came to a conclison and others that were left open.
I hate the k..." I didn't just think Kettricken was annoying at the end of the book, I thought she was dangerous (she did attack Fitz twice in the late chapters )! However, I think the author from early on in the next book finds a way get Kettricken to mature quickly, and she starts to become the strong female presence the series needed.

[Saskia]

Burrich didn't kill Nosy - I knew it! But it was quite sad to see him go so soon again.. but it was in a meaningful way.

I really enjoyed the book. While I really don't think all too much happened plot-wise it was really interesting to see Fitz grow as a character. I hope that it will be a great basis for future books!

I liked the wrap-up, but there are still quite some questions open, so I am excited to continue on.

I don't really know what to make of Kettricken.. her decisions really felt off and it seems so weird that there are no consequences for Regal for what he has done (yet?).

[Alli]

I was once again on the edge of my seat for that ending!

I always get so emotional during animal deaths, but it was nice to see Nosy again and to know he played such an important part in Fitz's life, even after their bond was broken. I want to see him really explore his Wit and it would be nice if he could have an animal companion last more than a few chapters.

I like Kettricken and I hope we get to see more of her and Verity.

I really want Fitz and Burrich to get over their weird relationship barriers and from the sounds of it, they're headed in that direction.

I agree with everyone else that there wasn't much resolution with the major threats in this book. The Red Ship Raiders were just this ominous threat looming in the background, even though a good chunk of the book was dedicated to the threats they provided and explaining the Forgings.

I suppose the best thing to do is trust Robin Hobb and her ability to tell a good story and wait and see what happens next.

[John]

Meera wrote: "This felt like the start of something amazing. I genuinely loved it, for what it was, abd for what is to come. This novel was coherent and a nice classic orphan-with-a-gift story, yet the narrative..." Burrich might be the most under-appreciated character in the series, even by Fitz, and it's sad that circumstances often force their relationship to have that love/hate emotional swing perpetually going.

[CallMeSensei]

Everything I previously felt about Burrich disappeared when you find out that Nosy is still alive! Yay! (although, severe hopelash that Hobb returns him to you only to kill him off for real this time :( )

I still want to know why Burrich has such a strong distaste for the Wit. Hopefully that will come out in book 2.

I agree with everyone here that Regal is the worst! I'm not surprised mind you, that he tried to take out Fitz. It seems that's where the book was leading all along though... with all of the different trainings Fitz went through, it didn't read as fluidly as other stories for me. I felt his tale was rather disjointed and wouldn't have been surprised if there weren't much of an ending. I'm glad for the bit of suspense at the end though...

Rurisk and Kettricken were interesting characters... I rather liked Rurisk more so I'm a bit sad that he's gone. I wanted to know more about his background with Chivalry. (Somebody mentioned this in another thread...was Fitz's mother one of the mountain people?! Oh and did Rurisk have the Wit...? It seemed like there was strong bond between him and Nosy... though that may have just been a normal person to animal bond...) And Jonqui... I hope we get more of her in subsequent novels.

The Red-Ship Raiders does leave off quite suddenly... especially after all of Verity & Fitz's actions... but, I am assume that is really the main thread of this trilogy and it will be carried on later? I'd really love to know more about the Forging.

[Noah]

This book got so good at the end! I loved it! And how Nosy is found again, but then he dies. It's so sad, but so good. I really think the epilogue set up the next book, which I heard talks a lot about the Red-Ships. Also, I'm so glad Galen is gone. Regal is driving me nuts, though. He tries to kill Fitz twice in the same couple days, fails both times, and he isn't even caught. He is clearly going to be a larger villain in the later books, seeing that he cut off a lot of possibilities of trade with Jhaampe...and attempted murder!

[Cheryl]

Looks like a good start to an ongoing trilogy/series. If so, this was a nice foundation book. Overall, great story with diverse characters. I am looking forward to the next book.

[Emily]

Just finished it. I loved it - I feel like it came into my life at the perfect time. It was exactly what I was hoping it would be. :"D

[Christine]

Regal and Galen were the worst, as well as Cob. I feel that this book is just the opening to an epic fantasy world and story. (Yes, I know it is an epic series), just commenting as if this was the only book published so far! I want to know more about the Red Ship Raiders and how they are forging people. I am glad I picked this up and joined in the read a long. I will be on the lookout for my own copies, as right now, they are library books.

[FoxClouds]

Hi everyone! I'm horribly behind on this readalong but I have finished this book a couple of weeks ago and I even made a video review of it.

https://youtu.be/U4PowBVU7o4

It is kinda long so you don't have to watch it, so I will just say here: OMG THE ENDING!!! Seriously! It was so slow at the beginning and even though I did enjoy it, I still wanted more action! The ending overwhelmed me. And I am so curious about the Fool now. Maybe he is fairy folk? :) NO SPOILERS

I started Royal Assassin yesterday. Tell me I'm not the only one so behind. XDD

[Jacqui]

Okay, so I'm very, very late and only discovered this read along this month but I wanted to share my thoughts on this book because I love it.
I didn't think I would form strong emotional attachments to characters so quickly but I adore them. [or hate them ;)]

I do feel like this book was a strong introduction to this world and I cannot wait to dive into it deeper. I don't want to speed read through these books because I don't want to miss anything. Hopefully I can catch up to everyone eventually!!

[John]

Jacqui wrote: "Okay, so I'm very, very late and only discovered this read along this month but I wanted to share my thoughts on this book because I love it.
I didn't think I would form strong emotional attachment..."

I'm happy you enjoyed Assassin's Apprentice so much, Jacqui! That climactic sequence at the end was fantastic! And most people like Royal Assassin even more. Will Fitz's bad luck with pets finally end? Maybe third time's the charm :)