Royal Assassin - Chapters 31-Epilogue

[William]

that fact that fitz had to fake his own death in order to get out from under his uncle regals thumb is a good thing I believe because it means that he will let down his guard now and karma will end up sitting him in the rear end

[Emily]

So Hobb borrows a tried and true plot twist from the bard himself and uses Chade's apothecary skills to cheat death by faking it - with somewhat more effective results than Romeo and Juliet thankfully!

I really enjoyed how the use of the wit connection with Nighteyes which has been building up but kind of parallel to the main plot throughout this book pays off in such a big way. The very power which threatens to put a noose round Fitz' neck is the one which ultimately delivers him. And Burrich (what a legend! Definitely my favourite character) chooses to overcome his own principles/revulsion for the wit, not only encouraging Fitz to fully bond with the wolf but using his own power to call him back to his body. That last line in the snow where he called him his son - so moving!

This sets up such an interesting foundation for the third book - basically a blank slate for Fitz's character - I'm kind of glad that the action will now presumably move away from the court for at least part of the book as I feel that Buckeep (like its rooms stripped of furniture and its storehouses emptied of grain) is starting to become rather exhausted as a source of plot - lets get out there and explore some more of this world! I am assuming the eponymous 'Quest' is going to be at least partly about seeking out Verity in the land beyond the mountain kingdom, and I hope we are going to catch up with Kettricken and the Fool at some point.

I think Hobb did a great job of making the ending seem conclusive and satisfying in its own right, but also leaving enough loose ends to make you want to read on. Altogether have loved reading this book (probably more than the first instalment) and excited to start with the next one (I'm going to give it a little rest and read something else first though). Looking forward to hearing what everyone else thought!

[Alicia]

Loved the ending!

I enjoyed reading this book more, but I have to say this series so far doesn't feel like separate books, just one good story!

[Anita Reads]

I definitely also enjoyed it. I did feel like it slowed a bit down in towards the middle of this book. Still a solid 4 star read for me.

The ending was super interesting. I liked how we got to know a lot more about the Wit.

Can't wait to see how this trilogy is going to turn out.

[John]

Why does Fitz suffer so much in the Farseer universe?

He has experienced way more physical pain than most protagonists are ever subjected to in other fictional worlds; from Galen's treatment of him; to the lingering effects of being poisoned in the Mountain Kingdom; to his several battle wounds and his torture at the hands of Regal.

His life is like a combination of the movies The Passion of the Christ and Groundhog Day, where you experience constant pain in perpetuity. Is this all random meaningless suffering? Is there any redeeming value in what Fitz goes through?

Possibly Fitz possesses a unique skill set that allows him to address his pains to good purpose. His ability to Skill allows him to see events at great distances that may impact Buckkeep and his fellow human beings; and his Wit ability, which allows him to actually experience the subjective feelings of people and animals with whom he bonds.

Combined, the two abilities plus his own ( and everyone's ) natural ability to experience pain and pleasure, give him an emotional intelligence that allows him to prioritize what really matters and not get as caught up in pettiness.

Shrewd and Chade only have the Skill, so they see what happens but don't have Wit sympathies to support that knowledge; therefore they overly compartmentalize their feelings from their intellect, and sometimes come to perverse or morally corrupt sensibilities about the relative importance of what they are seeing.

Fitz can see objectively, but also feel subjectively the same actual feelings of other people, when he becomes aware of events like the attacks on Siltbay and Neatbay. He knows what suffering these people are going through because he has suffered greatly as well, and he may be able to sublimate those deep feelings into concrete actions so to deal with these problems in the order of their importance.

[John]

I enjoyed this book even more than the first one, which I thought was encumbered with some illogical plot points at the beginning, and an unsettling epilogue.

I was just so happy that the author didn't leave Fitz cold and dead in the ground here in RA and wait for the next book to bring him back!:)

I'd rate this book Four (4) stars!

[Emily]

Alicia wrote: "I have to say this series so far doesn't feel like separate books, just one good story!"

I know what you mean Alicia - I'm thinking the next installment must be quite a different kettle of fish though now that everyone thinks that Fitz is both dead and an irredeemable deviant...looking forward to seeing where this goes next!

[Amy]

I enjoyed this even more than the first book. I read it quicker and that may be simply because I felt already engrossed in the characters. That ending was amazing. I'm excited to start the next book. Are the queen, verity or Molly all alive and well? And of course I need more of the Fool

[Michelle]

How do we all feel about Rosemary's betrayal? I thought Fitz had already mentioned his suspicions halfway through the book, but obviously I was mistaken?

[Sarah]

I really loved the ending and I'm so happy that the bond between nighteyes and Fitz was what saved him after Fitz rejected it for so long. I can't wait to get out of Buckeep - it was getting a little but too much towards the end. I would give it 3.5 stars I really enjoy listening to it on audiobook but I know some of the "boring" parts would annoy me if I was physically reading it.

[Amy]

Michelle wrote: "How do we all feel about Rosemary's betrayal? I thought Fitz had already mentioned his suspicions halfway through the book, but obviously I was mistaken?"

I was sooo disappointed that Fitz didn't see that coming. They seemed to all agree they couldn't trust anyone and knew that Regal had most everyone on his side and yet the ignored her being there all the time. I've started the 3rd book and it goes into a little more detail about Rosemary and her betrayal.

[Abner]

I know there's a story of the Willful Princess and the Pieblad Prince, Ill read that after this trilogy.
I think the Piebald Prince was the son of the first Wit user?

Nights eyes confirms that ht plan changed by Burrich and Regal most likely didn't know where to intercept them.

Burrich gave him carryme so Fitz can fake his death so he can get his out of jail card. But he "stored" his soul in Nighteyes, Burrich though of this from a tale his grandmother told him as a child of the She-Bear,this story is important, for the beginning of the next book (Assassin's Quest). So Fitz is the assassin in the shadows once more since everyone thinks he's dead.

Can Fitz not get beat till death for once, or in this case he literally got beaten to death for what everyone can see except Burrich and Chade lol what a wimp (jk).

[Kaitlyn]

I absolutely loved Nighteyes and his relationship with Fitz. Hobb had such an amazing way of shaping that bond and making us understand the wolf's perspective vs the man's.

Also the Rosemary betrayal was a total blindside to me. I appreciate a good twist and I definitely didn't see that one coming.

[Jeanne]

I finished this book a bit late for the read-along but I really enjoyed it! I feel like the Wit was explained more in this installment while in the first book its the Skill in the spotlight.

I also was completely taken by surprise by Rosemary. The hints will definitely be something I'll look out for when I re-read this series.

[Alicia]

Emily wrote: "Alicia wrote: "I have to say this series so far doesn't feel like separate books, just one good story!"

I know what you mean Alicia - I'm thinking the next installment must be quite a different ke..."

At this point that didn't even cross my mind, but you're right! This ending will set the next book off to a completely new way than previously!

[A.R.]

I definitely liked this one more than The Assassin's Apprentice overall.
I'm still wondering if Molly is pregnant and that's why she was saying there was someone else who mattered more.
Rosemary's betrayal surprised me, too, because she was such a side character that she was easy to forget about, for the reader as much as for Fitz and company.

[John]

A.R. wrote: "I definitely liked this one more than The Assassin's Apprentice overall.
I'm still wondering if Molly is pregnant and that's why she was saying there was someone else who mattered more.
Rosemary's..."

Yes! A.R. The epilogue for RA was much more satisfying although there is clearly still a lot of unfinished business ahead (but that's good!).

About Molly: Go to Ch. 25 and reread the conversation Between Fitz and Cook Sara( It's on page 500 on my Kindle edition but this is usually on different pages of other editions). She couldn't hint more bluntly, and that with what you can read between the lines of Molly's last conversation with Fitz doesn't leave a lot of guesswork!

I have a wildly different opinion about Rosemary in the prologue-chapter 5 thread of Assassin's Quest. I put it there because Fitz made two other insinuations about Rosemary in the first chapter that I wanted to address.

[Noah]

The ending was so good! I had thought that Burrich was there to give Fitz something, and when it turned out to be carryme, I thought only one leaf for a deep sleep. I knew that Burrich wouldn't allow him to give up that easily, to die, but only to drug Fitz. Molly is gone, though, but I know she'll be back. I don't know if Regal is bent on finding and killing her also, or if that was just a trick to worry Fitz. I am still baffled at how Fitz saved his mind inside Nighteyes for that short bit of time. Overall, 4 out of 5 stars. Really loved it! Unfortunately, I won't be able to read "Assassin's Quest" until August ;( [I'll have mandatory school summer reading that I'll be doing for July]. Can't wait to get to book 3, though. I'm also excited for Ship of Magic from what I've heard of "The Liveship Traders Trilogy" (mostly from your YouTube, Sam XD).

[Kevin]

I really didn't like the ending. Of the options available to Fitz, he chose the most reckless and it didn't benefit him much. Fitz could have killed Serenity and Justin quietly and not drawn attention to himself. Had he simply fled the castle with Shade when Shrewd died, he'd be in basically the same predicament he's in now without the torture and dungeon chapters. Or he could have simply laid low in Buckeep, wait for Regal to depart and then build up Buckeep and work with the Costal duchies to fight the Red Ships. His entire dilemma in the entire series could have been avoided had he simply poisoned Regal. I'm also so tired of Molly at this point, I'd rather he'd accepted Celerity's marriage.

I enjoyed the book, I just really found the dungeon/torture chapters tedious and kept thinking this could have been easily avoided.

[John]

Kevin wrote: "I really didn't like the ending. Of the options available to Fitz, he chose the most reckless and it didn't benefit him much. Fitz could have killed Serenity and Justin quietly and not drawn attent..."

Sometimes there are nothing but bad options left because of mistakes made by other people before you, and in this case, the original mistake was Shrewd failing to see Regal for the threat he was. Shrewd made Fitz pledge fealty to the king and also swear not to take action against Regal; this was also done by everyone who outranked Fitz: Verity, Chade and Kettricken. Disobeying a sworn oath to the king and killing his favorite son would be a treasonable offense, punishable by death.

Once Verity went missing, and the king's life was hanging in the balance, with Shrewd basically incapacitated, it would have fallen on Chade to make a unilateral decision to take out Regal, and he just couldn't bring himself to go against his brother's wishes. Later, when the king was dead, and Fitz was too weak from Justin and Serene's attack to act, and needed elfbark, Chade made another mistake by not having elfbark at the ready, and instead giving Fitz Carris seed to revive him, which has the unfortunate side effect of causing mania and hyperactivity, causing him to act recklessly while attacking Serene and Justin.