Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

19 reviews

literate_caveman's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is one of my all time favorite fantasy books and, I think, the best in the Farseer trilogy. Hobb does an excellent job of putting you in the head of people whose lives are shaped by traumatic events. As someone who enjoys slower-paced books, even I find the pace of this series to be a bit slow (that's just how Hobb writes). That being said, the tension increased dramatically towards the end, leaving off with a fantastic conclusion. There are several thought-provoking quotes in this book that I still think about, and Nighteyes has to be one of my favorite characters in all of fiction. It's definitely not for everyone, but I highly recommend this book (and series) to anyone looking for character-driven fantasy.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, War, and Injury/Injury detail

atalea's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child death, Physical abuse, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Confinement, Drug abuse, Miscarriage, Torture, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy

kaziaroo's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexual content, and Pregnancy

Minor: Infertility

adeliab's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Gore, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol

Minor: Rape and Pregnancy

prairieraven's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I didn't enjoy this as much as the first book. The treachery, plotting, and kniving nature of the antagonist grates at the reader and the main characters which is for good writing. Again not very diverse cast and there is a bit of a slow start but quickly speeds up. 

There is a new wolf character introduced and I'm not too much of a fan. It doesn't fit as well as Fitz. However the purpose and reasoning of this character unfolds later in the book. There is much more violence and gore in this one than the first.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Miscarriage, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Cannibalism, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War

emsavors's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Cannibalism, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and War

mariebrunelm's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

"Here we are, and here is always the place we must start from."
Each time I read this book, and it's been 4 or 5 times, I wonder why I make myself go through all that pain again. Robin Hobb isn't gentle with her characters. She pushes them to their limits, and then beyond, while keeping a firm grip on her story. But she's also a master storyteller, and a queen of character writing. I go back to her books because there are no others I can immerse myself as much into. I know Fitz, and I know the Fool, by some deeper knowledge than just words. I live for the conversations they have in this particular volume. Yes, there's one the characters I hate the most in all literature, but there's also fabulous friendships between people of all genders. It's a truth universally acknowledged that found family is my favourite trope, and I have an inkling that I first experienced its thrill with this series. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, and Blood

aseaoftomes's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

For those of you who don't know me, the Realm of the Elderlings (RotE) is a series that means everything to me. It's impossible to review something I love and adore as much as I do. Anything I say about this book won't encapsulate the overall feeling and story, so I'm not going to do my normal routine (fully).

This is the second book in the Farseer trilogy and the second book in the overall RotE series and it picks up right where the first book left off. Fitz is in the Mountains recovering from the events from the prior book and when he finally returns to Buckkeep he's met with all kinds of political intrigue and turmoil and the continuing war. But there's so much more than that. 

Every element I normally do in my breakdowns (writing, plot, characters and world building) is just phenomenal. Hobb's characters and world building in particular are some of the best I've read. It's not a simple act of reading these books, you live them. 

This series is not for those faint of heart, but it's worth everything if you can manage it. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Grief

achingallover's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I think perhaps this suffers slightly from being the middle of a trilogy, and certain parts dragged a little, but the final chapter was pure poetry and I can't wait to read the next book.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence