Reviews with content warning for Animal death - Fool's Assassin

Robin Hobb is a perfect example that fantasy can be whatever you want. It doesn't have to be about strong, young people living exciting adventures. It can also be about a middle-aged, non-white man finally enjoying a time of peace and reflecting on his troubled past while his wife grows old. Reflecting on the price of magic, on friends lost and on settling in a place and a body that feel his own.

This book is the first volume in the Fitz and the Fool trilogy, and it's brimming with melancholy and uneasiness. We are reunited with our dear Fitz, trapped in a body younger than his real years and watching his loved ones age. We feel the passing of seasons and we glimpse strange things that don't seem like much at first but end up forming a tapestry the pattern of which is still blurry but which does not bode well.

After reading about Fitz for 6 long books, I'm still not tired of him and it makes this one all the more poignant. It is a sad book, but it also has rays of light and fantastic new characters, some I love and others I love to hate.

I have a list of the content warnings below but I want to warn you explicitly that the end of this book has the worst scene of animal cruelty I have ever read. I still haven't recovered from it more than 5 years after reading it, and this time I made sure to skip it. It is the worst, and though Robin Hobb has handled this topic very well in the past I do think she went too far here. The fact that I still love and recommend this book says a lot, but please be warned.

Rep : brown MC possibly polyamourous.

Content Warnings

kabrahams's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

June 1
5+
Well I did it. I read all the books I missed before and then reread and...I'm speechless. Screaming, crying, ahhhhh. I loved and understood all the parts that confused me last time of course.

Molly's death, the reunion of Fitz and the Fool (AHHHHHH), the possibility that Bee is a White Prophet, and so much more.

I can't wait and I'm also terrified to keep reading. I don't want it to be over. One of the best books of one of the best series I've ever read.

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Jan 20 (first read)
4.5
I had one of those good book hangovers after finishing this, and also the burning desire to read everything else by Robin Hobb. Which led to realizing that she's written a ton of interconnected books and this trilogy is the one you're supposed to read last...whoops. Might explain why my one complaint was that it took me a bit to get into the book and figure out what was going on. But I also kind of liked being dropped into the middle? Things did get way more interesting once Bee showed up. I have so much love for her and I'm so worried about the cliffhanger. Torn between wanting to read the next book immediately and knowing I should read Assassin's Apprentice and all those other books first.

Content Warnings

achingallover's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

Content Warnings

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