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stephaniedc's review against another edition
4.0
The main character Fitz frustrates me so much but the book was addictive and I just wanted to know what happened!
earlofbronze's review against another edition
4.0
Really good novel. Hobb writes excellent characters. The are complex and flawed. Looking forward the conclusion of the trilogy.
teeg's review against another edition
5.0
I suspect anyone who loves fiction knows what it feels like to live a story. And knows that some authors are better at drawing you in to their worlds than others are. Robin Hobb is a master at the art. It's been a long time since I last read a series, much less a book, that held me spellbound even while I was living outside the book. And now that I've turned the last page on the last book in the series, I find myself miserable at the knowledge that I now have to walk away.
I don't want to share many hints of the story, because in some ways, not expecting anything makes it even better...like finding gold while raking the leaves. I will say that it brought to mind the Dragonbone Chair series by Tad Williams, and I'll leave it at that. :)
I don't want to share many hints of the story, because in some ways, not expecting anything makes it even better...like finding gold while raking the leaves. I will say that it brought to mind the Dragonbone Chair series by Tad Williams, and I'll leave it at that. :)
g_na's review against another edition
5.0
I liked book two of this series at least as much as book one, and had trouble putting it down. Here, Our Hero, the bastard son of the royal prince, gets tangled up in a web of intrigue and deceit within the royal family. His telepathic Skill and Wit sometimes helps him, while other times are a definite shortcomings. Now that he has been trained as an assassin he debates using that talent to eliminate those who stand against the true king and king-in-waiting. I am looking forward to reading book three.
markh892's review against another edition
2.0
Disappointing. This book kept all the bad features of book one and left behind most of the redeeming qualities. Royal Assassin is a tragedy in that all the morally correct characters are inept and actively sabotaging themselves (despite the author's frequent assurances that they are trained, competent, and powerful). I also didn't love that this book immediately picked up with two of my least favorite plot threads, the Wit and Molly. The ending comes together neatly in a gripping conclusion, but that's not enough to save the rest of the book. I'm really hoping this trilogy has a strong ending and we finally get some answers for the world that has been set up and there is a definite ending to the main plot in these two books.
cait_s's review against another edition
3.0
Definitely a case of things having to get worse before they get better, though this is quite bad indeed. Fitz is still struggling against the same old foes, but they're winning now. There's some hope for a new start, at least.
mellodrama's review against another edition
3.0
So my longer & more complete review on the third book.
But I will say for the second book, I did enjoy better than the third book because you actually see the tensions and conflicts rising, and all the characters are present and get more character growth.
Molly is the worst. like I'm glad that you get some connection to Fitz's childhood and a window into who he could have been without being sucked into the royal drama, but beyond that she doesn't do anything for me.
Nighteyes is fun. I kinda eyerolled when they introduced the wolf because, ugh, that's so typical of fantasy furries, but his thoughts and behaviors are written really well that it's actually pretty convincing that he's a wolf and not a human and ends up being one of the most enjoyable characters in the book.
But I will say for the second book, I did enjoy better than the third book because you actually see the tensions and conflicts rising, and all the characters are present and get more character growth.
Molly is the worst. like I'm glad that you get some connection to Fitz's childhood and a window into who he could have been without being sucked into the royal drama, but beyond that she doesn't do anything for me.
Nighteyes is fun. I kinda eyerolled when they introduced the wolf because, ugh, that's so typical of fantasy furries, but his thoughts and behaviors are written really well that it's actually pretty convincing that he's a wolf and not a human and ends up being one of the most enjoyable characters in the book.
charliebrook1981's review against another edition
Just can’t connect to the plot or characters at the moment. Will try the audiobook in Jan once I have had some space from it.
hoda93's review against another edition
5.0
I have too many feelings for this book, and they are all positive (kind of). The one thing I needed - and didn't like that the book lacked - was reading this story from different perspectives.
Originally, I like novels with multi narrations, it helps me decide how to evaluate any character. Anyway, that doesn't mean that I liked this second book any less. It was emotional for sure, both the political and the emotional sides of this book made me take my breath and just hold it in for a long time.
What I really didn't like though was those parts which are full of action and intrigue and suddenly they go calm or the action just stops and I am left there hanging and wanting to die. :D
The ending was particularly hard because everything happened so fast. I am a person who loves slow books. I really do, but I don't like to be reading a part of the plot which is taking its time developing and suddenly find myself reading about a battle or an assassination or something, and then this battle just ends too quickly for me to try to imagine anything. It's all about the politics I suppose.
All of this will not make me give this book any less than 5 stars because I really enjoyed my time reading it and I valued all the emotions it made me feel. Seriously, everyone was in my head even when I was not reading the book. Hobb got me hooked to this world.
I almost loved everyone in this book, except Regal, obviously!! But I believe that had there been different characters' narrations, I would have understood his motives more, but that doesn't mean that he is any less the evil man he is. Ambition makes people assholes sometimes, or in Regal's case, all the time. Still, I needed to know his story and his mother's story and why and how he turned out like this. I also needed to know more about Verity. I mean, he suddenly became notable. Before that he was just there somewhere doing something or just meeting FitzChivalry accidentally.
To sum up, I needed to know more about Regal, Verity, Chivalry (But he's dead in a horse accident!!!), Patience, Burrich (Especially Burrich), Chade, the Fool and even Hands for God's sake. It doesn't have to be about Fitz all the time. We need new perspectives. I've become too repetitive about this point. I hope to know more about everyone in the third book, which I plan on starting very soon. I originally planned on reading it after I emotionally recovered from this one but I don't think I'll wait.
All in all, this has been a really good reading experience. I never thought I'd like fantasy that much.
Originally, I like novels with multi narrations, it helps me decide how to evaluate any character. Anyway, that doesn't mean that I liked this second book any less. It was emotional for sure, both the political and the emotional sides of this book made me take my breath and just hold it in for a long time.
What I really didn't like though was those parts which are full of action and intrigue and suddenly they go calm or the action just stops and I am left there hanging and wanting to die. :D
The ending was particularly hard because everything happened so fast. I am a person who loves slow books. I really do, but I don't like to be reading a part of the plot which is taking its time developing and suddenly find myself reading about a battle or an assassination or something, and then this battle just ends too quickly for me to try to imagine anything. It's all about the politics I suppose.
All of this will not make me give this book any less than 5 stars because I really enjoyed my time reading it and I valued all the emotions it made me feel. Seriously, everyone was in my head even when I was not reading the book. Hobb got me hooked to this world.
I almost loved everyone in this book, except Regal, obviously!! But I believe that had there been different characters' narrations, I would have understood his motives more, but that doesn't mean that he is any less the evil man he is. Ambition makes people assholes sometimes, or in Regal's case, all the time. Still, I needed to know his story and his mother's story and why and how he turned out like this. I also needed to know more about Verity. I mean, he suddenly became notable. Before that he was just there somewhere doing something or just meeting FitzChivalry accidentally.
To sum up, I needed to know more about Regal, Verity, Chivalry (But he's dead in a horse accident!!!), Patience, Burrich (Especially Burrich), Chade, the Fool and even Hands for God's sake. It doesn't have to be about Fitz all the time. We need new perspectives. I've become too repetitive about this point. I hope to know more about everyone in the third book, which I plan on starting very soon. I originally planned on reading it after I emotionally recovered from this one but I don't think I'll wait.
All in all, this has been a really good reading experience. I never thought I'd like fantasy that much.
theshellbell14's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-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
4.25