Reviews tagging 'War'

Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb

31 reviews

lizziaha's review against another edition

3.75

One thing that Robin Hobb has gotten right with these first two books is the way she writes the last quarter of the book. I was reading this sort of concurrently with another book (If We Were Villains) that had tension that coiled tighter and tighter. This book has tension but it builds, getting bigger and bigger until everything near the end of the book feels larger than life. Everything falls apart for Fitz in a way that I didn’t expect. It felt much more complex than most other fantasy books, and I appreciate that Robin Hobb continually makes me think I know where it’s going, but the characters make it go somewhere completely different. Maybe that’s the genius of being so deeply entrenched in one character’s brain for the entire book. All this being said, the building portion, the slow burn, can feel boring at the time. Which makes it hard to enjoy the book as a whole. I also want to read more about the women in the series. Fitz’s world is a man’s world, and while the women are equally as complex, we don’t get to see that as much in this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture and War

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, and Murder

Minor: Child abuse, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy

bookswithcuppatea's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

This novel focuses a lot on perception, on how mental/magical action is perceived differently from tangible/physical action. Following Fitz the reader gains insight into the actions of other characters. A complex and challenging second part of the trilogy.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Terminal illness, and Violence

Minor: War

laurajeangrace's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, and War

Moderate: Confinement and Cannibalism

Minor: Miscarriage, Rape, Suicide, and Pregnancy

laraloops's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

I loved this book, a great second book that like the first was rather slow and steeped in politics and slow torture of Fitz. The conflicts he encounters is reflective over his growth as a person and character.  

The book felt short to me as I was on my toes pushing through to see how things could get better for Fitz and how everything could crash down - the last 100 pages was quite the climax that didn't really let up until the last couple of pages. I definitely saw some twists coming but the story still unfolded in a way I wasn't expecting. The character work was fantastic and I'm excited to see how the trilogy will conclude. 

I loved the part when he goes "crazy" at the banquet - so violent and yet satisfying.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Torture, and War

gabi_reii's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Elder abuse

mcosmic's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Murder, and War

Minor: Pregnancy

the_magicians_librarian's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, and War

carrionkid's review against another edition

4.5

God robin Hobb really can make me feel the entire spectrum of human emotions, huh.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Grief, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Child abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Xenophobia, Excrement, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Attack by animal. Strangulation. Poisoning/drugging.

thoseoldcrows23's review against another edition

adventurous emotional slow-paced

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

5.0

This series has quickly become an all-time favorite for me. More than anything I love Hobb’s character work. Both our main character Fitz and the cast of side characters hold a special place in my heart, and I find myself feeling genuine emotion for them (fear when they're in danger, heartbreak when bad things happen, joy when they're successful). The thing that holds this back from being a full five stars is that it’s a little long, and occasionally some of the romantic side plot elements felt tedious. I don't dislike the romance, but they spend much of the book going over and over the same conversation, and it gets quite redundant after a while. Still, to say I felt anything other than love for this book would be a lie, and I am both excited and nervous to read book three as I'm sure it will absolutely break me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Cannibalism, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Slavery