Scan barcode
A review by alexalovesbooks
Royal Assassin - Illustrated Edition by Robin Hobb
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
I’m still quite new to this universe and Hobb’s writing style, but I do think what I’ve encountered so far has been impressive — particularly in the way that her words pull me right into this world and this story, a story that revolves around political intrigue and maneuvering with a hint of magic and mystery to boot. It does tend to take me longer to make my way through one of her novels, but I’ve now finished two where I felt the journey to get there was worth the time (nor do I feel the actual passage of time or length of the novel as I read).
Unlike the first novel in this trilogy, it feels like we jump right in to big political and personal conflicts for the Farseer line and in particular, Fitz. I still have a stronger preference overall for mostly secondary characters and their parts in the main story and in Fitz’s life, but I did find Fitz more interesting this time around… save for the romantic aspect of his life. It wasn’t necessarily something I cared about in particular, but it got a lot of page time in this novel. But it’s the rest of the conspiracies and mysteries and turns that the book takes that kept me reading, and honestly, it really builds up towards the ending quite well. It’s definitely cemented my interest in reading all the books in this world, as well as given me even more of an understanding as to why many other readers love Hobb’s work in the Realm of the Elderlings.
(I also now understand why my friend Kristin said I would likely want to dive right into the next book after I finished this one - she’s right.)
Unlike the first novel in this trilogy, it feels like we jump right in to big political and personal conflicts for the Farseer line and in particular, Fitz. I still have a stronger preference overall for mostly secondary characters and their parts in the main story and in Fitz’s life, but I did find Fitz more interesting this time around… save for the romantic aspect of his life. It wasn’t necessarily something I cared about in particular, but it got a lot of page time in this novel. But it’s the rest of the conspiracies and mysteries and turns that the book takes that kept me reading, and honestly, it really builds up towards the ending quite well. It’s definitely cemented my interest in reading all the books in this world, as well as given me even more of an understanding as to why many other readers love Hobb’s work in the Realm of the Elderlings.
(I also now understand why my friend Kristin said I would likely want to dive right into the next book after I finished this one - she’s right.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use