Book Review: Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb (Farseer trilogy #3)

Assassin's Quest is the third, and the final installment to Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy. This is a fantasy series beloved by many fans. I have read, and greatly enjoyed the previous 2 books in this trilogy. Royal Assassin, the second book in this trilogy, ended with a cliffhanger. So I was really excited when I started reading Assassin's Quest, because I was expecting a grand ending. This book is 850 pages, thus exceeding the page count in Royal Assassin by 200 pages. It is the longest book in this trilogy. But does a longer book translate to a better book? Let's find out.

Synopsis:

Following the events in Royal Assassin, Prince Regal executed his sinister plan of treachery. King Shrewd is now dead, and Fitz is presumed to have died in the prison. Meanwhile, Verity, the heir to the throne, is missing from his quest to search for the elderlings. Among the chaos, Regal seized this opportunity, and declared himself King.

However, Regal is an incompetent, and unloving king. In cold blood, he abandoned the northern parts of his kingdom and its people to the Red Ship raiders, and relocated the capital to an inland city. In the meantime, among the ashes, Fitz was rescued, and rose from his grave. As Fitz recovered his strength and mind, he set out on a mission; to exact revenge on the man who took his life away from him.

What I think about this book:

The theme in Assassin's Quest orients itself as a “quest” story. I think a credit point should go to Robin Hobb, for varying the themes throughout this entire trilogy. i.e. Assassin's Apprentice was a coming of age story, Royal Assassin thrived on political intrigues and tensions, while Assassin's Quest is mainly about a quest.

Having said the above, I was very disappointed by this book. Considering how well the first two books in this trilogy were, Assassin's Quest is a huge step back, ending the trilogy at a really low note. There are so many things I did not like about this book. First of all, this book is 850 pages, making it the longest book in the trilogy. However, the pace in this book is painfully slow, and I thought it was an absolute chore to read. The first 200 pages in this book centred on how Fitz failed to assassinate Regal (with too much unnecessary recaps from the 2nd book). The next 600 pages revolved around Fitz's painfully long journey to find Verity, and I thought these 600 pages were mostly, useless and uninteresting fillers.

Furthermore, characterization in this book is the weakest in the whole trilogy. For almost 2/3 of the book, Fitz traveled on roads and met new characters. But most of these new characters only appeared for 2 or 3 chapters, then disappeared. They never impacted the story for the rest of the book. In short, about 70 % of Assassin’s Quest felt like fillers. It's almost as if they existed for no reason other than to bulk up the size of the book. At 850 pages, Assassin's Quest is not the longest book I've read, but at the same time, Assassin's Quest FELT like the longest book I've ever read. I found this book boring, repetitive, and a very slow read. I felt a sense of relief when I finally reached the final page in this book.

The ending for Assassin's Quest (hence the ending for this trilogy), also disappointed me. Robin Hobb concluded the story, in the last 50 pages of the book. I don't want to spoil the story here, so let me just say, it was a Dues Ex Machina ending, totally unsatisfying and rushed. When I compared the large size of this book, to the rushed ending. I realized it is actually possible to skim through at least 500 pages of this book, and still understand the story.

I am not sure what happened to Assassin's Quest, but it is a truly disappointing conclusion, to an excellent fantasy trilogy. This book is unnecessary long, filled with uninteresting fillers, and the ending is wholly unsatisfying and rushed. However, Robin Hobb's prose remained excellent nonetheless. At the end of the day, I am glad I read Farseer trilogy. As a whole, this is a tragic, but moving tale. The first two books in this trilogy alone made this series worth a read, even if this last book leaves much to be desired.