Book Review: Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb (Farseer Trilogy #2)

Farseer trilogy is considered as a classic in the fantasy genre. In Farseer trilogy, readers find a griping tale flavored with political intrigues. The first book in this trilogy, titled Assassin's Apprentice, kick-started this series with a moving, coming-of-age story. In the second book, Royal Assassin, the story of continues, and it is a longer book than its predecessor. 

Synopsis:

Following the events in Assassin's Apprentice, Fitz is a broken man. His body is poisoned and damaged. Fitz's bitterness surged as his health faded like the falling autumn leaves. He decided to leave the Mountain Kingdom and return to Buckkeep, so he can continue his service to King Shrewed.

When Fitz returned to Buckkeep, he found himself besieged by enemies. Threats and dangers assaulted the kingdom, both inside and outside of the royal court. At the king's court, nobles dappled at a game of power. Meanwhile, raiders of the Red Ship encircled the kingdom of Six Duchies, like wolves descending upon their prey. Soon, Fitz discovered serving his king may cost him his life.

What I think about this book:

Royal Assassin stands at 650 pages, exceeding Assassin's Apprentice by 200 pages. These two books differ in themes. In my opinion, Royal Assassin is as good as Assassin's Apprentice. While Assassin's Apprentice is a coming-of-age story, Royal Assassin orients itself as a fare of political intrigues. This also means, the story in Royal Assassin is built upon waves of tension.

The pace of Assassin's Apprentice was slow. In Royal Assassin, the pace of the story is even slower. Despite the slow pace, this book (and its predecessor) managed to stay my interest in the story. The world building in this book is done brilliantly. The author vividly depicted a life at the royal court, with colorful narratives and a carefully executed, suspenseful plot.

The characterization in this book remains a strength worthy to be praised. The characters in this book are believable. The author allowed her protagonist, Fitz, to make mistakes and suffer the consequences. As the story unfolds, readers witness Fitz grow and change, as he learns from his mistakes. Meanwhile, supporting characters in this book also changed as the events in the book impacted them. In other words, the characters in this book underwent steep character development.

I also want to share, that I found writings in this book a pleasure to read. Like in Assassin's Apprentice, Robin Hobb wrote beautifully and powerfully. Usually, I am not overly fuzzy about the quality of prose in a novel. But in the case of Farseer trilogy, I appreciate the excellent writings, because it enhanced the charm of the story.

In all sincerity, I could not find much to complain about Royal Assassin. In my opinion, this book is a solid sequel to Assassin's Apprentice. While the pace in this book may be slow, but in the last 50 pages, every plot device was triggered simultaneously, crescendoed to a mind-blowing conclusion that ended with a cliffhanger. At this point, I am eager to venture into the last book to this trilogy, Assassin's Quest, which will be the final chapter to this moving tale.