Review of Robin Hobb's "Assassin's Quest" (Farseer Trilogy, #3)

** spoiler alert ** Many Goodreads reviews have given this third instalment a very low rating, criticizing among other things the book’s slow pace. I would argue on the contrary that Assassin’s Quest is probably the Farseer Trilogy’s most complex book, once more doing many things that I had never encountered in fantasy literature books before and taking character development to the next level.

Assassin’s Quest starts with Fitz’s slow and painful rebirth, thereby positioning this third book in stark contrast with the end of Book 2, Royal Assassin, which had ended on an incredible cliff-hanger. This part was one of those aspects that I found most innovative. Although I understand that readers might have been frustrated with the resulting slow pace and lack of action, yet such criticism does not do justice to what the author accomplished here. Hobb imagines and describes a situation whereby Fitz comes back from the dead and learns how to be a human again after his mind and soul have transited through his wolf’s own. This has several implications for the narration, which briefly switches from the usual first person to the third person, completely taking the reader aback. Through this subtle change of narration, which through the pages gradually switches back to the first person, Hobb communicates Fitz’s internal struggle. This adds outstanding complexity to overall character development because in the process the author also describes Fitz’ environment and how those who surround him (Nighteyes, Burrich, Chade) experience the changes. Their helplessness is particularly difficult to handle. What is even more powerful is Fitz’s sheer sense of desperation with regard to the fact that he is indeed alive yet wishes he were not. This creates a situation where the reader feels uncomfortable when faced with Fitz’s internal duality, constantly pulled away from his human conscience towards his wolf’s. Nighteyes (probably the most interesting and fun character of the whole trilogy), whose own conscience is becoming gradually more human-like, feels his suffering and encourages him to stay a wolf and enjoy a careless and simple life, far from the human world’s gratuitous violence. That process is without question excruciating in its pace, duration and how it details the suffering of our hero, who does not seem like much of a warrior anymore, let alone a person. But that part of the book is equally brilliant. It constitutes a powerful ode to life and will eventually constitute an important part of Fitz’s character, later explaining many of his choices, relationships and general outlook on life. The author’s decision to spend so much time on this phase is courageous, visionary and coherent in terms of the trilogy's construction.

There is another rather slow-paced phase of the book that describes Fitz and his company walking beyond the Mountain kingdom in the hope of finding King Verity and bringing him home to save the day. That too deprives readers of action. Even dialogues become rare. But this book is about a “Quest” after all, and quests do not immediately lead to that which one seeks, sometimes ever. Quests are filled with frustration, hopelessness, danger and failure, especially when it is not completely clear what exactly one is seeking, as it is the case for Fitz and his friends. Here I appreciated again the use of the first person in communicating Fitz’s internal struggles, his doubts and fears, as well as his own observation and psychoanalysis of his comrades.

The only slight criticism that I would raise is the somewhat anti-climatic way the book concludes, which felt rushed. After more than 800 pages one is left with the impression that the author was looking forward to concluding the trilogy. It is a little disappointing that some of the key concluding acts of the story are only recounted in the epilogue: the Elderlings beating the raiders somewhat easily (the battles are not really described), Regal being defeated through Skill manipulation in a couple of paragraphs (how did Fitz become so proficient in the Skill so suddenly with no real mentoring?), and the Six Duchies rising from the ashes in just a few pages. The epilogue also mentions that Fitz and Nighteyes ended up spending some time with their kind and learning much about themselves before deciding they felt better just by themselves. That latter finding leaves the reader somewhat frustrated with not knowing the details.

Going over such potentially important storylines in “epilogue mode” is indeed frustrating for the reader because these elements could certainly have provided for fascinating character development experiences and insights. Yet one cannot help but think that this really is a statement by Hobb. The author thus seems to make the point - as for her choice of a first-person narration - that the most important dimensions of the Farseer trilogy lie “within”. The characters, their hopes and fears, qualities and shortcomings, therefore make the story. They constitute the main driving force toward the fulfilling, or not, of the many prophecies appearing throughout the three books and their eventual respective destinies. The battles and full-fledged action are but the unsophisticated noise that surround them.