Assassin's Quest

Last updated
Assassin's Quest
Robin Hobb - Assassin's Quest Cover.jpg
UK first edition cover (Voyager)
Author Robin Hobb
Cover artist John Howe
LanguageEnglish
Series The Farseer Trilogy
Genre Fantasy
Publisher Voyager Books (UK) & Spectra (US)
Publication date
3 March 1997 (UK), April 1997 (US)
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint (Paperback & Hardback in the UK, Paperback in the US)
Pages742 (UK hardback ed.), 848 (UK paperback ed.)
ISBN 0-00-224608-2
OCLC 43211976
Preceded by Royal Assassin  

Assassin's Quest is a 1997 fantasy novel by American writer Robin Hobb, the third and final book in The Farseer Trilogy . It follows the exploits of FitzChivalry Farseer. While Fitz's narrative continues in The Tawny Man Trilogy, the Liveship Traders Trilogy is next in the chronology of the Realm of the Elderlings.

Contents

Plot summary

FitzChivalry Farseer has been raised from death, but spends months with the mind of a wolf after his time sharing minds with Nighteyes. He lives in a remote cabin watched by Burrich and Chade, the only ones who know he is alive. Fitz gradually regains his humanity but struggles with the loss of his former life and the trauma of his torture in King Regal's dungeons. Fitz decides only a personal quest to kill Regal will bring him peace. Before departing the cabin, Fitz is attacked by and kills Forged Ones. Through his uncontrollable Skill dreams, Fitz later learns that Burrich found the scene and believes him dead. Burrich is caring for Molly, Fitz's former lover who is now pregnant with his child. Meanwhile, Lady Patience leads Buckkeep's remaining resistance against the Red Ship Raiders.

Fitz travels to Regal's palace in Tradeford but fails to assassinate him thanks to the remaining coterie members. Verity aids his escape and imprints the command "Come To Me" into Fitz's mind. Unable to disobey, Fitz follows the path of Verity's quest to find the Elderlings to the Mountain Kingdom. His bond with his Wit companion, Nighteyes, deepens and changes as they become more similar. The wolf begins to think abstractly and plan events as a human does. Fitz meets other Witted people who call themselves "Old Blood," but declines to learn more of their ways.

Fitz and Nighteyes are joined by Starling, a minstrel, and Kettle, an old woman who is seeking the White Prophet. They evade Regal's men to reach the Mountain Kingdom. Fitz is tended back to health by the White Prophet, revealed to be the Fool. The Fool has prophesied that Fitz is a Catalyst who is essential to the future of the Six Duchies. Verity and Kettricken's child was stillborn. Kettricken and Chade decide to take Fitz and Molly's daughter to become the Farseer heir, despite Fitz's pleas that he be allowed a simple life with them.

As Regal attempts to conquer the Mountain Kingdom, Fitz, Kettricken, the Fool, and Starling set off to find Verity, followed by Kettle, who is mysteriously knowledgeable about the Skill. The group encounter a road leading to a ruined city, both constructed of a black stone imbued with Skill. The road is perilous for those sensitive to the Skill but without sufficient training. Fitz survives thanks to the guidance of Kettle and his bond with Nighteyes, and also develops a bond with the Fool. They discover a garden full of dragon sculptures that Fitz senses as alive with his Wit, which they realize may be the legendary Elderlings.

Beyond the garden is a quarry of Skill stone where they find Verity, frail and obsessed with carving a dragon of his own. Kettle reveals she is the last remaining member of a former royal coterie, though her Skill ability was taken from her. She reveals that the stone dragons were carved by Skilled Farseers and their coteries by Skilling their own memories and emotions into the stone, giving up their lives to animate the dragons. Fitz uses his Skill and Wit to help Verity and Kettle restore each other's Skill strength. They nearly complete the dragon, but Verity does not have enough power left. After learning that Molly and Burrich have fallen in love while caring for her daughter, Fitz offers his own life on the condition that they be left alone. Instead, Verity and Fitz's minds switch bodies, allowing Verity to share a last night with Kettricken and providing the final surge of emotion and memory needed. Verity becomes the dragon and flies with Kettricken and Starling to defend Buckkeep.

The Fool inadvertently wakes another incomplete dragon while Fitz faces Regal's men. He learns how to wake the other dragons with a combination of blood and Wit. The risen dragons defeat the soldiers and Will, and are then led by Verity-as-Dragon to defeat the Red Ship Raiders. With his coterie broken, Regal has no defense against Fitz's Skill. Instead of killing him, Fitz imprints him with fanatical loyalty to Kettricken and the Six Duchies. Regal restores Buckkeep and ensures the legitimacy of Kettricken and Verity's heir she is left pregnant with, Prince Dutiful.

After the Raiders are defeated, the dragons return to the mountains to sleep as stone again. The Fool disappears, the prophecy of the Catalyst apparently fulfilled. Fitz retires into anonymity and travels for several years. Chade and Starling are some of the few who know he still lives in isolation, attempting to write about his history.

Themes

Assassin’s Quest has been called a coming of age story. A starred review from Publishers Weekly stated that the story holds a lesson "that the pursuit of truth demands a price in loneliness only a few can or will pay." [1] Other reviewers have pointed to a sense of hopelessness in the narrative and how often Hobb makes use of failure. [2] [3]

Reception

Assassin’s Quest received positive reviews from critics. Reviewers have called the novel a fun and enjoyable read. [2] [3] Publishers Weekly gave the novel a starred review and commented on the "shimmering language". [1] Kirkus Reviews called the novel "an enthralling conclusion to this superb trilogy, displaying an exceptional combination of originality, magic, adventure, character, and drama." [4]

Editions

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Hobb</span> American fiction writer (born 1952)

Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden, known by her pen names Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm, is an American writer of speculative fiction. As Hobb, she is best known for her fantasy novels set in the Realm of the Elderlings, which comprise the Farseer, Liveship Traders and Tawny Man trilogies, the Rain WildChronicles, and the Fitz and the Fool trilogy. Lindholm's writing includes the urban fantasy novel Wizard of the Pigeons and science fiction short stories, among other works. As of 2018, her fiction has been translated into 22 languages and sold more than 4 million copies.

<i>Assassins Apprentice</i> 1995 novel by Robin Hobb

Assassin's Apprentice is a fantasy novel by American writer Robin Hobb, the first book in The Farseer Trilogy. It was Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden's first book under this pseudonym, and was published in 1995. The book was written under the working title Chivalry’s Bastard.

<i>Royal Assassin</i> 1996 fantasy novel by Robin Hobb

Royal Assassin is a fantasy novel by American writer Robin Hobb, the second book in The Farseer Trilogy. It was published in 1996.

<i>Fools Errand</i> (novel) 2001 novel by Robin Hobb

Fool's Errand is a fantasy novel by American writer Robin Hobb, the first in her Tawny Man Trilogy. It commences 15 years after the events in Assassin's Quest, a period covered by The Liveship Traders Trilogy ; it resumes the story of FitzChivalry Farseer after he has wandered the world and finally settled to a quiet, cottage-dwelling life with his adopted son Hap.

<i>The Golden Fool</i> 2002 novel by Robin Hobb

The Golden Fool is a fantasy novel by American writer Robin Hobb, the second in her Tawny Man Trilogy. It was published in 2002.

<i>Fools Fate</i> 2003 novel by Robin Hobb

Fool's Fate is a fantasy novel by American writer Robin Hobb, the third in her Tawny Man Trilogy. It was published in 2003.

<i>Farseer</i> trilogy Trilogy of fantasy novels by Robin Hobb

The Farseer trilogy is a series of fantasy novels by American author Robin Hobb, published from 1995 to 1997. It is often described as epic fantasy, and as a character-driven and introspective work. Set in and around the fictional realm of the Six Duchies, it tells the story of FitzChivalry Farseer, an illegitimate son of a prince who is trained as an assassin. Political machinations within the royal family threaten his life, and the kingdom is beset by naval raids. Fitz possesses two forms of magic: the telepathic Skill that runs in the royal line, and the socially despised Wit that enables bonding with animals. The series follows his life as he seeks to restore stability to the kingdom.

<i>Tawny Man</i> trilogy Trilogy of fantasy novels by Robin Hobb

The Tawny Man trilogy is a series of novels by American author Robin Hobb, and the third trilogy in the Realm of the Elderlings sequence. Narrated in first person by FitzChivalry Farseer, it follows his life in his mid-thirties, and is set after the events of the Farseer Trilogy and the Liveship Traders.

<i>Soldier Son</i> trilogy

The Soldier Son trilogy is a fantasy novel series by Robin Hobb. Set in a new world unrelated to her previous trilogies, the Soldier Son trilogy follows the life of Nevare Burvelle, the second son of a newly elevated Lord of the Kingdom of Gernia.

<i>Liveship Traders</i> Trilogy of fantasy novels by Robin Hobb

The Liveship Traders is a trilogy of fantasy novels by American author Robin Hobb. A nautical fantasy series, the Liveship Traders is the second trilogy set in the Realm of the Elderlings and features pirates, sea serpents, a family of traders and their living ships. Several critics regard it as Hobb's best work.

<i>Ship of Destiny</i> Novel by Robin Hobb

Ship of Destiny is a book by American writer Robin Hobb, the third and last in her Liveship Traders Trilogy.

<i>The Mad Ship</i> Novel by Robin Hobb

The Mad Ship is a book by American writer Robin Hobb, the second in her Liveship Traders Trilogy. It appeared in the United States as simply Mad Ship.

<i>Rain Wild Chronicles</i> Quartet of fantasy novels by Robin Hobb

The Rain Wild Chronicles is a quartet of fantasy novels by American author Robin Hobb, published from 2009 to 2013. It chronicles the re-emergence of dragons in the Rain Wilds, a setting in Hobb's fictional Realm of the Elderlings. It is her fourth series set in that world, following after the Farseer, Liveship Traders and Tawny Man trilogies, and features an entirely new cast of characters. The quartet features ecocentric themes, as it examines the reaction of humans to a new predator in the world.

<i>Fools Assassin</i> 2014 book by Robin Hobb

Fool's Assassin is the first book in the epic fantasy trilogy Fitz and the Fool, written by American author Robin Hobb. Ten years after the events of Fool's Fate, it resumes the story of FitzChivalry Farseer, a former assassin, as a middle-aged husband and father whose quiet life is disrupted by a new crisis.

<i>Fools Quest</i>

Fool's Quest is the second book in the epic fantasy trilogy Fitz and the Fool, written by American author Robin Hobb. It was published by HarperCollins and released in August, 2015 and continues the story of FitzChivalry Farseer and his daughter Bee after the events of Fool's Assassin, published in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robin Hobb bibliography</span>

This is a complete list of works by American author Robin Hobb, the pen name of Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden, who also writes under the pen name Megan Lindholm.

<i>Assassins Fate</i>

Assassin's Fate is the third book in the epic fantasy trilogy Fitz and the Fool, written by American author Robin Hobb. It continues the story of FitzChivalry Farseer and his daughter Bee after the events of Fool's Quest, published in 2015.

<i>Fitz and the Fool</i> trilogy Trilogy of fantasy novels by Robin Hobb

The Fitz and the Fool trilogy is the concluding subseries of the Realm of the Elderlings, a 16-book fantasy series by American author Robin Hobb. Published from 2014 to 2017, it features the protagonist FitzChivalry Farseer in his fifties, and follows his life with his wife Molly and daughter Bee Farseer. It was well-received by critics, with the Los Angeles Review of Books praising Hobb's characterization and portrayal of aging, and The Guardian positively viewing how the final book consolidated plot threads from across the series.

References