Glhlavka World

Assassin’s Quest, the final book in Robin Hobb’s Farseer Trilogy is an interesting mix of the utterly bad and the perfectly great. I was shocked at how much I loathed the first fifth of the book. I absolutely hated the the places Hobb took Fitz and found the character and everything he did to be completely annoying. I can’t tell you how much I hated the start of this book. I was really close to setting it aside, never to be finished, but something kept pulling me forward.

Wow, was I glad I did. The rest of this book is everything I like about fantasy. A difficult quest, filled with wonderful side characters who become integral parts of Fitz’s story. A terrible and frightening villain with menace in his heart. Hobb does a great job hiding the purpose of the quest until the end. The payoff is magical. As much as I hated the first few chapters, the rest is so wonderful I hardly remember them in retrospect.

Reading the series is a bit of a quest in itself. You must suffer through some parts that are unbearable. You will think about giving up. In the end, your efforts will be richly rewarded.

Rating
First few chapters: 0 stars
Rest of the book: 5 stars