I love this trilogy. It's complex and interesting, with characters that are well developed. I can't wait to start Hobb's next trilogy. ( )

Good story, but seemed long winded in areas and rushed in others. Wrapped up in a way I wasn't completely happy with. After a very elaborate story, the ending was somewhat uneventful. Somewhat of a let down - even though I couldn't put it down. ( )

A book of two parts. Unfortunetly by far the largest part is not only the worst of the entire trilogy it is the first of the book and a truly epic slog to get through. It is slightlyl redeemed by the 2nd part which comprises of the last 150 pages of the book and thr conclusion to the trilogy, which again shows what Hobb could be capable of achieving.

The story takes off just a few days after the conclusion to Royal Assassiin (which needs to be read first). Zombie Fita is recovering from his time as a wolf, and re-learning to be human again. Unlike many of the other injuries sustained to various characters throughout the series Hobb does devote a little space to emphasizing how difficult this is. Eventually however Fitz is 'better' and able to embark on a quest. Oh my. I'd never guessed this was coming. Unfortunetly Quest fantasy is very difficult to write, and Hobb falls into all the pitfalls, without managing to hit any of the highlights.

There's no particular reason for the quest, it's slow and pointless, it drags throughout it's duration. The terrain and landscapes aren't well explained, and don't naturally fit together. Fitz meets various people, who don't then re-appear or have any significance, but we have to spend pages in their company. Various incidents occur at random, without either furthering our goal or lending any insight into any of the characters. It's tedious for the entire 600 odd pages it takes to go anywhere. It's also unbelivable. In the course of his travels Fitz takes and arrow in the back. It penetrates deeply enough to grate on bone, but doesn't hamper his ability to run or walk, has managed not to damage the spinal cord, or lungs or any other vital organ, and remains suitably uninfected that he recovers after a week or so's bed rest. Pointless and annoying. The entire thing is also, as was the previous volume, badly foreshadowed - either by the diary excerts at the chapter headings, the prophecies, or else various characters musings. At several times I just put the book down in disgust at the clunky writing or poor storyline. If I wasn't such a completist reader I'd never have got to the end, which would have been a shame.

The story ends when Fitz finally manages to reach the end of his road. And this entire section is excellant. There is action, drama, pathos, love in all it's forms and deep meaning. Hence it's such a shame that the preceeding 600 pages wore me down to such an extent that I couldn't care whether or not Fitz or the kingdom survives. The entire story arc is properly tied up with no loose ends left hanging. Various characters meet appropriate ends, much is revealed that was slightly obscure although even here much is revealed that was also blindingly obvious. Hobb obviously does have a lot of writing talent. I don't know if she just needs a better editor, or more critical writing support, but I'm unlikely to tackle more of her work until the dross is pared away from the gold.

If you've started the series you should finish it, especially for the last 150 pages or so, but do feel free to skip a lot of the rest of the book.
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As with the previous installments of the Farseer Trilogy, “Assassin's Quest” starts where the previous closed – continuing where the chilling and explosive ending had once left us. King shrewd is dead, Verity has left Buck in an attempt to seek the help of the ancient elder-lings, and Fitz has once again been ravaged and left at death's door. All seems lost, and with Regal now declared as king, things can only go from bad to worse. Amongst this, the FitzChivalry we once knew is now completely broken and gone -- solely bonded as one with his wolf partner NightEyes. Yet, buried deep within his wolf – an act that was made as an attempt to avoid the pain of his physically brutalized body – his true existence and self lingers. Can he come out of it? Can he once again return to the man he was? Can things be set right..or is all hope lost? Thus' begins the Assassin's Quest.

Robin Hobb once again creates a deeply woven, character driven, emotionally charged novel – one that kept me up half the night on many occasions. From the continual development of her already established characters, to the new additions that weaved their way into the story as the plot progressed, Hobb once again shines when it comes to her creation and expansion of interesting characters. From a new wandering Minstrel – determined to find a song, to an old witty woman with a strange and compelling past – to Fitz, Chade, Molly, and the Fool, the characters and their interactions yet again remain as strong as ever.

Along with Hobb's amazing talent of breathing life into her characters – her ability to continually put out engaging content throughout the pages of her stories once again fulfills my expectations – especially for an ending to a trilogy, as so many become bogged down and slow. While I have read a few comments stating that the beginning of this novel is a bit draggy, I myself found it, for the most part, otherwise – and in the end, I found “Assassin's Quest” as a whole to be more engaging and intense than the previous.

Unlike the other novels of the Farseer Trilogy, which were primarily set in the city of Buck – the “Assassin's Quest” is everywhere but there – which for me, was an added bonus, as another 800 or so pages set in Buckkeep could have become a bit tiresome. After the last installment I was in definite need of change, and with this one, I got it. While there is a lot of traveling, and at certain moments, there were slow areas which had me aching for other character involvement (as Fitz traveled alone for a time), as soon as it became a notice for me, the story and situation seemed to pick up – and soon enough new and interesting faces were introduced. And of course, with the new faces brought a lot of interesting aspects to the story -- all of which kept me drawn to this book.

In fact, for me, some of the best moments came from these new faces. One character in specific struck me, and that was the old, witty woman named Kettle, whom along the way becomes one of Fitz's new companions. Straight from her first appearance she adds much to this piece – humor, drama, emotion. There was one scene in particular that got me – one where Fitz attempts to help her with something that's been troubling her for years – something that has imprisoned her emotionally into her own sort of hell. This particular scene had me glued to the pages, enthralled by both the situation and dialog. I found it to be quite emotionally engaging. Along with Kettle, we were also given the new character of Starling – a wandering minstrel on a mission to create a song that would be remembered for all time; what better way than to follow a witted bastard who is the center of so much plight?

Along with the change of scenery and the additions of great new characters, there were also several scenes which held a certain level of intensity that the previous books lacked – scenes that I had been dying for since the first novel. Throughout this entire trilogy, my biggest complaint has been the fact that these books are based on the life of assassin, yet little to no assassinations occur. Fitz learns the art, talks about the art, but never truly uses the art. In this novel, that changes, and once I hit chapter 9 (which I will say very little of), I was gripping the novel intensely and silently cheering Fitz on. Finally, just finally, there was a taste of vengeance. A vengeance the reader needed as much as the character.

While I truly enjoyed the majority of this novel, there were still some aspects that I didn't like..and since this is a review, I will state them. For one, the drastic and some-what abrupt change in the Fool's character had me a bit disappointed – as he became far too serious. He was, in my opinion, one of the few characters to bring a bit of humor to such bleak happenings, and for him to be drained of his sharp wit and humorous actions was a big down-side. It's not to say I was against his character development, I wasn't … and I felt the second installment progressed his character perfectly, but in some ways I felt that he was changed far too much in far too short of time (for the reader). Never-the-less, he was still enjoyable, and I still love the Fool, I simply felt a bit saddened by his sudden shift of personality.

Aside from the change of the Fool, there was also a point where I was simply fed up with the constant torture and abuse of Fitz. It was almost as if Hobb was obsessed with abusing her main character – to a point where it became slightly displeasing and disturbing. While most of the trilogy was quite dark and bleak, I was hoping for a bit of relief with this one. A bit of happiness..a bit of something other than pain for him. Unfortunately, little was to be seen. That makes me weary of checking out her other work so soon...as I do enjoy a break from such emotionally draining content.

And lastly, there was also the ending. While I've heard some say that it was terrible – and even go as far as saying it was the worst ending ever for a fantasy trilogy, I myself found it to be a mixed bag. On one hand, it wasn't nearly as bad as some were saying, and in many ways went above my expectations – as I was prepared for something far more bleak and unfulfilling – however, it did seem a bit rushed – as if Hobb came to a point where she simply wanted to finish, and so she did. There was also a lack of description in this piece, especially towards the final few chapters. While the others endings were both intense and shocking, I found this one to be a bit anti-climatic – as the novel was so long, and so many things took place, by the time we finally got to the ending, it felt a bit disconnected and abrupt. Though I will say, it turned out better than I had expected, and while Fitz's outcome was still, in many ways depressing, he came out in a far better light than I predicted. Though for his character, the feeling of bleakness that filled much of this series was still there.

With that said, I enjoyed “Assassin's Quest,” and judging the trilogy as a whole, I can very confidently say that I was truly impressed. This series of novels bared very little disappointment -- and while certain things could have been improved, and at times it was quite dark and depressing, I still closed the final chapter of the final book with a sense of awe. For it was truly an adventure – one that connected with me on an emotional level. From chapters to chapter, and from book to book, I became immensely engaged with the story and characters. Especially with Fitz, NightEyes, and The Fool – all of whom' became quite special to me as far as characters go. I will surely remember them. So all in all, this is one trilogy that will stay with me for some time, and one that I can safely recommend to others. If you enjoy a good ol' epic fantasy trilogy with deep, complex characters, unique elements, and good writing, I would suggest this to you. For it to me, is one of the best fantasy trilogies I've ever read. ( )

This is an agonizingly slow end to a series that dragged on too long.

It's a common problem in the fantasy genre that authors add useless padding to increase the word count or to stretch a simple story into a trilogy or series. I think Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy could have made a decent single book, but each of its three volumes was instead padded far too much, with this third volume being the worst offender.

There are good segments in all three volumes. This third volume starts off fairly promising with an effective first act. Fitz's recovery from his torture at Regal's hands is very effective, with some chilling moments and questions of just how much of his humanity Fitz was able to recover. Unfortunately this theme of wrestling against animal instincts does not effectively carry through the rest of the book, and after the first act the narrative just drags.

The middle act involves a lot of mostly pointless wandering, and you being to ask just how many times Fitz can be captured by his enemies before escaping.

But the worst is the final third, which grinds to a halt and forces you to read through over a hundred pages of moody introspection. Every character in this section is aggravatingly obtuse. In fact Hobb almost makes fun of that, with Fitz exclaiming that nobody could give a straight answer to anything.

Ultimately there just aren't any likeable characters in this story. Fitz especially is moody, passive, and weak-willed, and overall not a protaganist that can give us anything to cheer for.

Like the rest of the series, the prose throughout is often clunky and melodramatic. Its deus ex machina climax is lacklustre and feels contrived and utterly unsatisfying. I spent the final third of the book counting the pages remaining and looking forward to starting something new. ( )