I Read Books: Royal Assassin
The title may refer to more than one character! It’s ambiguous like that!
At the end of Assassin's Apprentice Fitz succeeded in stopping the plot against Prince Verity, but had no proof that Prince Regal was behind it. He’d also been beaten and poisoned in the process. He makes a slow recovery and comes back home to Buckkeep to find that much has changed and much has stayed the same.
No one is willing to move against Regal, as King Shrewd will not believe in the malice of his son. So Fitz plays a dangerous game.
Meanwhile all the other plot threads weave past each other. He falls in love with Molly, but accidently finds himself courted by Celerity, the daughter of the Duke of Bearns. He continues to serve as assassin on occasion but after protesting he is made a crewmember of one of the new warships. The Red Ship Raiders keep raiding and keep forging people – removing their humanity so they are left as the mere slaves to their hungers and desires. Prince Verity uses the Skill-Magic against them and does not – quite – have the time to teach Fitz to master it. Fitz also has the Wit-magic and has bonded with a wolf called Nighteyes; this magic is considered black and bad and is one of the things that leads to his downfall.
As the second in a trilogy, yes, things go very wrong and people die and the bad guys seem triumphant. There’s a lot going on and Hobb manages to keep it all under control.
Read This: For good, sometimes excellent fantasy adventure
Don’t Read This: If constant plotting going wrong and good solid storylines popping in and out of each other puts you off.
Comments