Farseer Trilogy - Review

 I finished this trilogy a few days ago and it’s safe to say that this is probably a new favourite series of mine, and Robin Hobb has definitely shot to the top of the list of my favourite authors. Rather than review each book separately, which I did on my Goodreads, instead I’m going to give a brief review of the entire trilogy. I would recommend you stop reading now if you wish to avoid spoilers

Firstly, the story. The trilogy is based in the fiction land of the Six Duchies, a medieval like collect of counties, almost, that are united rather reluctantly under one King. The story is centred around Fitz, the bastard son of the King In Waiting, who is brought to Buckkeep (essentially the capital of the fictional land) and given over to the royal family. Fitz’s childhood and upbringing is chronicled in the first book, Assassin’s Apprentice, and the rest of the trilogy tells of the adventures he undertakes in his King’s name, trained as an royal assassin. Though the books are long and the story is not always fast paced, every single piece of information that you are given just adds small but essential details to the rich and colourful world that Hobb has built, from the magic systems of Skill and Wit, to the settings of Buckkeep castle and the Mountain Kingdom. It is a truly immersive tale that makes you feel as if you are right there in the middle of the action. And what seems in the first book as a small civil war and a few acts of treason quickly blossoms throughout the trilogy to culminate in a grand adventure filled with plots, betrayals, family and emotion.

The characters are hands down the best part about this book. Fitz, especially, is written as a human. These characters act realistically given the choices they have to make, and Hobb allows herself time over the three books to properly flesh out her creations, and the relationships between each character. One thing that I adore about these books are that side characters are not neglected at all, instead they are given lots of character development and their own story arcs that fit in with the overall plot. The characters are also vey morally grey, sometimes they will do the right thing and sometimes they make horrendous decisions, but this is brilliant because it’s realistic, it’s what humans do - there’s no evil villians that are hell bet on destruction or golden princes that are too honourable for their own good. These characters each have their own issues, and that’s what makes it all the more relatable. The relationship between Fitz and Nighteyes and Fitz and Burrich are my favourite ones in this series. There were only a few characters that I didn’t like in this trilogy and they were Molly and Starling, I just felt like Molly wasn’t a nice character and Starling wasn’t really needed. A few other characters had developments (or lack of) in the last book that I didn’t feel was right, but other than that, the characters were the stand out part of the trilogy.

Finally, Hobbs writing is just brilliant, making it so that you will never get bored even in the descriptions of settings and recapping of previous events. The way she writes is just effortless, and something that you have to experience for yourself to fully appreciate.

Overall, I loved this trilogy, though I’m not sure I would read it again for a while purely because of the emotional turmoil (and length of the books). Thanks for reading my first review!

Assassin’s Apprentice - 10/10

Royal Assassin - 9/10

Assassin’s Quest - 8/10