Assassin's Quest

Starred review from April 1, 1996
Continuing in the tradition of her first book (Assassin's Apprentice) Hobb propels the Farseer saga into its second installment with irresistible plotting and memorable characters. Fitz is a trained assassin in the service of King Shrewd and also the king's illegitimate grandson. He is sworn to protect heir to the throne Prince Verity and Verity's new bride, but his task is complicated by an invasion of vicious barbarians who turn helpless captives into zombie-like Forged Ones. The home front is no safer, with an ailing King and usurpers to the throne waiting in the wings. Romance, sibling rivalry, battlefield exploits, betrayal, political intrigue and telepathic magic insure that there's never a dull moment in the Kingdom of the Six Duchies. Through deft description and characterizations, Hobb manages to create a kingdom that looks like a fairy tale but feels like the real world--which makes it almost impossible not to become immersed in Hobb's fantasy epic. The ending clamors for a sequel-and hopefully sooner, than later.

Starred review from March 3, 1997
With shimmering language and the alluring garb of Faerie, Hobb concludes his Farseer trilogy with this immense coming-of-age novel. Assassin and Royal Bastard FitzChivalry-having in Royal Assassin taken poison to escape torture at the hands of the usurper Regal, the brother of FitzChivalry's lost King Verity-is now reborn through his telepathic bond to Nighteyes, the wolf. Together, man and wolf set out to find Verity, who has vanished into the wilds in search of the legendary Elderlings to save his land from the barbaric Red Ship raiders. Fitz and Nighteyes battle fearsome enemies as they travel the old magical Skill Road toward the quarry where Verity desperately struggles to carve a massive dragon out of living rock. Gradually, Fitz's trials strip him of everything and everyone he loves and shatter every illusion he cherishes about himself. Hobb's grandest creation, Nighteyes, leads a splendidly realized supporting cast that plays out its roles against ever-changing, never-cloying landscapes of genuine wonder. But all the wonder in this make-believe world can't cloak the bittersweet lesson at the story's heart: that the pursuit of truth demands a price in loneliness only a few can or will pay.