Robin Hobb: Assassin's Quest (1997)

Edition: Voyager, 1997
Review number: 202

Why is it that publishers' blurbs always describe third volumes of trilogies as "triumphant"? The standard end of a fantasy trilogy is of course the triumph of good over evil, with the heroes and heroines going on to fairy-tale rewards (there is even a passage in David Eddings' Belgariad giving a justification of this ending in terms of the destiny ruling that fictional world rewarding those who have helped it).

There is a triumph of good over evil in Assassin's Quest, but it is far more ambiguous than is usual in a fantasy trilogy, in keeping with the generally dark tone of this series. This is often the case in the better fantasy series, right back to Lord of the Rings. The good are seen to be morally questionable, the bad capable of redemption or justified in their actions; the fairy-tale endings are either bitter or fail to materialise.

The book begins with the mind of the assassin Fitz being restored to his dead body from that of the wolf he was bonded to through the Wit. He sets out to kill the usurping king Regal in his palace at Tradeford, halfway across the country; Regal is responsible for the imprisonment and disfiguring torture that Fitz only escaped by his apparent death. But just when he has Regal almost in his grasp, his prince Verity calls to him from far off, beyond the Mountains; it is a call that uses the Skill they share to make it impossible to disobey, a command imprinted on his mind.

The word "triumphant" could perhaps only be applied to the standard of writing; Hobb does not abandon her bleak vision to cater to the standard selling points of the fantasy genre.

Robin Hobb: Royal Assassin (1996)

Edition: Voyager, 1996

Review number: 169  

Royal Assassin is the second of Hobb's Farseer trilogy, and it is a novel which very definitely points the way to part three. At its beginning, the situation is difficult for the Six Duchies and for Fitz, the illegitimate royal prince who is the hero of the series. The kingdom is being invaded by the Outislanders, who turn many of its subjects into the Forged (virtually mindless beings who live only to satisfy their desires, whatever the cost to any others). The crown prince Verity, recently married, is forced to neglect his new queen to try and save his kingdom; the king, Shrewd, is incapacitated by a terminal illness. Verity also has to defend himself against the machinations of his half-brother, Regal, who wants power but lacks the morality and indeed the intelligence to use it for the good of the kingdom. It is through working against his plotting that Fitz has already fallen victim to a poison Regal administered, one which if it does not kill can ruin its victim's health for life. In addition, he willingly gave up much of his strength telepathically, to help Verity stave off a mental attact from a Skillmaster loyal to Regal rather than the kingdom. (Magic in this series is basically divided into two branches, the Skill, which is telepathic contact between humans, and the Wit, a bond between man and animal considered unnatural.)

This is the situation at the beginning of Royal Assassin, and the book consists of Hobb thinking up ways in which it can get worse (with considerable inventiveness). A desire for a happy ending - which is a major reason why people read genre fiction, where they are almost guaranteed - impels the reader to move on to part three. (I suspect that in this case the desire may be disappointed.) Basically, Royal Assassin is well written and involving, but distinctly depressing.

Robin Hobb: Assassin's Apprentice (1995)

Edition: HarperCollins, 1995
Review number: 73

This is the first of Hobb's Farseer fantasy trilogy, set in the Six Duchies, a confederation ruled by a king who has a name supposedly related to his character. (From the days when they were truly appropriate the usage has degenerated so that the royal family are given propitious names at birth, such as Verity, Regal and Patience.)

The main character has no real name, so far as he knows; he is the bastard son of the "King-in-Waiting" (crown prince) Chivalry, and is known as Fitz or Boy. The book tells his life story from the age of five or so to his mid teens.

After a few years in the stables, he is tutored by the king's assassin, Chade, and begins to take part in the tortuous politics of the realm. The Six Duchies are undergoing a major crisis, being raided by Viking-like marauders who "Forge" their victims, magically making them lose all sense of community so they attack their kinsfolk, and rob and attack all they come into contact with. This is perhaps a fairly unsubtle parable about the dehumanising aspects of modern life.

As fantasy books go, it is not particularly original; there are plenty of series which begin with the adolescence of the main character (a prominent example is David Eddings' Pawn of Prophecy). The Six Duchies are reasonably convincing and the book is entertaining enough that I'm going to look for the rest of the trilogy in the local library.