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Photo Courtesy of Will Pridham

“Anybody can write a three-volume novel. It merely requires a complete ignorance of both life and literature.” - Oscar Wilde

“This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force.” - Dorothy Parker

Misleading Quotations

Happily neither of these quotations apply to the second book in the Farseer Trilogy, which I can say with authority (having read the first) is at least one-third excellent. Judging from how the second one, Royal Assassin, is going I fully expect this trend to continue through to the end of the series.

Literature vs. Entertainment

I chose the first quotation because I am often struck by the general disdain shown by some who denounce any work that is not deemed 'literature' or a literary novel to be somehow less worthy of one's attention. This is absolute bullcrap. Literary novels have their place, and I've read a few, but I the whole experience of reading one is completely different from settling in with a popular novel. Okay, so if I want to be intellectually challenged or provoked into philosophising about the state of the nation fine, but most of the time I'm quite happy to just be entertained. I'd even go so far as to say that the primary goal of any novel, popular or literary, is to entertain through storytelling. All other considerations, grandness of theme, style and genre are all secondary. When I first started writing I had high-brow aspirations, now I just want to entertain. This is because I realised that I had to enjoy what I was writing otherwise there was no point to it and all all likelyhood no-one would ever want to read it. I'm a fantasy-fan and proud of it.

So, What About Book One?

I loved the last book, the climax was so exciting and the denouement tied everything up very nicely in a succinct single chapter, which is the best way to do it in my opinion.
Spoiler Alert! If you haven't read Assassin's Apprentice then I'm just about to give away some things about the ending so skip to the next section now!
Everything in AA was wrapped up nicely and the characterisations were realistic and heartfelt. I really cared about the people, especially FitzChivalary and Verity, the King-In-Waiting (Fitz's uncle). I now hate Verity's younger half-brother Regal (in a good way) but he is not just a wooden villian or stock antagonist, his opposition to both Fitz and Verity grows realistically and is born out of a desire for power but, not only that. He also has a sense of injustice, he believes that he should be king. As Verity's half-brother, they share only a father, King Shrewd. It seems that Regal's late mother had a lot to do with his plotting against Verity, Fitz and anyone else of the Farseer line who stands in his way. After comprising Fitz on a visit to a nearby court, by revealing him as an assassin, he goes on to accuse him of murder and poison him. When we rejoin Fitz in Book Two, little time has passed and he is still suffering the long-term ill-effects of the poison.

The Wit & The Skill

It seems to the reader that Fitz is naturally adept at both the Skill and the Wit, the only two forms of magic really explored in the books so far, although other magicks have been mentioned. The only trouble is that Fitz does not seems to believe in himself. He knows he is strong with The Wit but tries not to indulge because of the social taboo's associated with sharing the minds of beasts. The Skill and The Wit seem to be two sides of the same coin, one lets one into the human mind, giving the ability to telepathically alter perceptions and emotions (unlimited by distance), the other is a similar link that allows one to perceive the minds of beasts. To Fitz, The Wit is just another sense, like hearing or smell, one that he likewise can't switch off. These two forms of magic are refreshingly original and have much potential. I have an expectation that Fitz may be the one to bring The Wit into the mainstream and dispell all the old taboos, which I believe would be a positive arc for the world that Robin Hobb has so artfully created.

Fantasy Brick

So perhaps you're wondering why I chose that second quote. Well, even in the paperback form I'm reading, Royal Assassin could cause some serious damage if thrown across a room. At 752 pages it's quite a bit longer than the first book. This is a good thing because no-one wants a good book to end.