Royal Assassin (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 2) [Kindle Edition]

When I came to the end of this book I ran (and I mean RAN) to my local bookstore to lay my hands on the final instalment of the story of Fitz, the Fool, Molly, Chade, Verity and each and every one of the many more characters brilliantly brought to life by Hobb. I ran not only because it was 4.40pm, the bookstore would be closing and I was in imminent danger of waiting days, or maybe even weeks to discover all that would follow in this utterly engaging character driven and magical, fantasy, adventure drama, but also because even minutes being left in the dark after the cliff-hanger that brings to a close 'Royal Assassin' seemed like a fate worse than death.

So, whatever you do, don't buy 'Royal Assassin' without also purchasing 'Assassin's Quest', or at least having a darn good contingency plan should you find yourself at the end of this book without the conclusion to the trilogy...you've been warned! I only wish I was being clever and exaggerating, but it's the absolute truth- the finale is breath-taking, so ignore my advice at your peril dear readers!!

Most of all, the characters are compelling, with the strong King-in-Waiting Verity, a good man on the verge of despair, the implacable Burrich and so on. All the characters seem to have layers, few of the major characters - with the possible exception of Prince Regal. Fitz, the central character is in the true mold of a modern Fantasy hero, a normal person forced into high events and is throughout a character it is easy to sympathise with.

The book touches on many issues - love, honour, duty, betrayal - and deals well with them, without being superficial or trite.

The only major gripe in this otherwise excellent novel is the slight feeling of smallness, of a very limited world. This is not a major problem, however, as the world Robin Hobb has created is rich enough.

Sure, some of the characters can be frustrating at times - just like people are in real life! And I found myself feeling for the Fool, whose wit at times is quite brilliant.

The plot twists and turns, with plenty of intrigue and surprises around each corner. And yes, you know *the* tragedy is coming - it's unavoidable and there's nothing you can do about it. But that just makes it even more painful in some ways, and adds to the depth of the narrative.

Overall then, I found it an excellent and gripping story - well recommended by this reader.