Book Review: Assassin's Fate by Robin Hobb
a beautiful farewell to fitz and the fool
Robin Hobb began the Realm of the Elderlings series in 1995 with Assassin’s Apprentice, a book about a young bastard child brought into a court full of intrigue. In Assassin’s Fate, 21 years later, the curtains close on that child — Fitzchivalry Farseer, bastard, prince, hero, assassin, warrior and father, finally reaches the end of his story. It’s not only a goodbye to Fitz but also to the Fool, his most beloved friend. It’s the end of an era, both for the readers and the characters in universe. Assassin’s Fate is the third book in the final Fitz trilogy, the 16th book in the Realm of the Elderlings series, and one of the best books I’ve ever read.
Summary: Bee Farseer continues to struggle against her captors on the way to Clerres, a land of horrors concealed by a beautiful exterior, and the experiences she goes through on her journey may turn her into the feared Destroyer that was foretold would bring an end to Clerres. Meanwhile, Fitz and his companions are also on their way there to take revenge on Bee’s name, unaware that she’s still alive and fighting. This is the closing chapter of Fitz’s long life, and characters from other parts of the series are brought along to take part in this final quest that will change the world for all of them.
I have lots of thoughts on this book and the way it wraps up the series. Mostly positive, with some personal nitpicks here and there. Let’s start with my complaints:
Lack of focus.
Robin Hobb’s pacing is not the best, and this is a problem for many of her books. The plot is rather simple, but it goes on many tangents and introduces more and more storylines that didn’t feel necessary to me and only made it go on for longer. Clearly, this was meant not only as the final Fitz book but the final Realm of the Elderlings book, so the author wanted to wrap up the stories of characters across her entire universe, and this took time away from what should be the core of the trilogy: Fitz, the Fool, and Bee. While Fitz and Bee do get good character arcs and lots of protagonism, the Fool, whom the trilogy is partially named after, has less significance here than he did in all his previous appearances since Assassin’s Quest. I have some mixed feelings about the way the Fool was handled, but my main issue is that he didn’t have enough focus here. Considering that Hobb is currently writing more books in the series, it’s frustrating that the finale of Fitz and the Fool's journey spends so much time on characters that could have been left for later books. Now, both these characters and the Fool got less than they deserved.
The ending.
Don’t get me wrong, it was beautiful. Without spoilers, I will say that the way Fitz and the Fool’s story ends has been foreshadowed for a really long time, and it made perfect sense for them. It’s a bittersweet ending, but if you came into this series expecting a happily ever after at the end, then you are reading the wrong book.
My issue isn’t their final fate, but how fast it comes. As I mentioned, Hobb’s pacing is not the best. Some things are too slow, and then suddenly the end of the book comes crashing down on you without time to process what’s happening. I would have liked to see more of certain characters coping with the situation, and there’s a Fool-shaped hole in the narrative towards the end that really bothers me. While the final moments of Fitz and the Fool are very touching and beautifully written, I wish we had more time at the end with the Fool. I feel like he should have been a PoV character during this trilogy, it’s a shame that we never got to peek into his inner psyche.
Okay let’s talk about the positives, because boy do I have feelings on this book.
The worldbuilding.
One of the things that keep the reader hooked in this series are the mysteries that surround the world. What happened to the dragons in the past? Why did they disappear, and what happened to the Elderling’s civilization? In a way, Realm of the Elderlings is a post-apocalyptic story, with characters like the Fool trying to put together the puzzle of what happened in the past, and in this book the puzzle is finally complete, creating a complex picture of this world’s history. The worldbuilding *is* the story. The plot and the themes of this book and this series as a whole can’t be separated from the lore of the world, which is what the best fantasy writers do — it’s not enough to put fantastical elements into your setting, these elements have to serve a function. By understanding the past and the way magic works, the characters are able to achieve their goals.
While the previous two Fitz trilogies focused on the Wit magic and the relationship between humans and the animals they are bonded to, the Wit takes a step back now and the Skill, the magic that links people’s minds, takes center stage. We learn a lot about the Skill and its uses in this book, expanding beyond the limits of what we had assumed this magic could do without breaking established rules. We also get some plausible answers to how the magic came about and what it really is, while leaving some details ambiguous. The magic system in Realm of the Elderlings manages to find a nice balance between being mysterious and being limited by rules, and it’s used as a tool for characterization and not just a plot device.
Bee Farseer.
Bee’s journey in these three books was filled with parallels with her father’s own life, but she’s always her own character. Her narration feels very distinctive and filled with personality, she’s less given to poetic language than Fitz and has a more direct thought process, probably thanks to Nighteyes’ influence and Molly’s raising. Something I’ve complained about in the past is that Molly never felt like a real person, and while the way she was written wasn’t perfect, the glimpses we get into Bee and Molly’s relationship are fascinating.
I can’t wait to see more of Bee in the future. In just three books, Hobb managed to craft a character almost as compelling as Fitz, with lots of potential for further development. Bee reminds me a lot of Arya Stark — little girls thrust into terrible circumstances who are forced to grow too fast. By the end of the book, she has done some terrifying things and become someone capable of defending herself, at a great price. Despite that, her kindness and care for others still shine through in a lot of moments.
It’s all about the Cycles, baby.
No one is free from fate. One of the main themes in the series is that history always repeats itself, and the world is trapped in an endless cycle that no one can escape from. Knowing what happened in the past helps understand the present and predict the future. Like Bee says, the destruction that her and her father brought to Clerres may be seen as justice now, but someday the people of that region may look for revenge. Just like it happened before, it will happen again. You can’t break the cycle, only make slight changes.
Vengeance took no account of innocence or right. It was the chain that bound horrific events together, that decreed that one awful act must beget another worse one that would lead to yet a third. It came to me, slowly, that this chain would never end.
It makes you go a little insane. If you are a fan of parallels, this series and this book in especific are perfect for you. Everything that started on Assassin’s Apprentince comes full circle on this book.
Farewell, Fitz.
Cue the tears.
I can’t talk about him without going into some spoilers so beware.
Fitzchivalry Farseer has come a long way since the first book. He's a man in his sixties, he has gone through many adventures, and he’s ready to put an end to this story. This is him passing the torch to his daughter. While I would have loved to read his final moments from his perspective, it makes perfect thematic sense that the final chapter of this story is told from Bee’s perspective and not his. His last moments are spent narrating his life, retelling the story he has already told us to his daughter, and granting her the role of narrator. He was both the hero and the storyteller, and this was the story of a lifetime. He has outlived many of the characters from the first trilogy, and he has seen more of this world than anyone else. It’s over now, and he can finally rest.
And what a better way for him to go than by finally becoming one being with his truest soulmates, his wolf and his Beloved.
We can argue to hell and back about the queer subtext in this series, but the truth of the matter is that, at the end of it all, Fitz loved the Fool. And that love has no limits. They are one being now and forever. Whatever Robin Hobb says outside the text can’t erase that.
His cracked lips moved.
Beloved.
He couldn't say the word, but I knew it.
And so did his Fool.
It made me cry like a bitch.
Fitzchivalry Farseer is, genuinely, my favorite character in anything. His development across the series is beautiful and painfully realistic — he has gone a long way to recover from trauma, he has made lots of mistakes, and there are things that never stop hurting him, but he also finds joy and love in his life. He gets to leave surrounded by his loved ones, and even if I wish he had more time to spend with Bee, I’m happy with how he went. His ending was foreshadowed as far back as Assassin’s Quest, and it was the only one that made sense for him. Finally, he has carved his Stone Wolf, and him and the two parts of his sould, Nighteyes and the Fool, get to be whole.
And so the Wolf of the West rose from the stone! And so he will rise again if ever the folk of the Six Duchies call to him in need.
In my opinion, Realm of the Elderlings is one of the best fantasy series ever written. The universe that Robin Hobb has created over the decades is incredibly complex and realistic, filled with wonder and horror to match. But by far, the thing that sets Hobb apart from other writers is her attention to character. Fitzchivalry Farseer is a great protagonist that I fell more and more in love with over time. Every book that focused on him made him more interesting and added more layers to his character. It’s hard for me to say goodbye to Fitz in a way that few books have accomplished. I have seen him suffer, die, be reborn, grow old, go on adventures, find love and joy, and suffer some more. I love him too much. So it’s no surprise that this book is a perfect 5/5 for me, even with my nitpicks. I know rationally that there are some flaws in the story, but emotionally, this was an experience that no other book will be able to replicate. 16 books is a big commitment, but if you enjoy fantasy, I can’t recommend this series more.