Assassin's Quest by Robin Hobb

It feels really good to be able to get through two or three books at once again. Near the end of this month, Spring semester starts and I know I won't have time again until it's over so I'm trying to get in as many as I can.

Thus we come to the conclusion of the Farseer trilogy.

Having escaped death's clutches once more, FitzChivalry Farseer is a wreck of both body and mind. He slowly and reluctantly pieces himself together to discover that Regal has declared himself king and abandoned the coastal duchies to the Red Ships in favor of moving the keep to the soft, inner lands of his birth. Fitz knows no other desire but to assassinate Regal in retribution but the king is protected by his coterie of Skilled men who would love nothing more than to drain the strength from Fitz. Thwarted at the last by Verity's Skilled command, Fitz journeys instead past the Mountain kingdom where the deposed Queen Kettricken has fled with The Fool, jester to Verity's father, King Shrewd, to the wild lands beyond in search of the rightful King. The journey will stretch Fitz's relationships to their breaking point.

The first time I read this series, I was not prepared for where this book ended up. I remember feeling a little taken aback, like I had somehow been misled but those were really just my preconceptions about fantasy based on the books I had previously read. I wasn't ready for the true scope of this novel, which remains one of the most imaginative and well-realized books I have ever read. Going back now after over a decade I can appreciate much more fully the audacity required to craft this narrative.

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