Bantam Spectra, Copyright 1997, 757pages.
ISBN: 0-553-56569-9
Read: August 2010 (at age 32)
Re-read.
Originally read at about age 19.
If you haven’t read it:
This is the third book of the Farseer trilogy. It is essential to read these books in order,
as there are many references back to the first two books. It’s a story in three books, not three stories with the same characters.
From the back cover:
King
Shrewd is dead at the hands of his son Regal.
As is Fitz – or so his enemies and friends believe. But with the help of his allies and his beast
magic, he emerges from the grave, deeply scarred in body and soul. The kingdom also teeters toward ruin: Regal
has plundered and abandoned the capital, while the rightful heir, Prince
Verity, is lost to his mad quest – perhaps to death. Only Verity’s return – or the heir his
princess carries – can save the Six Duchies.
But
Fitz will not wait. Driven by loss and
bitter memories, he undertakes a quest: to kill Regal. The journey cast him into deep waters, as he
discovers wild currents of magic within him – currents that will either drown
him or make him something more than he was…
This description covers the early part of
the book – there’s a lot more in the book besides. The series hits a solid stopping point after
this book, although it does continue with the Tawny Man series.
If you’ve read it (spoilers!):
Excellent.
The character cast remains about the same as in the first two books of
the series, and they continue to grow and change in response to their histories.
Premise:
Good.
This book follows the first two – the premise is the same: save the
kingdom from the Outislanders, and Regal.
Setting:
Fair.
The world still seems small, despite three books in this setting. We really only see one city, (Tradeford,) one
large town, (Buckkeep,) and a bunch of small towns and villages. There’s the outline of a foreign power in the
Outislanders, but that’s pretty much it for the world. What was there was well-described, but it
still didn’t feel like a developed world.
The magic system – Skill and Wit - was very fluid. Since the main character didn’t really
understand it too much, there could be mystery in the system, and the reveals
felt organic. The magic certainly
demanded sacrifices in return for the power used, which helps to understand why
everyone isn’t using it all the time.
Plot:
Good.
The story arcs mostly close off nicely.
They don’t all happen at once, and they mostly end a little bit
differently than expected. The
characters, good guys and bad guys, all felt like they were doing their best in
their own ways – no forcing the plot along by having smart people do stupid
things.
Readability:
Good.
The tension in this book was a bit better paced than in Royal Assassin, spread out over more of
the book, and more ups and downs along the way.
The character voice didn’t get old for me – important in a first-person
narration.
Overall:
I thought that this was a very good series
the first time I read it, and it seems to have aged with me quite well. I was up until much too late twice this week,
lost in the story.
This book wraps up the main plot issues –
the red ship raiders, and the Regal situation.
There were some triumphs, but on the whole, the book was
bittersweet. The successes were there,
but there were always matching losses and tragedies to make the triumphs less
triumphant. There were no parades, no
shining moments of dramatic heroism. The
heroism was there, but it was more in the actuality of great actions – the
dirt, and the pain, and the perseverance rather than the romantic images. Nothing comes easy to any of the characters.
Rating: 4
Other Opinions:
Nice full-trilogy review.
Big fan, but with a negative review?
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