A couple of months ago I wrote about the first instalment in the Farseer Trilogy, Assassin’s Apprentice, and thought the universe set up by Robin Hobb was intriguing. It left me wanting for more. The first book felt like a gigantic introduction to a new world where we learn about its geography, its political realities, its magic system, etc.

FitzChivalry, the main protagonist and narrator, is introduced in that first book as the bastard (i.e. born outside of marriage) son of the prince, Chivalry. As such, he is taken under the wing of the stable master of Buckkeep, a man called Burrich. As he gets older, he discovers he has the Wit, the ability to communicate with certain animals. As he gets older, he is trained by the Royal Assassin, Chade, the brother of King Shrewd. His father, the prince, dies and Fitz swears allegiance to the King as an assassin. Meanwhile, the Kingdom of the Six Duchies is under constant attacks from an outside force called the Red Ship Raiders. During a mission for the King, Fitz is poisoned and comes back to the keep with an important sickness. Anyone who’s read the book might yell at me because I omitted a gazillion details, but let’s still get into the second instalment of the trilogy.

In Royal Assassin, Fitz is still dealing with his sickness in Buckkeep and discovers that Molly, a friend he made when he was a young boy, is now living in the castle. He gets closer and closer to her and they try to keep their relationship a secret. In secret, he rekindles his use of the Wit with a wolf cub that has been captured. All the while, King Shrewd is dealing with a mysterious illness and is therefore unable to fulfill his duties as the leader. The King-in-Waiting, Verity, is trying is hardest to keep the kingdom safe from the constant onslaught of Red Ship Raiders. Fitz is taking on more responsibilities as a King’s man, trying to give a hand wherever he can, whether it’s for prince Verity, Queen-in-Waiting Kettricken, his father’s widow, Patience, Chade or Burrich. And of course there is prince Regal, who has already made an attempt on Fitz’s life in the previous book, still lurking behind the scenes, clearly setting up something. That’s all I’ll say without spoiling the main plot points of the book!

There is a lot more going on in this second book. Now that the reader is familiar with the world and its main characters, the instability we felt at the end of the first book takes shape. There is quite a lot more action, but it wouldn’t be accurate to describe it as “action-packed”. A lot of it is relationships between the characters, lengthy and sometimes heavy discussions, often accompanied by small but significant gestures. Fitz is clearly dealing with a lot, juggling his various responsibilities and loyalties towards multiple people in the Keep – and the wolf cub. It’s intense in a way, because there is no respite for him and we as readers feel his burden and how stuck he sometimes feels tugged from different directions. I feel like the author does a very good job making him feel human and flawed, and he often manages to surprise us.

It’s still a long book, like the first was. The old edition I have is about 675 pages long, written tiny with nearly no margins. If you need constant action to keep yourself engaged, this might not be for you. At times I felt like it needed a jolt of action, but even then the story and Fitz’s development kept me engaged throughout. I have the third instalment of the trilogy, Assassin’s Quest, currently on my nightstand and I’m anxious to see how this young man’s story will end.