Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #726 in Books
• Published on: 1997-03-03
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 768 pages

Synopsis
The second volume in Robin Hobb's internationally bestselling Farseer series, now reissued in gorgeous new livery. Fitz dreams of Red-Ship Raiders sacking a coastal village, leaving not a single man, woman or child alive. Tortured by this terrible vision he returns to the Six Duchies court where all is far from well. King Shrewd has been struck down by a mysterious illness and King-in-waiting, Verity, spends all his time attempting to conjure storms to confuse and destroy the Red-Ship Raiders. And when he leaves on an insane mission to seek out the mystical Elderings, Fitz is left alone and friendless but for the wolf Nighteyes and the King's Fool with his cryptic prophesies.

Customer Reviews

It the book Fitz, read it
The Farseer Trilogy has so far proved that Robin Hobb is a writer who knows what her readers want ... and delivers! The storyline, characters and intrigue develop and just leave you wanting more. I can't wait to read book 3!!

The best book of the series
This is a great book where Fitz (the hero of the series) becomes a man. After surviving the trouble of childhod in the royal court, Fitz starts to take shape as one of the most charismatic characters in modern fantasy fiction. The rudderless child of the previous book becomes a princeling and the pride you feel for him is a testament to the authors skill in storytelling.

Robin Hobb has a knack of treating her characters that makes you burn with the injustice that life has thrown at them; from the larger issues to the petty everyday tormenting of those in power against the powerless while still giving them the nobility to bear this treatment without resorting to cheap literary tricks.

The only downside is that the bad/evil characters never get the same emotional rounding given to the good characters, so they all end up sounding and feeling like pantomime villans.

The trials and tribulations of the Fitz
Book 2 of the Farseer trilogy continues Fitz's life of trouble and strife, pain and suffering, torment and injustice. It's a great tribute to Robin Hobb's writing and story telling skills that she can make you want to read a tale that's so full of loss and misery. The trick is that her characters are alive, with depth of personality. The villains are irredeemably wicked so that the reader is frustrated with impotence at not being able to get in there and sort them out, give them what they deserve. But the heroes are far from perfect: they have foibles and faults that we can all relate to and forgive, their intentions are good but they make mistakes, misunderstand situations, get their priorities wrong, go off on ego trips - just as most of us would in their situation. Their mistakes often have dire consequences and they have to pay dearly when that happens. Fitz is young and impulsive and he sometimes rails against the constraints his elders place upon him. His rebellious spirit makes it difficult for his mentors and allies to plot a straight course through the political mire. Where there was a single path that led to possible disaster, there are now multiple possibilities. As The Fool foresaw, Fitz generates alternatives.

The characters in this trilogy have invaded my sleep, in more ways than one. The books keep me awake far into the early hours, reading when I should be sleeping and then, when I do eventually turn out the light, the world of the Farseers sidles into my dreams. Stories don't get much more real and powerful than that. I recommend these books to anyone who enjoys fantasy - but with one proviso: don't expect a happy ending.