Assassin's Fate

Fitz and the Fool, Book 3

By: Robin Hobb

Narrated by: Avita Jay, David Thorpe

Length: 45 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

The much-anticipated final conclusion to the Fitz and The Fool trilogy.

Prince FitzChivalry Farseer’s daughter Bee was violently abducted from Withywoods by Servants of the Four in their search for the Unexpected Son, foretold to wield great power. With Fitz in pursuit, the Servants fled through a Skill-pillar, leaving no trace. It seems certain that they and their young hostage have perished in the Skill-river.

Clerres, where White Prophets were trained by the Servants to set the world on a better path, has been corrupted by greed. Fitz is determined to reach the city and take vengeance on the Four, not only for the loss of Bee but also for their torture of the Fool. Accompanied by FitzVigilant, son of the assassin Chade, Chade’s protégé Spark and the stableboy Perseverance, Bee's only friend, their journey will take them from the Elderling city of Kelsingra, down the perilous Rain Wild River, and on to the Pirate Isles.

Their mission for revenge will become a voyage of discovery, as well as of reunions, transformations and heartrending shocks. Startling answers to old mysteries are revealed. What became of the liveships Paragon and Vivacia and their crews? What is the origin of the Others and their eerie beach? How are liveships and dragons connected?

But Fitz and his followers are not the only ones with a deadly grudge against the Four. An ancient wrong will bring them unlikely and dangerous allies in their quest. And if the corrupt society of Clerres is to be brought down, Fitz and the Fool will have to make a series of profound and fateful sacrifices.

ASSASSIN’S FATE is a magnificent tour de force and with it Robin Hobb demonstrates yet again that she is the reigning queen of epic fantasy.

©2017 Robin Hobb (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

‘Fantasy as it ought to be written . . . Hobb’s books are like diamonds in a sea of zircons’ George R.R. Martin

'Hobb is superb, spinning wonderful characters and plots from pure imagination' Conn Iggulden

‘Robin Hobb’s secret is not just the detail with which she depicts the Six Duchies world she has explored over 20 years . . . the feelings of anguish, ambiguity, fear and failure are as familiar as those in a novel by Jonathan Franzen’ Independent

‘A little slice of heaven’ Guardian

'Hobb is one of the great modern fantasy writers… what makes her novels as addictive as morphine is not just their imaginative brilliance but the way her characters are compromised and manipulated by politics' The Times

Simply amazing

What an ending to a great story. I feared that I would not be satisfied but I was wrong. It all came together! Chapter 48 was very emotional couldn't stop crying 😭, bittersweet though. Thank you Robin Hobb, you're legendary!!!

Absolutely fantastic

Just as good as all the other Realm of the Elderling books. Can't get any better than this. I rarely reread books, but theses I will.

wonderful story and characters

A long journey through the books but never a dull moment, sorry it had to end.

Great book spoiled by reader

Let me be clear, Avita Jay is fabulous as a reader for this book, telling the story from the perspective of Bee and other characters in her part f the story. The reader for books 10 and 11 for the voice of Fitz Chivalry was Lee Maxwell-Simpson who personified that character for me and who read with empathy and intelligence for that and all the other characters. I could listen t his reading all day and am only sorry he does not seem to have read more books as I would probably buy them for that reason alone. I am particularly disappointed by the reader of book 12, this one, who is David Thorpe. I don't think Mr Thorpe ever bothered to listen to any of the previous books in this series. He is poor at different voices and it is often difficult to tell who is speaking. He has a bombastic and flat manner of speaking turning most of the characters into annoyingly loud boors. Worse when he gives the reading any inflection it is inaccurate and often wrong and he frequently emphasises the wrong words. He is reading a book, somewhat poorly, rather than embodying the characters. The most comical and annoying is his reference to the "LIV" ships. No Mr Thorpe they are LIVE ships it is not a verb it is a noun! I have waited so long for this book and I really want to know the story but my pleasure in it has been diminished by his poor rendition. If I was Robin Hobb I would not be happy about it at all.

So brilliantly written, a masterpiece. 5 stars is not enough!

I completely and utterly enjoyed Assassin's Fate and all of the other books in Fitz and Fool's journey. This is an enthralling masterpiece which I did not want to end ( I cried when it did).
5 stars is given out freely these days. I wish their was something else for books this wonderful!
David Thorpe's Narration was no where as good as Lee Maxwell- Simpson's. It was disappointing to have the change in narrator. Particularly grating was the the liveships being called "Liv" ships.
My thanks to Robin Hobb for this carefully crafted work of art.
The ending leaves one feeling that another adventure is just beginning. I do SO hope that it is!!!

David Thorpe huge thumbs DOWN

I cannot believe that narrators can be hired and not know a story, not listen to how previous books in the SAME series have been narrated, and not instructed in PRONUNCIATION.
I am just about screaming at him every time he so ridiculously pronounces LIVEship as LIVship. How is it possible anyone could do this? Now you must understand that the whole concept of liveships is one of the absolute cores of nearly every series written by Robin Hobb, so to have a narrator mispronounce a CORE is so infuriating I just can't believe it could be allowed to happen.

The other many mispronunciations are annoying, but I've managed to suck it up, but livship is just beyond ridiculous and not acceptable. I am one avid Robin Hobb fan who has purchased every single book, both paperback and audiobook and is suddenly thrown this horror on the very last book. UGH shame on you audible.

Narrator did his best to try and ruin it!

If you could sum up Assassin's Fate in three words, what would they be?

Loved it.

How could the performance have been better?

I wish the same male narrator had been used. David Thorpe did his best to ruin it all, trivialising characters and overdramatising, at times shouting, he just made it all so wrong. His pronunciation was appalling - Live ships became liv ships, Per became pear and there were others, I was really so disappointed in his narration.

Feels like I’m being shouted at. Awful reader.

The first 2 books of the series were read so well and then a change of the male reader for the last book. Not enjoyable. Having to take a break all the time as it’s not easy to listen to. Female reader is great.