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Reactions from the Realm: Assassin’s Fate, Chapters 23 – 34

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Burn Baby Burn

***Spoilers for The Fitz and the Fool Trilogy through chapter 34 of Assassin’s Fate. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, The Tawny Man Trilogy, and The Rain Wilds Chronicles are fair game, too.***

One quarter of Assassin’s Fate remains. Just one quarter of one sixteenth left in our entire journey.

And shit is going down.

The good news: Bee has set fire to Clerres and reunited with Fitz and company.

The bad news: It seems Vindeliar has knocked back a heavy dose of serpent spit and is exerting his control in the chaos to escape the inferno and reclaim Bee.

So we leave off with Fitz and Lant being Skillmatized to deliver Bee to Vindeliar and the Servants. Only Bee and Perseverance – Chekhov’s “impervious to Skill and dragons” – see through the ruse. And folks, this is Robin Hobb, so when we end on this dazed utterance from Fitz…

“All is well. We are safe now,”

…you know we are in danger.

It’s a dramatic place to pause, but it also feels like the right moment to take a breath, reflect on the setup, and then power through to the end 🥺.

Let’s get into it.

This entire trilogy, it has felt like all roads were leading to one place, and we have finally arrived: Clerres.

That’s really what this section is about: everyone finally converging on Clerres and setting the stage for whatever destiny awaits them there.

And Clerres is quite the final setpiece. It’s a bad time dressed up as a good time. A shiny house of cards hiding horrors beyond its gleaming halls.

Bee arrives first, and we get acquainted with the Four: Clerres’ creepy ass rulers.

Robin wastes no time bringing us up to speed on their brutality, as they sentence Dwalia to a horrifying forty lashes for her failures and losses on the quest for the unexpected son.

It’s an interesting scene, because we – like Bee – have been waiting to see Dwalia get her comeuppance. But even directed at Dwalia, that level of savagery is difficult to stomach. And we aren’t spared the gory details.

It’s gruesome, but it effectively clues us all in on what they are capable of. No one should feel safe or comfortable.

I’ve talked before about Robin Hobb’s gift for revisiting themes without ever feeling repetitive. And here once again I can’t help but think of the Ilistore and the eeriness of her ice palace on Aslevjal. Which makes sense. Illistore is of this ilk, from Clerres. The connective tissue helps make this new location feel instantly part of our established world.

So, we’re here. Clerres is queer. (It’s ok to use “queer” in the non-identity sense of the word, right?) And all that’s left is for Robin to do what Robin does best: unleash Fitz on a mission and let all hell break loose.

First up…

A New Assassin’s Apprentice? Aka Bee Stings…

Step aside, Fitz. There’s a new killer in the lineage. Bee steps into her role as the Destroyer – catchy! – not once, here, but twice.

First, she gets her revenge in a harrowing sequence in which Symphe smuggles her out of her cell, taking her to the dungeon where Dwalia and Vindeliar reside. Some spilled serpent spit elevates Bee’s capital s Skills, and allows her to mind command Dwalia to die:

“I spoke my word softly. ‘Die.’
And she did.”

Gnarly!

She also manages to take out Symphe, but makes a critical error leaving Vindeliar clinging to life.

So close. Again.

But Bee’s not done yet. As Vindeliar works to convince the remaining three head honchos that Bee is the killer, and needs to be killed, she realizes it’s now or never to make her move.

And her move is to burn Clerres to the ground.

This of course occurs at the exact time that Fitz is penetrating the stronghold. Vindeliar has received even more serpent spit and we seem to be headed for a battle of mind magic might.

Per, of course, saves the fucking day, first by pulling Bee from the smoky havoc, and now it appears his complete imperviousness to the dragon magic/Skill is going to be critical.

We finally have our Bee and Fitz reunion, but it’s amid so much burning chaos there is no time for any emotional relief or enjoyment.

And that’s where we leave off. The world is burning. The chapters are dwindling. The end is upon us.

Musings!

An Old Friend Returns

Prillkop’s back!

Bee conveniently gets tossed in a cell (and frankly, of all the imprisonment options Clerres has to offer, this one seems… not the worst) right next to our old friend Prillkop.

I really enjoyed Bee’s mystery cell neighbor talking to her, and the slow realization that it’s Prillkop on the other side of the wall.

I’m honestly not especially invested in his fate – he’s had a good run – and if anything, him slowing the gang down because they now feel compelled to rescue him too is kind of annoying.

But it was nice to have a familiar friend there for Bee in her moment of need. She might not have been able to fully trust him, but at least we knew he was on the good guys’ side.

It’s a small comfort. And at this point, we will take whatever comfort we can get.

Fool Goes Rogue

The plan to rescue Bee from Clerres is already about as shit as can be. And then the Fool drugs Fitz and Spark and sneaks off in the night on his own.

This was a great little subversion as, let’s be honest, this is exactly the sort of thing you’d expect Fitz to pull. (In fact, the whole Bee rescue mission began with Fitz drugging everyone and slipping away under the cover of night.).

In that sense, it only reinforces how they are one and the same. How mad can Fitz be when, given the chance, he would have done the same thing?

That said, it also feels especially foolhardy given, well… everything.

So the Fool reaches the cell block where Bee and Prillkop are imprisoned… and is immediately beaten and captured.

Round and round we go.

I love the Fool. I do. But tending him can be rather exhausting at times. Particularly this trilogy. 🫠

I’m going to need him to stay out of the way for approximately five minutes and let Fitz handle this one.

Motley!

I knew this bird was important.

And she shows up huge here. When all hope feels lost after Symphe’s death bars the entrance to Clerres, Per has the bright idea to send Motley on a Bee scouting mission.

Motley, of course, delivers. Not only does she confirm Bee is alive inside Clerres, she returns with the message that becomes the foundation for Plan B:

“A way out is a way in.”

But even before that critical bit of intel, Motley’s return becomes the tiny beacon of hope that pulls Fitz back from the edge of despair:

“I’d lost. I’d lost everything. I tried to think where it had all gone so wrong, and the answer was that it had begun with every decision I’d ever made, from the time I first said yes to Chade.
And then Per said, ‘Here she comes!’”

She might not be a Wit partner, but I am so glad we have an animal companion playing a meaningful role down the stretch.

It just wouldn’t feel like Fitz – or RotE- without one.

I love that, for essentially the entirety of our RotE experience, Fitz has been wading through metaphorical shit.

And now Robin brings his suffering full circle by making him wade through literal shit in order to reach Clerres. I suppose the only consolation is that he wasn’t alone on this particularly foul journey.

So yes, in order to infiltrate Clerres, the gang is forced to enter through the refuse outlet at low tide. It’s every bit as disgusting as it sounds. But this is Fitz on a mission, so there is nothing that will stop him.

I also love what this sequence says about Fitz as a leader.

His companions all have their own reasons for joining this quest, but at the end of the day, they are following him. Fitz has never thought of himself as a leader, yet he can’t avoid becoming head of the pack. He doesn’t need to command people, his quiet determination to get shit done sets the example.

He would never ask someone to do something he wouldn’t do himself. In fact, he’d prefer never to ask anything of anyone.

So despite his desire to lone wolf it at times, the pack follows.

Even if that means wading through shit and dead bodies.

One really beautiful, quiet moment.

As Bee uses her last remaining mementos of Molly – the beeswax candles she’s managed to carry with her all this way – to set fire to the Clerres records:

“’Goodbye, Mother,’ I said softly and set her last candle down on an oily scroll.”

Robin never moves on too quickly. She always finds ways to honor those who are gone while reminding us how deeply they continue to shape the story.

It’s such a moving line. In the middle of all the chaos and destruction, it tethers us to the little girl Bee was, carrying a piece of her beloved mother to the very end.

It’s been so lovely having the shadow of Nighteyes with Bee throughout her ordeal.

Really, any additional time with Nighteyes, even in spirit form, is a gift.

So I especially loved this mental reunion:

My brother. Where are we going?
More welcome than cool air or fresh water was the touch of Nighteyes on my mind. I felt my spirits lift and suddenly I knew now that everything would be fine.
Where have you been? I cried out to him. Why did you abandon me?
I was with the cub.

Nighteyes hasn’t abandoned Fitz. He’s simply gone where he was most needed within the pack. And exactly where Fitz would have wanted him.

And once again, we find ourselves back to one of the central ideas of this series: pack.

Who belongs to your pack? What do you owe them? What will you sacrifice for them?

It feels like those questions are becoming more and more central as we race toward the end. Not just for Fitz and the people he loves, but for the liveships, the Trader families, and really everyone converging on Clerres.

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Perseverance is such a real one.

And it’s not just me who feels that way. I loved this observation from Fitz as Perseverance continues to prove himself the ultimate ride-or-die:

“I had never done anything to deserve such a lad.”

🥹

Chekhov’s silver tube?

Ok, I know I’m leaning pretty hard on the whole “Chekhov’s ___” bit. But that’s only because we’ve finally reached the point where all the hints Robin has been laying along the way are ready to come into play.

We’ve got the fire brick. Chade’s explosives. Per’s Skill resistance. And on and on.

But perhaps the most intriguing setup of all is the pair of silver tubes Rapskal gifted Fitz back in Kelsingra.

At the moment, the Fool is in possession of one and Fitz has the other.

And they are about to square off against a serpent spit-enhanced mind controller.

I have a feeling we are going to see Fitz pull a Verity and become one with the silver.

The idea that I may never get to see Fitz hold his granddaughter on the page makes me want to cry.

But we do get this incredibly touching moment as Fitz learns through the Skill that Nettle has given birth to a baby girl, Hope.

“Hello, Grandfather!
For a moment Dutiful’s greeting made no sense. Then it did. The child is born?
Nettle’s Skilling was steady but her exhaustion leaked through. A girl. Queen Elliania is delighted. She has asked for the privilege of naming her. Riddle and I agreed. Hope. Her name is Hope.“

I want to have hope. But I’d like to think that, by this point in the series, I’ve gained at least a little wisdom.

The brief interaction with everyone back at Buckkeep – especially Thick – is just devastatingly sweet.

“I cannot be there, Thick, old friend, so perhaps you will set the menu to celebrate my grandchild! And eat my share of it for me?
I can do that. More cautiously, Can I try holding her?
I held my breath. With Nettle’s ears, I heard Riddle’s reply. ‘Of course you can! Two hands, Thick, just like for a puppy. No, hold her close to your body. So she feels safe in your strong arms.’
She is warm, like a puppy! And she smells like a new puppy! You are safe with me, baby. She’s looking at me. Look at her looking at me!
Elliania’s voice, fainter to my senses. She will grow up trusting you.
I wish I could be there. My heart rode with the thought.
Do not worry, Fitz. I will be her grandfather until you get home.
Thick’s offer was so sincere that all I could do was let him feel my gratitude. It came to me that perhaps my odd old friend would be a better grandfather than I could be.”

😭

I don’t think my heart can actually handle analyzing this passage any further. So… yeah.

I want to briefly call out a small line that perfectly captures Fitz’s trajectory, and his reluctant main character energy.

As his fate continues colliding with characters from across the realm, he reflects:

“My fate was a runaway horse, dragging destruction like a broken cart through so many lives.”

He didn’t choose this destiny, but he’s powerless to stop the ripples it leaves behind.

And it’s so extremely Fitz to focus on the wreckage rather than the lives he’s changed for the better.

Obviously this whole post has been about taking stock of the setup and looking ahead to the endgame.

And in that vein, I gotta be honest, I did not love this exchange between Fitz and Paragon:

“How do I die?
In water and fire, in wind and darkness. Not swiftly.“

Changer. Time to change.

We’ve been through Fitz deaths before, but we’ve always had more story waiting on the other side. Not this time.

The finality hanging over all of this is intimidating.

Whether the prophecy proves literal or something more metaphorical, it certainly feels like a death is approaching. An ending of some kind.

I shall be brave in the face of it.

Friends, what a journey it’s been! At times, it seemed like this moment would never get here, but it does appear that it’s time to land this plane. My fortieth birthday is just under two weeks away 😱, and I intend on entering this new decade having completed what I set out to do a little over a year ago. I’m excited to turn the literal and proverbial page.

See you at the end. 🫡

Reactions from the Realm: Assassin’s Fate, Prologue – Chapter 13

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✨ Manifest ✨

***Spoilers for The Fitz and the Fool Trilogy through chapter 13 of Assassin’s Fate. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, The Tawny Man Trilogy, and The Rain Wilds Chronicles are fair game, too.***

Ask and ye shall receive. And receive, I have.

This is it, folks. The last time we will start a Realm of the Elderlings novel together. With Assassin’s Fate, our journey ends. (At least this particular iteration of it.)

I’m about one-third of the way through, and I’m already overwhelmed. If I was excited for Fitz to be chopping it up with Reyn and Malta in Kelsingra, you can probably imagine the excitement I had when Fitz first set foot on Tarman (!!!) and then, finally, stepped aboard Paragon.

I’m not sure how many times I’ve voiced my desire for Fitz to sail on Paragon, or as I prefer: ShipFitz, but what a moment to see it finally come to fruition.

And I mean, Paragon glaring at Fitz and informing him he’s the handsomer one? It’s like I won the lottery.

But that’s also what has astonished me the most as we begin this final ride: Robin Hobb’s beautiful patience as a storyteller. We’ve well covered her masterful character work and gorgeous prose. But I think her patience may be the unsung hero of her writing. That is, for readers willing to trust her and stay the course.

I noted previously that the series is called Realm of the Elderlings, yet we don’t really meet Elderlings in any meaningful way until the fourth subseries. As she explores different magics, cultures, histories, and corners of the map, she never rushes to force ideas together before their time.

Let’s examine:

First we leave Fitz entirely and move into Liveship Traders. Most of this trilogy feels almost completely separate from the events of Farseer. We get little drips and drabs, small connections and easter eggs hinting at the broader realm. It’s really not until fairly late in Ship of Destiny that the connective tissue becomes more overt. And depending on your level of observation, you realize some of it has been hidden in plain sight. (Fear not. I will be going deep into that particular connective tissue shortly).

Then we return to Fitz in Tawny Man. Again, I was excited to see the world expansion from Liveships collide with Fitz’s story. And in some ways it does. The events of Liveship Traders matter tremendously, but it still feels like one story influencing another rather than the two worlds truly colliding. Even with all the new characters and world aspects at her disposal, we never feel like Robin is rushing to smash all the toys together just because she can.

And that patience extends to Fitz’s own story. She takes her sweet time tying up loose ends started way back in Farseer. Consider Fitz and Molly. She dangles their reunion for many, many books before paying it off.

I don’t think many authors would have the confidence, or restraint, to wait that long. She – rightfully! – trusts in her characters and storytelling. And it makes for a richer, more grounded reading experience, with payoffs that feel all the more earned and satisfying.

Then comes Rain Wilds Chronicles. Interestingly, it manages to do both things at once. It’s a continuation of everything that came before, but also very much its own story. New characters. New problems. New corners of the world. We again find ourselves looking for connections and excited when old friends pop up and weave into the story.

Robin keeps expanding outward. Not vertically, with one block stacked directly atop another, but in every direction at once. Deepening existing ideas while continually broadening the scope of the world.

So here we are in Fitz and the Fool.

Does she suddenly abandon that approach because we’re entering the final trilogy? Absolutely not. Right back to her bread and butter: continue to build. Every piece meticulously placed until the larger mosaic begins to reveal itself.

And while at times it can feel sprawling, all of these pieces actually do fit together.

Fitz. The Fool. Amber. Reyn. Malta. Tintaglia. Kettricken. Chade. Rapskal. Alise. Leftrin. Tarman. Lant. Perseverance. Dutiful. Paragon. Althea. Brashen. And countless others. They are all part of this. A truly remarkable masterpiece.

This is so thrilling. And not just convergence for the sake of it, like the Jetsons meeting the Flintstones. Robin spent sixteen books building a world. So when all the threads finally start weaving together, every piece suddenly feels even more meaningful. And it’s the sweetest reward for going on this journey.

And I’ve not even finished it yet. (We haven’t even visited Wintrow and Queen Etta for crying out loud!)

Not that RotE has to be everyone’s cup of tea, but whenever I see someone contemplating if they should continue past Farseer, or especially those who ask whether they need to read Liveships and RWC, I feel a deep longing to convey why my answer is such an emphatic yes. These series aren’t homework or simply important lore so you’ll understand the plot later. But the sum of the parts becomes something greater than any individual piece. And the individual pieces are already pretty fucking phenomenal.

I’m starting to lose where I’m going with all of this, but bottom line: getting to this moment in Assassin’s Fate is so incredibly gratifying.

I have a feeling every post for Assassin’s Fate will have some degree of retrospection and celebration. And while it’s futile to speculate where I’ll be at the end, I have some suspicion of what (or who) may be occupying my attention. So for now, getting to celebrate the sheer craftsmanship of plot and storytelling, as all these worlds finally begin to collide, feels right.

Moving on:

Not only are worlds colliding, but so are identities. Specifically, the Fool and Amber.

As the various corners of the Realm finally begin to converge, so too do the many faces of our resident series-spanner. And watching Robin Hobb handle this has been one of the more fascinating aspects of Assassin’s Fate thus far.

I’ve often found myself getting a bit tangled when it comes to shifting identities. (See: ShunShine.) So it was oddly gratifying to watch Robin lean fully into the complexity of the Fool/Amber dynamic, sometimes switching from one to the other almost moment to moment:

“He smoothed his hair and flounced his skirts into order, and the Fool was gone. Amber trailed her fingers along the wall until she found the door and then left me sitting alone on the narrow bunk.”

It’s a trip to witness alongside Fitz. Because this isn’t merely a change of clothes and a bit of rouge on the cheeks. It’s a complete embodiment. Amber is every bit as real as the Fool.

And Robin doesn’t shy away from how complicated that can be. We see a parallel version of this through Perseverance’s attempts to understand Spark and Ash. And through that confusion, we get a lovely glimpse of how much Fitz has changed over the years.

“About Mage Gray. Sometimes you call him Fool, but he’s being Lady Amber now.”

“He is…”

“And Ash is Spark now.”

I nodded. “True, also.”

“And Spark is a girl.”

I nodded again.

… “Do you feel at all…odd about it? Uncomfortable?”

I laughed. “I’ve known him for many years, in many guises. He was King Shrewd’s jester when I was a boy. The Fool. Then Lord Golden. Mage Gray. And now Lady Amber. All different. Yet always my friend.” I reached for honesty. “But when I was your age, it would have bothered me a great deal. It doesn’t now because I know who he is. And who I am, and who we are to each other. That doesn’t change, no matter what name he wears or what garb he dons. Whether I am Holder Tom Badgerlock or Prince FitzChivalry Farseer, I know he’s my friend.”

It’s impossible not to think back to Golden Fool and Fitz’s reaction to learning about Amber. Or to imagine how much a younger Fitz would have struggled if confronted with both the Fool and Amber at that time. But Fitz has been through a lot. (Don’t we fucking know it.) And one of the gifts of that hard-earned wisdom is the ability to cut directly to what matters.

And It’s beautiful to see him pass that wisdom on to Perseverance.

Because let’s be honest: to these young men, who is manlier than Holder Badgerlock/Witted Bastard Prince Fitzchivalry Farseer himself? We are so entwined with Fitz’s inner vulnerabilities and insecurities that it’s easy to forget how others must see him from the outside. He’s a war hero. A prince. An assassin. A dragon-saver. A mythical wolf-man. The man has quite the résumé of badassery!

So there is something lovely about Fitz modeling a kind of quiet confidence for Per and Lant. He isn’t threatened by who the Fool is because he knows who the Fool is. And he isn’t threatened by it because he knows who he is.

[Note: I am not especially interested in diving deep into how this material intersects with modern discussions of gender identity. Not because it isn’t worthy of examination – it absolutely is – but because I don’t feel particularly equipped to do that conversation justice in this space. Still, it feels worth acknowledging. (And I’m sure there is some fantastic analysis and discussion out on this topic.)]

What’s especially fascinating is that I found myself going through a version of the same process.

I spent three entire books with Amber in Liveship Traders largely oblivious to the fact that she was also the Fool. (I started to catch on near the end, but still needed her to ride into Fool’s Errand on a horse named Malta to fully get it).

As a result, I ended up with two separate characters living in my head. I understand intellectually that Amber and the Fool are the same person. But emotionally, I’ve never quite managed to merge them.

That finally began to change when we arrived on Paragon. When Paragon gently scooped Amber into his hands – echoing one of their final moments together in Ship of Destiny (among the most beautiful scenes in all of RotE) – something clicked.

It’s such a powerful visual, and their relationship was so poignant, that I experienced this sudden flood of memory. It brought me back to Amber as we knew her many books ago. For the first time, it felt as though both Amber and the Fool were simultaneously present on the page.

So perhaps it’s just another byproduct of the much-discussed convergence happening throughout the final trilogy. But it’s truly remarkable to watch. Not only are the worlds finally coming together, so too are the faces of one of Robin Hobb’s most extraordinary characters.

Musings!

I hope you didn’t think that was all you were getting on the Fitz and Paragon interaction??

I opened with my excitement about Fitz boarding Paragon and coming face to face with his, well… face. But I kind of skimmed past it to get to the broader theme of patience and payoff, so I want to give some space to the actual encounter, which absolutely did not disappoint.

As Fitz has traveled to Kelsingra and then deeper into the Rain Wilds territory, we’ve had a few characters familiar with the Paragon masthead subtly react to meeting Fitz. And as we crept closer down the river, the excitement ratcheted up.

So when Paragon finally comes into view, and Fitz gets his first look at what Amber carved, I was practically vibrating.

‘I stared at the ship, my mouth hanging open. Spark and Perseverance looked from the ship to me. I was speechless, but Lant spoke the words aloud. ‘Sweet Eda. Fitz, he has your face. Right down to the break in your nose.'”

Sweet Eda indeed!

But the best moments are when we actually get to interact with Paragon. He is as emotional (unstable?) as ever. Extremely put out that Althea and Brashen’s son has gone to work on Vivacia, without an exchange of Etta’s son to his decks in return. Everyone’s about to leave this first encounter, when Paragon calls out:

“You, with my face. Don’t go.”

🤌

But it gets even better. Paragon tricks Fitz into getting within reach (classic “sorry, I didn’t hear you move”), then seizes him and pins him to the railing.

(I’m going to do my best not to get extremely weird about this, but I will desperately be needing some fanart of ShipFitz manhandling FitzFitz.)

ShipFitz ultimately just wants a little man-to-man chat with Fitz:

“Understand this. We share a face, though mine is more youthful and handsomer. I asked her to carve me a face she could love. She gave me yours. But it was ‘could’ love, not ‘did’ love. Remember that. She loves me far more than you. She always will.”

Oh, Paragon. You moody nut, you.

When I first joked about Fitz sailing on Paragon, I don’t think I could have imagined it coming to fruition so spectacularly. We didn’t just get a moment of “oh, the ship looks just like me, isn’t that something?” No, we get Fitz and ShipFitz having full-on beef.

Thank you, Robin.

Since I was so harsh on Reyn and Malta for losing control of the situation and the end of Fool’s Quest, I should probably give them a little credit. Because when we return to the chaos, they intervene right away:

“Rapskal, stop being an imbecile!” That was King Reyn adding his roar to the din.

I also noted that Rapskal was a bit out of his depth when it came to the larger dynamics at play, which I appreciated Amber reinforcing:

“There was Silver on my fingers before you were born, I believe, General Rapskal.”

To Rapskal’s credit, once Heeby lets him know that the mission to take down Clerres aligns quite nicely with dragon interests, he comes around quickly. He even goes so far as to gift Fitz with the vials of pure silver the Fool requested after previously firmly refusing. (Which Fitz then keeps to himself, because withholding potentially important information has historically worked out so well for everyone involved. Also, Chekhov’s silver??)

So we leave Kelsingra on much friendlier terms, but I have a feeling this isn’t the last time Fitz and Rapskal will cross paths. Rapskal makes it clear that he’s available to help the cause however he can, and we know he stays ready to ride his dragon into battle.

Which, unfortunately, makes me quite worried about him. We’ve already lost a fair bit of the Rapskal we first met. When I start looking around at potential casualties of war in the fight we know awaits us, he’s landing high on the list. (Good news for him, my death predictions are notoriously awful and this isn’t even the first time I predicted his demise in battle!)

Hey guys: Dwalia is a stone-cold BITCH. Like… damn!

They emerge from the pillar and her signature mask of niceness is gone. She is fucking ruthless. She’s abusive to Bee and her own party members, both physically and verbally.

I mean, take this line she hurls at Vindelier:

“Trust a sexless lout like you not to be able to tell the Unexpected Son from some White’s by-blow.”

Jesus.

So Bee’s situation has gone from bad to worse. We keep getting little flashes of hope that Bee might escape, but every time, she ends up back under Dwalia’s control. With Vindelier at her disposal, and Bee possessing virtually no resources of her own, there is simply no real way for her to escape.

One additional important Dwalia revelation: we learn of her connection to Ilistore (the pale woman has a name!). Apparently Dwalia and Ilistore were involved back in Clerres when the Fool and Ilistore were both students there. Dwalia blames the Fool for Ilistore’s demise, which explains the intensity of her hatred. I’m very much looking forward to her comeuppance.

I’ve touched on Bee’s situation a bit already, but her trials deserve a little more space.

We get a very interesting interlude in Chalced. After exiting the pillar into a cramped space of ruins (we’ve heard so much musing of what would happen if a pillar exit was blocked, it was satisfying – and horrifying – to see this play out), Bee is able to escape Dwalia and co. and lives on the run for a few days.

As hopeful as it was to see Bee escape her captors, Robin immediately confronts us with the reality of what that actually means for a child alone in a harsh, foreign land. She has nothing and no allies. She can’t even communicate to plead for help. She reaches the point where theft becomes her only way to eat, which lands her in jail and then right back into her captors’ hands.

This was fucking bleak.

I was desperate for Bee to get just one break. One thing to go her way. Of course it wasn’t going to happen. But it was nice to have a moment of delusion.

And so we end with Bee back on the path to Clerres, trapped aboard a ship of nightmares. You know shit’s bad when you are kind of just hoping the ship will sink 🥴.

Lord, please give me one moment of peace and healing between Fitz and Bee before this is all through.

I’d like to give a little space to Molly: gone, but certainly not forgotten.

I sometimes get the sense that Molly receives a bit of the short shift in the fandom. (At least from the limited bit I’ve encountered in my quest to avoid spoilers). But in keeping with her track record of never moving quickly past a loss, Robin does an excellent job ensuring Molly’s presence remains deeply felt long after her death. Not only through Fitz’s ongoing grief, but through the continued significance of her memory.

We have the candles that Fitz brought from home and Bee later finds in the Bear wreckage, creating this beautiful connection between all three of them. Scent is so powerfully tied to memory, and I love the way it repeatedly evokes Molly’s spirit for both Bee and Fitz.

And I especially love how Robin handles Fitz’s struggle with sharing Bee’s parentage with the Fool without allowing Molly to be erased in the process.

First we get the tense scene where the Fool has Spark dig through Fitz’s pack for Bee’s journals. It’s an incredibly charged moment, but ultimately Fitz relents and shares Bee’s dreams with him.

Then we get the scene where Amber recounts their story to Althea and Brashen:

“It hurt to hear Amber claim Bee that way, and I knew what Althea and Brashen must assume. The Fool might believe it was so, but to hear him speak of her that way to strangers wounded something in me. Molly, I thought fiercely. She had been Bee’s mother and no other. I did not wish these people to think I had fathered Bee upon Amber. No, Molly had been the one to endure that pregnancy, in some ways so alone, and Molly had been the one to cherish and protect a child that others would have let dwindle away. It wasn’t right for Amber to erase her.”

This is such a fascinating collision of several complicated ideas at once.

It’s difficult enough for Fitz to process sharing Bee’s parentage with the Fool. Bee is the child he raised with Molly, and then on his own. But hearing that claim come from Amber introduces another level entirely.

Because now strangers could easily assume that Amber was Bee’s mother. And doing so erases Molly from the equation altogether. And that is unacceptable (and frankly offensive) for Fitz and for me.

Whatever strange White Prophet soul-merging magic may have occurred, Molly carried Bee. She protected her and loved her fiercely.

Kudos to Fitz for never letting us forget that.

I’d also like to use this space to acknowledge one particularly lovely Molly-related moment. While Fitz is recovering from Skill-exhaustion, he overhears a conversation between Lant and Perseverance. When Lant mentions Buckkeep rumors of Fitz’s interest in men, Per bursts out in laughter:

“Him? Not him. There was only one for him. Lady Molly. It was always a joke among the servants at Withywoods.” He laughed again and then gasped, “ ‘Knock twice,’ the kitchen maids would giggle. ‘And then wait and knock again. Never go in until one of them invites you. You never know where they will be going at each other.’ The men of the estate were proud of him. ‘That old stud hasn’t lost his fire,’ they’d say. In his study. In the gardens. Out in the orchards.”

As Per continues to recount the Withywoods estate gossip surrounding Fitz and Molly’s very active marriage, Fitz drifts into fond memories of Molly while Per defends his reputation.

In an often heavy book, I found this moment very sweet.

And it’s nice to see someone push back against the rumors and misconceptions that often follow him.

It also reminds us that Withywoods was a real home. The people there knew Fitz. Not the prince. Not the assassin. Not the catalyst. Just a man hopelessly in love with his wife.

(Also, I now need a novella of Molly and Fitz getting it on all around the estate.)

Okay. Since there is really so much I could touch on, but I want to keep moving forward, I’m going to create another quick-hit section where I do none of the topics justice, but at least manage to acknowledge them:

  • We learn in passing that Carson and Sedric are raising Jerd’s baby. Love that for them 🥹.
  • A small detail I’ve really enjoyed is the clash of cultures between Buckkeep’s more traditional, hierarchical customs and the much more egalitarian Trader ways. Fitz is frequently taken aback by how casual the interactions are and the general lack of formality. It’s just another example of Robin creating such a vivid, lived-in world.
  • Another small detail I loved was getting to witness Fitz encounter the treetop cities and dwellings of the Rain Wilds for the first time. It was such a mirror to my own experience, and just cool to watch this foreign, almost mythical region unveil itself to him.
  • I can’t believe I am going to make this a bullet point, but there is so much Clerres lore and the Fool backstory given to us in this section (right down to a detailed discussion of the island schematics), and I truly don’t have the energy to untangle all of it. But we do at least learn about the four head honchos living in their four precarious towers, so it seems we’ve identified our big bads.
  • Speaking of lore, there is A LOT of prophecy and dream information about what’s to come on Clerres. We have a new Fitz persona – “the Destroyer” (hot) – unveiled. Plus, it seems like Bee is going to burn it all down in one fashion or another. Again, I enjoy the prophecy elements, but I don’t get too deep into analyzing. I mostly absorb what I can in one pass and keep it moving.
  • This is also criminal to reduce to a bullet point, but I’m quickly losing steam and need to touch on Fitz versus dragons.

    We get an absolutely epic showdown between Fitz and Tintaglia, where he comes dangerously close to becoming a dragon snack. Fitz and Tarman also share an interesting connection. Through it, we learn the source of the mystery dragon essence the other dragons keep detecting. And it’s not the Fool carrying it. It’s Fitz’s connection to Verity-as-dragon.

    We’ve been getting lots of Verity breadcrumbs lately. While I may have been inclined to view that last interaction between Fitz and Verity-as-dragon as closure, I’m not going to be shocked if he wakes his ass up to help out before this is all over.

I need to close out with where we leave Fitz and the Fool. Fitz is having a full-on panic attack about what awaits them, his own failures, and who he’s dragging into this mess with him. Fitz convinced he’s not good enough and the Fool basically saying, “Yeah, we may die. But what else is new?”

It’s classic Fitz and the Fool.

And in his effort to ground Fitz, he reaches for what will most bring him back to himself: Nighteyes. Specifically, how he chose to live to his very end:

“This is our last hunt, old wolf. And as we always have, we go to it together.”

Am I supposed to be ok?

Onward.

Reactions from the Realm: Fool’s Quest, Chapters 27 – 38

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Dreams Do Come True

***Spoilers for The Fitz and the Fool Trilogy through Fool’s Quest. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, The Tawny Man Trilogy, and The Rain Wilds Chronicles are fair game, too.***

Whew! Trying my best not to think about the fact that there’s only one book left and instead enjoy what we still have before it’s gone. On the bright side, with a story this rich, I know there is so much more discovery and joy waiting for me down the line.

Look for me back here in ten years with “Re-reactions to the Realm.” (Hopefully you don’t find me washed up on a beach with children throwing rocks at me.)

But let’s not get weepy and nostalgic just yet. (I have a feeling Assassin’s Fate is going to be a bumpy emotional ride for me both in the pages and on this blog.) We have a job to do, and that’s to break down the end of Fool’s Quest.

I found it very appropriate that last post I went deep on Fitz’s identities and what lies at the core of his character. Because when we open here with the failed attempt to follow Bee through the Skill-pillar – resulting in no trace of her or her kidnappers – it’s presumed by all that she has been lost to the Skill-stream for good.

And with that, Fitz completely lets go.

With Bee’s kidnapping, he was barely holding himself together. With her presumed death, something in him finally breaks.

On top of that, if assassin Fitz made an unofficial return previously, now Dutiful formally strips him of the role. Acting as king, he makes it clear in no uncertain terms that Fitz is no longer an assassin.

“Over and over, I had said that I was no longer an assassin. But now my king snatched the title and those duties away from me, and it felt like a rebuke. I blinked. Not a husband. Scarcely a father. And not an assassin. What was left of me?”

So last time we asked: who is Fitz among the many roles he inhabits? And now the question becomes: who is he without them?

As you can imagine, it’s pretty bleak.

He struggles mightily with the feeling of purposelessness:

“What was Burrich’s old saying? As useless as teats on a bull. That was me. I was becoming very weary of being useless and incompetent.”

Fitz comes to the conclusion that all he has left is vengeance for Bee and the Fool. And to pursue it, he essentially begins putting his affairs in order to fade out of his current life, before setting off on one final quest.

His detachment is somehow even harder to watch than his grief. It’s a slow fading away from life. We’ve seen Fitz contemplate ending his life many times (always awful), but now we’re watching him put a plan into action, albeit a very slow one.

He wants to die. But rather than a quick exit, he intends to destroy the people responsible for Bee’s death and the Fool’s torture on his way out.

Heavy. And deeply painful to watch as he slowly closes the door on relationships we know mean so much to him. Fitz may feel he has nothing left, but we know there are still many people who love and care for him. I was particularly gutted by him making peace with leaving Nettle and never meeting his unborn grandchild.

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Reactions from the Realm: Fool’s Quest, Chapters 13 – 26

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It’s Fitzney, Bitch.

***Spoilers for the Fitz and the Fool trilogy through Fool’s Quest chapter 26. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, The Tawny Man Trilogy, and The Rain Wilds Chronicles are fair game, too.***

It’s been a while since we checked in on the many personas of Fitz.

We’ve got our stalwarts: lonely boy Fitz, his close cousin emo Fitz, and daddy Fitz. Then there are the rarer varietals: content Fitz, loverboy Fitz, and properly-valued Fitz.

But here, we get the return of a very specific brand: badass assassin Fitz.

Now, if you were judging purely by the titles that comprise this sixteen-book series, you would probably think assassination was a big part of the story. But despite the titular title bestowed upon our boy, we actually get relatively little assassinating. Even when Fitz recounts past “assignments,” they feel more like footnotes than important moments.

But now? He’s back. (And maybe more assassin-y than ever?).

Assassin Fitz has been unleashed. And we know what our boy is like when he is on a mission.

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Reactions from the Realm: Fool’s Quest, Chapters 1-12

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When Two Become One

***Spoilers for the Fitz and the Fool trilogy through Fool’s Quest chapter 12. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, The Tawny Man Trilogy, and The Rain Wilds Chronicles are fair game, too.***

Fool’s Quest gives us quite the layered opening.

We get this sense of time folding back on itself for Fitz’s character. He’s back in Buckkeep, reunited with the Fool, Chade, Kettricken, Dutiful, et al., once again navigating complicated political maneuverings. He’s been intentionally pulled away from his life as Holder Badgerlock of Withywoods, the dominant persona he’s inhabited so far in this trilogy.

But all the while, there’s this Hitchcockian horror building beneath the surface. We know what happened at Withywoods. It’s a pressure cooker just waiting to explode and shatter the illusion Fitz is operating under.

And as we march closer to that inevitable reveal, Robin steadily rebuilds Fitz’s identity as FitzChivalry, making the rug pull all the more dramatic when it comes.

And I mean the return of FitzChivalry quite literally. What begins as a subtle shift – Fitz feeling closer to his former self – culminates in the dramatic public recognition of the witted bastard’s existence and heroism, laid bare before the Six Duchies nobles gathered for Winterfest at Buckkeep.

No matter where things go from here, I’m grateful for this beautiful moment. It’s emotional and long overdue.

I remember noting back in a Tawny Man recap that the push to destigmatize the Wit felt like it was laying the groundwork for Dutiful to eventually bring Fitz out of the shadows and back to court life. Turns out I was right, that was where we were headed, it just took a lot longer than I anticipated to get there.

And even though we know disaster is looming, it’s hard not to get swept up in Fitz’s moment of triumph. For our boy, who has been through hell and back more times than anyone should, to finally be recognized for who he is and all he’s done, crowned Prince FitzChivalry Farseer…

Hear, hear for the King in the Shadows!

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Reactions from the Realm: Fool’s Assassin, Chapter 11 – Epilogue

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Chilled to the Bone

***Spoilers for Fool’s Assassin. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, The Tawny Man Trilogy, and The Rain Wilds Chronicles are fair game, too.***

Never in my life have I been more unsettled than reading the final line of the Fool’s Assassin epilogue:

“Nothing warned me on that bright day that the darkest time of my life had begun.”

Here we fucking go. The tracks have been laid. The players established. The Fool is here. And Fitz is about to be going through it like we have never seen before. And we have seen him through some lows.

So yes, we are in the thick of this trilogy now, and I am absolutely shitting myself for what book two has in store.

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. We have a lot of Fool’s Assassin to discuss before we leap ahead into certain disaster.

And you may have noticed it’s been many chapters since my last check-in. Your girl is riding on vibes right now. Before, I was compelled to hop in at both Bee’s birth and then Molly’s death – but the last sixty percent of the book called me to forge ahead. I’m not stalling out in this series like Tarman beached in the Rain Wild River shallows. I’ve been swept up in the Skill current and am fully motivated to see this journey through.

I’m starting to verge into the Fool’s messenger territory – talking about the important message she needs to deliver over and over instead of actually delivering it 😵‍💫. So let’s stop talking about talking about it and get into it.

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Reactions from the Realm: Fool’s Assassin, Chapters 6-10

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Help

***Spoilers for Fool’s Assassin through chapter 10. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, The Tawny Man Trilogy, and The Rain Wilds Chronicles are fair game, too.***

If Bee’s birth was a fulcrum in the story – a turning point that demanded a reaction – then certainly Molly’s death qualifies too.

Eda and El.

One may occasionally toss out hyperbole like, “this story is going to kill me.” I’m certain I glibly remarked somewhere along the way that Nighteyes’ death made me want to die.

But Molly’s death scene came close to actually accomplishing the job.

I have a knack for encountering the most emotionally devastating moments right before I plan to shut my eyes at night. But in this case, I was on the treadmill, chugging along at a hefty twelve-degree incline, as Molly abruptly collapsed and was gone.

When I tell you my throat was literally closing with grief as I read her death unfold…

How does Robin do it? Just like with Nighteyes, she’s been building to this the entire book. I said in my last post that I didn’t think Molly was long for this tale. And yet her death still managed to catch me completely off guard.

Maybe that’s partially because I was still reeling from having my entire world rocked by the shift into Bee’s POV. (I believe this is the first time we’ve left Fitz’s perspective in a Fitz-centered book.)

And if I thought experiencing Fitz’s reaction to Molly’s death would be difficult from his own perspective, I was not at all prepared for how heartbreaking it would be to witness it from someone else’s.

And Mistress Hobb – clever, clever woman that she is – makes sure we aren’t entirely bereft of Fitz’s thoughts through the ordeal. No, we still glimpse his mind through Bee’s Skill-link with him.

“All their lives she had remained that girl to him, that wondrous girl just a few years older than he was, but so worldly wise, so female to all that was so male in his life.”

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Reactions from the Realm: Fool’s Assassin, Prologue – Chapter 5

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Return of the King

Alternate title: Good Golly Ms. Molly

***Spoilers for Fool’s Assassin through chapter 5. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, The Tawny Man Trilogy, and The Rain Wilds Chronicles are fair game, too.***

Oh, hello there, friends. Not expecting to see me so soon? Well, we are back! And I can barely contain myself.

Quick peek behind the curtain: I had intended to read longer chunks of the story before pausing to react – maybe breaking the book into thirds. But here I am, a mere five chapters in, and I had to heed the call to write.

Sometimes I just know I’ve hit a turning point, a fulcrum in the story, and I strongly feel that now. We’ve had five chapters of catching up, visiting old characters, getting the lay of the land – both physically and politically. And after two years of Molly claiming pregnancy – and, by all rational interpretations, losing her mind rather than bearing a babe – she has given birth to her and Fitz’s tiny baby.

Holy shit. What did I just read?

So this felt like the moment to pause – process everything that’s happened as we step back into this world and Fitz’s mind – and gear up for wherever we are going from here.

Returning to a Fitz-focused trilogy feels a bit like reading in a different language. Or perhaps more accurately, returning to one’s mother tongue. A flood of familiarity- terms and characters I didn’t even realize I missed: “Forged”, Lady Patience being eccentric, Thick, Fitz being so fucking Fitzy…

The tone is so distinct. Both Hobb modes are good, but nothing quite hitz like Fitz.

I’m actually a little sad that this is the last time I will make this transition and have the experience of sinking back into the intimacy of Fitz’s POV. It’s a direct contrast to starting our southern sojourns, which feel novel and take time to settle into. This is a coming home.

So as we once joined Fitz in a façade of peace in his cabin with Hap, so too we find our boy (and yes, no matter how much he reminds us of his age, he will always be our boy) comfortable at Withywoods, living the seemingly content life he’s always sought.

And though that contentment isn’t false – his love of life with Molly is very real – the cracks in the façade start to show almost immediately.

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Reactions from the Realm: Blood of Dragons, Chapter 12 – Epilogue

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Queens Gonna Queen

***Spoilers for The Rain Wilds Chronicles. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, and The Tawny Man Trilogy are fair game, too.***

Well, I am gobsmacked. What a conclusion. The way all of the pieces fit together at the end to complete the puzzle Robin has been building throughout this series.

I know The Rain Wilds Chronicles often get labeled as the weakest of RotE. And it’s tough when you’re interrupting the Fitz-centered series and your competition is Tawny Man, Liveship Traders, et. al. But damn. It really cannot be overstated how excellent this series is. I mean, if the criteria is “slightly less good than the greatest stories ever written,” then sure.

And it’s such an essential part of the larger saga. I’ve spent a decent amount of time discussing how RWC expands the worldbuilding and lore, but it is absolutely mind-boggling to think where we started – with Fitz fucking around in Kelsingra back in the Farseer trilogy, memory stones activating while we had no clue what was going on – to where we are now.

Have I mentioned Robin Hobb is the GOAT? I’m truly in awe of the world she’s created.

So where to even start?

I’m going to the scene that took my breath away: Thymara and Rapskal (🥺) heading down the well.

To me, this was the culmination of our whole tale. The moment our dragons’ and Elderlings’ place in the world was finally secured – the age of dragons and Elderlings restored.

And there were so many threads throughout this story that led to the opening of the well. From the time spent establishing Rapskal’s immersion into the memory stones and surrender to the tale of Tellator and Amarinda, to the numerous moments Thymara insists she will never go down the well (talk about famous last words), all the way back to our very first scene with her in Trehaug- where we learn of her climbing prowress. This was her destiny all along.

And as she unlocks the seams, filling the well with Silver once again, she saves baby Phron, Tintaglia, and unlocks the key to Kelsingra’s future.

But this triumph is not without sacrifice.

And I have to say, in an ending full of joy and satisfaction, losing Rapskal to the memory of Tellator devastated me. He’s long been a favorite here at WWS. His endless optimism and goofy demeanor were such a welcome, necessary presence in an often heavy, slogging journey. He was a light in some of the darkest moments. A beacon of faith and hope.

And he gave himself entirely in the pursuit of knowledge and skills needed to restore the Elderling race.

Tellator mostly sucks, and it’s hard not to share Thymara’s detestation of him – we mourn Rapskal too! – but it’s difficult to deny his utility in rallying the Elderlings to their potential and unlocking the Silver.

And though it’s sad, it also feels narratively necessary in freeing Thymara’s heart fully to Tats. In the end, she doesn’t have to deny her love for Rapskal or choose between them. Her love for him remains, and ultimately becomes something shared with Tats, even as she moves forward knowing he’s gone to her as she knew him.

I don’t think his contributions can be overstated.

  • He alone had the enduring faith that the dragons would fly- and his dragon was the first to take to the skies.
  • He and Heeby survived the flood and found Kelsingra, ultimately shepherding the others there.
  • And he gave himself completely to learn what was necessary for the dragons and keepers to prosper.

He was brave and good. And I hope a glorious statue is raised in his honor.

Damn. I’m sad as hell.

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Reactions from the Realm: Blood of Dragons, Prologue – Chapter 11

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Hi ho, Silver!

***Spoilers for The Rain Wilds Chronicles through chapter 11 of Blood of Dragons. Mentions of the events of The Farseer Trilogy, The Liveship Traders Trilogy, and The Tawny Man Trilogy are fair game, too.***

Friends, we are making the turn. I’ve reached roughly the halfway point of Blood of Dragons, so I’m pausing to reflect before the final push.

Quick blogger’s note: I’ve found recapping this series to be a bit more challenging than previous entries. I’m not sure if it’s me losing steam on this mission I’ve set for myself, or just the nature of this story. I keep feeling like a broken record when I sit down to reflect on plot progression, whereas with Fitz, I can wax indefinitely.

That doesn’t diminish my enjoyment, but I’m feeling ready to wrap this up and head back north.

I see two core threads to this series:

  1. the immense worldbuilding and expansion of lore
  2. abuse and power dynamics

Let’s get into them.

The Lore of the Realm

If nothing else, a Hobb enthusiast should appreciate just how much lore the Rain Wild Chronicles adds to our understanding of magic, dragons, and Elderlings. And this opening half of Blood of Dragons delivers some of the most significant reveals yet.

The biggie: Silver.

We’ve been dancing around this mysterious silver substance – familiar from Verity, Fitz, the Fool – throughout the series. But here, the discussion shifts from coded and ambiguous to explicit, as the dragons charge the keepers with finding the Silver well.

Carson and Sedric step out of their episode of House Hunters: Kelsingra, and find the well – yippee! – setting us up with front-row seats to see how it will be used in the back half of this story.

We learn that Silver is the key to Elderling magic.

Dragons naturally have trace amounts of Silver in their blood, but they are strengthened by supplementing it from external sources.

We’ve long known Silver’s tie to Skill magic – Verity’s arms, Fitz’s link to the Fool – but these reveals sent me back to earlier hints about Fitz’s connection to dragons and Elderlings. (I mean, c’mon – beauty and allure that potent don’t come from nowhere.)

There’s also a nice callback to the touch of Silver on Malta’s neck. Which is totallllly something I recalled and was extremely aware of. 🤥

So yes: Silver really is the key to it all.

“This is the Silver well, the whole reason Kelsingra was first built. Remember, a long time ago, you wondered why they’d built such a grand city here. What was the reason for it, what trade, what industry, what port anchored it? Why build a city for dragons in a place so chill and damp in the winters? Why did the Elderlings stay here? And here’s our answer. The Silver well. The secret heart of Kelsingra.”

“It’s dragon Silver. The source of all magic.”

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