[Arkitech]

I read through the Assassin's trilogy a few years back but I forgot most of the plot and story. I was wondering if someone could go through the 3 books and summarize them for me again.

I remember really liking the first 2 books a lot, but I thought the final book was a complete let down.


Speaking of assassins are there any other good books on the subject?

[thrinidir]

Search is your friend! Wikipedia and google are the first tool of browsing these days...there is no need to write what has been written countless of times. (begining to sound like rob am i? :D )

There are a few other assassin tinged books out there yes...but for the love of god I can't come up with any at this moment :s

Assassin Apprentice Plot summary
The beginning of Fitz's life as a "bastard" (hence his name, FitzChivalry, after his father Chivalry) in Buckkeep Castle as he begins his training as an assassin and finally completes his mission, almost at the cost of his life.

The story begins with Fitz (thus far just called "Boy") being dumped into the presence of Prince Verity by his commoner grandfather, who cannot (or does not want to) take proper care of Fitz with the limited means of his household. Even at a very young age he is shown to possess The Wit", a despised ancient magic which is rumoured to turn men into beasts, and this allows him to telepathically communicate with a dog named Nosy. Verity decides that Fitz is to be taken to the castle at Buckkeep. Shamed by the news that he sired a bastard, and concerned for the safety of his illegitimate son, Fitz's father (Prince Chivalry) and his father's wife (Lady Patience) have abdicated from the position of King-and-Queen-in-Waiting long before Fitz arrives at the royal city. Fitz is not of pure royal blood and therefore isn't accepted by the other nobility. Burrich, his father's right hand man is charged with raising him, which he does as best he is able, taking Fitz on as a stable boy. Fitz quickly learns his duties and grows although he is very lonely, especially after Burrich forbids him from using the Wit to bond with animals.

Eventually Fitz agrees to become a "King's Man" to King Shrewd and is bound by oath to serve the king. He is taken into King Shrewd's service and moves into the castle proper. Here he is schooled and is taught basic combat skills by Hod. One night he is also introduced to a recluse named Chade, who is a skilled assassin. Fitz agrees to learn Chade's skills as he is desperately lonely and seemingly has no other prospects. So during his childhood he is taught the ways of an assassin. He shows great talent in his duties and is able to complete the minor tasks given to him by the king.

As Fitz is growing up at Buckkeep, the coastal regions of the Six Duchies are being attacked by Outislanders known as the Red-Ship Raiders. The Raiders rampage through villages and towns, killing and taking hostages while stealing little, making their attacks seem to lack a motive. The hostages are returned, reduced to animals with little memory of their former lives. Fitz, when he encounters these returned hostages, finds he cannot sense them with his Wit at all. This stripping away of people's humanity is named after Forge, the first village to be plundered in such a way. Later on these Forged Ones become robbers and thieves that start to plunder the countryside, putting another burden on the Six Duchies.

Fitz is eventually made part of a class of students to be taught the Skill, a magic which allows its users to share thoughts and strength. The teacher, Galen, despises Fitz while curiously revering his father (it is revealed later in the book that Chivalry magically branded him in a fit of rage). During the classes, Galen treats Fitz without respect, referring to him as bastard. Eventually he tries to kill Fitz (and attempts to assassinate Burrich) then, with more success, tries to sabotage his Skill training. During the last test of Galen's Skill classes, Galen sends Fitz to Forge, ostensibly to see if he can use the Skill to get back. The area is infested with Forged Ones, and Fitz is attacked, although he manages to return safely.

Towards the end of the book Fitz is asked to go to the neighbouring Mountain Kingdom with the objective of assassinating its prince, Rurisk, however this is compromised when Regal reveals Fitz's secret mission to Kettricken while drunk, rendering him useless. He finds himself in the middle of a plan to steal the throne for Prince Regal with the help of Galen, who tries to assassinate Verity. Fitz is poisoned and drowned, then, when finally he thinks he only has a few moments to live, manages to contact Verity to help him destroy Galen. He is rescued and healed by Jonqui afterward, the last pages of the book telling how much Fitz laments the death of Nosy during that event and the pain of an older narrator at writting this.
source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassin's_Apprentice

Royal Assassin Plot Summary:
After recovering from being poisoned by Regal in the Mountain Kingdom, Fitz returns to Buckeep with Chivalry's former right hand man Burrich, and a stable hand aptly named Hands. After Regal's attempted murder of Prince Verity and himself, our reluctant hero vows revenge. Early after returning to Buckeep Fitz has a Skill dream where he sees Molly in a burning village, being raided by the Red-Ship Raiders but during her struggle a burning support blocks his sight of her meaning Fitz does not know if she is dead or alive. A bereaved Fitz is upset but powerless to act.

Fitz decides to take actions into his own hands which eventually leads to a great change of events and increases his enmity with Prince Regal. As we discover at the beginning of the trilogy, the Six Duchies is under attack from the Red-Ship Raiders. Prince Verity abandons his futile attempts at a Skill intervention to the situation and turns the kingdoms resources towards a physical countermeasure – constructing a fleet of warships to defend the struggling Six Duchies. Fitz is recruited to work on the Rurisk due the his ability to communicate with Verity using the Skill. He is involved in many land and sea battles against the Red-Ship Raiders, one of the most notable being the defence of Antler Island.

With the Six Duchies running out of resources and unable to competently fight off the Red-Ships, King-in-waiting Verity decides to go on a quest to save the Six Duchies from the ruthless Red-Ship Raiders, thus leaving Regal the opportunity he needs to usurp the throne.

Fitz's use of the Wit continues as he rescues a young wolf from a cage at the town market, whom introduces himself as Nighteyes and bonds with him. Nighteyes provides Fitz with companionship, loyalty and friendship, with the simple explanation "We are pack.". Another companion to Fitz is his childhood friend Molly, now a maid to Lady Patience, who Fitz falls in love with and she with him, but ultimately leaves him for focusing overmuch on his duties to the king.

As King Shrewd is killed by Galen's coterie, Fitz swears to avenge his death (and promptly kills the coterie leader), but is captured by Regal and tortured by Will's Skill and Bolt's fists, to reveal both Verity's location and his own possession of the Wit magic. Finally, in an accomplishment of the Wit, he leaves his body behind and becomes a part of Nighteyes, leaving the impression he had died in Regal's dungeon. He is, however, coaxed back into his body by Burrich and Chade who now have to undertake the process of teaching him how to live like a human again.

Again, as with The Assassin's Apprentice, Fitz's feelings are explored to great extent and by using a first person narrative, Robin Hobb can convey these thoughts a great deal more than usual.
source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Assassin

Assassin's Quest Plot Summary
FitzChivalry Farseer is raised from the dead using his despised Wit magic, but he is now more wolf than human. Only Burrich and Chade know he survived his tortures in Regal's dungeons; all others, even the Fool and the Queen, believe Fitz dead. After regaining his humanity, he departs on a personal quest to kill Regal- but not before being attacked by Forged people, one of whom unknown to him steals his shirt with King Shrewd's pin, a fact which Fitz only realizes after moving a long distance away. Burrich, having found the rotted remains of the Forged one who stole Fitz's shirt believes it is actually Fitz's body, and that Fitz is now really dead, and therefore determines to guard the one Fitz holds most dear.

Fitz fails spectacularly at his assassination attempt and is almost killed. Verity aids his escape and, in the process, imprints the command "Come To Me" into Fitz's mind. Unable to disobey, Fitz immediately begins to make his way to the Mountain Kingdom, following the path Verity took on his quest. During this journey, his bond with Nighteyes, his Wit companion, continues to deepen and change as each finds themselves becoming more like one another. The wolf begins to have the ability to think abstractly and plan events while Fitz starts to gain the more noble wolf qualities of living in the present and a fierce loyalty to friends 'in his pack'.

Along the way Fitz and Nighteyes meet a minstrel named Starling. Starling recognizes Fitz and insists upon traveling with them, claiming a desire to witness and record great events. They meet an old woman named Kettle, who is travelling to the Mountain Kingdom to see the White Prophet, and Fitz is later attacked during his journey by warriors under the command of King Regal. He reaches the Mountain Kingdom barely alive, but is tended back to health by the Fool — the White Prophet whom Kettle had been seeking. The Fool rejoices that Fitz is alive beyond all hope and thinks they may yet be able to avoid the dark future he has foreseen.

Fitz, Kettricken, the Fool and Starling set off to follow Verity, followed by Kettle. On their journey they encounter a garden full of stone dragons which Fitz can sense with his Wit, leading him to believe they are alive, despite appearing to be mere statues. Eventually the truth is revealed: the dragons were carved out of black memory stone and given the memories and emotions of those who carved them. Verity has spent a long time carving his dragon, only to find that even if he gives the dragon everything he has, including the bare minimum he needs to keep his heart beating, it will not be enough to bring it to life to fight the Red Ship Raiders.

Kettle reveals that she is the last remaining member of a former royal coterie. She makes peace with her past and decides to help Verity complete his dragon. They give the dragon all their emotions and finally their lives, bringing it to life in turn. Fitz discovers how to wake the other sleeping dragons, and they are led against the Raiders by the Verity dragon. The Raiders are successfully driven away. Kettricken is left pregnant with Prince Dutiful and Fitz finally retires as royal assassin.
source:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassin's_Quest