Robin Hobb’s The Farseer Trilogy

Last month, The Folio Society dropped a huge doorstop of a release: Robin Hobb’s Farseer trilogy, which includes Assassin’s Apprentice, Royal Assassin, and Assassin's Quest. They’re books that I haven’t personally dipped into, but they’ve come highly recommended from friends and writers who’ve raved about the series. The release comes on the 25th anniversary of the trilogy’s original publication. I spoke with Hobb about the book, looking back on that quarter century milestone. 

Disclaimer: Folio Society provided me with an edition to review. 

“It does reflect an earlier time in my writing life,” Hobb writes “but really, there is nothing I wish to change about it. It may sound egotistical, but Assassin’s Apprentice still works for me, both as a reader and as a writer. I’m still comfortable if I sit down and read a chapter or a few paragraphs from it.”

Following the relentless pace of science fiction and fantasy release schedules, it often feels like a promising fantasy debut might appear and vanish within months or even weeks as others overtake it. But I often see The Farseer trilogy recommended on lists when it comes to fantasy epics that people should check out. Hobb chalks this up to the first person tense that she uses for voice Fitz, putting the reader right in his place. 

‘“I think it’s an intimate voice that draws readers into the story. It also allows the writer and the reader to share the characters thoughts, and to experience the world as the character does. In Assassin’s Apprentice and the books that follow it, sometimes the reader will realize that Fitz is not seeing things exactly as they are.  He is a lens, but not always a perfectly clear one.”

In her introduction to the boxed set, Hobb speaks about two different modes of writing: “what if?” and “who is this character?” The latter leads authors to explore the ramifications of that question, leading to the story, while the former builds a story around the character as it guides the author. 

I enjoy a character who is distinct. The character will not always make the obvious decision, or the decision that I would make. Will she walk into the room with guns blazing, hide behind the door to hear what people are saying, or walk away thinking it’s none of her business or too dangerous to interfere? A good character lets me experience the story as someone who is entirely different from me. 

Ultimately, she notes that fantasy literature has certainly changed in the last quarter century: it’s “always been in a state of flux, one thing that I’ve always loved about fantasy and SF,” she writes. “I recall the wave of cyberpunk that washed through our genre, adding a new layer of flavor to it. Vampires had a strong decade or two, turning up in unlikely places. Alternate history! Romantic Fantasy. Books that are 800 pages long have replaced the 275 page paperbacks of my youth.”