In the second book of the Farseer Trilogy, Royal Assassin, we pick up right where we left off with our boy Fitz, who is actually a man at this point. He's committed his first assassination for the King and has been nearly crippled by the effort. He's back at Buckkeep, but there's treachery and villainy afoot. King Shrewd is old and frail; King-in-waiting Verity is exhausted by attempting to keep raiders from attacking coastal cities, not to mention dealing with his new queen, a delightful woman who we love, but is definitely not Verity's priority; Prince Regal is a dickhead who is clearly plotting how he can gain the throne; Fitz's woman friend, Molly, is distracting him from his duties to Shrewd; and there's this pesky wolf cub, Nighteyes, who Fitz rescued, but Fitz isn't supposed to use his power to talk to animals, Wit, so he's hiding his relationship with Nighteyes and boy, isn't that exhausting?
There's just so much going on in these stories. There's a slight bit of magic, Wit and Skill, so it's definitely a fantasy world, but using that magic can destroy a person. There are consequences for misusing it and those consequences can make or break kingdoms and destroy lives. There's political intrigue and we've got to figure out exactly who to trust (is there anyone we can trust?). There's a lot of day to day living - Fitz getting fitted for new clothes and gossiping with the cook in the kitchen.
I just find Robin Hobb to write delightful little bits of daily life that build the characters in amazing ways. I have loved watching Fitz grow - his voice is his own, but you can see him starting to understand complexities much more than when he was first thrown into the castle keep as the dead prince's bastard child. If you're into fantasy and you haven't found your way into the Hobb universe, I would highly recommend it.
Words I looked up:
Fid: a thick pin, wedge, or supporting pin
Doughty: brave and persistent
Stertorous: (of breathing) noisy and labored
Emetic: (of a substance) causing vomiting
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