The cruellest way to write such a dark story as the Fitz and the Fool trilogy isn't to go deeper into the blackest despair, but to let light filter through. In the first half of Assassin's Fate, Robin Hobb lets her narrative shine with characters' encounters and occasions of joy, even for poor Fitz. So when the time comes for the hardest step of his journey, at the end of the book, it can only get more heart-wrenching.

The conclusion of a 16-novels-and-a-few-short-stories series can only be bitter-sweet. Despite my reader's sorrow, I do think it's perfect. All the pieces of the puzzle click into place, all the strands are knotted to form the tapestry of the Realms of the Elderlings universe. Reading one book a month for a year and a half has had its highs and lows, but I think this ending will always make me cry because it feels so right.

Rep : polyamorous MC, genderfluid SC