Sean

What an incredible, incredible, incredible book. As someone who’s never read this style of book before I was unsure that a story about game developers would have enough to it to engage me, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. I ended up forcing myself to slow down and savor this story because i wanted to spend as much time with Sadie and Sam as possible. They are two of my favorite characters ever, the dynamic between them and the way it evolves throughout the story is what makes this book shine and the place it leaves them in I think was exactly where they were meant to be, despite all the ups and downs they faced on the journey. I also wanted to mention the NPC chapter. It was stunning and devastating, but so beautifully written. I felt like I should be in tears, and I think I would have been if I hadn’t been too busy being engrossed in the writing, specifically the way it was switching states of consciousness at all times. This became an instant classic in my mind and a book I will remember reading forever.

Royal Assassin was a strong sequel to Assassins Apprentice. I felt way more connected to Fitz and the stakes felt higher throughout the book. His character has really grown through the first two books and I love how that growth is communicated through his changing relationships with the other characters. From when Burrich returns to Buckkeep until the king-in-waiting ceremony is some of the most exhilarating reading I’ve done. The conclusion didn’t quite live up to the buildup, but it left me wondering where the story goes from here and more excited than ever to find out what Fitz does next.

Assassin's Quest was not a perfect book, but was the perfect ending to the trilogy and left me feeling extremely satisfied with the time I spent with Fitz, Nighteyes, and all the rest. Starting with the good, I love the quest aspect of the second half of this book. It had a sort of Fellowship of the Ring feel to it and I felt a genuine connection to the mission and all of the characters on it. There were real stakes, suspense, and growth for that portion of the book. The final part in the quarry(and beyond) was where the real payoff came. I won't spoil anything, but the ending put each character(except for Regal, I didn't love his ending) in the place that I felt they were meant to be all along. The bad part of this book, was Fitz and Nighteyes' solo travel in the first half. It wasn't all bad, but it felt like a tv show where they have to put some kind of action in each episode to make people watch, but none of it is particularly relevant to the main story. That can be entertaining, but in this case it felt repetitive with Fitz essentially getting his ass kicked every time. The poor guy just couldn't catch a break and I didn't feel like that was necessary. Overall, just like in the first two books, the strength of this book is Fitz. He was a character I thoroughly enjoyed spending a couple of months reading about and the reason I would certainly recommend this entire series.

This might have been the most excited to read a book I’ve been because of how great Jonathan Strange by the same author was. It lived up to the hype. Piranesi’s house is the most incredible setting I’ve ever read about and felt like a character as much as the others in the book. The journal entry style made it feel like I was watching the events and mystery unfold exactly as Piranesi did. This was one of the quickest, most immersive books I’ve ever read and I enjoyed every page of it.