Assassin's Quest

With shimmering language and the alluring garb of Faerie, Hobb concludes his Farseer trilogy with this immense coming-of-age novel. Assassin and Royal Bastard FitzChivalry-having in Royal Assassin taken poison to escape torture at the hands of the usurper Regal, the brother of FitzChivalry's lost King Verity-is now reborn through his telepathic bond to Nighteyes, the wolf. Together, man and wolf set out to find Verity, who has vanished into the wilds in search of the legendary Elderlings to save his land from the barbaric Red Ship raiders. Fitz and Nighteyes battle fearsome enemies as they travel the old magical Skill Road toward the quarry where Verity desperately struggles to carve a massive dragon out of living rock. Gradually, Fitz's trials strip him of everything and everyone he loves and shatter every illusion he cherishes about himself. Hobb's grandest creation, Nighteyes, leads a splendidly realized supporting cast that plays out its roles against ever-changing, never-cloying landscapes of genuine wonder. But all the wonder in this make-believe world can't cloak the bittersweet lesson at the story's heart: that the pursuit of truth demands a price in loneliness only a few can or will pay. (Mar.)