More flawed than the first book, but still good - Rated 
I added my review to the first book of the Farseer trilogy when I finished reading it about a week ago. Since then, I've finished the second book, and thought I'd post a follow up.
The second book is much longer than the first, coming in at a whopping 768 pages (the third, as I've discovered, is even longer). As I said before in my review of the first book, the characters are well rounded, and interesting, with a good level detail and depth. In fact, the majority of my praise for the first book can be applied to this one, so I'll not repeat them. It's enough to say that I got through the 768 pages in about 5 days, so yes, it is a good read.
I will, however, concentrate a bit more on my criticisms of this book, because as the title of this review suggests, there are flaws here that do detract from the story. First and foremost, the first-person narration kept making me feel as if the central character is far, far too whiny. This is a common problem in first-person narration, and this book suffers because of it. Everything is a problem to the central character, he wallows in his depression and introspection, and you can't help by feel annoyed at the reams of pages that explore his inner thoughts. The same questions come up time and again, and the same doubts, so after a while it starts to get a bit much.
The other thing that I found frustrating (and this is a common problem with trilogies), is there is far too much repetition of things that have already been revealed. First, there was too much repetition of events from the previous books. I can appreciate there's a length of time between the publishing of each book, and a desire to remind the reader of what happened previously, but it seems to me that anyone who read the first book should recall the events that happened previously without the need for such recap. Fortunately, this lessens the further you get into the book, but I did find myself skip-reading large sections of things I already knew. Second, many locations and places are described time and again in a very similar fashion. As an example, the number of times the kitchens in the keep are described over and over again became a little bit of a private joke for myself. Hobb seems to have this innate desire to describe everything in great detail. While this does bring the world alive in some ways, in other ways it lacks focus for the reader and does get a bit tedious at times.
I couldn't help shake the feeling that the book was far too long for what it was, and required decent editing. The old rule of thumb in writing is that something isn't made perfect because there's nothing left to add, it's perfect because there's nothing left to take away, and this book could certainly have benefited from this.
I also felt as if there were less surprises in this book than the first, and Hobb showed her hand too much. There were some things I'd already guessed, and have been proven correct (both in reading this book, and reading the third and final book).
My final criticism of the book also applies to the first, but I only became aware of it the more I read, and it is this: because the book is narrated in the first-person from the perspective of someone "present day" looking back at his past, and aspects of that person's life in the present day are revealed to us in the form of prologues (and by other means), the reader is already aware that the central character survives, and is living a fairly happy and content life. This becomes a problem because at no point do you actually feel as if the main character is truly threatened in any way. You do wonder how he survives, and if he achieves his true objectives, but by revealing these little details Hobb has stripped the book of a major source of tension.
Truth be told, I would have preferred to give this book 3.5 out of 5 - 4 is a bit too praiseworthy, but 3 just doesn't do the overall series enough justice. It may not sound like it, but I have enjoyed the series, and do recommend it, but don't expect as flawless a book as some people have made out.
A great read! - Rated 
This is a great story and has been a very gripping read so far (i've almost finished the second book). It has a slightly different spin on the classic fantasy novel and is written in the first person which is a change for me (most of the fantasy trilogys i've read lately have been third person). Definately worth a read if your looking for a new set of books. The only compliant is that the second book does retread some of the ground covered in the first book but it might seem that way because i read the second straight after the first.
Amazon provided great service as always and the book was delivered promptly in great condition.
The BEST series of books I have ever read!!!!! - Rated
I'm not going to ruin the plot for anyone so all I will say is that these books made me an addict of the fantasy genre. They are so well written and definitely in my collection of books that I will re-read!! There is a balance of everything in these books ... magic, love, excitement, fear, humour and lots more!! If you don't get sucked into the character and his amazing journey then I'll be shocked & stunned!! REMEMBER to read them in the correct order though: Assassin Trilogy; Liveship Traders Trilogy & the Fool's Trilogy.
Enjoy!!!
Robin Hobb Trilogy - Rated
The far seeer trilogy is a magical senisity missive.
I found it habit formaing so I have purchased the Tawny Man Trilogy.
I have just started on the first of the books and would reccomend any one to it who is hooked on the first series
Even better than book 1 - Rated
The first book, Assassin's Apprentice, was a bit slow to get going. The second feels much the same, but as you already know most of the characters the story gets going straight away. It's nice to read something original, and having the book written from Fitz's point of view can really help you believe that you're sharing in the adventure.
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