The concluding volume of the Farseer Trilogy is the longest and most ambitious of the three, sending Fitz on an extended journey that takes him far beyond the Six Duchies in pursuit of a purpose he barely understands. The novel's pace is deliberately gruelling - Hobb uses the length and difficulty of the journey as a formal expression of what the quest costs its protagonist. The conclusion has divided readers since publication, with some finding it among the most affecting endings in fantasy fiction and others finding its particular form of resolution too costly to accept. It is not a comfortable ending but it is an honest one.
