Just finished Assassin's Quest (spoilers), should I keep reading?

[matt_o]

It's interesting that you brought up Castaway, I had forgotten about that movie but I see what you mean. I think it's important to consider the other side though - how long should anyone wait for someone that's missing or presumed dead? How long can you put your own life on hold for someone else?

Sure, the book did indeed foreshadow quite a bit that Burrich and Molly's relationship would eventually change especially when they think that Fitz is dead.  That part is reasonable.

However, the author clearly wanted this misfortune to befall Fitz.  It was almost like a main goal of Assassin's Quest that she had before beginning to write it.  She crafted the story such that Burrich would not tell Fitz that he would be a father, despite living with him for quite a while.  She has Fitz tell Burrich and Chade to "get out of my life" thus making it less likely that he will find Molly.  Burrich finds the dead body with the pin and assumes Fitz is dead, thus removing an obstacle for him to pursue Molly.  Fitz gets Verity's skill-command thus preventing him from returning to Molly.  And burrich watches over Molly for a lengthy period of time thus fostering his love for her.

All of this, combined with the very lengthy setup in book 2 that Fitz really really wants to be with Molly but currently can't... is where my resentment comes from.  It feels like a broken promise that the author had previously made to the reader.

Fitz seems like a character designed to ultimately fail from the start.  Having the book go to great lengths to show how hard said character is trying sets the reader's expectations that he will eventually succeed.  when this doesn't happen, it is frustrating.

When I started reading Assassin's Apprentice, I think my expectations for Fitz were that "hey, we've got this 6 year old boy that no one wants because he is illegitimate, watch how he overcomes and rises above his misfortunes and succeeds despite them."  But it seems like Fitz is more like "Hey, we've got this 6 year old boy that no one wants because he is illegitimate.  And watch how no matter what he does, he still fails as a result of things that he can't control."