Name: Assassin's Apprentice
Rating: 4.146240988671472 (971 reviews)
ISBN: 9781984817853

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb | SansFiction

§Synopsis

In a faraway land where members of the royal family are named for the virtues they embody, one young boy will become a walking enigma.

Born on the wrong side of the sheets, Fitz, son of Chivalry Farseer, is a royal bastard, cast out into the world, friendless and lonely. Only his magical link with animals - the old art known as the Wit - gives him solace and companionship. But the Wit, if used too often, is a perilous magic, and one abhorred by the nobility.

So when Fitz is finally adopted into the royal household, he must give up his old ways and embrace a new life of weaponry, scribing, courtly manners; and how to kill a man secretly, as he trains to become a royal assassin.

§Our take

The premise is old: bastard prince, hidden gift, secret training. Publishers Weekly said as much, then said Hobb pulls it off anyway. That's the right call. What makes the book work is the voice. An older Fitz looks back on his childhood, and the story cares more about what he carries inside than about battles. Chapters open with short excerpts that fill in the world, which gives the court a lived-in feel.

The magic costs him. The Skill is a telepathic art, and the Wit is a bond with animals that nobles despise. Both burden him more than they empower him. The pace is the real argument. The early chapters are slow and slice-of-life, and some readers find Fitz too passive to follow. Others find his obliviousness true to a boy that age. The plot widens as he grows, and the ending is a strong one.

§Themes

Power with a price: The Skill and the despised Wit both burden Fitz instead of making him overpowered.
Raised to kill: Fitz's assassin training raises hard questions about what he is being asked to become.
Where he belongs: A bastard cast out, then taken in on the crown's terms, finds his closest bond with animals.
Court as a trap: The politics and social ranks feel lived-in, and Fitz is moved around by people with their own plans.

§How it was received

Publishers Weekly praised an excellent fantasy debut, and Kirkus found it intriguing, controlled and remarkably assured. Readers praise believable, flawed characters, Fitz and the stablemaster Burrich among them, though some find Fitz passive and frustrating. The other grumbles are the slow start and thin villains.

§Read it if

You like fantasy driven by character and inner conflict more than spectacle
You'll trade a slow, patient start for a strong finish
You want magic that is limited and costs something

§Skip it if

You need a fast plot from the first chapters. The early going is quiet and slice-of-life.
A passive, naive protagonist makes you want to shake him. Some readers can't get past it.

§Before you start

Reading experience: A memoir from an older Fitz: quiet and close-up at first, then broader and faster as he grows.
Reading order: Book 1 of the Farseer Trilogy, followed by Royal Assassin (1996) and Assassin's Quest. Read them in publication order; this is the door into the whole Realm of the Elderlings saga.
Content notes: Violence, including assassination attempts and poisoning; Animal death; A royal bastard's exploitation and the moral weight of training as an assassin.

§Common questions

Is Assassin's Apprentice the first Robin Hobb book to read?: Start here. It opens both the Farseer Trilogy and Hobb's larger Realm of the Elderlings world.
Is Assassin's Apprentice slow?: At first, yes. The early chapters are slice-of-life while Fitz is a child, then the plot widens and speeds up toward an exciting ending. Pace is the book's most debated trait.
Can it be read as a standalone?: Largely. Kirkus found it satisfyingly self-contained, though some threads stay open for the next two books. Readers say the series improves.

§If you liked this

Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb — The direct sequel, and readers say the series gets better from here.

Sources

§Genres

adventure1american fiction1classics1dystopian1fantasy1fiction1science fiction1

§Content Warnings

§Moods

adventurous1challenging1dark1emotional1funny1mysterious1reflective

§Tags

#ab1#animal cruelty1#diverse characters1

§About the Author

Robin Hobb

4 books in catalog

Robin Hobb is a fantasy novelist, best known for the four connected trilogies and a tetrology that make up The Realm of the Elderlings. The tale began with Assassin's Apprentice, the opening book for the Farseer Trilogy, and concluded in 2017 with Assassin's Fate, the final volume of The Fitz and the Fool Trilogy.

Robin Hobb lives in rural Washington State on fourteen rather soggy acres with her husband Fred Ogden, a retired marine engineer. They raise chickens, ducks and geese and are owned by two Belgian Malinois dogs, Ginger and Molly.

Robin Hobb has been the recipient of several awards, including Comic-Con International's the Inkpot Award in 2017 and the World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2017.

Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm are both pen-names for Margaret Ogden.