Assassin's Apprentice

by Robin Hobb

mass market paperback, 435 pages

English language

Published Jan. 5, 1996 by Bantam Books.

ISBN:: 978-0-553-57339-8

(63 reviews)

Young Fitz is the bastard son of the noble Prince Chivalry, raised in the shadow of the royal court by his father's gruff stableman. He is treated like an outcast by all the royalty except the devious King Shrewd, who has him secretly tutored in the arts of the assassin. For in Fitz's blood runs the magic Skill--and the darker knowledge of a child raised with the stable hounds and rejected by his family. As barbarous raiders ravage the coasts, Fitz is growing to manhood. Soon he will face his first dangerous, soul-shattering mission. And though some regard him as a threat to the throne, he may just be the key to the survival of the kingdom.From the Paperback edition.

9 editions

lowclasshifi reviewed Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb (The Farseer Trilogy, #1)

Review of "Assassin's Apprentice" on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

it has the structure and form of a YA fantasy novel, but it doesn't talk down to its readers. the ending felt a bit too pat and happened too soon. sorta jarring.
but, it was an excellent read.

muemue reviewed Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb (The Farseer Trilogy, #1)

Good character development

5 stars

I liked how author develops characters in this series, the book itself easy to read and doesn't get boring.

Books That Burn reviewed Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb (The Farseer Trilogy, #1)

Review of "Assassin's Apprentice" on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

ASSASSIN’S APPRENTICE follows Fitz through his childhood and adolescence, as he learns to be an assassin for the king, and what he’s actually willing to kill for.

The worldbuilding is layered, with things explained as Fitz is told them, supplemented by insights from his older self. This leads to a gradually filled-in impression of a complex setting where details are conveyed as they are necessary, and even more is implied through the narrative. This style lends clarity. He discusses both how he felt at the time, as a child and then a teenager, and what he thinks about those events now that he’s an adult. This becomes especially important during sections such as his time under Galen, as the dissonance intensifies between events as they happened and how he was being conditioned to perceive them. There are several moments where something he does as he’s telling the story is juxtaposed with some assertion made by his younger self, showing how something must have changed in the meantime (presumably to be covered somewhere in the trilogy).

One of my favorite things is his complex relationship with Burrich. How they are to and with each other changes throughout the story. Even when it's changing for the worse, it makes sense, and it's nice to see Fitz's growing understanding of Burrich as a person with his own internal world separate from Fitz. How Fitz views Burrich is often a great proxy for how Fitz is growing and changing, flavored by the dissonance between how Fitz is and how Burrich wants him to be.

There’s a lot of care in the narration, partly due to the balance between Fitz’s memories and his older self’s reactions to and commentaries on the memories, and partly due to what I can best describe as a lack of voyeuristic interest. One of the background plots involves raiders pillaging the coast, and, other than a few scenes where Fitz has to directly fight someone as a result of the raids, there are few descriptions of the kind of violence which accompanies such raids. Said violence is canonically happening, and Fitz frequently discusses the effects he’s observing on the people and the Kingdom which stem from the raids, but in a way that makes sense for his character. This is just one example of how the narration gives the impression of the complexity (and sometimes violence) of Fitz’s world, but does not unnaturally bend his character to direct the story towards it, nor does it shy away when appropriate.

A great start to the series, I'm ready to read the next one.

CuriousLibrarian reviewed Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb (The Farseer Trilogy, #1)

Review of "Assassin's Apprentice" on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

I liked, but didn't love this book. The writing style was good, but I was annoyed with the main character naivete. I know he was young but he repeatedly failed to learn to trust his instincts. Lots of people love these books so I might try the 2nd one.

Victor Hugo Kebbe reviewed Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb (The Farseer Trilogy, #1)

Review of "Assassin's Apprentice" on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

[b:Assassin's Apprentice|45107|Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy, #1)|Robin Hobb|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320339497s/45107.jpg|171715] is definitely one of the best books I read this year. The narrative does not depend on any commercial appeal such as several known titles... Finally, [a:Robin Hobb|25307|Robin Hobb|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1205023525p2/25307.jpg] knows how to lead the story of a very elegant way. Despite being written in a slow pace, [b:Assassin's Apprentice|45107|Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy, #1)|Robin Hobb|http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320339497s/45107.jpg|171715] has richly drawn characters in a captivating storyline. Awesome, definitely one of my favorites.