4.25 let’s say? This worked for me in so many ways! It’s got a serious tone, it’s slow paced. It’s not info dumpy, though I think you could argue that the italics part at the start of each chapter is an info dump. I liked those. So often fantasy books start chapters with snippets from songs or poems or other writings, but none of it actually adds anything to the story, so I end up skipping them. Here they really interested me.

I was moved multiple times reading this book. It has a restraint that I enjoy - characters are not high drama, high expressive emotion at all times. Their personalities aren’t exaggerated. It all feels quieter which makes it more effective for me. There are some really emotional moments and conversations that snuck up on me. It’s an experience more like watching First Reformed than a Marvel movie.

There are some traditional fantasy trajectories here, but there are ways it was subverted, too. That made the reading experience fresher for me as well.

The fact that this was written in 1995 shows. Despite being written by a woman, women in the story generally play a small role. The way she writes these women is a huge improvement upon most male writers, but she either internalized some misogyny or just knew she couldn’t sell a book with women playing a large role. I hope that changes as I read later books in the series.

I think a complaint others might have is the episodic nature of this book. It doesn’t feel like there’s really an overarching plot here. Hobb has instead included various events from Fitz’s early life and his coming of age is really the focus. I was not bothered at all, I was enjoying it the whole time, but it’s something I could see bothering readers that enjoy stories that are more plot driven. It still builds to a more high stakes event at the end of the story, making it feel like an intense conclusion.

I love the choice to have Fitz narrate his life from a future point because it allows for him to reflect on his life as an older man as he tells his story. I especially loved it when it came to the portion about lessons with Galen. There were some reflections on learning from a cruel master that you don’t normally see in fantasy. However, I do wish I had more internality on page. Fitz doesn’t always give me a lot of his thoughts during some heartbreaking moments. It could be that Hobb is characterizing Fitz through his narration style, but that feels like a stretch. I’m assuming this is /her/ narration style and I’m wishing for a little more of a deep dive in Fitz’s psyche.

VERY pleased with my experience with this book and will continue the series.