Don't do what you can't undo until you've considered what you can't do once you've done it.

An assassin with a conscience.

From the reviews I expected "Assassin's Apprentice" to be better, but instead it was just okay. The story slowly builds, the characters are introduced and FitzChivalry is trying to make his way in the life he's been given. The pace of the book is what you'd expect for an introduction to the Six Duchies. You assume that the only threat is the Red Ship Raiders, but then the story takes a sudden detour and things escalate quickly.

The last part of the story was excellent, I would have had a different rating if this pace started sooner or had peaks of it throughout. However, it's a slow burn. You need time to get used to the narration style. Then at the end you find yourself fully in the world Hobb's created and realize that the pace of the book was fine, the world was introduced correctly, and now you're invested and want to finish the trilogy.