A review by bexcain
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

challenging emotional slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

And just like that, I’m in love.

As someone who reads little to no fantasy, I can’t tell you why I picked this book up on a recent Waterstones trip. But it drew me in and I’m so grateful it did.

This was one of the best fantasy books I’ve ever read. We’re following Fitz who is the bastard to the king-in-waiting unbeknownst to him. We meet Fitz when he is very young and we follow him in first person narrative as he grows up in the Royal Keep of his new family. Whilst his early years are spent in the stables with the stable master Burrich as he gets older he becomes a Kings Man and is subject to various avenues of training. 

This is a slow burner but it’s divine prose and rich character development makes it feel like a  luxurious experience every time you dive in.

There’s not a huge amount of plot until you’re about half way through, but it’s worth the wait.  The story is rife with politics, mistrust and subdued magic and the world building is immersive.

The characters are so intriguing and so well built both the human and animal. You route for some as much as others get under your skin. The relationships and their interactions, Hobb makes it so you feel like you’re in the room with them.

I can see that some people may not get on well with the pacing or even Fitz’s POV as a child but I think for me it was very much right place, right time and I’m really grateful to have read this. Can’t wait to initially continue with the Farseer trilogy, but who knows the whole realm of the elderling series might be on the cards now. I think it’s going to be quite the journey.

I want to go back and annotate everything but I’ll save a reread for when I pick up book 2.

5 hobbing stars!

Quotes:

“Don’t do what you can’t undo, until you’ve considered what you can’t do once you’ve done it”

“Very little worth knowing is taught by fear”

“Utter loneliness was planted in me then, and set it’s deep roots down into me”