Title: Assassin’s Apprentice
Author: Robin Hobb
Genre: Fantasy
Published: 1995
Pages: 464
Goodreads Rating: 4.17
Rating: 8/10
“It would not do for the royal entourage to be late for the wedding; it was bad enough that the groom was not attending.”
Should a son be judged by the sins of his father? In Assassin’s Apprentice, Fitz, an illegitimate son of Prince Chivalry, struggles in the shadow of his father’s singular, notable sin… infidelity. Fitz must forge his own path with the help of an unlikely trio… a stablemaster, an assassin, and a fool. And before you ask, this is not the beginning of a joke. It is the coming-of-age tale of a young boy as he faces almost insurmountable odds dealing with loneliness, cruelty, and death.
Pros:
Gripping storytelling
It took a shockingly short amount of time for me to become emotionally attached to the main character. From start to finish, I was fully invested in the story. That is especially impressive when you consider that this is the first book in a series. Hobb successfully introduced a set of characters, a world, and a magic system while also getting me tied to the story in the first 50 pages.
Interesting magic system
Speaking of magic systems, there are two in Assassin’s Apprentice: the Skill and the Wit. Both are based in telepathy. For the Skill, the magic user can telepathically communicate or influence the emotions of another person. For the Wit, the magic user can telepathically communicate and establish a deep bond with animals. The Skill is considered the “delicacy” of magic systems while the Wit is considered an abomination.
Leaves you wanting more
The book succinctly wraps up the story in a few paragraphs but that just didn’t feel like enough. I wanted more detail. So once I finished Assassin’s Apprentice, I immediately wanted to start Royal Assassin. This is one of the major benefits of a Kindle. I can access the Kindle store, purchase the ebook, and start reading.
Cons:
Incomplete details
This is one of the issues with a single POV. You don’t get all of the details for some of the side stories and events. In Assassin’s Apprentice, we only follow Fitz’s POV. So when a side story occurs or when a serious event happens, we don’t get the details and we may never even know how it ends… Coming from some other series that have multiple POVs, it was a bit of an adjustment to shift to one POV.
The ending
Remember how I mentioned the succinct ending? That’s not the ideal way to end a story… Yes, it wraps up all of the details. But it felt like I was reading a Wiki page. I wish that Hobb had taken another chapter or two to outline the last bits of the story.
Overall…
I am so glad I finally read a Robin Hobb book! I plan to dive right into the next one and I’m excited to see where Fitz’s story takes me.
Caroline’s Library 