Assassin's Apprentice
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.
Stats for nerds
7recommend
19mentions
17people
2009–2026years
42% recommend32% neutral26% critical
Mentions per year
What Hacker News says
- Best thing I've ever read. Based on the title, "Assassin's Apprentice", I would never have picked it up. It's on the "realism" side of fantasy. The protagonist is not having a good time, at all. Hobb excels at writing about communities.
- Robin Hobb is one of my favorite authors. Her masterwork is a series of series (four trilogies and a quadrology) known as The Realm of the Elderlings.
She published the first trilogy, which begins with Assassin's Apprentice, starting in 1995. I saw the books when they first came out and I assumed from the title and the cover that it would be a cheesy fantasy by the numbers, so I never bought it. But I kept hearing about these books from other people who liked SFF, so I finally picked up the first trilogy.
I was completely wrong. It's not at all by the numbers. While it's not trope-free (nothing is), there are all sorts of interesting ideas, from the political to ecological. As you read the later series, the world opens up quite a bit, and it gets even more interesting. The final trilogy brings so many elements together, and the ending is shatteringly powerful.
While this is epic fantasy, it's _not_ at all grimdark. Bad things definitely happen, but it's more hopeful and humane than something like Malazan or Song of Ice and Fire.
I can't recommend these books highly enough. Even if her writing is slowing down, I hope that she's satisfied with what she's done. This series alone is an enormous accomplishment. To build a world across so many books, across so many years, and have it come together so well in the end is massively impressive.
- The link isn’t loading for me right now, so I’ll just add to the appreciation for Hobb. I’m currently reading book 13 (4th in the Rain Wild Chronicles). They’re all great!
I picked up The Assassin’s Apprentice while looking for something to fill the Rothfuss void. I was instantly hooked. The tone and the pace was just right for me. I really like that they are so character-driven, deeply exploring the characters’ emotions, history, flaws, etc. And she’s great at having the plot build and build until basically everything is going wrong, and then she delivers a super satisfying ending.
I usually take a short break between each tril, but I might just go straight into her last batch after I finish this book.
- To each their own. I've found Malazan to be quite a slog. Enjoyable in parts, but too many characters, too broad in scope for me. I'm on the final book now, and am going to finish it, but I'll feel more relief than anything when I'm done! The Assassin's Apprentice series, being from the first person perspective is in many ways its polar opposite. Each style has its advantages, but I've found I prefer stories where I can really get to know a few characters, rather than necessarily needing a truly massive, sprawling world. (Kingkiller Chronicle is probably my favourite; hope I get to read the rest of it eventually.)
I notice a similar trend in my enjoyment of RPGs, preferring something with a fairly linear storyline to more open world games.
- Robin Hobb is amazing, her books which begin with Assassin's Apprentice really helped me through extremely stressful periods of life being able from time to time to escape from reality and into another world and then return.
- Robin Hobb is amazing, her books which begin with Assassin's Apprentice really helped me through extremely stressful periods of life being able from time to time to escape from reality and into another world and then return.
