Name: Assassin's Apprentice
Rating: 4.091422121896162 (443 reviews)
ISBN: 9780553573398

Robin Hobb

Raised by a stableman and trained in the arts of the assassin, bastard nobleman's son Fitz realizes his magical skills and finds a first test of manhood in a band of raiders and a group of murderous nobles. Reprint. K.

Assassin's Apprentice

A bastard prince relegated to cleaning stables is chosen by a king to become an assassin. The novel follows the training and missions of this man who has inherited magical skills, among them mind-control and the ability to communicate with animals.

A solid start to the series and I think it gets a lot stronger towards the end. I don't love the narrative style but I believe in the rest of Robin Hobb's novels it shifts as it goes from series to series. A lot of interesting twists in this book, though a few felt a bit far-fetched to be totally believable. 

Paige Leitner

“Fantasy as it ought to be written . . . Robin Hobb’s books are diamonds in a sea of zircons.”—George R. R. Martin 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 as 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. Praise for Robin Hobb and Assassin’s Apprentice “A gleaming debut in the crowded field of epic fantasies . . . a delightful take on the powers and politics behind the throne.”—Publishers Weekly “This is the kind of book you fall into, and start reading slower as you get to the end, because you don’t want it to be over.”—Steven Brust

Killed three dogs over the course of the first entry of the trilogy, including the same dog twice. At least have the decency to spread it out!

Francis Wilson

Very good. Slow in the beginning and a very political book but very goos

Aleksander.G

Crazy. I couldn't pull myself away. I grew so attached to the protagonist I spbbed for him a third of the way through. Ugh. I'm so, so in love with this book I'm scared to read the sequel for fear of not loving it as much.

alice

Luke Harkness

Absolutely loved this. Can see why it's one of the top-rated fantasy books/series of all time!

Read my full review on www.lukeharkness.com

As Fitz, an outcast and the bastard son of Prince Chivalry, grows to manhood, a legacy of magical skill and other mysterious talents propels him into the role of protector of the kingdom, if his initial perilous mission does not destroy him first.

Sunny

oh my God it takes a lot for a book to make me cry but oh my God

Shape Mismatch

While the magical system/universe here is not unique, neither is the as-i-grow-up narrative of the protagonist (Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind), this book did catch my interest. It mixes politics, emotions, and aristocracy in correct proportions. 

What Jessica Jones is for superheroes, this book is for high fantasy.

Derek

This series is a combination of every style of prose i adore - introspective, first-person, verbose, and poetic - all in a fantasy setting. I'm in love with it, despite it also being a hard read due to the harsh conditions the main character has to survive in.

Krystyna 

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I knew that this was a trilogy and that other series were connected to this one. However, I did not know that the Realm of the Elderlings consisted of 16 books. I'm not even upset about it. I really enjoyed this story and I love Fitz! I also really loved Burrich. 

This story starts out as a slow burn, which is expected for world building and such of a high, epic fantasy. I really loved getting to know about Fitz's childhood and his development as a character. Fitz is a fantastic character and I really got attached to him by the end of the book and wanted to know what was next. I also enjoyed the world that Robin Hobb created. I enjoyed Fitz's connection to animals, being an animal lover myself. I enjoyed the political intrigue of the kingdom and the whole assassin aspect. I didn't fly through this book; I wanted to take my time with it and pay attention to as much detail as possible. That could have been because of the writing style; it was a little different than what I was used to but it didn't take long to adapt to it. Once I adjusted to Robin Hobb's writing style I was hooked; I really love her writing, especially for fantasy. This story was definitely more character driven than plot driven, which, ironically, I still enjoyed. I didn't mind the slower pace/plot of the book because I loved the world and the characters. I was very pleased with this story but I can see how it was building up for the rest of the story in the later books. 

It was a great fantasy book to read. This was such a great introductory book to this series and this world. I am so glad that I picked this up and I definitely plan on continuing with the rest of Robin Hobb's work. I already bought the Rain Wilds series but I have a little while before I get to those. I will be buying all of her books. She is a new favorite fantasy author of mine, for sure.

Wynter

This is what Patrick Rothfuss's Name of the Wind was supposed to be. Alas he failed, Robin Hobb succeeded. Of course you can see the bad guy from a mile away, BUT oh the twisty plot renders that flaw obsolete.

Assassin's Apprentice

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