Assassin's Apprentice

Gave up at 72%.

Crushingly depressing but very good, i.e., a Hobb book.

Not even 50 pages into “The Assassin's Apprentice” and Robin Hobb has taken my heart and punctured it straight through. And again twice more later on, leading me to cry, lose my breath, and immediately vow to read more of this amazing 16-book series.

The characters live and breathe, whether people or animals. The court intrigue twisted and turned, made even more unpredictable by the two sets of magical abilities (the Wit and the Skill). On top of that, mysterious and menacing red ships lay waste to the coastlines Forging people into near zombies.

There are beautifully written passages, so well done that I can smell the salt spray of waves crashing against the cliffs outside Buckkeep or smell the herbs in the chandlery.

The 25th Anniversary illustrated edition is a real pleasure and I was lucky to get it from a local library. Even without the lovely illustrations, the book would be amazing.

REALLY enjoyed this. exactly what i wanted when i decided i wanted to get into a big, all-enveloping fantasy series. the first half is pretty slow going but sets the tone so well and gives you so much insight into the world and characters, so when we get to the second half it just gets to be a rollercoaster. ily fitz ily fool ily nosy. can???t wait to get to the next one 

The cover has a quote from George R.R. Martin proclaiming this book to be a breath of fresh air, and I am inlcined to agree. The pacing is quite slow, but the focus on creating realistic, engaging characters and building a story that readers are able to invest in won me over by the time I was a quarter of the way through. The writing is beautiful for a fantasy book. It may be because this book was published over 20 years ago, and different styles were en vogue at the time, but I liked that there was only a wisp of a hinted romance, but Hobb doesn't plow indiscriminately on in that direction at the expense of storytelling and worldbuilding as happens in many modern fantasies.

Lastly, the first person perspective doesn't usually work very well for fantasy because you are so limited in scope in what you are able to see from one character's perspective, but here I think it works well because there is such a focus on the characters. Plus, there are some 15 books still including the novellas - more than enough to find out about the world.

I cried at the last paragraph.

I’m not sure I’ve ever read a character piece of such depth and make no mistake, this is a character piece through and through. While there is certainly some action and developing plot lines, the main focus is on who Fitz is and how he fits into this world. If the whole trilogy is like this first one, I’m very excited for the ride.

On my first reread and just: wow. This book is just as enchanting as the first time I read it. Fitz has my entire heart. He's one of my favorite types of protagonists: someone dropped into it and just trying to do their best. This first book in the series hits particularly hard because we follow him as he grows up and we know him as he's young, so to see him just be used by almost everyone in his life, by his own family, to get reduced to a weapon to them first and a person second is just heartbreaking. As is knowing that it only gets worse from here. I can't wait to finish his story.

This is a work of high-quality fiction, well imagined in considerable detail and well written.

I give it only two stars because it leaves me feeling sad and depressed. It's about the early life of a royal bastard, whose life is persistently difficult and perilous; and he lives in a kingdom in crisis. We know he'll survive, because there are more books about him; but that doesn't guarantee him happiness, and he finds little of it.

It's realistic, I suppose: this is probably what life in that kind of world would be like. Although I think strict realism would require his death at one of the various points where it could easily have happened.

But I read fiction for my own enjoyment, I want some positive result out of it. What good does it do me to become sad and depressed? Almost any work of fiction must surely contain some conflict or struggle or problem to be solved, and there will be probably be moments of unhappiness. But I want moments of happiness and humour as well, and above all I want it to end on an upbeat note. I don't insist that every book should end with everyone ecstatic and living happily every after, but I want to come away from the book feeling good about it.

I don't think I'll read the other books set in this world, because they seem likely to be about as depressing as this one. It's a pity, because the author is talented, but from my point of view her talent is wasted on books like these. However, fortunately for her, plenty of other people apparently manage to enjoy them. Taste in fiction varies so much from person to person.

Toch wat tegenstrijdige gevoelens bij dit boek.
Aan de ene kant had ik echt moeite om me hier doorheen te worstelen en dit maakt me toch wel triest.
Ik wilde zo graag hals over kop vallen voor dit boek, deze auteur, deze personages en wereld, maar dit gebeurde helaas niet. Misschien waren mijn verwachtingen veel te hooggespannen, maar mijn overheersende emotie toen ik (eindelijk) de laatste pagina uitlas, was dat het nogal teleurstellend en ook wel een beetje saai was.

“He held it out to me, and I took death upon my open palm.”

De schrijfstijl bezorgde mij echt problemen.
Ik zal niet ontkennen dat de tekst lyrisch en poëtisch is en een mooie flow heeft, maar het is ook erg langdradig, een beetje archaïsch en droog. Ik vroeg me op een bepaald moment af of mijn probleem lag in het feit dat Engels niet mijn moedertaal is, maar ik lees al meer dan tien jaar bijna uitsluitend in het Engels, dus daar kan ik me niet echt mee verzoenen.
Wat het ook is, het is een feit dat het schrijven mij niet kon boeien en dat ik het moeilijk vond om me er in onder te dompelen. Het maakte me steeds slaperig, met zijn rustgevende en sussende retrospectieve toon.

“All events, no matter how earthshaking or bizarre, are diluted within moments of their occurrence by the continuance of the necessary routines of day-to-day living.”

Het hielp ook niet dat het verhaal zelf erg traag op gang komt.
Het is niet echt een episch, actievol verhaal, maar eerder een langzaam, kronkelend pad door de eerste levensjaren van Fitz, die niet echt gelukkig zijn.
Ik begrijp waarom mensen dit gezellig en nostalgisch zouden kunnen vinden, vooral met de middeleeuwse sfeer en de verteller die zijn verhaal in herinnering vertelt, maar de combinatie van dit kronkelende, langzame verhaal met de langdradige, meanderende schrijfstijl was niet echt bevorderlijk voor mijn onderdompeling en binding aan het boek.

Mijn enorme verwachtingen weerhielden mij er echter van om het op te geven en het boek middenin te laten voor wat het was.
Ik wil zo graag ervaren wat zoveel anderen voelen als ze het verhaal van Fitz lezen en ontdekken waarom deze trilogie zo geliefd is, dus ik zette door, ondanks dat ik vaak moeite had om op te blijven letten.
Naar het einde toe kwam iets meer vaart in het verhaal en gebeurde er zelfs plots zo veel op korte tijd, dat ik het opeens te gehaast en te snel afgehandeld vond, vooral in contrast met de rest van het boek. In plaats dat dit mijn intrige opwekte, maakte het me alleen maar moe. Ik was zo lang in een slaperige staat gewiegd, dat de actie op het einde gewoon te vermoeiend was om echt indruk te maken.

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

Ondanks al dit, ben ik toch van plan verder te lezen in deze serie, want ergens kan ik wel herkennen waarom dit inleidende verhaal een speciaal plekje in iemands hart kan gaan innemen, nadat de rest van het verhaal zich heeft ontvouwd.
Het verhaal wordt namelijk vanuit de eerste persoon verteld door Fitz, wat een zeer intieme sfeer creëert, wat er waarschijnlijk toe kan leiden dat je geleidelijk meer en meer gehecht raakt aan een personage. Zelfs nu kan ik me scènes uit het boek nog levendig herinneren en ze associëren met de ervaringen en gevoelens van Fitz, wat ergens toch wel illustreert dat de auteur erin slaagde een zaadje van genegenheid te planten, ondanks mijn overheersende slaperige gevoel tijdens het lezen. Dit geeft me hoop dat de serie mij toch gaat besluipen en uiteindelijk zal uitgroeien tot iets bijzonders. Ik blijf daarom verder lezen op zoek naar die klik en hoop dat ik de schrijfstijl op een gegeven moment boeiend en meeslepend zal vinden.

The character work in this book is absolutely amazing! I loved every second of it.
Emotions are beautifully written.

Just not my cup of tea...

This was a good book, but not a great one. It was a light read and fitz is a likeable main character but I didn’t find myself entirely immersed in the world or that I fully grasped the stakes of the action that would make me care about it. That said, I enjoyed reading it and will be reading the second as well.

I've just finished reading this book and I'm speechless. I loved every bit of it. I must admit I was a bit wary when I started reading it because everyone says it's so sad. It is sad, that's true, but not to the point that you're crying the whole time (I only shed a tear twice). All in all, this book was an absolute joy to read and I'm pretty sure I'll read the whole Realm of the Elderlings saga in time.

I'm not good at articulating my feelings. I will just say that I had plethora of emotions reading this. Can't wait to continue the journey.

Alright Hobb knows how to write, I loooved the detailed but not ultra dense prose, it hits the perfect spot.
And the coming of age story is so beautifully done, the characters were greatt, if this is the worst book in the series oh boyy.

I actually laughed when I learned why everyone cried at the end of this book lol

3.5

Wow!! I loved this first time round but I actually loved it even more second time!
Such a fantastic cast of characters that you cannot help but fall in love with and see as completely real!
The writing is comforting and while its not a barrel of laughs the story is at the same time heartwarming and heartbreaking!
Cannot wait to continue rereading this amazing series!

“Hard times are here, boy And I wonder if they will ever pass.”
In the years to come, I was to wonder that often.”

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.

This is the first Robin Hobb book I have had the pleasure of reading and I will say that I did enjoy it overall as my introduction to Robin Hobb's writing.

I had been hearing so much about Realm of the Elderings and Robin Hobb on booktube and to be honest I did not feel this lived up the hype, I was expecting a 5 star read, that is not to say it s a bad book by any means

Assassins apprentice focuses alot of our main characters Fitz and his progression you can call it of being passed around to different teachers to learn a variety of different things and skill sets, that is the bulk of the story so far. There are still 2 more books in this trilogy yet, so I am expecting it will just get better as we go along. But given that the actual plot progression was not athe bulk of the story itself

As for the writing style itself it is taken from a 1st person narraitve which I do admit I enjoy that as that way of writing in a way makes you the character whose viewpoint is coming through. I find that this helps to have empathy for the character and more invested in the story overall.

I will be honest in that I did not like how Fitz being an assasin was not hidden well in the respective courts. It was too obvious in that everyone seemed to know he was an assassin there to assisnate a paticular person. which seemed kind of backwards vs someone being discovered.

The Magic system is subtle in this story, With skilling and forging seeming to be the main types of magci, but will be honest after this first book I am still not really sure of what those are exactly. All I can really say is skilling has something to do with telepathic communication and forging is a bad thing, but never really explained. I find I enjoy a book better when by the time you finish reading the 1st book you have a clear and good understanding of the magic system and how it works which I did not find with this one. But am hopeful that future books will further develop that understanding, I for sure want to keep reading this series

overall 3.5/5 stars for me, with the anticiaption that it will get better

Wow. Just wow. This book, from the offset, absolutely floored me with it's prose. Prior to this, I'd never tabbed a book, but by the time I'd finished it, it sat with around 50 tabs jutting haphazardly out of it. It is truly one of the most beautifully written books that I've ever read, and for that alone I would recommend it. However, the rest of the book is just as noteworthy.

I'd never read a Hobb book prior to this, which is something I rather find myself regretting now, since it turns out that I've been missing out on some of the best modern fantasy on offer.

Fitz is an incredibly strong protaganist, diverging from the, at the time very popular, beefy muscle man archetype of fantasy protaganists. His stoicism in the face of a rather difficult life is fantastic, and Hobb gets you invested in him by starting the story with the reader meeting him as a child. You very quickly get a strong picture of who Fitz is, and who he has the potential to become.
Being a bastard in the court, his birth causing his father, the heir to the throne to leave, Fitz' is treated incredibly harshly by certain members of the court, with one of his uncles calling for his death at the beginning of the book. He finds solace in those who treat him well, becoming fiercely loyal to them.

His evolution throughout the story is stellar, each ounce of suffering a boon for his character. And ooh boy, does Fitz suffer. This book is certainly tame in comparison to how the series is described, but by no means does that mean that Fitz gets off scot free. Fitz loses a lot throughout this story, and always grows for the loss.

The supporting cast is equally as strong, each member of it being written exceptionally tightly by Hobb, in a manner that allows you to get to grips with them, even though they all keep parts of themselves from Fitz, as he's too young to truly know them. This is a really impressive feat for Hobb to achieve, as the story is being told by Fitz in the future, who presumably knows a lot more about them at the time of him writing his history than we the reader do, but she doesn't try to spoil future developments, and hint at how things might play out.

Burrich is a distinct highlight of a character, acting as one of Fitz' father figures throughout the story, alongside Chade. He's oathbound to Fitz' father, Chivalry, so raises Fitz' so that Fitz' may live up to be the kind of man worthy of the blow that Chivalry's honour took in siring him. Throughout the story, Burrich was a consistently strong character, being my favourite of the extended cast of the book.

The world itself is also really well fleshed out, with a fairly unique ruling system, believable internal strife in the kingdom and politics lying just beneath the surface that make you desperate to learn as much as you can about the world.

The extended lore of the world, specifically about it's folklore, is really intriguing, and I look forward to learning more about it as I dive deeper into the series.

There's also a very intriguing magic system, that has two distinct parts. There's Fitz ability to telepathically bond with animals, that's seen as a base and disgraceful style of magic, misunderstood by people that haven't used it, and there's the more respectable Skill, which allows users to communicate over long distances, siphon from others, use telekinesis etc. Both of these feel completely unique from the other, while also feeling connected in some way.

There's a third, much more mysterious magic system in place, that of Forging, where morals are stripped from people, turning them bloodthirsty and selfish. This is used by the raiders from across the sea to threaten the stability of the kingdom, and is terrifying to read about

I'm extremely excited to continue reading the series, and Hobb's got a lifelong fan in me because of this book. This was a very easy 5 stars for me to hand out.

Likely enough lad
inconvenient parentage
friend to animals.

A long time ago (18+ years) I overdosed on Robin Hobb. I haven't read anything by her since then. I was finally persuaded to have another look, and as the audiobook was available on Libby, I gave it a go.

It really is a very good book. But, I will be careful not to overdose again, so will wait a while before I do the next one.

It's a great story filled with great prose, and I feel that fans of «The Kingkiller Chronicles» will like it for what it accomplishes overall. Having said that, I really didn't feel a strong connection to the story as the better half of the book simply follows the day-to-day life of the protagonist since this one was a child until the age of 14-15. He doesn't really display a characteristic personality for the majority of it but there are several instances that his personality does come out in this first half, and by the time he starts learning to be an assassin towards the second half, he manages to be a likable/relatable protagonist.

When he started to engage in the duty imposed on him by the King, the narrative steadily began to gain momentum which culminates in the final “arc” of the book, as he is seemingly driven against a corner with every odd against him. By this point, I devoured every chapter until its conclusion. The righting, the stakes, the plot, and how Fitz figured in all that was so rivetting to read that I was dying to know how the story would end...and even though I liked the ending, its the type of ending that “returns to normality” aside from our protagonist's clear development, if you know what I mean.

It was a great book, but I hope that the sequel improves upon what was established here.
But hey, the trilogy is held in high regard for a reason.

This has a slow start that really makes you form deep connections to the characters that will pay off throughout this incredible series.

Reread 
How could I give this book 3 stars before?!!
....
It was my first time reading this type if books where we followed the protagonist from when he was young. The slow-paced story, formal writing style, I'd have to say i struggled i bit throughout the book. But as the story goes I've come to like Fitz, the bastard, our protagonist training to become a royal assassin. I was under different impression of the type of assassin he was training to be and expected a bit of action here and there. Nevertheless, i quite enjoy the book.