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Wednesday, July 15, 2020

Review: Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Title:
 Assassin's Apprentice
Author: Robin Hobb
Series: The Farseer Trilogy #1
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Harper Voyager
Publication Date: 2011 
Edition: Kindle Edition, 464 pages
Source: Library






Synopsis:
   In a faraway land where members of the royal family are named for the virtues they embody, one young boy will become a walking enigma.
   Born on the wrong side of the sheets, Fitz, son of Chivalry Farseer, is a royal bastard, cast out into the world, friendless and lonely. Only his magical link with animals - the old art known as the Wit - gives him solace and companionship. But the Wit, if used too often, is a perilous magic, and one abhorred by the nobility.
   So when Fitz is finally adopted into the royal household, he must give up his old ways and embrace a new life of weaponry, scribing, courtly manners; and how to kill a man secretly, as he trains to become a royal assassin.


    I really enjoyed this book. The world is really interesting and really immersive, I loved the characters, and I loved the setting, I love the way the story unfolds. I was never 100% sure where things were headed or how they'd get there, once I had a theory about a certain character that turned out to be true but I'll leave it at that. Nothing was "predictable" in the sense of the word. I truly loved this book and I wish I didn't have to wait for the sequel from the library to continue. Alas, I do.

    Fitz is an interesting character. Based on some of his early treatment, and how people often talked to him, you'd think, almost expect him to be a harsher person. But he isn't. He's very compassionate to a point where he puts others far above himself. He accepts when others cast him aside for whatever reason and just does his best to move on in life.

    The passage of time wasn't always clear to me though. I'm still not entirely sure how old he is supposed to be by the end of the book, nobody ever really addresses his age except in passing, and usually as an afterthought. It didn't distract me from anything, I just like knowing those small details as it helps me picture things better.

    The only thing that, for me, wasn't really explained well at all was the magic system. Wit and The Skill. The Skill was a bit more confusing than Wit. Wit is an ability to connect and commune with animals, and Skill seems to be some kind of telepathy or something, I'm not sure I didn't really understand it that well. Maybe as the series progresses it will be explored more and I will understand it better. I can always read a wiki or something.

    The other thing that I am a little unsure of is why Burrich, the Stablemaster, hates Wit as much as he does. I think I understand it as some kind of superstition and hearing of men losing themselves in the animals they commune with. But his hatred, currently, is as far as I can see, unfounded. 

    I am very excited and wish I didn't have to wait to continue the series.

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