Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb
Mass Market Paperback: 464 pages
Publisher: Spectra (March 1, 1996)
ISBN-10: 055357339X
Assassin’s Apprentice is the first of three books in The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb. The story is a first-person narrative, told from the point-of-view of an adolescent named Fitz. The first-person perspective offers something a bit different for fantasy, as most fantasy novels I’ve read tend to come with multi-view, multi-character perspectives. The first-person narrative works well in this novel, as you truly gain a deep understanding and appreciation of Fitz’s character and how he views the world around him.
Left by his father at a young age, Fitz comes into the service of King Shrewd. Fitz possesses the magical ability to bend the mind and to meld his thoughts with those of animals, and the king recognizes this power and wants to exploit it for his own desires. The king puts Fitz under the guardianship of the Royal Assassins, a secretive group trained in the art of assassination.
While not as dark or gritty or violent as some other fantasy novels (namely George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire), Assassin’s Apprentice is most certainly on an adult level. Fitz faces challenges that test his strength, his integrity, and his loyalty.
Hobb does a fantastic job with the characters, not just Fitz’s character, but with all of the supporting characters as well. You will quickly learn that everything is not always black and white with her characters and story lines, as it sometimes is in other fantasy novels. Hobb’s imagery and descriptions are vivid, and the plot is unpredictable. The author also does a good job of building and maintaining suspense throughout. The sequel to this novel is Royal Assassin.
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars