Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer S.) - Robin Hobb

Atmosphere, Character

The words in the subject seem to be Hobb's forte. She is unrivalled in the fantasy genre for both. She creates a completely believable quasi mediaeval world without resorting to mind numbing realism or conceited grittiness, and also manages to include enough beauty and magic for it to be intriguing to jaded Fantasy readers. The magic system could have been cliched - it is not. There are real costs and dilemmas attached to the two magics in the book. You will not find fireballs or lightning bolts here.

It is a dark tale with troughs of despair and strife warring against the brief peaks of happiness that the protagonist is allowed.

The events and situations we find in the book are both logical and poignant due to the expertly painted characters - if Fitz, the Assassin's Apprentice of the title, is in a dangerous situation, it really matters because Hobb has made the character matter to us. The same goes for secondary characters: even minor characters are written with a style and care that most novelists would not consider. This is not to say that one will find lengthy passages about the workday of a cook that Fitz happens to see occasionally, no, Hobb can delineate and sculpt an impression of a character with a few well chosen lines, lines that can linger long in the memory.

I have not mentioned the plot. This is not a summary, but an explanation of the 5 stars at the top of this review.

Fantasy writing GENIUS!!

The farseer trilogy starts with the assassins apprentice, you follow fitz on his journey in a fantastical land meeting heroes and villains alike. I absolutely love reading and re-reading this series as well as The Liveship Traders trilogy, The Tawny Man trilogy and the recent Soldier Son trilogy. Robin hobbs is a fantastic author, the places she writes about come to life and the heroes are believable without being untouchabley noble, almost godlike as some other trilogies portray their heroes. If you do decide to buy The Assassins Apprentice then get ready to raid your savings because you are gonna want to buy up the rest of her books!

Fantastic fantasy.

This is the book that converted me to the science fantasy genre, after having eschewed it for decades. I have since read all Robin Hobb's books, although the Farseer trilogy remains my favourite. I could never come at (and still can't) fantasy books that are just too fantastical (ie. set on some planet with tongue-twisting name, peopled by beings with more nutty names, and mutant dragons/lizards etc.). I found Hobb's books easier to read because her characters and plots are more "earthly", and thus (to me, anyway) more believable. This book was complex, engrossing and left you wanting more. Luckily, there is more!

Brilliant!

Excellent characterisation, storytelling and writing. This is a great read and Robin Hobb's writing draws you into the story and doesn't let go.

Already wanting more

I have just finished reading this book. I cannot remember the last time I was so engrossed in a story, connected so strongly with the characters and found myself half-eager half-despairing to get to the end. The world in which the story takes place in is written so convincingly by Hobb that at times it felt she was actually describing places that had once existed. She has not only created the land geographically speaking, but she also came up with the cultures, the traditions, the history and even the political backdrop for it all.
I think the portrayal of Fitz is excellent, the idea to write in first-person was an excellent one and overcomes the no-name problem that he encounters for a good portion of the novel, you really feel as though you are in his body. I enjoyed the way the story folded out, how he slowly grew without you realising it as you read, much how you don't realise the people you grow up with are doing so. I also enjoyed how certain things were never directly explained, such as the Skill. Obviously, to Fitz, this doesn't need explaining and you are left to gradually build your understanding of the world he lives in. I did cry once or twice reading it, and it also left me with a very saddening feeling of past childhood years and becoming older.

Basically... I'm going to order the next two books once I've finished writing this!