Assassin’s Apprentice Review

If any book can get me out of my reading slump, I think it will be the Assassin’s Apprentice. I had the best time reading it and I’m actually looking forward to picking up the rest of the series. And for this year that’s saying a lot.

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.

My Thoughts on Assassin’s Apprentice

Let me give you a fair warming. If you don’t enjoy slow paced fantasy filled with world building this one isn’t for you. I don’t necessarily mind that and the way that Hobb built the world captured my attention. We learned the setting with Fitz. He knew very little about the world he was thrust into and so we essentially grew up with him as he learned the politics and magic systems. There wasn’t any info dumping or clunky unnecessary passages. And though it was slow paced the story moved smoothly along.

I loved the characters, the world, and the general vibe of the story. It made me remember why I fell in love with fantasy in the first place. The only thing I noticed was that there seemed to be a tiny bit of plot armor around a couple of characters but that didn’t pull me away from the story too much. It is the first book in a series after all. Overall, I’m super excited to see where the Farseer trilogy takes me. I think this is going to be a binge worthy series.

My Rating: 5/5