The Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb is a book I have heard many great things about. I actually meant to start Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson but felt like reading a completed series. I had The Farseer Trilogy used paperbacks just sitting on my shelf calling out to me. I figured it was time to add Robin Hobb to my authors read list.
I must say first I had high hopes for this book and, well, I was proven right! The beautiful thing about this book is it’s easy to understand Fitz and what he is going through. Being unexpectedly thrust into a royal family as a bastard with no say in it would be terrifying for anyone, much less a child. Hobb has some beautiful writing to lay his life out to us. First person point of views is probably the most challenging perspective to write from being that you can’t bring the world to life from multiple characters viewpoints unless they talk to your main character. You also do not want to bore people with exposition either. It needs to feel natural and Hobb does that expertly. I was never confused about the world I was in or what was going on. Lucky for the reader Fitz is sharper than people think he is, so I was always on about the same page as him, though being an adult, I did want to yell advice at the poor kid sometimes. That is because Hobb made me care about him as if he was part of me.
The world is quite complex as are the characters. If you ever want to write first person fantasy and understand how to make other characters around yours interesting, then I would recommend this book. Every character Fitz encounters seems unique and having a personality of their own. Their motives and decisions make sense whether negative, positive, or neutral. I never met a carbon copy of a personality that felt like an NPC throughout the book. There are characters I love and one's I despise, and of course ones I am curious to learn more about. It's a nice balance.
I am totally hooked on learning more about Hobb’s world here. There are so many things yet to learn she has me hungry for more. I would say learning lore and about the fantasy world in general are in my top interests when reading new fantasy series. Of course, you need great characters to help you along there and to care about the world. So far, these boxes are checked.
The magic in this world is interesting. I do not have a system down for sure. There are complexities between the three types of magic I have seen that do not seem to be interlinked as of now. I will go more into this in the spoiler section. They make sense I just do not know where they come from or how one gets these abilities yet. Possibly just born with them, genetics maybe, hopefully it is explored further in future books.
I guess if I had anything that I thought should have been done to improve the book is maybe give the reader more on the Red Raiders. They seem like the major threat constantly throughout the book, but we never really get a good feel for them as a unique culture or group. I think it would have helped for Fitz to encounter one of them or maybe just someone who fled from them to get us a bit more up to date on who they are and possible motivations. The court intrigue and Fitz 's personal enemies was great on its own, but if these guys are going to be talked about constantly then maybe a bit more info on them would make me understand their main purpose for the series better.
Otherwise, I cannot recommend this book enough time will tell if the series maintains this feeling, but from what others have said I believe it will. Now onto spoilers
SPOILER SECTION
On top of everything above I have to say Fitz and Burrich’s relationship is so complex and thought out. It really felt like a surrogate father figure with little clue of what he’s doing and a child who’s lace in this world is chaotic. I get frustrated with them both, but of course when Burrich rejected Fitz for awhile I was pissed off. I assumed the character was unredeemable at that point, which Hobb of course disproved that feeling by the end. I also love the complex relationship he has with Patience. I think she could really do wonderful things for Fitz and he for her, but the awkwardness between them feels so real I am not sure if they will ever fully realize how good than can be for one another. I of course do not mean romantically, but more like a female figure for him to look up to.
I also have to say I have much respect for Verity and Chade in the series. My only issue is sometimes they are more focused on what is good for the Duchies than what is good for Fitz. They do try to help him and give him good counsel. It’s just they disappear from his life for large pieces of time and erratically see him that the kid never knows where he fully stands with them, but his respect for them always seems high despite this. Fitz deserves better from these two.
Now Shrewd, Regal, and Galen are great characters that make me despise them. Shrewd is a terrible King. Regal is a douche of a prince, and Galen is just cruel. Shrewd uses Fitz, Regal tries to get him killed, and Galen assaults and tampers with his mind. All vile people and I celebrated Galen’s end. Regal I think is going to be tougher to get rid of. He is a pompous ass, but well protected by his position. I was hoping Fitz would poison him but knew he would not do that. I love how Robin built up these characters to cause such strong negative emotions from me towards them.
The wildcards in Fitz’s life are of course Molly, the Fool, and animals. I love the Fool and was annoyed we didn’t learn more about them. The Fool seems like the most unique and mysterious character in the book. I have to know more as soon as possible. They are definitely good for Fitz though. As for Molly, I have mixed feelings. I thought Regal might kill her just to torture Fitz, but nope instead their relationship quickly disintegrated and now she has left town. Fitz is younger than her, but clearly understood and supported her more than anyone. I wish he did voice his feelings, but at that age I doubt I would have been able to express myself properly either. I hope she is okay and returns to the story in a positive manner in the future. The animals he encounters are so fascinating especially the young pups he bonds with. I expect his talent of Wit gets further explored and more useful in future books. I really do enjoy his interactions with the animals and cannot wait to see how they will help him succeed in the future.
Now so far it seems there are three types of magic I have seen. The Wit, the Skill, and whatever is done to make living zombie like humans. These are all fascinating, but I need more explanation of where they come from. I am hoping for more in book two though even if not I can still enjoy them as is. Ok well I need more on the Forged. Cause that is a huge gap of knowledge. Speaking of them….
The last thing I want to discuss are the Forged. I love the concept. Not only are the Red Raiders making life hell just with their attacks, but then returning the Duchies own citizens back to them as essentially empty beasts to destroy morale and cause all kinds of crime is brilliant. That could really cripple a kingdom and cause its dissolution easily. Shrewd is of course useless on dealing with it while his son Verity almost kills himself trying to do something about it. Just makes me assume Shrewd will be overthrown and killed off sooner, rather than later.
I loved this read and will continue onto the Royal Assassin. For those that read this it shoots way up there in my praise of books.