In the kingdom of the Six Duchies, FitzChivalry Farseer, bastard child of the crown prince, is raised in the castle stables until he is taken into the royal household to be trained as an assassin and learn how to use the magic that runs in his veins.
I think that what is important to mention before going further into this review is that Assassin’s Apprentice is a foundational novel. This has a considerable impact on the pacing of the story which I found extremely slow and, a few times throughout my reading, I felt as though I was going to stop reading this book and not continue with the series. Fortunately, I persevered.
I persevered for several reasons. First of all, I found that Robin Hobb has a beautiful writing style, every word, every sentence fell effortlessly into place. Second, I enjoyed exploring Fitz’s growth throughout the years and be able to see his training: at the end of the book, I knew exactly what kind of person he was and what kind of values he was ready to fight for. And third, the last hundred pages were real page turners filled with political intrigue and tough decisions.
However, it is important to note that Assassin’s Apprentice is quite depressing at times. Fitz’s life is nothing but hardships and pain inflicted by others onto him. He is ostracized by most of his peers and bullied by one of his tutors. This was, at times, at least for me, emotionally exhausting. But luckily, there are characters who care for Fitz and who show him that he isn’t alone and from whom he can get the support he needs to keep on moving forward.
To conclude, Assassin's Apprentice was a satisfying read for me though the story built up very slowly, but everything fell perfectly into place at the end of the book, it succeeded in reawakening my interest for the series and that's why I will continue on with The Farseer trilogy hoping that the second book will be filled with more action, a faster pace, and more assassinations happening on stage rather than behind the scenes.
Hobb, R. Assassin's Apprentice, London, Harper Voyager Books, 2014.