Assassin's Apprentice (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 1) [Mass Market Paperback]

Robin Hobb (Author), Michael Whelan (Illustrator), John Howe (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: March 1, 1996 | Series: The Farseer

Young Fitz is the bastard son of the noble Prince Chivalry, raised in the shadow of the royal court by his father's gruff stableman. He is treated like an outcast by all the royalty except the devious King Shrewd, who has him sectetly tutored in the arts of the assassin. For in Fitz's blood runs the magic Skill--and the darker knowledge of a child raised with the stable hounds and rejected by his family. As barbarous raiders ravage the coasts, Fitz is growing to manhood. Soon he will face his first dangerous, soul-shattering mission. And though some regard him as a threat to the throne, he may just be the key to the survival of the kingdom.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The bastard sons of kings play a noble role in fantasy: not only were King Arthur and Modred by-blows, but it is often suggested that Merlin himself came to power from the "wrong side of the bed." While Hobb's offering has a few too many illegitimate heirs backstabbing around, this is still a delightful take on the powers and politics behind the throne. Fitz, who is often called the "Boy" or the "Bastard," was begotten by good Prince Chivalry upon some "peasant" woman. At age six, he is given over to the safekeeping of the prince's man, Burrich. Fitz's impolitic existence causes the prince to abdicate his claim to the throne, and he and his wife leave the court, and the boy, behind. Fitz has inherited the "Skill," a mind-bending talent, and also has the ability to meld his thoughts with those of nonhuman creatures and to mentally "repel" physical advances. When Fitz finally comes to King Shrewd's attention, he is given over to the Royal Assassin's tutelage and trained to carry out the king's devious plans. The novel's conceit-that it offers Fitz's memoirs from childhood through adolescence-allows for several sequels. A gleaming debut in the crowded field of epic fantasies and Arthurian romances.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

From Library Journal

As a royal bastard in the household of King Shrewd, a boy called "Fitz" spends his early years in the king's stables. When the magic in his blood marks him for destiny, he begins receiving secret instruction, by order of the king, in the art of assassination, a calling that places him in the midst of a nest of intrigue and arcane maneuverings. Firmly grounded in the trappings of high fantasy, Hobb's first novel features a protagonist whose coming of age revolves around the discovery of the meaning of loyalty and trust. This gracefully written fantasy belongs in most libraries.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Spectra (March 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 055357339X
• ISBN-13: 978-0553573398
• Product Dimensions: 4.2 x 1 x 6.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (635 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,956 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robin Hobb lives and writes in Tacoma, Washington. Robin is best known as the author of the Farseer Trilogy (Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin and Assassin's Quest.) Other works include The Liveship Traders Trilogy, the Tawny Man Trilogy, and the Soldier Son trilogy. The Rain Wilds Chronicles is now complete, published as Dragon Keeper and Dragon Haven. A story collection, The Inheritance, showcases my work as both Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm. In April of 2012, City of Dragons was published as the 3rd volume in the Rain Wilds Chronicles. That tale will conclude in April 2013 with the publication of the final volume, Blood of Dragons. Robin Hobb also writes as Megan Lindholm.

A short story, Words Like Coin, is available as an illustrated e-book from Subterranean Books. Soon, a Six Duchies novella, The Wilful Princess and the Piebald Prince, will also be published by Subterranean.

Amazon Author Rankbeta 

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#27 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#36 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#46 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

#27 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Fantasy

#36 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Fantasy

#46 in Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

365 of 372 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A tale of duty, sacrifice and injustice October 26, 2001

By A. McPhate

Format:Mass Market Paperback

I am writing this review because I found this trilogy impossible to put down but emotionally draining. This was the kind of story that grabs your guts as well as your mind. If you have read Haldeman's "All My Sins Remembered", you know what I mean. After I finished the last Assassin book I spent hours trying to sort out my feelings. It hit me that hard.

After I read the first book I told my wife she might like to read it. Now, I don't think so. This story isn't light entertainment, its something you experience. If you want a black and white hero story, go elsewhere. If you want a story that can pull you in, wring you out, and leave you feeling like you have really been through something, then read this. This is good, strong stuff. If it makes you a little sick, don't say I didn't warn you.

I will mention that the book, being a narrative from the point of view of main character, flows much better than the typical multi-party fantasy novel that has to hop from person to person to keep things synchronized. The flow is so strong I literally had difficulty putting the books down, stealing any spare minute I could to read just one more page. Thank goodness it was only a trilogy - I wasn't getting near enough sleep.

84 of 89 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Quality reading, quality entertainment March 3, 2006

By Piotr Wilkin

Format:Mass Market Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Ever since I read George Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series (at least, what was available at the time), I was looking for some kind of "middle ground" between fun and enjoyable, light fantasy the likes of Salvatore or early Goodkind and the heavy, ambitious, but nevertheless sometimes overwhelming saga created by Martin. In Hobb's literature, I believe I've found that middle ground.

First of all, a warning. This isn't a book that starts very fast-paced. At the start, it looks like it will develop along the ever-popular "young hero grows up, received training, becomes the most powerful wizard/fighter/whatever in the world", but this is certainly not it. Hobb does break a lot of genre cliches in her writing - this is one of the things that really makes her works valuable.

What Hobb has, which is also the domain of Martin's writing and is missing from a majority of fantasy books, is an uncanny ability to create characters with a convincing psychological profile. Her characters actually feel real and unique at the same time, the title character is not the "typical fantasy assassin", but that doesn't make him less "flesh and blood". On the contrary - I'd say that out of all fantasy novels I've read, Hoob's characters are the most "flesh and blood" to me, surpassing even Martin.

Then again, I promised middle ground. Hobb excels where Martin stays a bit behind - at constructing action and propelling the events ahead. Reading the book, I actually felt that there was something happening all the time, that all the events were somehow linked and actually had importance. If you manage to engage yourself in the novels, I guarantee you that you will spend many long evenings following the adventures of Fitz and company....

There is one category of readers that won't enjoy this book, however. Remember, this is a female writer's work and this does show. Like in the case of Patricia McKillip's books, you won't get non-stop hack'n'slash here, nor tons of fireball-throwing wizard battles. If you want that kind of fantasy, switch over to Forgotten Realms, you'll find plenty of that there (just stay clear of Baldur's Gate!). If, however, you want a complex, action-filled, true fantasy story with convincing characters, this is a must-read. Read more ›

116 of 133 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars finally, a fantasy novel for adults. December 25, 2000

By Yosef Abta

Format:Mass Market Paperback

This review refers to the whole series: Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy is very different from any other fantasy book you've ever read. The main difference is that it's not action-packed or even action-based. Oh, there's a lot of royal-court plotting and murder, there are battles and journies to distant lands, there is magic and magical creatures and all the other stuff you've learned to expect in a fantasy work - but somehow it's not the main thing, as is evident from the relatively slow-pacing of the plot. So if you're looking for a Robert Jordan kind of action-thriller - you better move on. But if you're an adult (emotionally, that is) and looking for something more substantial and profound - you've found the right book. The Farseer trilogy, as I have already said, is not action-based. Instead, it is charcter-based and relationship-based. it is concerned with the process of a young boy's maturing and becoming a man and an adult (in an environment which is mostly hostile) more than it is concerned with the machinations of a royal court, or the hero's training as a royal assasin. It depicts in great accuracy and detail the relationships between the hero and those around him - various father-figures, the women in his life, his enemies, and the animals he becomes magically attached to. In a sense, it is the most "realistic" fantasy novel i've ever read - not because the world described in the books is realistic, but because the relationships described seem "real": Hobb employs real feelings and gives them psychological depth, her heroes experience real love and real hate, which are often hard' complicated, ambiguous, and have moral aspects that make them even harder. Not the adolescent clear-cut love/hate we've learned to expect from fantasy heroes.... Hobbs heroes experience a wide range of emotions, complete with disappointment, disillusionment and acceptance - a vital part of growing up. In that sense, Hobb's books belong to the literary tradition and genre of the Bildungsroman (a novel of formation, initiation, self-development, of training and education), of which Dickens' "Great Expectations" is a prominent example (and indeed, while reading the farseer trilogy, you can sense the influence of Dickens on Hobb's themes, mood, and character development - the disillusionment and acceptance element in particular).This genre is described in some cases as "an apprenticeship to life" (Assasin's Apprentice...) and "a search for meaningful existence within society". Hobb's hero, Fitz, finally finds his "meaningful existence" within his society and social order by making a great sacrifice (for his loved-ones and for his king), at a great cost to himself - thats what we all do when we grow up, don't we? that's another aspect of Hobb's realism - despite the final victory of the "good" in the novel, it is a bitter victory, not the superficial happy-end we know from other books. the fact that the novel is relationship-based is also reflected in the original magic-systems brilliantly devised by Hobbs for the Farseer world. It's not the kind of magic that gives you the ability to bring down lightning or throw a fire ball. it is a communication-based magic system, based on feeling, empathy and a mutual bond (or hate and emotional abuse, when the bad guys use it), between humans, or between a human and an animal. It gives Hobbs an opportunity to use the magic as an amplifier of feelings - brilliant. I've read a few of the reviews by other readers and I agree that the trilogy's end is a bit disappointing - elements of the plot are wrapped up hastily and without a satisfactory explanation. A lot of story elements are left in the dark. but the weak points of the ending concern the fantasy and plot elements of the story - which, as i already said, are not the main thing in this novel.from the emotional aspect, i think the ending is still very powerful and moving. In short, the farseer trilogy is a fantasy novel for adults. If you're ready to commit, to experience real emotions (good and bad), you're in for a treat. Robin Hobb's books stand out among modern fantasy works - they are among the few which can be considered real literary efforts, not just adventure books for kids. Read more ›

114 of 131 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars WONDERFUL CHARACTERS IN AN UNEXCITING WORLD December 25, 2005

By EMAN NEP

Format:Mass Market Paperback

Robin Hobb is a "she" not a "he". Just wanted to clarify that right away, since I saw quite a few reviewers thinking she is male. To be honest, I made the same mistake too when I saw this book.

Before I wrote this review I looked at other people's reviews and I have to say that I agree with the 5 star people on some topics and I sympathize with the 1 star people on others.

The way I see it, this book has two major strong points and one major weak point.

WEAK POINT#1: This book is not very exciting. Honestly. Take a good, hard look at the cover art of this book. What do you see? A keep/castle, an old man, a young boy, and a dog. Exactly. If you decide to read this book I am warning you now that this is the bulk of what you will be reading about for the next 300 pages. There is one little adventure for about a chapter around page 140, but that's all. The rest of those 300 pages is character development and training (learn how to be an assassin, learn how to use the Skill, learn how to have table-manners, learn how to tend to dogs and horses). If you're looking for huge battle scenes or massive amounts of magic power being thrown around, look elsewhere.

STRONG POINT#1: The character development is really good. I already told you that the story is not exciting. So why, I ask myself, were the pages flying so fast?! The characters in this book are--for the most part--believable, but most of all, likable. When I finished reading the book I really wanted to know more about certain characters (in my case, the Fitz-Molly storyline was rather interesting to me).

STRONG POINT#2: This story, for the most part, is original and different. Really.

In this book, you get not one, but two mentor-figures and two magical forces.... No dragons, no big battles and when was the last time you read a fantasy story about a youth studying to be an assassin? Kudos to Robin Hobb for thinking outside the box.

OVERALL: In addition to the beginning being unexciteful, I was really disappointed with Fitz's first real assassination. But the end of this book made up for the 300 pages that just went on and on.

I really doubt if I will read this book a second time. The very thought of having to reread 300 pages of character development (although admittedly well done) just does not appeal to me.

But I am pretty sure I will read the next book in the series, because now that I've grown fond of these characters I can't just ignore them.

RATING: 3.75 Read more ›