Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb in Back entries: 2013 - 2015

This is the first volume in the Farseer Trilogy, set in the Kingdom of the Six Duchies. Fitz is the illegitimate son of the Crown Prince, who abdicates his position when Fitz’s existence becomes common knowledge. As a young boy, his mother’s family leaves him with the court to raise. Soon he’s not only given the opportunity to learn about Farseer magic, but he also starts his training as an assassin.

This was a slight disappointment, I thought. A former workmate of mine recommended this series to me, and I picked up the trilogy as I am looking for decent fantasy series to read in my spare time while I wait for the next book in A Song Of Ice And Fire series to be finished and released. I was expecting a little more “grit”. I finished this at the beginning of the week, and have only just now had time to write a review due to the fact that I’m now working full time. The big problem is that I’m struggling a little to remember various (important) bits of the storyline at the moment, which isn’t a good thing seeing as I’ve only recently finished reading it! Assassin’s Apprentice was a very light read, some aspects were interesting - the backdrop of the civil war, Forging, the Red Ships all being examples. I did find myself beginning to care for a few of the characters and there was enough of a storyline to keep my interest.

I try and make a point of trying to vary genre matter when I move from one book to the next - for example, if I finish a fantasy book then I won’t pick up another fantasy straight away. Similarly, if I’m reading something thought-provoking (a good classic, a well written biography or piece of non-fiction), I will give my brain a rest and choose something a lot lighter for my next read. Otherwise I find myself being unable/unwilling to get into whatever I’m reading. So, I’m considering reading the next book in the series (Royal Assassin) once I’ve finished what I’m currently reading. Hopefully, it’ll be a better read! I just need to go back over the epilogue, and maybe the last couple of pages of the book to remind myself as to what happened in preparation.

Pages: 392. Genre: Fantasy. Book One of the Farseer Trilogy. Book I’m now reading: How To Be A Victorian by Ruth Goodman

Last updated January 01, 2015