Assassin's Apprentice (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 1)
by Robin Hobb
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Read in April, 2008
recommended to Leippya by:
Phyliarecommends it for: people who like political fantasy
This is a series I've been afraid to start for a long time, as I've seen people with tastes similar to mine get completely lost in these books. This didn't happen to me...... at first. I have several issues with the beginning of the book. The first is probably that the hero is so young at the beginning, so he is stup... I mean, naive, like all kids his age, but because as a reader we're smart enough AND we know the title of the book, we can see everything coming from a mile away. It's boring. Al...more
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Read in November, 2003
Robin Hobb, Assassin's Apprentice (Bantam, 1995)
Once you get past the (to be expected with books these days) complete incongruity between the cover art and the book's descriptions of its characters, this is one fine debut novel. I spent way too much time flipping between passages in the book and the cover trying to figure out what planet the artist was on when he took those words and turned them into that cover. But that's just me.
Fitz, at the age of (approximately) six, is brought by the pe...more
Once you get past the (to be expected with books these days) complete incongruity between the cover art and the book's descriptions of its characters, this is one fine debut novel. I spent way too much time flipping between passages in the book and the cover trying to figure out what planet the artist was on when he took those words and turned them into that cover. But that's just me.
Fitz, at the age of (approximately) six, is brought by the pe...more
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Read in March, 2007
I'll begin at the end - I LOVED it a lot! And I can't wait until I have enough money to buy the other two parts of the trilogy.
I am so happy that I have found another fantasy book which I like. I always feel so wary when I examine the fantasy shelves in a book store, they all look so much alike and I start to fear that there is no more good fantasy in the world except for that which I have already read.
There were a few things which bothered me a bit, the end, for example, felt very....more
I am so happy that I have found another fantasy book which I like. I always feel so wary when I examine the fantasy shelves in a book store, they all look so much alike and I start to fear that there is no more good fantasy in the world except for that which I have already read.
There were a few things which bothered me a bit, the end, for example, felt very....more
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Read in April, 2008
I've had the second in this series for years but put off getting the first. Why I rathered enjoyed reading the Liveships books, the handling of the storyline/s and character development left me every dissatisfied and reluctant to read anything else by the author
If I'd known this book was a first person account of the narrator growing up, I would never have picked it up even if it was just $2 at a book fair.
But this is just the sort of fantasy I used to love, and obviously still ...more
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Read in January, 2003
recommended to Julie by:
Bryonrecommends it for: EVERYONE
I'm not sure I can say enough to convey my love for these books. Starting with Assassin's Apprentice, they tell the story of FitzChivalry Farseer, bastard pseudo-prince of the Farseer line (with a detour to Bingtown in the Ship books, but read them anyway - it's important). One thing I love about these books is how people are named after personality traits: Chivalry, Verity, Shrewd, Regal, Patience, Modesty.... etc. After a while you completely forget they aren't just names. :)
Robin Hobb's w...more
Robin Hobb's w...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
George Martin's fans
The problem with fantasy books is that they seldom warrant re-reading, but this trilogy is a pleasant exception. I first read this series a good ten years ago, and it remains to this day the only series where I appreciated a first-person narrative. I picked it up again recently, just so I can go on to read the second trilogy, which I never got around to.
The focus then and now have changed. Then, I was intrigued by the idea of Wit, where a human being share a bond with an animal. Character d...more
The focus then and now have changed. Then, I was intrigued by the idea of Wit, where a human being share a bond with an animal. Character d...more
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Read in January, 2007
This is the first in the Fareer trilogy that was loaned to me by CB. The hero of this trilogy, Fitz or FitzChivalry, is (like in many fantasy novels) noble born but without his birthright and has amazingly powerful magical powers that he is struggling to gain control of. Despite the use of these typical themes, Hobbs creates a world with engaging characters and a riveting sociopolitcal climate that drew me in and made me want to know what was going to happen to the characters and the world. Fitz...more
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Robin Hobb writes this series from the first person perspective. Fitz (the bastard son of good Prince Chivalry, you see the irony) arrives at the royal castle at age six. His mother, a peasant woman, gives him up or has died or something of the sort. Fitz is an interesting character. He certainly has his faults and there were times, especially as he starts to get embroiled in the bastard side of the family business-namely getting rid of those who are a "concern" to the throne, that you...more
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Read in March, 2008
what is it about trilogies? is it because tolkien wrote such a successful trilogy that now all fantasy writers feel compelled to do so? cs lewis wrote seven - i should be thankful that not everyone does that (except jk rowling, of course).
anyway. i digress. this set of books is absolutely servicable, solid, satisfying fantasy. good storyline, believable characters, enough sex and violence to be honest but not so much as to be prurient. there is intrigue, there is romance, there is psychic co...more
anyway. i digress. this set of books is absolutely servicable, solid, satisfying fantasy. good storyline, believable characters, enough sex and violence to be honest but not so much as to be prurient. there is intrigue, there is romance, there is psychic co...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommends it for:
Basic fantasy lovers
Good book. The idea is interesting though the writing is sometimes lacking. Hobb has portions where she tells instead of shows and it comes across as lazy writing. Well, it comes off that way because it is lazy writing but it does move the story along. Just move through those parts quickly so you can still hold onto the feeling of being in the story.
Some of the story nearly brought tears to my eyes (even though I am not a dog person) though other parts seemed contrived. The later traini...more
Some of the story nearly brought tears to my eyes (even though I am not a dog person) though other parts seemed contrived. The later traini...more
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Read in April, 2000
It's been ages since I've gotten good fantasy recommendations, and since I have such a low tolerance
for bad or cliched fantasy, I'm reluctant to venture off and try something new. Well, a recent visitor to my website, Kara, sent me what looks to be a fine list of fantasy to try out, and Robin Hobb's Farseer series was among them.
I enjoyed this first one very much! The story moves along at a fair clip without getting overly bogged down with dry "councils" that I've come to dread in ...more
for bad or cliched fantasy, I'm reluctant to venture off and try something new. Well, a recent visitor to my website, Kara, sent me what looks to be a fine list of fantasy to try out, and Robin Hobb's Farseer series was among them.
I enjoyed this first one very much! The story moves along at a fair clip without getting overly bogged down with dry "councils" that I've come to dread in ...more
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Read in January, 2004
A very few rough spots, and I had some problems with Regal turning out that ruthless (not to mention being allowed to live afterwards), but on the whole I liked it very much. Wish the rest of the trilogy had been this good, or that there'd been more (or any) character development for Fitz.
I liked the royal intrigue -- all the conflicts that pivot around Fitz. And it had the advantage of providing a pleasant intellectual workout without any of the characters having to be unrealistically intel...more
I liked the royal intrigue -- all the conflicts that pivot around Fitz. And it had the advantage of providing a pleasant intellectual workout without any of the characters having to be unrealistically intel...more
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recommends it for:
people tired of bad fantasy
This series demonstrates what a truly gifted writer can do with the constraints and conventions of the fantasy genre. It has all the required elements - dragons, quests, magic, etc - but combined in a dark and unsettling way. Hobb's heroes, fated to attempt epic feats, fail and are left prematurely aged, scarred, and bitter; true love goes unrequieted; her characters are morally and sexually ambiguous; and both dragons and magic are dirty, unglamorous, and hazardous to your health.
Though al...more
Though al...more
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And now, my extremely guilty pleasures. (The heat you feel radiating towards your face is actually me, white-hot with embarrassment)
Here's the truth: I used to crouch into subway corners, hunched over, pressed against the throng of rush hour bodies, lost in Robin Hobb's universe. I'd miss my stops.
I've read all of her Farseer trilogy, all of her Liveship books, all of her Tawny Man series. I broke my cardinal rule of sci-fi/fantasy reads and actually bought a 1st edition, hard cover of...more
Here's the truth: I used to crouch into subway corners, hunched over, pressed against the throng of rush hour bodies, lost in Robin Hobb's universe. I'd miss my stops.
I've read all of her Farseer trilogy, all of her Liveship books, all of her Tawny Man series. I broke my cardinal rule of sci-fi/fantasy reads and actually bought a 1st edition, hard cover of...more
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Read in December, 2007
recommends it for:
fantasy snobs, fantasy lovers
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. This is my "trash" read I have to allow myself from time to time to help feed my creative side/right side of the brain and help me unwind. I just can't have deep, super serious, weighty books to read all the time without going nuts. Not that this is total fluff, mind you. I'd rank it with one of the much higher quality fantasy books I've read in a long time. Fitz, a royal family bastard (which puts him in a position of both privilege and responsibility) wi...more
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I'm a slow reader and when I do get to reading, it's normally is short bursts like before I go to bed. As such, I feel that reading style breaks up a lot of the themes and threads that authors try to create. So when I pan a book, I tend to blame my own shortcomings instead of the book's. Nevertheless, I wasn't necessarily impressed with this book. Obviously it comes right out as saying it is book one of a trilogy (of trilogies no less, the first of nine books) and so it would seem presumptuo...more
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Read in October, 2007
Hobb writes in a refreshingly different style to the popular and overcrowded fantasy genre. The reoccuring theme is that of how bad things can happen to good people. The hero is one of noble qualities, keen skill and the best intent, yet the misfortune of his birth as the illegitimate son of a prince ensures that he can never aspire for the recognition and appreciation he should otherwise be entitled to. Despite all his suffering and neglect, his maintains an unswerving and unquestioning loyalty...more
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Read in March, 2008
Fantasy novels are a dime a dozen. Most mimic Tolkien with the ubiquitous quest of a halfling or young man to destroy some potent item before the forces of the darkness overcome the land. Yawn. (I take that back what I said earlier: Make that a penny to a dozen.) With that said, Robin Hobb -- a NW native, even -- brings a freshness to this overwrought genre. Skip the tired quest nonsense, and go straight for political intrigue of a bastard child, and you've got something than more resembles 13th...more
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Before reading this fantasy novel, I had only read a few others, but this was unlike anything I had previously read and got me hooked instantly. For a long time I had to admit that it was the best book ever (well, the best trilogy ever), but since then I have discovered a few others that compares to these books, like the Song of Ice and Fire series.
The narrative is great, very personal, and once you get involved in Fitz's life, there is no going back. You feel his sadness, his loss, his joys...more
The narrative is great, very personal, and once you get involved in Fitz's life, there is no going back. You feel his sadness, his loss, his joys...more
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If you're looking for something a little different in a fantasy series, the Assassins Trilogy is a good place to start. This is both a standalone trilogy and a link in to more of Robin Hobbs books (the Liveship Trilogy and the Tawny Man Trilogy).
I found it really entertaining to read about the main character's training as an assassin, and of course I enjoyed the dramatic perilous situations he got into as well :)
Characters are very well written in this trilogy - they have their flaws and s...more
I found it really entertaining to read about the main character's training as an assassin, and of course I enjoyed the dramatic perilous situations he got into as well :)
Characters are very well written in this trilogy - they have their flaws and s...more
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 4.24 (1464 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 4.25 (1154 ratings) number of reviews: 146popular shelves
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