Assassins Apprentice

[Anni]

Starting today 01/23/17

[Angela, I'm Silverfox lost]

Thanks Anni. Hope you enjoy.

I've added the book to the group bookshelf.

[Anni]

Thank you Angela :)

[Laura]

starting today. My first buddy read! yeey!! And that too with a great book!

[Jenna, I'd be free if not for Temper & Edgewalker]

Enjoy it! It's a good series :)

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

I'm so excited you all are reading this. You just wait!!!!

[Laura]

At what page are you now Anni? Just so I know how far behind I am :)) I'd like to catch up with you so that we can finish the second volume at about the same time.

[Anni]

I am reading the german version so there is no point in giving you the page :D (By the way, my version contains 621 pages, so it's way thicker). I'm in the middle of chapter 18 it's about 75%.
You could add comments while reading here, then we could talk about what's going on, it's still fresh on my mind.

[Solseit]

Oh I did not even know we were starting the series! I genuinely want to read through this series, it is a top priority but I need to finish 2 (or even 3) books before. I hope to be able to catch up - else I will be reading and commenting only a little later!

[Scott , Karsa Orlong]

I really liked book one of this series. Book two minus a few scenes with my two favorite characters was boring for about 75% and then the last quarter redeemed it. I still haven't been able to bring myself to read book three but if you make it that far I'll participate.

[Laura]

I am at Chapter 3 and the way it is going I'll catch up with you very fast Anni. The book has already pulled me in and I don't feel like leaving it down.

[Laura]

I wonder if I'll feel the same about book 2 Scott. However, I will still make it to book 3. That's one of my biggest problems you know...not being able to leave a series until I get to the end of it, regardless of how it turns out. I have to finish it in one straight shot! I would only start other books in between if I didn't like it much and even then I would still go back and finish it.

[Anni]

Oh you are really fast :) I like the beginning part of each chapter as a look back from the future.

Till Chapter 3:
(view spoiler)[The way Fitz grows up is strange, living with Burrich in the stables and be sometimes treated like a dog or strolling around the town. But it still feels like a right way for him. :) (hide spoiler)]

How do you like the characters so far?

[Angela, I'm Silverfox lost]

Aristea I Quinn wants to read this so perhaps check with her and you might be able to set up a future date to buddy read?

[Laura]

Reached chapter 7 yesterday and had to call it a day. It was too late already and I figured I really needed the sleep. What do I say?! I love the book. The writing is fast and flows very nice, the characters are great - strong and flawed like any normal human; easy to identify with. I like Fitz the best obviously, but good old Burrich also grew very fast on me. A strong hard man with a soft heart trying to do the right thing in the only way he knew how to. How much strenght and goodheartedness does it take to care for the one who is the cause of your own doom!Then there is Chade, pulled between his duty ans his heart! I wonder which he would finally choose? Heart I suppose after what he did at the end of Chapter 5....
I also like the concept of names with meaning and with power. That tradition is really there today (in a way) in certain parts of the world. Not combined with any skill of course but still, in India for instance people believe that the name they give the child will affect him or her in life. So the name is carefully chosen according to how it sounds and what it means.

[Laura]

well, I loved it! Moving on to Royal Assassin tomorrow.

[Jenna, I'd be free if not for Temper & Edgewalker]

Laura wrote: "well, I loved it! Moving on to Royal Assassin tomorrow."

Wow! You really sped through it! Enjoy Royal Assassin :)

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Holy cow! I should warn you for our reads that I'm nowhere near this fast lol. It usually takes me 7-10 days to finish a big fantasy novel.

[Laura]

that's ok Niki. I don't read everyday like this either. Sometimes sleep catches up to me like yesterday night and then I just sleep off without reading a single page.

[Anni]

Oh wow, I'm also done and liked it a lot. But if you continue with that speed, there is no possibility to catch up for me :D

[Laura]

I'll wait for you :)). so we read together. By the way. You didn't tell me what you thought about the book. And do you think you would be up for all of Fitz's adventures -that is Farseer and Tawny Man?

[Anni]

I love it! :) I`m definitly in for the other books, but I intend to read the Realms of the Elderlings in the given order. Therefore there will be other series before the Tawny Man. ;)

[Christie]

I tried the audiobook and couldn't get through the first couple chapters. Not sure if it was the narrator or if the beginning is just slow. How far into the book does the action pick up? Is it an intentionally slower-paced book, as many 1st books in a series are?

[Rob]

I'm starting this one tonight. Looks like a good one!

[Laura]

How fast do you read Rob? the pace Anni and I have set for Royal Assassin is very slow so you will be able to catch up :)) I for one am planning to go to Tawny Man next. Can't leave Fitz alone for such a long time :))

[Anni]

Christie wrote: "I tried the audiobook and couldn't get through the first couple chapters. Not sure if it was the narrator or if the beginning is just slow. How far into the book does the action pick up? Is it an i..."

It's not an easy question, I would say it is all in all a slower-paced book. The autor takes her time to show us how her maincharacter is growing up. But nethertheless in my opinion it is not boring, there aren't infinite descriptions of the sorounding or weeks of travel with exact descriptions of everything. The time it takes is well spend in the description of the characters and the worldbuilding. I realy liked it, so I might be biased, but I think it is worth it. Because you get the characters to know, they become more vivid and understandable. There might be no epic battles but exciting turns you wouldn't expected.
I hope this will help you a bit?

[Rob]

Hello Laura, I would say I will be done in about 4-5 days. Hopefully I can catch up

[Anni]

For sure! As Laura said, we doimg it slow, cause I haven't got much time right now. We are reading one chapter a day ;)

[Rob]

Thanks anni, slow pace is good. There are so many books I want to read with this group!

[Laura]

I hope you like the book Rob. I for one loved it and right now it is litteraly itching me to read the second book faster because I love that one too. But it is too much fun to chat with Anni about it and i don't wanna miss it, so I'll hold my horses and go ahead slow so we can exchange posts here. There are other bòoks I can read in between. Hope you'll join the chat too!

[Rob]

I'm starting Chapter 8 tonight and so far I'm enjoying it! I already have ideas about what is going to happen... can't wait to see how the story unfolds.

I also consider myself a bit of a novice with the English language and this book is challenging me. Is it just me? Or perhaps the vocabulary in the narration is just throwing me off a bit.

[Laura]

I think it may be because the language and dialogues are more appropriate for middle ages. At least that's how I find it. Even the structure of the sentences is made accordingly. And the vocabulary is extensive - it drags you from life in court to horse and hound breeding, weapons mastery and later even ship building (and I didn't even get to plant description:) ) I don't think we use frequently a lot of those words in our days. You will get used to it though. By the end of the first book it should seem natural. English is also not my mother tongue but I use it now on daily basis. I still remember though the first book I read which was a challenge to my vocabulary: The Children of the New Forest by Captain Marryat. I still remember struggling to read it and taking out the dictionary almost at every other page (not because I wasn't speaking English properly - that I was ) but because there were detailed descriptions of animal breeding and make it yourself huts in the woods or hunting techniques and I didn't know those words. After that book everything was a lot easier to read :)).

[Rob]

You are right! I feel it getting easier already. I can get a good reading flow now.

[Rob]

(view spoiler)[ So far i'm at Chapter 10 and I feel the story picking up the pace! I really enjoy the relationship between Fitz and Chade. I'm sure this is going to lead to something and I can't wait to find out! The dialogue is appearing more frequently and I also enjoy that. I wonder which other character will cement their presence in this series. I'm sure I will find out soon (hide spoiler)]

[Laura]

Rob wrote: "[spoilers removed]"

Glad you like it and also reading it fast just like i did:))

You'll be starting the second book really soon the way you are going! I bet you'll also be just as curious to see what he does next, just as I was.

[Rob]

Yes, very curious! I am now at Chapter 15 and I very much enjoy how the story is unfolding

[Laura]

wow. You're catching up real fast! After chapter 15 I was not able to set the book down till the end.

[Anni]

I'm glad you like it :) Can't wait for you to catch up! I also like the always present question of who will stay and who not.

As I read the translation I can't argue about the language, but I think Laura answerd this sufficient.

[Rob]

I agree with you both! If it wasn't for sleep and work I would finish this book today.

(view spoiler)[ I'm at this part where there could or could not be a hint of romance (knowing the protagonist, probably not) and the training with the Skill... it's getting really good! I have to admit, I found the story had a slow start but it's very good now!

Even if I found the start to be slow, I feel as it was important to demonstrate the way he was treated at a young age. I have a feeling people will look at him differently soon... perhaps not everyone will accept him but I hope he makes good freinds (hide spoiler)]

[Anni]

I know what you mean, everything of his backround is important to understand the whole person he became.
I wouldn't say this book is fast-paced, but the thing is it doesn't need to be. I prefere it the way it is!

(view spoiler)[ I remember the chapters with the skill training, this was also the part were I really got hooked. (hide spoiler)]

[Laura]

I agree with you both.

(view spoiler)[He becomes the man that he is later because of what he goes through in his childhood and teenage years. It is all important. I loved the book from the beginning but I got really hooked during those chapters too. (hide spoiler)]

[Rob]

So here are my initial thought after finishing the book.

This is my first time reviewing a book in about 10 years so hopefully it's not way off the mark

(view spoiler)[The beginning was tough for me to read. I think I just needed a bit of time to adjust to a new author and her writing style. I felt the story took a bit of time to develop but all the pieces ended up falling together and I thought in the end was very good. As soon as the Skill training began, I was hooked!

I enjoyed the way Fitz's life was molded by the people around him who didn't really have a choice in the matter. The king demanded he was to be educated in certain ways by certain people. Fitz didn't really have much control over his life until the very end when he took choices in the Mountain folk assassinations. This did not end very well for him.

I also enjoyed the few interactions with the Fool. I would have loved to hear more about the Fool but I feel like it will come in the later books in this series.

Regal... what an awful person. I did not like how he got away with all that was done while some knew exactly what he had done. If Fitz gets his revenge eventually, I will be very happy!

In the end, I am left with the need to know what and older, more mature Fitz will do when he crosses with Regal and his manipulations again.

The rest of the characters did not stick to me very much. I feel like the character development in certain cases fell short but was intended as this is only the first book of a trilogy. I have many questions after finishing the book. what will happen with the raiders, with Regal and Verity? Will Fitz be able to find a animal companion that will not die or leave him too soon?

And how did Burrich end the link between Fitz and Nosy without killing the animal? I think Burrich is hiding something about himself.
(hide spoiler)]

[Anni]

(view spoiler)[Rob wrote: "And how did Burrich end the link between Fitz and Nosy without killing the animal? I think Burrich is hiding something about himself. "

The ability to communicate with animals is in some way distance-dependent unlike the farseer-ability and you have to take in mind, that the young fitz is very unskilled at this point.

Burrich is one of my favourit characters :) There is also a hint what he is hiding. I don't know the exact choice of words, but when you have the time you could reread the part with fitz being imprisoned after the assassination of the mountain prince (My memory for names is terrible!). Fitz asks how he could find him and Burrich answered that he get a hint from Nosy, but not an audible one. I think that means, that Burrich is also able to use this old power (Whats the name in the english version?) and this makes the question why he is so against this ability even more interesting. Or do you mean he is hiding something else?
(hide spoiler)]

[Rob]

(view spoiler)[Yes, that was the part that gave me that idea! I went back to it, as you said, and It was almost as if Fitz was trying to get Burrich to admit he could use the Wit (that's what it's called in the English version) but Burrich said he heard Nosy's howling. I don't think Fitz believed it was only the howling Burrich heard.

I like that, it makes me think and really hooks me to the story :) (hide spoiler)]

[Laura]

(view spoiler)[The character development will indeed be picked up in the following book. And Burrich is one of my favorite characters also - even though he seems just a hardened tough old man he truly cares about Fitz in the end staying with him and not just because of the ring in his ear. I think Fitz really did believe that Burrich only heard Nosy's howling and nothing else but the hints about Burrich using the Wit himself are there from before also in my opinion: the way he always new when Fitz was connecting with the animals. I also think that is what he is really hiding: that he is also witted.
In the end I was also left curious as to what happens next. How will Fitz face Regal? Will he be alright again after the poisoning? Will Regal pay for what he did? What about Verity and the Red Ship Raiders? And how will the new marriage go as it was based on a murder? That is why I instantly started with book 2. (hide spoiler)]

[Solseit]

As soon as I finish City of Miracles, I am diving into this series as well - I cannot wait to read through it, I am almost ashamed (almost because I am trying to fix it) by the fact I have not read Robin Hobb before!

[Ahdam]

I hope you like it Aristea it's a bit slow but the world of the six duchies is interesting as well as fitz

I still need to read the second and third book so if like it and want to continue we can join up if you want😂😂😂

[Gelisvb]

Aristea wrote: "As soon as I finish City of Miracles, I am diving into this series as well - I cannot wait to read through it, I am almost ashamed (almost because I am trying to fix it) by the fact I have not read..."
Can we do it in July?

[Solseit]

Gelisvb wrote: "Aristea wrote: "As soon as I finish City of Miracles, I am diving into this series as well - I cannot wait to read through it, I am almost ashamed (almost because I am trying to fix it) by the fact..."
We can - my July is quite packed though but I would be happy to read at the beginning of July. Would you be okay with that?

[Solseit]

Ahdam wrote: "I hope you like it Aristea it's a bit slow but the world of the six duchies is interesting as well as fitz

I still need to read the second and third book so if like it and want to continue we can ..."

Nice Ahdam! If we start in July, maybe we can read the second in August and the third in September.
FYI, amazing choice for the September read, I wanted to read The Shadow of What was Lost for quite some time!