ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE - the magic or lack thereof

[Sandra]

This book doesn't have much 'magic' in it of the sword and sorcery variety, although much of it is magical. How do you feel about that?

Ms. Hobb seems to be of the GRRM mindset regarding magic. There isn't much in his books, either.

[Helen]

I hadn't thought about it before but as I remember really enjoying them (+ GRRM) then I guess it doesn'tmatter to me.

[Melanie]

I'd noticed this in A Game of Thrones (as far as I've got with GRRM at the moment) but hadn't really thought the same with this. I suppose the magic here is more mental ability than casting spells and stuff. Makes a nice change, it's more subtle, and I liked that the Wit is so inherent and that Fitz has to fight not to use it rather than the other way around.

[Amelia]

I find it very interesting that we are introduced to the magic like Fitz is. He's always had it and used it, but he hadn't recognized what he was doing and how influential it was for him.

The official training for Fitz was extremely brutal. I can say now that I really don't like Galen - can I say despise? Petty, mean, vengeful guy.

[Lindsey]

I like the approach that some magic is part of everyday life, even if it is rare. It feels more real to me. It's like knowing that some people have skills I don't have. I don't need to be in awe of them, they just devoted their time to learning something different than I did.

And I agree, I like the introduction to magic (and other elements of this world) through Fitz's eyes. Hobb has a serious talent for showing the reader without revealing too much to her narrator.

[Christy]

I really like how Hobb has given Fitz(a child with no claim to the throne and no prospects) what I would call a really strong form of the Skill. Ultimately, I think it is this very thing that will change the course of his life. This is purely an assumption on my part I haven't read all three of the books.

I noticed in The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss that the magic/Sympathy is treated in a similar fashion.

[Helen]

I want to know how the skill and wit fit together. Also, it seems that royals have the skill with commoners having the wit, so how does Fitz fit in? Which is it that the fool is practising?

[M.M.]

Its great how the magic in this book is so subtle. Its not until you get into the second and third books that more of the magic in the world of the Farseers is opened to you.

I think that the skill and the wit comes together in Fitz because he has a foot each in two different gene pools. The Skill on his father's side and the wit presumably from his mother. The Fool and his magic seem to come from a completely different origin.

[Stephanie]

The magic will come. It just takes a while. I'm a big fan of the slow reveal ;)

[Wastrel]

I think others have put their fingers on it: the magic is subtle, and seen through the eyes of a 'magic user'. It's a more realistic approach, I think. Too often, 'magic' is introduced almost like funky new toy that some characters get given - they pick it up when they need it, they put it down when they don't, and they refuse to read the manual properly. Hobb's approach makes us imagine what it is actually like having a supernatural capability, a faculty - it's a part of us whether we like it or not, we don't really know how it 'works', and a lot of the time we aren't even consciously aware when we're 'using' it. Hobb's magics are more like new senses than like new weapons (though they can be used aggressively).

[Stephanie]

Wastrel wrote: "I think others have put their fingers on it: the magic is subtle, and seen through the eyes of a 'magic user'. It's a more realistic approach, I think. Too often, 'magic' is introduced almost like ..."

I couldn't agree more with Wastrel. Very astute comments.