Book Author: Robin Hobb
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I think myself cured of all spite, but when I touch pen to paper, the hurt of a boy bleeds out with the sea-spawned ink, until I suspect each carefully formed black letter scabs over some ancient scarlet wound.
A tale of a young boy – born on a powerful, royal family’s wrong side of the sheet and raised to live a life of secrets and death. Prepare your hearts to hurt and break.
⚠️TW: Mention of themes related to the following can be found in this book: animal cruelty, animal death, child abandonment, parental abuse, poisoning, and suicide (attempted/assisted).
Who will love it?
Fantasy-genre lovers who enjoy slow, lyrical narratives (like The Queen’s Thief series, The Well of Ascension (Mistborn Book 2), and The Lies of Locke Lamora (Gentleman Bastard 1)), plus intrigue and a hint of tragedy, will enjoy this book.
Update: Finished reading the trilogy and fantasy genre lovers should definitely add this to their TBR. 🥺
If still not convinced, read the full reading notes below.
Where to grab a copy?
This pundit highly recommends finding a copy you can borrow (i.e., from a friend or library), instead of immediately buying a new book. Trees are generally used to make the paper in the books we read so let’s be mindful.
If not possible, that’s only when one should consider buying a new book, and make sure to support your local bookshops. And online shopping (i.e., Amazon or whatever online bookstore serves closest to you) must only be your last resort.
Happy reading!
Full Reading Notes
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Click here for the blurb.
Fitz, the bastard son of Prince Chivalry, was left in the care of his father's stableman after the Prince abdicated as King-in-Waiting upon learning of Fitz's existence. Lonely and alone, he found solace on taking care of animals as stablehand. But when King Shrewd, his paternal grandfather, met him and decided to acknowledge and provide for him, his life changed. True to his name, Shrewd had Fitz also secretly trained in the arts of the assassin, making him a King's Man. As the kingdom's coast is ravaged by relentless raiders, Fitz would soon face a mission to help ensure their salvation. But scheme's are afoot and loyalties are tested. How far would he go for his King? How much could he sacrifice for a kingdom who hates him for being a bastard?
Why read “Assassin’s Apprentice”
Slow, lyrical narratives are my bane in reading high fantasy books that’s why it took me a while to appreciate this genre. Robin Hobb, however, effectively used this narrative style to draw readers into Fitz’s life and world. I found myself deeply immersed in the story and can’t help but be invested in Fitz’s character.
The author’s writing effectively gave Fitz’s POV a voice so natural, that you cannot help but feel deep empathy for this boy. This might be almost a given since the story is mostly in the first person POV but the other characters came through distinctly – you could love and hate them without even considering Fitz’s opinion of them.
Drawbacks of “Assassin’s Apprentice”
Despite reevaluating my opinion about the story because of how amazing it was written, there were still moments when the writing style became too distracting or redundant, especially when it didn’t necessarily help the plot anymore. For example:
‘It was as implacable as the freezing grey rain that glazed the trampled snow and ice of the gravelled pathway outside the huge wooden doors of the fortified building that stood like a fortress within the town itself.’
I had to read that sentence more than 3 times so I could understand what the point was. This one and others like this had me skipping paragraphs to prevent losing track of the story. It is a double-edged sword though since it is also through narratives like this that help readers transcend into the book’s world.
On the other hand, when long sentences like this appear in the middle of key moments of the plot, it takes away from the previously established narrative flow. The reader then had to start over again.
Nevertheless, this story had a plot and world crafted well enough that I decided to check out the whole series.
-The ArKivist
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