Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy, Book 1) by Robin Hobb

Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy, Book 1) by Robin Hobb

Completion Date: July 3, 2011

Reason for Reading: Love this author!

Filled with adventure and bloodshed, pageantry and piracy, mystery and menace, Assassin's Apprentice begins the story of a bastard of the royal house, a young man who is trained in the mystic arts of the assassin and who may become the savior of his kingdom.

A few years ago I was at the second hand bookstore talking to a man in the fantasy section. I have no idea who he was, but he was telling me about this fantastic author Robin Hobb. I had heard of her before, but never read her. At that moment, the second hand bookstore had nothing by her, so I went to the local bookstore chain to see if they had anything. This lead to me reading The Tawny Man trilogy. I knew the books happened in the future, but at the time it was the easiest books to get by her. When I sat down for the first time with the first book in that trilogy, I knew it was love. I was captivated from the very beginning by her excellent writing and knew I was going to have to read everything she had ever written.

I said that, but then I was a bad reader and only finished The Tawny Man trilogy this year. I knew I couldn't continue to put so much time between her books, so I immediately sat down with the book that started it all and the one that I am reviewing here today. This is the first book in the Farseer trilogy. The main characters from The Tawny Man trilogy are mostly all present, but they are a considerable amount younger than in the later series. For this fact, I am actually glad that I started with the older series first. I do read young adult-type books now, but a few years ago I hated them and I might not have appreciated this series because Fitz is so young. I now know the man that he is going to grow up to be, so I enjoyed reading about how he started out. There are a lot of things touched on in the later trilogy that I am going to get the chance to see up-close in this one. I am looking forward to the sequels! (Actually, I only haven't read the next book because I thought I owned it and I don't.)

Like I touched in the above paragraph, Fitz is the main character for this trilogy. The bastard son of one of the monarchs, he has not had an easy time of it. He had been living with his mother, but is suddenly thrust upon the court. No one is quite sure what to make of this young lad and he doesn't always have an easy time of it as a result. This book covers his early adventures. One of its saving graces is that while Fitz in the book is really young, it is actually the Fitz of the future that is writing the books. Just because I will read young narrators now doesn't mean that I always enjoy them, so I appreciated that they did it this way. It also shows Fitz coming into his powers, the early stages of some lasting friendships, and the start of his ultimate downfall. I didn't feel like I was missing out knowing what was going to happen, so I don't regret reading the trilogies backwards.

Based on what I have managed to read by Robin Hobb, I still maintain that she is one of my favourite fantasy authors. I look forward to another book by her hopefully before the year is out. If I don't stumble upon a copy of the next book second-hand, I plan to buy a copy for myself for my birthday next month.

If you haven't read Robin Hobb yet, you really should!!

The Farseer Trilogy:

Assassin's Apprentice

Royal Assassin

Assassin's Quest

Fool's Fate by Robin Hobb (The Tawny Man Trilogy, Book 3)

Fool's Fate by Robin Hobb (The Tawny Man Trilogy, Book 3)

Completion Date: June 19, 2011

Reason for Reading: Carry on with Series.

A heralded writer of epic fantasy, Robin Hobb has given readers worlds within worlds in her heroic Farseer and Liveship Traders trilogies. Now she takes the final step in the breathtaking trilogy of the Tawny Man, as the tale of FitzChivalry Farseer comes to an epic end. Rife with boundless adventure and unforgettable characters, Fool’s Fate is destined to become a classic of the genre.

Assassin, spy, and Skillmaster, FitzChivalry Farseer, now known only as man-at-arms Tom Badgerlock, has become firmly ensconced in the queen’s court at Buckkeep. Only a few are aware of his fabled, tangled past—and the sacrifices he made to survive it. And fewer know of his possession of the Skill magic. With Prince Dutiful, his assassin-mentor Chade, and the simpleminded yet strongly Skilled Thick, FitzChivalry strives to aid the prince on a quest that could ultimately secure peace between the Six Duchies and the Outislands—and win Dutiful the hand of the Narcheska Elliania.

For the Narcheska has set the prince on an unfathomable task: to behead a dragon trapped in ice—the legendary Icefyre, on the island of Aslevjal. Yet not all the clans of the Outislands support the prince’s effort to behead their legendary defender. Are there darker forces at work behind the Narcheska’s imperious demand? As the prince and his coterie set sail, FitzChivalry works behind the scenes, playing nursemaid to the ailing Thick, while striving to strengthen their Skill—ultimately bringing his unacknowledged daughter into the web of the Skill magic, where the truth must finally unfold.

The quest emerges amid riddles that must be unraveled, a clash of cultures, and the ultimate betrayal. For knowing that the Fool has foretold he will die on the island of ice, FitzChivalry has plotted with Chade to leave his dearest friend behind. But fate cannot so easily be defied.

It amazes me that I read the first two books in this series and loved them, but am only just now getting around to the third book. With this years Once Upon a Time challenge I actually made a list of books that I would like to get to during the challenge. I didn't read everything I wanted, but I did finally read the conclusion of this trilogy. It reminded me that I love Robin Hobb and I really need to read more from her. Since finishing it I have also read the first book in Farseer's Trilogy. I am hoping to finish that trilogy in a more timely manner. This book also reminded me how much I love fantasy. I was always a fantasy reader, and that is the majority of what is on my TBR pile, but I have not been reading it as much the last couple years as I would like. I am hoping for the rest of 2011 to get back to the genre I love and revisit the authors that I have come to love as result.

For those of you that are wondering, it is currently 2011. The last time I read Robin Hobb was in 2007. That is how deplorably bad I am at reading series and part of my inspiration for my post on the subject of series. Normally I can handle trilogies, but I think part of my problem was I did not want this trilogy to end. I also had heard that young Fitz, the technical main character in this trilogy, was an annoying brat in the first trilogy dedicated to him, so I wasn't a hurry to move on to that. Since I am reading that trilogy right after this one, I have to say that he isn't bothering me as much as I expected him to bother me. Fitz bothers me period, but now I know why that is and it makes everything make much more sense. When I read about him as a young character I know what he is going to grow up to be like, so I think I can make allowances I cannot normally make for young main characters in fiction.

Back to this book. This is the final book in a trilogy that appears to be dedicated to the character of the Fool. When you actually read the trilogy, though, you will find that it is about a lot more than that. In the end it is about Fitz and the Fool together, but the three books are a really a progression for Fitz. He has been living in solitude with his foster son and far away from the life he grew up in. The first trilogy is actually him writing his memoirs of sorts. He may think he wants to stay away from court forever, but there are things at play that make that impossible. He is part of a larger picture and all the pieces need to be present for all that comes to pass to happen. There is a lot in the background about this idea of fate. It makes it a fitting title for the book, but really for the trilogy overall.

I have been blogging for almost 6 years and I still never know what to say in reviews. I know I could follow a structure, but that's boring. I also hate giving too much away in a post because I don't want to spoil the book for other people. I really should just do a short and sweet post. An example being: This is the final book in one of my favourite fantasy trilogies ever. There is something about Robin Hobb that I really connect with; to the point I knew I was going to love her books before I ever even read her. The characters are human, flawed, personable, and thus alive on the page. Hobb has an enjoyable writing style that does not get too bogged down. If she was writing this review, you would go out and see about getting your own copy of a Robin Hobb book. You should still give her a try even if I am writing this review and not her. I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more books by her in the future. Strongly Recommended!

Tawny Man Trilogy:

Fool's Errand

Golden Fool

Fool's Fate

Fool's Errand by Robin Hobb

Books Read: 26
Completion Date: February 16, 2007
Publication Year: 2002
Pages: 688
Owned Prior to 2007
Book 1 in the Tawny Man Trilogy

For fifteen years FitzChivalry Farseer has lived in self-imposed exile, assumed to be dead by almost all who once cared about him. But that is about to change when destiny seeks him once again. Prince Dutiful, the young heir to the Farseer throne, has vanished and FitzChivalry, possessed of magical skills both royal and profane, is the only one who can retrieve him in time for his betrothal ceremony--thus sparing the Six Duchies profound political embarrassment...or worse. But even Fitz does not suspect the web of treachery that awaits him or how his loyalties to his Queen, his partner, and those who share his magic will be tested to the breaking point.

To travel over to Twisted Kingdom and see my review of this book, click here.

This is the first time I have read this author.

Authors Gender:
Male: 3
Female: 26