Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

A Fiction, 1995 by Spectra, 435 Pages

What I Didn’t Like:

Slow start. This is the first in a trilogy and the world building will likely be essential to the rest of the series, but it takes a long time between any action sequences and that world building makes it very slow paced.
There’s a lot to keep track of. This one boasts a large cast of characters, a family tree that you may need to keep track of to understand the ruling lineage in the world, and even talk of another country they were trading with. It’s a lot of detail to keep track of.
The title feels like a big promise. In reality, Fitz didn’t spend much of the beginning of the book having anything to do with an assassin or being an apprentice. It took quite a while before that kicked in. But I suppose Prince’s Bastard didn’t quite have the same appeal.

Ending. This one wraps up with a pretty intense final 75 pages or so. That makes me think the next book in the trilogy could be even better.
The link between the character and animals, which is highlighted, is fascinating. I’m assuming this particular skill will make a comeback in the rest of the series. I enjoyed reading about that.
Character development. There’s no doubt the author put a lot of love and time into creating Fitz into a character you’d feel like you know. We know everything about him and we have spent what feels like a lot of time with him. He’s well written and very well fleshed out.

High fantasy fans who love to get lost in new worlds. This one is immersive and loaded with new characters. I will say you have to be a fan of world building and not necessarily of dragons and mythical creatures. This one sticks to humans and their gifts/abilities.

For fans of the genre, this isn’t a bad one. I hear the trilogy only gets better so I may have to give the second one a go!