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kabrahams's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Lots of fun tropes (no, not animal death, not fun, PAIN) like learning to use magic (although that involves pain), a presumably unrequited childhood love, and court intrigue. Also
The last hundred pages or so were super fast passed and epic after a relatively slow paced (but not in a bad way) story. I love Robin Hobb's attention to detail. Such a rich, immersive world. Perhaps a too bit like our own at times, but I still can't wait to return.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
skylarkindareads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Classism, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
isabella_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Suicide
literarylamentations's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Such a beautifully, thoughtfully written "memoir" of a heartbreaking and intriguing childhood. Incredibly slow paced and character focused, but in my absolute favorite kind of way. This is the kind of story you sink into and immerse in to relish in the details of the world, the depth of the relationships, and let your heart be shattered in ways that don't feel cruel; Hobb earns every single heartbreak she invokes. I cannot wait to continue on Fitz's journey!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Child abuse
m_________'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was so emotionally traumatic and there are fifteen more in this universe to go ...
I really enjoyed this book and am certainly looking forward to continuing the series. I liked how Fitz's role as an assassin isn't quite what I've seen from other fantasy assassins, he's trained to be a lot more political and subtle. The book definitely has some hard hitting themes about loneliness, trauma, and living with trauma and I am also intrigued by certain side characters, and I already really love Fitz, of course.
Major CW for animal deaths.
I really enjoyed this book and am certainly looking forward to continuing the series. I liked how Fitz's role as an assassin isn't quite what I've seen from other fantasy assassins, he's trained to be a lot more political and subtle. The book definitely has some hard hitting themes about loneliness, trauma, and living with trauma and I am also intrigued by certain side characters, and I already really love Fitz, of course.
Major CW for animal deaths.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Abandonment, and Grief
Moderate: War, Vomit, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Gore, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Child death, Child abuse, Bullying, Blood, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Addiction
grets_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Death, Grief, Infertility, Rape, Addiction, Animal cruelty, and Child abuse
booksthatburn's review against another edition
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ASSASSIN’S APPRENTICE follows Fitz through his childhood and adolescence, as he learns to be an assassin for the king, and what he’s actually willing to kill for.
The worldbuilding is layered, with things explained as Fitz is told them, supplemented by insights from his older self. This leads to a gradually filled-in impression of a complex setting where details are conveyed as they are necessary, and even more is implied through the narrative. This style lends clarity. He discusses both how he felt at the time, as a child and then a teenager, and what he thinks about those events now that he’s an adult. This becomes especially important during sections such as his time under Galen, as the dissonance intensifies between events as they happened and how he was being conditioned to perceive them. There are several moments where something he does as he’s telling the story is juxtaposed with some assertion made by his younger self, showing how something must have changed in the meantime (presumably to be covered somewhere in the trilogy).
One of my favorite things is his complex relationship with Burrich. How they are to and with each other changes throughout the story. Even when it's changing for the worse, it makes sense, and it's nice to see Fitz's growing understanding of Burrich as a person with his own internal world separate from Fitz. How Fitz views Burrich is often a great proxy for how Fitz is growing and changing, flavored by the dissonance between how Fitz is and how Burrich wants him to be.
There’s a lot of care in the narration, partly due to the balance between Fitz’s memories and his older self’s reactions to and commentaries on the memories, and partly due to what I can best describe as a lack of voyeuristic interest. One of the background plots involves raiders pillaging the coast, and, other than a few scenes where Fitz has to directly fight someone as a result of the raids, there are few descriptions of the kind of violence which accompanies such raids. Said violence is canonically happening, and Fitz frequently discusses the effects he’s observing on the people and the Kingdom which stem from the raids, but in a way that makes sense for his character. This is just one example of how the narration gives the impression of the complexity (and sometimes violence) of Fitz’s world, but does not unnaturally bend his character to direct the story towards it, nor does it shy away when appropriate.
A great start to the series, I'm ready to read the next one.
The worldbuilding is layered, with things explained as Fitz is told them, supplemented by insights from his older self. This leads to a gradually filled-in impression of a complex setting where details are conveyed as they are necessary, and even more is implied through the narrative. This style lends clarity. He discusses both how he felt at the time, as a child and then a teenager, and what he thinks about those events now that he’s an adult. This becomes especially important during sections such as his time under Galen, as the dissonance intensifies between events as they happened and how he was being conditioned to perceive them. There are several moments where something he does as he’s telling the story is juxtaposed with some assertion made by his younger self, showing how something must have changed in the meantime (presumably to be covered somewhere in the trilogy).
One of my favorite things is his complex relationship with Burrich. How they are to and with each other changes throughout the story. Even when it's changing for the worse, it makes sense, and it's nice to see Fitz's growing understanding of Burrich as a person with his own internal world separate from Fitz. How Fitz views Burrich is often a great proxy for how Fitz is growing and changing, flavored by the dissonance between how Fitz is and how Burrich wants him to be.
There’s a lot of care in the narration, partly due to the balance between Fitz’s memories and his older self’s reactions to and commentaries on the memories, and partly due to what I can best describe as a lack of voyeuristic interest. One of the background plots involves raiders pillaging the coast, and, other than a few scenes where Fitz has to directly fight someone as a result of the raids, there are few descriptions of the kind of violence which accompanies such raids. Said violence is canonically happening, and Fitz frequently discusses the effects he’s observing on the people and the Kingdom which stem from the raids, but in a way that makes sense for his character. This is just one example of how the narration gives the impression of the complexity (and sometimes violence) of Fitz’s world, but does not unnaturally bend his character to direct the story towards it, nor does it shy away when appropriate.
A great start to the series, I'm ready to read the next one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Blood, Violence, and Medical content
Moderate: Cursing, Pregnancy, Ableism, Sexism, Misogyny, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Excrement, Drug use, Child abuse, Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Child death, and Death
Minor: Miscarriage and Rape
hardbackednooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
On my second read, this is definitely still a 5-star book, but I did have a few things to point out that I didn't notice/didn't make a note of the first time around.
Good things
Good things
- This is a debut? Holy crap.
- The characters are all unique and distinct; while some have similar personalities(Regal and his entourage basically all being super vile and sadistic villains) , their descriptions, mannerisms, and dialogue make them easy to tell apart.
- Hobb's worldbuilding is absolutely incredible. She's done more in ~400 pages than some authors do with twice that amount. The richness of culture, history, conflict, environment, all of it is amazing. It perfectly sets up the next books and ties in well with the "side stories" (Rain Wilds and Liveship Traders).
- This book is quotable as heck. I mostly read the print version so I didn't make as many notes as I'd have wanted to, but a few things stuck with me that I went back and highlighted on my kindle.
- The storytelling style is a little difficult to get into at first, but this is still a good thing. It's a departure from the typical and once I'd read a chapter or two, I really enjoyed it. Instead of being told as a traditional first-person, "as it happens" type of story, it's a first-person recollection from an ambiguously older Fitz, who's sat down to write out his childhood. He references this in a few instances, saying things like "I wish I could remember the rest of this conversation" or "I can't recall the exact details" which helps you feel immersed in the retelling.
Not as good things
- The timeline is fuzzy for me. We know the book starts with Fitz around 6 years old, with very little memory of what came before. The story progresses slowly from there, giving Hobb time to introduce us to the world and the cast of characters, but after the 1/3 mark or so, we start having sudden jumps. They're usually ill-defined as "some years passed" or "after some time," which makes it difficult to gauge A) how long Fitz has beentraining with Chade) or how much he's aged, how long certain castle intrigue plots have taken, and other relatively minor things.
- Now that I'm thinking about it, maybe the fuzzy timeline is because it's being told as Fitz's retelling rather than a current happening. Hmmmm.
- There is a monumental amount of abuse in this story, which isn't a knock against the book, but it did take a lot out of me when I was reading. You definitely need to be in a good headspace to make it through.
All in all, a very excellent and good book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Addiction, and Drug use
adrinthesky's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, and Vomit
bluejay21's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts