Reviews

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

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ingabbjarna's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

victoriakhart's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

ndeniseg105's review against another edition

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4.0

What a read! Robin Hobb wrote a fantastic entrance into the realm of the elderlings. I have so many good things to say about this one, so I'm going to break it down.

WORLDBUILDING

So the worldbuilding was great if you like straightforward detailing. I much prefer when a fantasy novel explains something as soon as it's relevant and then leaves the rest up to the imagination/ future story details, and that's exactly what Hobb did with this novel. She didn't take too much time fleshing out the world and magic systems, but I felt like I had an amazing picture in my head in regards to the scenery and characters.

CHARACTERS
The characters are the real stars of this book in my opinion. They do have some cliche aspects but done in a way that made sense and wasn't cringe-worthy in the slightest. Their development was amazing, and I really felt like I was living amongst them throughout the novel.

MAGIC
The Skill is such an interesting magical ability, but when the characters are using skill, it can become somewhat hard to follow. Overall I enjoyed it.

ruark's review against another edition

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Dog dies

Content Warnings

princessrobotiv's review against another edition

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4.0

The hype wasn't misplaced; this was a great book.

It was heavier on political/court intrigue and the sometimes plebian details of medieval-inspired life than its magic system, which was neither good nor bad, just interesting. I found that I liked the non-magical parts better than the magical, but perhaps it was because Hobb made the magic itself repulsive in many ways, from the Wit to the Skill to the Forging. Magic had clear cost and danger, which is always appreciated in fantasy.

In fact, the magic was so secondary to the main plot for so long that I sometimes found myself surprised that it existed in-world. I think the fact of its existence could have permeated through the various cultures more than it did; even if the Skill wasn't used frequently anymore, the world as a whole would show more signs of being magic-adjacent.

I loved Fitz, though, and grieved right alongside him for all his isolation and his losses. Characterization across the board was very good and consistent, if straying a bit dramatic towards the end where Regal was concerned. The reveal about Nosy at Jhaampe honestly floored me; I actually got a little teary.

I'm definitely impressed and eager to continue with the series!

frankiholmes's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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

I'm too emotional right now. Wow. I just knew from the very first pages that I was going to enjoy this book, and I was right. I loved it so much. The characters. THE CHATACTERS. They're so well written. The whole book is so well written. I am so emotionally invested. As an aspiring writer, I'm definitely amazed and taking notes on Robin Hobb's writing.

Estoy muy sentimental. Wow. Sabía desde las primeras páginas que me iba a gustar este libro y estaba en lo correcto. Lo amé. ¡Los personajes! Están tan bien escritos. Todo el libro está tan bien escrito. Desde ya me he encariñado mucho con los personajes. Y como aspirante a escritora definitivamente me asombro y tomo nota de la escritura de Robin Hobb.