Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

34 reviews

brynalexa's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Adorable and cruel magic system. Heart wrenching. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Grief, Alcohol, and Blood

Moderate: Mental illness, Medical trauma, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Drug use, Misogyny, Death of parent, Violence, Physical abuse, Addiction, and Infertility

Minor: Rape

micallab's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, and Infidelity

Minor: Death of parent

lauramcc7's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Abandonment, Grief, Violence, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts

jo_lzr's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I really liked the prose of the book. I sympathized a lot with Fitz. There is, also, a strong focus on Fitz's mental health. Even though descriptions were a bit exhaustive at times, Robin Hobb's talent in story crafting made up for it.

I think that the fog that Galen put in the mind of Fitz so that he would forget about his ability to Skill, which caused him to hate himself so much that he wanted to commit suicide is an interesting metaphor for real life. I don't know if that was something the author did on purpose, but it is interesting to think that in real life the perspective of oneself can become fogged through abuse and gaslighting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

bea_reads_books's review

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Child abuse

Moderate: Animal death, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Cursing, War, Alcoholism, Grief, Sexism, Bullying, Death, Toxic relationship, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Minor: Drug abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Blood, and Adult/minor relationship

maregred's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Murder, Violence, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Classism, Blood, and Animal death

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Drug abuse, and Drug use

Minor: Grief, Sexism, and Domestic abuse

erebus53's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.25

I'm pleased that this was only the first book in a lengthy series. Being high fantasy it had a familiar format that made it an easy read, despite the story unfolding slowly. Conflicts of interest and clear training montages weren't actually boring! It was amusing to see the story of a child who comes from nothing and the internal logic of the court machinations he was subjected to.

Not everything was a problem to be resolved in this story, which leaves a lot of scope for the future. Clearly, some things are left as origin story and will be threads that can be woven into upcoming chapters. I think the only thing that could seriously turn someone off a story like this is if you hate magic and dogs. I did find it hard to invest energy in the relationships that Fitz has with his dogs, because I could see them being used against me (he reader) to twist some kind of John Wick narrative. I do like that things were internally consistent, and that each character had their own knowledge and motivations.

I LOVE it when I am presented with a simple puzzle, with hints along the way. There are many little revelations that unfold through this story as it is one of espionage, power plays, and secrets.. but also of arcane knowledge, misunderstandings and true affection between people. The relationships carry the story and make it feel less clunky; less a war game and more like a conversation.

I'm looking forward to exploring the world building and the people we meet along the way.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Misogyny, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Infidelity and Pregnancy

Minor: Vomit, War, Animal cruelty, and Excrement

saintsunshine's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I find it difficult to explain what makes Robin Hobb's Assassin Apprentice so good. Compared to the complex and often bloated fantasy stories I've been consuming over the years, Hobb's work is straightforward and leaves much up to the imagination of the reader – which I found refreshing. The narrative is easy to get into and Fitz makes for a relatable protagonist.

I'm not sure yet if I'll be continuing my read as I did struggle a bit with the book. The first person narration and the audiobook performance were obstacles to my enjoyment of the book, which is wholly a personal thing and not on Hobb. Given the nature of Hobb's writing, it was at times difficult to keep track of characters and motivations. I found that characters would reach conclusions that would go unexplained, so this is a book that rewards full attention. I just found that mine wasn't always there. 

The high points of this book, however, were incredibly exciting. While I think I'll take a break before commiting to more of the series, I hope to chase those same highs again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Animal death

Moderate: Blood, Abandonment, Violence, Sexism, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Death, Animal cruelty, Cursing, and Misogyny

eileenp59's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted relaxing sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Classism, Violence, War, Suicidal thoughts, and Bullying

Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Xenophobia, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Torture, Murder, Animal cruelty, Ableism, Misogyny, Grief, and Addiction

Minor: Body shaming, Vomit, Biphobia, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Stalking, Child death, Sexism, and Emotional abuse

revolution666's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Animal death, Classism, Grief, Physical abuse, Violence, War, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Murder, Bullying, Confinement, and Death

Minor: Infidelity, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Sexism, Blood, and Medical content