Reviews with content warning for Pregnancy - Assassin's Apprentice

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.

Content Warnings

maeverose's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.25

TL;DR:

Not a lot happens in the first half, mostly an introduction to everything and following Fitz as he grows up and trains to be an assassin. Second half tried to do too many different things back to back. I assume setting stuff up for future books but it felt a bit jumbled. Maybe if the beginning had been condensed it could’ve been spread out better. I really like the writing style and world building. I don’t know if I would say the book itself is too long or more so that big books just can’t keep my attention. I was only mildly interested for a lot of this book.

Characters

So far I’m not that connected to Fitz. To me he felt a little void of personality outside of having a strong moral code, liking animals, and being a teenager. Some of the side characters were much more interesting to me. Mainly Chade, Burrich and the Fool. My favorite character so far is the Fool.

‘The gender of the Fool has been disputed. When directly questioned on this matter by a younger and more forward person than I am now, the Fool replied that it was no one's business but his own.’ — You tell ‘em. (I say, as I’ve decided that he’s transmasc non binary..)

A Note

For people who haven’t read the book yet: I feel like chapter 15 deserves a bit of a warning. Specifically for telepathic mind rape and suicidal thoughts/attempt. There’s some build up to what happens within that chapter, but it’s much more intense than most of the book leading up to it.

I was gonna include a whole rant about the never corrected ableism but decided I was being over dramatic so I’ll spare you. I just find it annoying that people only ever seem to care about ‘time period accuracy’ (being as this is clearly based on medieval times) when it allows them to treat their marginalized characters poorly. I know this was written 30 years ago but still. It irked me.

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thoseoldcrows23's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional 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

5.0

I've been meaning to read this for a long time, and I'm so mad at myself for having put it off. I suspected that I would enjoy Robin Hobb's work, and I had hoped that The Realm of the Elderlings would someday come to be one of my favorite series. This first book has convinced me that my hope was not in vain.

I can understand why this book may not be for everyone. It's slow, and much more character focused then plot driven. However, it gives me the same vibes as Tamora Peirce gave me when I was a kid just dipping her toes into fantasy. I was a little nervous going in because I had heard several people say that this book was dense, and I was concerned I would be too stupid to get it, but reading this book felt like sinking into a warm bath. I didn't find it difficult at all, only rich and layered. The character work is excellent, and I found myself caring deeply for Fitz before the first chapter was done, and the writing is beautiful. I'm so excited to continue this trilogy and The Realm of the Elderlings over all.
If you, like me, have been putting this book off for whatever reason I encourage you to bite the bullet.

Content Warnings

booksthatburn's review against another edition

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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.

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