Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

89 reviews

moonlitreading_'s review

adventurous dark informative relaxing sad 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? Yes

4.5

“So, was there anything to me, other than being a spy or assassin?”

The one thing I regret about reading Assassin’s Apprentice is that I didn’t start it earlier!!!! This book is slow paced, but Robin Hobb writes so well that I didn’t mind it. This book gives off an autobiographical feel and it’s more character-driven than plot-driven.

Speaking of characters, there were a lot that I liked. Even though everything is told from Fitz’s POV, the other characters still managed to stand out. Apart from Fitz, my favorite character is The Fool. I don’t know, I just feel like I want to be friends with him.

It was interesting to see Fitz’s character developing from when he was six until his mid(?) teens. But it’s crazy to think that everything that happened in this book was before Fitz became an adult. FitzChivalry Farseer you poor traumatized child.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent

kristis_bookshelf'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? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

bookaholic_in_wonderland's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty

bea_reads_books's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Child abuse

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

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

jg93's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Violence, and Abandonment

mariediane016's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death

Moderate: Violence and Abandonment

Minor: Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, and War

talonsontypewriters's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Classism

Minor: Alcoholism, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Excrement, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury

Corporal punishment/whipping. Poisoning and aftermath. Near drowning.

anahisa's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

3.25

OK HEAR ME OUT!!!!

three stars because it’s very much a set up book, but the promise of the story it teased throughout is very exciting + intriguing! will be reading on when time (my library hold) permits 🫡

the exposition dragged, yes, but I do believe it’s worthwhile world-building that has already, and will continue to, pay off in future installments. also (?) surprisingly heartfelt!! shocked + upset to find myself crying over characters I didn’t think I’d connected to (silly me). 

and YES im reading queer subtext into it <333

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Death, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, and Gaslighting

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.

---

Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Infidelity and Pregnancy

Minor: Animal cruelty, Excrement, Vomit, and War

saintsunshine's review against another edition

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.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death and Murder

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