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reddeddy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Classism, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Violence, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Animal death, Confinement, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Dysphoria, Addiction, Medical content, Chronic illness, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Kidnapping, Xenophobia, Bullying, Death of parent, Infertility, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Colonisation, and Drug abuse
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, Body horror, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, Rape, Slavery, Torture, Suicide, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual content, Vomit, Ableism, Excrement, and Toxic relationship
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
The pace is very, very slow, there is a lot of descriptive language and exposition to wade through, and even then, there isn't a whole lot of plot to be found, at least not at first. All these things considered, I can easily see why someone might get frustrated and give up.
But I found Assassin's Apprentice to be an absorbing, riveting, and immersive read - just what a good fantasy should be.
It also delivers in spades when it comes to political intrigue, which I also very much enjoy reading. The story is told from the POV of Fitz, who for
The other characters are well-developed too (even the villainous ones[
The plotting was overall excellent, although did find the ending
4.5 stars from me.
Graphic: Abandonment, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Eating disorder, Blood, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, and Death of parent
Minor: Fatphobia, War, Alcoholism, Infidelity, and Xenophobia
talonsontypewriters's review
- 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
Graphic: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Emotional abuse, Death, and Animal death
Moderate: Abandonment, War, Gaslighting, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Animal cruelty, Classism, Ableism, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Medical content
Minor: Miscarriage, Suicide, Infertility, Sexism, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Alcoholism, and Infidelity
Corporal punishment/whipping. Poisoning and aftermath. Near drowning.revolution666's review against another edition
- 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
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
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
amelialincoln's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Medical content, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Drug use and Alcoholism
iviarelle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, and Torture
Minor: Vomit, Pedophilia, and Medical content