A review by hardbackednooks
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

 On my second read, this is definitely still a 5-star book, but I did have a few things to point out that I didn't notice/didn't make a note of the first time around.

Good things
- This is a debut? Holy crap.
- The characters are all unique and distinct; while some have similar personalities
(Regal and his entourage basically all being super vile and sadistic villains)
, their descriptions, mannerisms, and dialogue make them easy to tell apart.
- Hobb's worldbuilding is absolutely incredible. She's done more in ~400 pages than some authors do with twice that amount. The richness of culture, history, conflict, environment, all of it is amazing. It perfectly sets up the next books and ties in well with the "side stories" (Rain Wilds and Liveship Traders).
- This book is quotable as heck. I mostly read the print version so I didn't make as many notes as I'd have wanted to, but a few things stuck with me that I went back and highlighted on my kindle.
- The storytelling style is a little difficult to get into at first, but this is still a good thing. It's a departure from the typical and once I'd read a chapter or two, I really enjoyed it. Instead of being told as a traditional first-person, "as it happens" type of story, it's a first-person recollection from an ambiguously older Fitz, who's sat down to write out his childhood. He references this in a few instances, saying things like "I wish I could remember the rest of this conversation" or "I can't recall the exact details" which helps you feel immersed in the retelling.

Not as good things
- The timeline is fuzzy for me. We know the book starts with Fitz around 6 years old, with very little memory of what came before. The story progresses slowly from there, giving Hobb time to introduce us to the world and the cast of characters, but after the 1/3 mark or so, we start having sudden jumps. They're usually ill-defined as "some years passed" or "after some time," which makes it difficult to gauge A) how long Fitz has been
training with Chade)
or how much he's aged, how long certain castle intrigue plots have taken, and other relatively minor things.
- Now that I'm thinking about it, maybe the fuzzy timeline is because it's being told as Fitz's retelling rather than a current happening. Hmmmm.
- There is a monumental amount of abuse in this story, which isn't a knock against the book, but it did take a lot out of me when I was reading. You definitely need to be in a good headspace to make it through.

All in all, a very excellent and good book. 
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