♠ ASSASSIN'S APPRENTICE (Farseer Trilogy #1): A Warrior Fairy book review

 In a faraway land where members of the royal family are named for the virtues they embody, one young boy will become a walking enigma.

Born on the wrong side of the sheets, Fitz, son of Chivalry Farseer, is a royal bastard, cast out into the world, friendless and lonely. Only his magical link with animals - the old art known as the Wit - gives him solace and companionship. But the Wit, if used too often, is a perilous magic, and one abhorred by the nobility.

So when Fitz is finally adopted into the royal household, he must give up his old ways and embrace a new life of weaponry, scribing, courtly manners; and how to kill a man secretly, as he trains to become a royal assassin.  




Rating: 4 out of 5

Hello everyone! This is the Warrior Fairy here and this is going to be my first review. My books and are going to be a little (or waaay) different from the other fairies' genres, but that's what's great about having a group blog. There's a lot of variety! I hope you guys won't neglect me and that I won't get lost in a sea of romance on this blog, lol.

As a self-proclaimed fantasy fan, I am slowly going through those famous works that every fantasy fan must read. The Farseer trilogy is of course, one of those.

The beginning was a little slow to start without much happening, which means it also took a while for me to get into it. I think that was because our protagonist, Fitz, was still a young boy and not that much was happening to him. Since this is written in first person, we're limited by what he sees and does, which is not much in the first few chapters of the book. However, the pace slowly starts getting better once Fitz gets some orders from the king and it was a great read from then on.

One thing I really loved was the characterization of Fitz. Here is a boy who no one really wants to deal with, and he's thrust into a life and mission he isn't prepared for. He's not exceptionally smart or charming, or really anything that makes him stand out or mark him out like glaring neon signs as "main character", unlike some other books. No, he's flawed, and human, and that's one of the best things about him. While he can brood and complain, it's not done in a way that makes it irritating. It feels realistic. I also enjoyed a lot of the other characters, particularly the Fool. He's a mystery, that one.

And oh, Robin Hobb's writing. How I love it when you write about Fitz's emotions because when I read it, I felt it. Oh, how I felt it. My heart shattered thrice (twice with Nosy and once with Smithy) and I felt the loneliness living inside him.

I was put off by some of the extensive information - info dumps - and descriptions though. They felt unnecessary and detracted from the feel of the story. I also wish there was a bit more of a moral grayness to the villain(s), but maybe that can be seen in the next books. The title, Assassin's Apprentice, certainly gives away a major part of the story here, but at least there were a few more things and twists thrown in there to shake things up so that made up for it. 

I read that there was something Jon Snow-esque (particularly concerning a wolf) but that appears to be in the next book. Overall, I really enjoyed this and I can't wait to see what's next in store for Fitz.