Robin Hobb's Farseer trilogy
appears frequently on book review websites. This trilogy is known by
fans of fantasy fictions, as a “must read” series. It offers
readers with a unique story, blending a coming to age tale with
political tensions and court intrigues. I have had this trilogy
sitting on my bookshelf for well over a year. During the holiday
season, I finally had a chance to delve into Hobb's beloved creation.
Today, I would like to provide a book review for Assassin's
Apprentice, which is the first book in the trilogy.
Synopsis:
Tale-tellers sing the legends of
heroes. Tales of mighty men whose lives are remembered by songs of glories and deeds.
Stories of fierce warriors and high kings of noble blood, burn into
the memories of men, like fiery comets tearing through the black veil of
a moonless night.
But what we have here is a different tale. A story birthed not from the wombs of valiant deeds in battles, but a tale that began with the sullenness of a cold, wintry night. This story, is about the turbulent life of FitzChivalry Farseer, a prince's royal bastard.
At the age of 6, Fitz was cast away
from his mother, taken to the King's castle on a snowy night,
alone and scared. The king entrusted Fitz to the care of the
stablemaster, Burrich. From that night, Fitz's was destined to be
entangled in the spidery web, of a royal court life. Not as a prince,
but a as bastard. At this point, the story of FitzChilvary Farseer
began.
What I think about this book:
Robin Hobb wrote both beautifully and
powerfully in this book. This book excelled in world-building, where
every scene is described with colorful richness, but never wordy.
Assassin's Apprentice is also a character driven book. The
characters cut bone deep impressions into readers' minds, because the
author depicted them vividly, with such skills that make them shine
and memorable. In this book, character development is the engine to
drive the story forward. While readers witnessed how the characters'
views, and their personalities, are shaped and impacted by the
ordeals they lived through.
I found Assassin's Apprentice to
be a sad story. I believe, when most readers witness the life of
Fitz, the main character, they are bound to feel sympathy for him. In this book, Fitz had to learn and play a game of cloak and
daggers, to survive at the royal court, because he is a bastard of a
former heir to the throne. One of the great sadness in this book, is
that Fitz never met his father, Chivalry, who died very early in the
book. The book described Fitz's loneliness and pain with such
heartfelt emotions, that it is hard for a reader to not care for him.
What I also appreciate about this book,
is that Hobb let her character, Fitz, make mistakes and receive the
consequences. This also means there are many moments in this book,
when the good guys lose, and the bad guys won. Furthermore, these
moments often impacted the characters' lives permanently. I think
Hobb's storytelling is successful, because she channeled to readers a
real sense of danger for the characters in the story, so the book can
grip its readers with tension and surprises.
I did however, find the pace of this
book to be a bit slower than other, modern day fantasy novels. Having
said this, I think the slow pace matched this book quite well,
allowing readers to dwell deeper into the lives of characters, and
the world they live in.
Assassin's Apprentice is a good
book. This book certainly began the tale of Farseer trilogy on
a high note. Robhin Hobb crafted her story with great love and care,
and I believe most fans of fantasy fictions will enjoy this book.
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