Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

Blurb:

Twenty-five years ago, Robin Hobb’s first novel featuring FitzChivalry Farseer and his mysterious, often maddening friend the Fool struck like a bolt of brilliant lightning. Thus began a beloved saga spanning multiple series, full of adventure, magic, and sinister plots. To celebrate a quarter-century of wonder, this special edition presents a modern classic as it’s never been seen before, with ten beautiful illustrations by Magali Villeneuve.

Young Fitz is the bastard son of the noble Prince Chivalry, raised in the shadow of the royal court by his father’s gruff stableman. He is treated as an outcast by all the royalty except the devious King Shrewd, who has him secretly tutored in the arts of the assassin. For in Fitz’s blood runs the magic Skill—and the darker knowledge of a child raised with the stable hounds and rejected by his family.

As barbarous raiders ravage the coasts, Fitz is growing to manhood. Soon he will face his first dangerous, soul-shattering mission. And though some regard him as a threat to the throne, he may just be the key to the survival of the kingdom.

Review:

Enter the Realm of the Elderlings, and become enchanted by a false sense of security. Robin Hobb’s first installment of the inceptive Farseer Trilogy will greet you with a warm hug as her lyrical prose and promise of a Prince bastard’s rise lays a familiar, even cozy quality.

However, even from the beginning, it was clear to me there’s something a bit different about this world, and the mind of its architect. The first person perspective from our main character Fitz is a rare sight in fantasy; the persistent nudge was my first clue that this is different, keeping me slightly off-kilter. 

The limitation means there’s no omnipresence here. Uninterrogated misunderstandings abound, and Fitz’s place in the world is awfully tenuous, where so many seem to hate him for his very existence. Poor bastard.

Hobb patiently weaves her stealthily crafted threads of complexity into the background, and soothes us once more into the simple story of a boy growing up in a castle’s stable, hiding magical secrets, and befriending every furry creature he comes across. Isn’t it lovely?

“Assassin’s Apprentice” is a seemingly subtle evolution of the classic fantasy formula. Going first person perspective may feel like a small step on the surface, but taken in its entirety, it’s an integral part of a giant leap for the genre. Brandon Sanderson directly referenced this trilogy when positing that Hobb was among the first generation of authors to fully move out from Tolkien’s shadow, rather than responding to it directly. While the influence from “Granddaddy Tolkien” is still there, it doesn’t cleave too closely to its inspirations. 

Why is that?

It’s easy reading throughout. The familiar, beautiful prose is straightforward and descriptive with an at times even lyrical quality. Truly timeless, it helped lull me into the false sense of security that these characters would face their challenges head on, and that I could trust people’s stated motives. That trick was her plan all along, wasn’t it?

It’s through this veil of safety that we first see characters in all their moral grayness. This grayness was another important part of the genre’s evolution, like its contemporary, Game of Thrones, which would push it even further and darker. The complexities breathe life into our characters with just a few precise sentences. They are each an iceberg of personality, bobbing along the narrative sea. 

As we spent more time among the ‘bergs, we discovered just how deeply they descended. Characters’ perspectives, and the information they were privy to as much as any experience, vividly informed their own outlooks in believable ways. These webs formed the structure as we were introduced to more and more aspects of the world.

One prominent aspect we uncovered are the varied wells of magic along the journey. The two primary magical elements at play seem to contrast against each other and form a central tension for Fitz. One is hidden, dangerous, and a massive social faux paus. The other is elite, exclusive, and its learning is closed off to all except for select few. By the end it seemed we scratched the surface of these powers. They appear to be well defined beneath the surface, but so far, there is much we don’t yet understand. 

I always enjoy the mystery and intrigue of a well executed softer magic system. In later installments I wonder how well-defined the magic will become. For me, I hope it doesn’t become too scientific, as I appreciated the level of depth we reached here. If you’re set on looking for a hard, well defined system, you may need to look elsewhere.

It wasn’t until somewhere in the midway point that the entire genre quietly pushed forward again. Themes of unreliable information began to simmer to the surface. I realized no one will ever have a complete picture. Certainly not our main character Fitz, and no one else would have full knowledge of him and his varied, and increasingly dangerous, secrets. Fitz was not even a reliable narrator for himself. 

He may be a loyal King’s man, but he is as much his own master as anyone can be. My eyebrows raised as I saw the different levels of craftsmanship start to emerge. I knew we weren’t dealing with such a simple story any longer.

And all throughout, the subtle foreshadowing was carefully planted. It was in the back half where payoffs would begin to steadily roll in.

Hobb showed dexterity in those reveals. She hid in plain sight ingenious narrative contraptions to further our character’s stories and motivations. Can you trust your own memory? There was more than one instance when I thought I spotted inconsistencies earlier in the text, but without fail, each of them tied to a purposeful reveal or sleight of hand. 

So I, too, was an apprentice to Hobb’s architectural designs throughout the flow of the story. I found myself flipping back chapters at a time to cross-check previous dialogue and descriptions. Engaging me so deeply is just, chef’s kiss.

Her worldbuilding was also quite subtle. I would have liked even more throughout the story, but what we did get was enticing, presenting a mystery I’m looking forward to unwrapping. Who are the seldom mentioned Elderlings? What of the Red Ship Raiders and the source of their horrible power? This is a thoughtfully constructed realm with layers to discover.

Beyond the Red Ship Raiders, all our antagonists were varied and largely interesting. Personal grievances, throne-room plotting, existential threats to the Kingdom. A gamut of concerns to weigh down our plucky Assassin in training. The concept of Forging is dreadful, and makes for great fodder enemies without relying on the tropes of orcs and goblins. I won’t spoil specifics, but it’s a bit genre-bending and well executed, realizing dread and fear in believable ways.

Throughout the story, Fitz’s journey was largely exciting and well paced. But one criticism for me, is I would have liked to see more development from him by the end of the novel. We’re only one book into the first trilogy of many, so there’s ample time, but we see years go by as Fitz grew up as a child without a lot of shifting beliefs or values that were evident.

Beyond Fitz, I found our other characters also fairly rigid in their development, despite their deep personas. Burrich, Regal, Verity, Galen. They are who they are, even when challenged with conflicting information that might shake core beliefs. So they may be icebergs, but ones solidly frozen. Instead, character inertia primarily came from information being unveiled through plot progression. These reveals, at least, helped keep them from feeling boring, and were still effective in showing great overall characterization from Hobb.

By the conclusion, the story had mostly been neatly wrapped. I fully hope loose ends occur in an initial entry of a series. How else can we be enticed? But how they hang is fair game for evaluation. Fitz’s relationship with others is for me the largest curiosity. For a first person point of view, I’d have liked to see more of his feelings and perspective on where he stands with the different people in his life by the time we reach the end. I’m sure we’ll pick back up again in the next books, but this conclusion felt a little clumsily handled compared to other aspects of the story. 

Some of the antagonists fell away sharply by that point as well. I think a little more involvement from them could have been useful and would have improved the landing. Instead, it was an uncannily quaint feeling. The smiles, a little too forced. Perhaps I’ve been trained too well to be suspicious.

A brief interlude while on the critiques: how do we feel about Fitz’s full name? FitzChivalry Farseer. This may be a minority opinion, but for me it’s a bummer. Why can’t we make “Chivalry” a middle name, or use a hyphenate, or find some other alternative? Fitz-Chivalry Farseer. Fitz Chivalry Farseer. Fitz Chivalry-Farseer. Anything could have been better. It struck me so oddly it almost pulled me out entirely from the beginning when I read that name on the back cover. Thankfully, within the text, his full name was used sparingly. But for a world where naming between different cultures was executed with consistent finesse and internal rationality, the main character’s name being so bizarrely different felt like an RPG’s create-a-character player naming level of juxtaposition. Maybe it’s just me.

Okay, but don’t let these nitpicks take away from the larger lessons of the story. 

How do you find your place in a society that works relentlessly to undermine you and bring you down? From the earliest ages, you know your very existence is upheld only out of political advantage. Does the privilege of castle life, and the benefit of some nobility not actively hating you, truly outweigh the undying menace others constantly inflict because of the status of your birth? 

We constantly test themes of loyalty and perseverance despite it all. What do we owe each other? The moral strength required to maintain an ethical framework that hasn’t rotted is admirable. The patience and restraint required to solve problems within lethal ambiguity is another central theme. When there are countless mysteries and injustices, it’s easy to jump to conclusions. Yet constantly we’re reminded to question the narrative, unpack the facts, and test prior assumptions. It’s not Sherlock Holmes, but we nevertheless are drawn by the intrigue and see how vital it is to Fitz’s survival in a cruel land. These layers add much needed depth to an otherwise straight-forward story.

So, is Assassin’s Apprentice right for y–YES. If you’ve made it this far and are wondering if it’s right for you, yes it is. It’s a great debut, and a classic for a reason. The characters are great, the world has the magical j’ne sais quoi that I look for. It’s light and beautifully written.

There is some mature content that pushed it out of my recommendation for children. But if you’re middle grade or above, and you start your journey in the Realm of the Elderlings here, like I did, you won’t have already been spoiled by later books, which should enhance the overall effect. And if you didn’t start here, it’s probably still a worthwhile read with how approachable it is, and how you can see the beginnings of our primary protagonist making the start to his sure-fire legendary career. A win for everyone.

This is my first Robin Hobb novel, and while it isn’t perfect, I’m an absolute convert. She works on multiple levels and composes different layers into such an attractive package that it’s plain to see why she’s on so many people’s Mount Rushmore of fantasy writers.

While reading this book, I met Robin at Worldcon where I had the opportunity to briefly speak to her on writing. Her advice was “to persevere,” and that it’s the only trick she knows. Reflecting on “Assassin’s Apprentice,” I find it is wisdom that applies to Fitz as much as any of us. I can tell he’ll need it.

Guest Reviewer Bio:
Gradyish lives in Portland with his wife and two dogs. When not reading SFF and LitFic, he enjoys writing and sharing book reviews, and quietly working on concept chapters and story outlines for nascent fantasy novels he’s been cultivating. Those purposefully have not yet seen the light of day. When not doing any of that or working 9-5, he’s probably playing futsal for his team, Baja Blast FC, where you can find him most weekend evenings.