Assassin's Apprentice (Farseer Trilogy, #1) in The Sword and Laser

Jul 26, 2012 Jenny (Reading Envy) rated it really liked it

Shelves: sword-and-laser, sci-fi-fantasy, read2012

This was the August 2012 pick with the Sword and Laser group. I probably would never have thought to read it otherwise, so thank you Veronica!

There are things about this story that have me interested in what happens in the entire trilogy (and from what I gather in the discussion forums, the second trilogy following the first trilogy). The Skill vs. wit vs. questing, the clashing of cultures, and Fitz's development as an assassin - these elements are all still interesting and unexplained at the e ...more

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Jul 24, 2012 Tom Merritt rated it it was amazing

Brilliant. It did take me awhile to get swept up in it. I liked it fine from the beginning but from the moment Lady Thyme calls Fitz back fromt he keep to meeting the Forged Ones and on I was hooked.

This book also made me extra nice to my dogs.

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May 15, 2007 Eric rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy

Robin Hobb is one of my two favorite fantasy authors from my childhood, with the other being David Eddings (I am a child of the 80s). She is a truly original writer in a genre suffocated by doppelgangers.

This series is so different than any other fantasy series I've read -- such as those by Terry Brooks, Terry Goodkind, Raymond E. Feist, etc. -- and that is part of what makes it so exceptional.

The focus on all the characters' thoughts, motivations and fears, as opposed to constant action and jou ...more

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Mar 09, 2009 Carla rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: not-own, portuguese, 2010

Rating: 3,5

Having read so many positive reviews, I must have picked up this book with very high expectations because in the end I was hoping for much more than what it was delivered.

The story in itself is interesting. We have the Six Duchies dealing with assaults by the Red-Ships Raiders from the OutIslands, who attack the coastal cities, kidnap people and offer strange ransoms, pay and we kill the hostages, or don't pay and we free them. The worst is that when the hostages are set free they cea Rating: 3,5

Having read so many positive reviews, I must have picked up this book with very high expectations because in the end I was hoping for much more than what it was delivered.

The story in itself is interesting. We have the Six Duchies dealing with assaults by the Red-Ships Raiders from the OutIslands, who attack the coastal cities, kidnap people and offer strange ransoms, pay and we kill the hostages, or don't pay and we free them. The worst is that when the hostages are set free they cease to be who they were and become Forged, a kind of zombies that attack everything that moves for wealth and/or food. As if this wasn't enough, there's a political crisis resulting from the abdication of the crown prince due to the fact that he had a bastard son. This causes others to put their eyes on the throne.

Without any doubt this is a good plot, but it seems to me that it wasn't very successful. First, the narration is done in first person by Fitz, the bastard mentioned above, and we realize that he's narrating it several years after the story takes place. Well, this mades situations of life or death something boring because I already knew he would survive! I mean, he's telling the story years after it took place! Where's the danger if he survived it to tell his story? That's why I hate this kind of narration, it takes uncertainty of survival out of the equation. If there are some successful examples of narration in first person that leaves us in hanging in suspense, this wasn't one of those.

Second, the story has a pace so slow that it seems nothing happens. It could be used to do some character building, but unfortunately this also seems not to be accomplished because the names of the characters already reflect part of their nature, the part that stands out, and we see little more than that. But still there are interesting characters, case of Verity, Kettricken and the Fool, the only one that really is somewhat mysterious (but not so much his puzzles, in my opinion, and which makes me thing that our protagonist isn't very bright).

Finally, I liked the magic, the Skill and the Wit, although I haven't yet realized why the Wit is something that the protagonist isn't supposed to do. Sounds very similar to the Skill and if that can be studied and controlled, the same should happen to the other and not be rejected.

Despite it all it's a book that one reads well and left me with curiosity enough to pick up the second volume (which I'm almost done), mainly to learn more about the Forging and what's behind the assaults by the Red-Ships Raiders. ...more

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Apr 30, 2010 Brittany rated it really liked it

Shelves: fantasy, dragon-books

Having read the Tawny Man series, and thus assured myself of knowing at least the outline of the events of the Farseer trilogy (as in, who makes it and who doesn't) I decided to go back and read the Farseer books. This starts with Fitz as a very small boy. And it bothers me even more in these books that he doesn't actually have a name. For such a basic human lack, he doesn't really seem to think or worry about it much. Which, actually, I think says quite a bit about his character.

True to my the ...more

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Feb 12, 2013 taeli rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobook, audible

re-read finished 2/19/13

I really like this series. Looking forward to the next book.

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Aug 03, 2012 Dave rated it really liked it

Shelves: audiobook, fantasy, sf

Gave this another go after lots of mediocre fantasy and greatly impressed by the quality of the prose. The small scenes are more powerful than some of the bigger set pieces.

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