“
Assassin’s Aprentice” is the great opening novel of Robin Hobb’s “Farseer Trilogy”.
The book begins by introducing
the reader to a kingdom called The Six Duchies and to the main character, the base born FitzChivalry Farseer. Through his eyes, the author gradually moves the story forward, revealing first the boy’s parentage and then his possession of an ancient and despised power - The Wit. As he grows under the care of Burrich, his father’s right hand man, Fitz is faced with a life full of duties in a court, which would rather he had never been born.
After a chance meeting with
king Shrewd, Fitz takes an oath as his man. And it is not long before he moves to the keep. The king’s plans for him are revealed when an old man named Chade comes to the boy’s chambers with an offer to tutor Fitz in the ways of the
assassin. During his childhood, he is also tested for another form of magical ability called The Skill and begins training under a man who despises him.
Eventually, the attacks of outlanders known as the Red-Ship Raiders drive the first book’s plot to the place of its conclusion. Fitz will have to make the hard choices, which will determine the fate of The Six Duchies and of the boy himself.
Richly-depicted, full of great details and populated with characters worth remembering, the story Robin Hobb has crafted draws you in from its very beginning. And once you get to know Fitz, putting down the book can be quite hard.