Customer Reviews
Refreshing, original fantasy - By: G. Cochrane, 17 Sep 2008 
I found Assasssins Apprentice, & the rest of the trilogy, a very refreshing read. The pace does begin a little slow & at times I felt Robin Hobbs did not have to go to the extremes she did to portray Fitz's utter loneliness, however after about chapter six I found the pace picked up & I was hooked into the book.
This is not a typical 'epic quest' based fantasy tale, Hobb does a great job of avoiding most of the cliches & stereotypes rifein the fantasy genre, although admittedly the antagonist can be a little flat at timesin the typical 'bad guy' way. However, overall I think this book is worth reading just for Hobbs' skillin creating deep, dynamic characters that grow with the story. I felt a little distant from most of the charactersin the book at first, I think this is a clever reflection on the state of mind of young Fitzin his loneliness, however by the second book I had grown to love them - the characters are all so rounded & realistic, with their own histories, opinions & faults.
Hobbs' use of language also impressed me, she has a lovely style of writing that is very descriptive without being over-indulgent, giving the story an overall feel of 'realness' that sucks the reader into the world of Buckkeep & the Six Duchies.
A brilliant read. - By: Daniel O'keeffe, 06 Sep 2008 
I am not the biggest fan of reading & don't read particularly often but I loved this book It did have quite a slow start but once it had started it was brilliant I couldn't put it down.
Don't think about buying it just BUY IT!
Atmosphere, Character - By: Craig Lam, 13 Jun 2008 The wordsin the subject seem to be Hobb's forte. She is unrivalledin the fantasy genre for both. She creates a completely believable quasi mediaeval world without resorting to mind numbing realism or conceited grittiness, & also manages to include enough beauty & magic for it to be intriguing to jaded Fantasy readers. The magic system could have been cliched - it is not. There are real costs & dilemmas attached to the two magicsin the book. You will not find fireballs or lightning bolts here.
It is a dark tale with troughs of despair & strife warring against the brief peaks of happiness that the protagonist is allowed.
The events & situations we findin the book are both logical & poignant due to the expertly painted characters - if Fitz, the Assassin's Apprentice of the title, isin a dangerous situation, it really matters because Hobb has made the character matter to us. The same goes for secondary characters: even minor characters are written with a style & care that most novelists would not consider. This is not to say that one will find lengthy passages about the workday of a cook that Fitz happens to see occasionally, no, Hobb can delineate & sculpt an impression of a character with a few well chosen lines, lines that can linger longin the memory.
I have not mentioned the plot. This is not a summary, but an explanation of the 5 stars at the top of this review.
Fantasy writing GENIUS!! - By: L. Weatherley, 31 Mar 2008 The farseer trilogy starts with the assassins apprentice, you follow fitz on his journeyin a fantastical land meeting heroes & villains alike. I absolutely love reading & re-reading this series as well as The Liveship Traders trilogy, The Tawny Man trilogy & the recent Soldier Son trilogy. Robin hobbs is a fantastic author, the places she writes about come to life & the heroes are believable without being untouchabley noble, almost godlike as some other trilogies portray their heroes. If you do decide to buy The Assassins Apprentice then get ready to raid your savings because you are gonna want to buy up the rest of her books!
Fantastic fantasy. - By: Miss Jane, 27 Jan 2008 This is the book that converted me to the science fantasy genre, after having eschewed it for decades. I have since read all Robin Hobb's books, although the Farseer trilogy remains my favourite. I could never come at (and still can't) fantasy books that are just too fantastical (ie. set on some planet with tongue-twisting name, peopled by beings with more nutty names, & mutant dragons/lizards etc.). I found Hobb's books easier to read because her characters & plots are more "earthly", & thus (to me, anyway) more believable. This book was complex, engrossing & left you wanting more. Luckily, there is more!
