I guess I’m rather late to the world of Robin Hobb, and many people had told me I had something to really look forward to. So I came to Assassin’s Apprentice with bated breath.
I don’t think I’m giving too much away when I say it’s the story of a royal bastard, brought up somewhat grudgingly by his father’s illustrious family, who eventually find a potential use for him. Hence the title.
Fitz, as he becomes known for obvious reasons, is a young child at the beginning of the book, and the first few chapters are a patchy telling of his childhood and youth, before the story really begins as he reaches his teenage years, where the style and pace changes considerably.
There is much to enjoy in the book. The author’s use of language is intelligent and beguiling, with that touch of ‘age’ which adds so much to a work of fantasy. Her descriptions of both characters and places are detailed yet subtle, and never seem to get in the way of the telling of events.
The characters are a mixed bunch. Fitz himself, along with one or two others, springs from the page, gradually forming in detail in our mind. But others are somewhat sketchy, and the author’s choice of some rather laughable names – even though the choice is explained in the story’s lore – never quite worked for me, though I did get used to them.
The overall story is an interesting one, but rather more predictable than I expected, and there were a few too many times when something came out of nowhere – a happy coincidence, or a person acting out of character – in order to save the day.
This is particularly true of the ending, which is told at a frantic pace – for no apparent reason – and where slowly-developed, or apparently non-existent, skills burst out into superpowers.
I certainly enjoyed this book, and I’d recommend it to fantasy fans. I will be reading book two, as it made me curious enough to find out what happens to Fitz. But whether I’ll be continuing through the subsequent volumes, we’ll have to wait and see.
This is a review of the HarperVoyager 2014 paperback edition.
