I grabbed this since it was free for my Kindle. In the end, I think it cost me around $40 total. Thanks, Robin Hobb and her publisher. I appreciate your generosity, like I appreciate the local crack dealer giving me my first hit for free.

The good:
- This is the first in a universe with 6 excellent books. You'll get in and likely get hooked.
- The storytelling is excellent, describing a universe I can picture real people inhabiting.
- No one is too powerful. Really, they're all just people, without some super uber mage coming in and owning everyone.
- The book is about political intrigue, and how power can be used cunningly to make changes and influence people. That alone makes it a great thriller, but then there is occasional combat, love, and excitement. This book isn't big on fighting - but trust me, there's more later.

The bad:
- This is a foundation for the remaining books, featuring Fitz as a child. He's not going to go out and pwn some bad guys. In fact, most of it consists of him being protected in various ways.

Overall:
Buy it. For free, can you really go wrong? If you like it, you've just spent $40 for the remaining 5 books. If you hate it, you aren't out much.

The copy of the first page from the book that appears when you find the book on Amazon reads much like the poor fantasy novels available when I was a kid: stilted and full of conceit. Don't be fooled. That section is the main character's attempt to write a history of his homeland, which he quickly abandons in favor of telling his own tale in straightforward and involving prose. That main character, Fitz, recounts his childhood and some of the truly unique relationships he forms, which, despite thier novelty, feel fully described and real in the reading. Despite the "fantasy" designation, these relationships and the internal monologue which describe them make the book compelling, rather than battles or creatures (both are in short supply here). A fun and enthralling summer read that pulls you through quickly but nonetheless has enough depth to make you care what happens to the characters. I'm off now to read the next in the series!

While I love the fantasy genre, I am always a little hesitant before attempting new authors without a recommendation from a friend (there is just too much crap out there and I don't like wasting my time/money on a poorly written book). I downloaded (uploaded?) Assassin's Apprentice because I love the genre and it was free... I was not disappointed! Robin Hobb has an amazing storytelling ability that just draws you right in to her world from page one. I could not put my Kindle down! The very second I finished Assassin's Apprentice, I downloaded (uploaded?) Royal Assassin (which I also finished in a day) and Assassin's Quest (which I am 70% through). While there are a couple flaws in the story line from book to book, the overall concept and presentation are so interesting I couldn't bring myself to care.

Great idea to put the first of a long series / trilogy up for free. I read the first book in the series, and loved the author and book. I'm now on the 8th of 9 books in this series, and have already purchased 2 of the other books to read. For someone that reads paperback and ebooks. This was a great way to get me hooked. I generally use either Kindle for iphone, or stanza for iphone (also use [...] for use with the palm pre) but anyway, I'm drifting.

This is a wonderful book, and very captivatingly written. Once you read the first in the series, i'm sure you'll want to continue.

As one of the top 3 reviews said, this book has interesting characters but very little actual story. While some books might have a story about a boy who goes off and saves the world, this is much smaller scale, and suffers for it. You've got 300 pages of character development, and then perhaps 100 pages of story. Even then, the story has a good number of pages dedicated to narration of traveling descriptions, internal dialogue, etc...

The point being, I do not recommend this book to those who like an exciting adventure, with a main character who learns/discovers a skill and becomes powerful, and then does something incredible with that power. That just doesn't happen here, even though it has a good setup in the beginning for that to happen. You get to around page 100 and start to realize, "wow, he's been tooling around this barn forever, when is he going to learn something that allows him to become important and do something to stop the threat?" If you wait for that to start happening, you're all the way to page 200 before you realize that, yes, very little of consequence is going to happen in this book, and the main character is going to still be quite powerless to do anything to help anyone.

Lastly, the overall tone of this book is depressing and sad. Tragedy after tragedy befalls him, with little/no reprieve. There is literally almost no reason given for the main character to keep on living, because his life sucks so much. Personally, I do not read fantasy to feel powerless and watch the main character get stepped on over and over. If that's "adult" fantasy, as another reviewer called it, I'll find something else to read.

this book is so wonderfully and delicously depressing that it has captured the hearts of people of all ages. this book has made me realize how we all have life so good compared to poor fitz and his compressing lonlyness. on top of that,the story was beautifuly constructed and the charactors so real that o fell in love with it by the very first page. sorry tolken,but your throne of fantasy has just been stolen.

"Chores of the Intuitive Stable Boy" would be a better title for this book.

Plot:
Assassin's Apprentice details the life of Fitz, a Prince's bastard, as he is trained to be a Royal Assassin.
The Kingdom is under attack from sea raiders and attempts to form an alliance to strengthen its borders.
There are two forms of magic that mostly deal with telekinesis.
So far, so good... but the rest is bad.

Writing Style:
Robin Hobb writes incredibly detailed environments. I don't normally mind this in fantasy novels because sometimes you need details to describe ancient ruins, fantasy races, monsters, or gnomish inventions... But this book has none of that. It has a castle. Aside from the castle, this book could have taken place in California. More pages are dedicated to picking berries, brushing horses, and learning table manners than fantasy or action. That wasn't an exaggeration. Seriously... this book reads like a verbose aunt's trip through Bed Bath & Beyond. There are parts in the book where the main characters travel to another kingdom and it says, "The trip was uneventful." Then the next 10 pages describe the uneventful trip. Most books just say, "The party journeyed to Rivermoor. Cut To: Rivermoor Keep - Exterior." But not here; the book even describes boring details in boring detail.

Narrative:
The book is narrated by Fitz, the main character. He narrates the book in past tense, so you know he survives. How else could he narrate the book? The problem with this is that you only get one point of view and one slow moving story arc throughout the novel. This isn't the type of book that expertly weaves 3-5 story arcs and creates a page turner. Instead, it's a slow moving tale about a friendless pitiful bastard who becomes a pitiful assassin.

Characters:
The characters are unbelievably passive. Fitz has teachers that teach him the ways of the castle and magic. Almost all of them are cruel and beat him. Fitz just takes it as if he were a punching bag. He doesn't build up any resentment, angst, passion... I don't think he has any feelings at all. Fitz also has no friends, just mean teachers. To make matters worse, everyone responds this way. When the kingdom is under attack by raiders, the villagers just move away from the coast. There's one sentence about soldiers, but that's it. The kingdom just takes a beating. It's hard to feel for any of them because none of the characters have any emotions. Whenever anything bad happens, characters just sort of wait it out.

Action:
Around page 250, I was really surprised that there was no action. Fitz has weapons training, but the book never talks about it. You only get a description of his teacher's grey and black leather outfit. There're no bullies in weapons class, no tests, no important lessons... nothing. This is when I noticed the cover of the book: A boy, an old man, a dog, and a weasel, standing around doing nothing, looking dumbfounded. The artist was clearly trying to warn the audience. There is one good, but short action scene around page 300. Fitz fights some guys with a staff and he's pretty good. But other than that... there isn't much.

Overall:
This book fails. It's a richly detailed fantasy book in a boring universe with emotionless characters. I've tried to figure out why this book has so many 5 Star reviews and I just can't. There's almost no action, no romance, no fantasy, no drama, and a touch of magic. In a way, this book parallels the thoughts of a battered wife. There are plenty of scenes where Fitz is in the fetal position getting kicked, scented candles as a form of escapism, thoughts of poisoning the tormentors, and escape through a marriage that nobody wants. It's just plain sad!

I can't think of an audience that would like this book. My best guess would be to recommend it to fantasy fans who don't like fantasy or passive aggressive people who want a hero they can relate to.

Avoid this book if you like action, dragons, powerful magic, fantasy races, happiness, assertiveness, or joy.

Beginning this book was like putting on an old deerskin work glove that is warm and fits perfectly. Finally, a fantasy book that is upbeat. Made me realize how dour most really are, especially The Wheel of Time series.

But by the end, the standard formula was beginning to show itself. The good began exhibiting extreme stupidity, asking questions like "who coulda done this thing, shirley not the guy what I beat the hell out of the other day?" when pondering the mystery of a near fatal attack by an unknown assailant. The bad get very smart and cruel, the good get very stupid and dead or injured, and thus the story gets to go on and on. Jordaned, I call it, for Robert Jordan's creation of the technique of writing endless stories that rely on failures of the heroes to think straight or have resolve enough to end conflict, any conflict. But alas, only the bad people have brains. The good have remarkable healing abilities though, a good thing in a person prone to turning their back on enemies over and over and over again.

Now, the writing is excellent, character development is good for a first book. This was written long ago, so I presume Hobb gets better. I like that there are many books now, and will definitely keep reading this trilogy, and hopefully want to then go to the newer books with ties to this beginning.

I have a large library, in which I collect all manner of scifi and fantasy novels. I only throw away books (not even donating them) that are really bad. The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb is one of them. Just finished the third book and POOF, into the trash they go. (I'd normally resell them to a used bookshop, but I'd consider it cruel and unethical to do so.)

What's wrong with this book? Let's count the ways:

1) The premise of the book is that the character is trained in the secret ways of magic and assassination. Which is great and all except you get to the end of the third book and about all the assassination the main character has done is feeding poisoned bread to (essentially) zombies and an abortive attempt on the Evil Prince (tm) which doesn't go very well. There's no payoff to the setup.

2) Everyone is stupid. Everyone. The king, the evil prince, the main character, everyone. I got to the point where I literally didn't care that the evil prince was doing evil things, because everyone in the world 1) Knew about them and 2) Didn't do anything about it. Until after the fact, at which point it was too late. You wish there was some sort of fictional hand that you could use in the novel to slap them all. The list of stupid things the characters do in the series is long, and tedious.

3) The characterization is horrible. Evil Prince(tm) is Evil. Heroic Prince is Heroic. And all of them are stupid. Country under attack? Heroic prince resigns the throne to poke around on a jungle expedition by himself! It's heroic. And stupid.

4) The writing is mediocre at best. I've read some of Hobb's other works, and they're not brilliant, but not as bad as this series. Really, with all the wolf-brother stuff in the book, it reads like someone's first attempt at a furry fan fic.

It's honestly puzzling why so many people like this series.

The characters and story compelled me to forge ahead with this novel but Fitz, the main character, was so abused in every aspect of his life, he should have just laid down and croaked. Poor guy seemed to have so many things going for him but he just couldn't get a break. When I finished the book I just thought "huh".

really good writing~but the story is just so inescapably sad. i count wait for a break when something good would finally happen. too sad.

Great book, and wonderful start to the trilogy. Looking forward to reading more of Robin Hobb's books!

I originally purchased this book because it was free on my Kindle but I was drawn in by the characters and their poignant story. Like other reviewers I could not put it down and stayed up late into the morning to finish reading. I found that like other good fantasy series, I was drawn into Hobb's created world as though I lived there. Highly recommend it for a quick, engaging read.

The slightly overwrought tone of first few pages turned me off, and I nearly put this down.

I'm so glad I didn't. Despite the not entirely successful and too familiar entrance into the story (Hobb is far more capable with the young hero's voice than with that of his older incarnation here) what followed was a very enjoyable book. A fully realized and wonderful little world, and the Royal Bastard/Assassin angle felt fresher than the usual mage/soldier at arms tales. The author could have used a better editor, perhaps, as at times there was a distracting repetition of phrase. But that becomes a small quibble as the well drawn and memorable characters emerge.

I was pleased enough to immediately buy the sequel (equally well written) and will soon begin the last in the trilogy. Some series spin their wheels at the midpoint to try and stretch out into 3 books what should have been told in one. So far, my impression is that 3 is just the right size here, and there's more than enough story for each. Happy reading.

This book is free and that is why I got it though I rarely if ever read fantasy. I like true crime....but this was GREAT!! The characters feel like you know them and they are so real.. This book was so good that I purchased the other 2 in the trilogy. I was sad that it had to end but now I have 2 more books to enjoy these complex characters. Get it...it's FREE and so worth it!

I got about halfway through this book and despite wanting to put it down forever decided to wade through until the end just to see if the story and the characters redeem themselves. Sadly, it and they did not in the least. The writing in this book is amateurish at best and even the main character feels wholly undeveloped. The world in which it's set adds nothing to story and feels slapped together haphazardly from ideas other authors have explored. As an avid reader of this and related genres let me just say that there are probably thousands of similar books, by both well-known and less well-known authors, that put this book to shame. This is my first review on Amazon as I've never felt the need to comment--either good or bad--until now. It was just so awful I had to write something.

Assassin's Apprentice (1995) is the first novel in Robin Hobb's Farseer fantasy trilogy. Fitz, the bastard son of the heir to the throne, is taken as a child to the royal court, where he is taught all manner of things, including the art of assassinry, and where he gets embroiled in some political intrigue.

For someone as talented and clever as Fitz is supposed to be (Hobb has made him an extremely articulate narrator), he's frequently distractingly slow on the uptake, especially when it comes to recognizing people the reader has identified pages earlier. On the whole, Fitz is fairly sympathetic because of his circumstances, but he isn't particularly likeable - not because he's an assassin, but because he's so darn namby-pamby (there's precious little assassination going on here anyway).

The pacing of Assassin's Apprentice is tough to deal with. The novel gets off to a bad slow beginning, settles into something of a groove, then relapses into a series of fits and starts. Considering how much political intrigue Hobb has set up, it's surprising how little actually happens. One reason for this is that many of the characters, including Fitz himself, are so very passive. Another is that Hobb doesn't do a great job establishing place, especially when the location changes.

Hobb writes in the stiff, pretentious, flowery manner reserved almost exclusively for the fantasy genre - that can (and unfortunately must) be overlooked in most modern fantasy novels. More egregious is Hobb's choice of narrative mode. Assassin's Apprentice is in the first person, and it often borders on first-person omniscient. Fitz recounts his childhood like he was the most observant six year old in the world, with a photographic memory to boot (Fitz then skips over some boring and unimportant parts of the story with a few jarring I can't remembers). Fitz chronicles the thoughts and feelings of others, and even the actions of those where he isn't present. (A great deal of this cannot be attributed to Fitz's use of "the Skill".) It is as if Hobb selected first-person, got stuck, and plowed on through anyway. And while we're at it, there's even an "I" versus "me" mistake in there.

All of this is rather a shame since Hobb's scenario has potential; it's too bad the story and the writing are so lacking. In spite of the reader's best efforts to immerse himself (or herself) in the story, Assassin's Apprentice is just too problematic, and readers may well decide they aren't interested in the sequels, both of which are considerably longer than this one.

Much has been written about the story line, and the author's expertise; I'll not add to that. Suffice to say I loved this book so much, I purchased 5 more in this series (inc. Fool's escapades). Didn't think I would enjoy this genre, but I do. This old dog is learning new tricks, so to speak.

....Written w/a touch of Skill and a modicum of Wit.

The story itself was ok - many of the characters well-fleshed out, a fairly good premise, etc. I found the narrative voice distracting - the "look back in wisdom describes the naive past" too much foreshadowing, I guess. I managed to finish it, but am not inspired to get the rest of the series. Had I actually paid for it, I'd be a little peeved at myself.

I thought that it was a good start for the series,nd I plan to read the rest of it. Hobb's characters are very real and easy to relate to( not in the assassin way and killing people unless you are an assassin then you can relate even more).
The book is uniqually written with many twist and turns, but I found it hard to follow the passage of time in some spots. Also it is sometimes hard to pick out the flashbacks and reality or when he is skilling or just talking so I gave this story 3 stars for origanality and for the story line.

I wanted to read this and then discovered it was free on Kindle. After that I was hooked and have read all in this series, just finishing the last "Fool" book. Very well written, can't put them down! I will be sad when I'm done, haven't found such well written, wonderful stories and characters in a book in a long time. Highly recommend all six.

I'd have to put this whole series in the top three of my all-time favorite books. The characters are so well written with their motivations. Even when you don't like what they're doing, you understand why they're doing it. It's a great story of the politics behind the throne and how one young boy can change everything. As soon as I finished this book, I immediately ordered the rest of the series, and they only get better. Days later, I'm still thinking about the story, and to me, that's the sign of a great story and author.

This book was a very intersting book with tons of plot twists. This book was full "political" assassinations and decite from characters you never would have thought possiable. This book also shows the maturing of a king-in-waiting's bastard

Since this is my primary foray into the fantasy genre, I was entirely pleased by the Farseer Trilogy. I could not put it down once I started. Okay no... There was only 2 times that I recall it being at a boring point in the story but I never ever felt like stopping it completely like I have some novels. 1st person narratives are usually droll but this was excellent. I will soon read Hobb's works after this series as well. I hope it's just as fun.
Never Forget that it is all relative...Happy Reading Everyone!!!

This is the first fantasy book I have read in over ten years. I have attempted a few others, but have not been able to make it past a few chapters. I couldn't stop reading this book and am on the last book in the series now. This book is excellently written and a great story. Not your typical hero story, which is one of the reasons it is so good. Enjoy!!!

Whoever wrote that this series was "...impossible to put down, but emotionally draining." hit it on the head. It is also the best possible argument for making books available for free; I have since bought the rest of this series, and am now going through the next.

this book is a great book and opened me up to more of her books i have read everyone in this triolgy

Starts out with a promising idea that soon de-coheres and becomes tedious. Hobb has bitten off more than he can chew.

Robin Hobb is an amazing writer. I have read all of her work to date and it all started with Assassin's Apprentice. She creates beautiful believable worlds that will invigorate and tickle your imagination. Her character development is wonderful. It is so human that at times you will become frustrated by the actions and emotions in the characters. These books truly envelope you. I rate her work as simply amazing. This is a must read for any fantasy fan out there.

If you love the Harry Potter series you'll love this. I downloaded this book and couldn't put it down. I was brought to tears several times as I became very emotionally invested in the characters. This is a wonderful and unique story. I've just downloaded the second book, "Royal Assassin" and can't wait to get started.

Robin Hobb's three trilogy's are a "must read". I am on the third trilogy, and the 8th book. These are best if read in order, but will stand alone. If there were more than 5 stars, I would have given more.
I can barely put them down! Thank you Robin Hobb...

The Assassin's Apprentice was an enthralling tale about flawed people in a flawed world. Written as a first person narrative, this sword and sorcery novel dealt not just with battles and magic, but with the inner turmoil of the principal character. Fitz struggles, much like we do, with his perceptions of his place in the world and how others react to him. This well-written and thorough character development made this one of the books that draws you into the pages as you watch the drama unfold. I have this book on my Kindle and I didn't realize it was 300 pages.

Granted, there are battles and magic, but those elements are secondary to the struggles and issues the characters faced throughout the story. I could not wait, but ordered the final 2 segments of this trilogy while still early in the first book. The final book in the series does close the loop on many issues and characters, but leaves you wanting to know more about your new friends' lives. Utterly wonderful books.

I absolutely loved this book. It was a fun ride and the only things that stretched reality were intentional. I would recommend this booh to anyone, boy or girl, older than about 14. Have fun.
(*Chris*)

Some books seem to start off slow, recognizing all the people and places in the book that can leave you wondering when it's going to ever pick up. Assassin's Apprentice has you feeling right in scrawny Fitz' boots as you flip through the first few pages of him trekking across the frozen lands with ice storms ripping at away at his bare clothing, accompanied only by a stranger to him that now bears his life in his hands.
Young Fitz, the [...] of Prince Chivalry, King-in-waiting respectfully, who has abdicated his throne to the cares of his wife and such in upholding his good name has left the people of the Kingdom in dismay and question. As Fitz is given over by a poor man who had cared for him as an infant he is placed in the care of Burrich, the stable master of the town of Buckkeep, a very stern and bold man. As Fitz becomes familiar with the new place he is to grow up in he happens to create close bonds with the animals in the stables that Burrich tends to and teaches Fitz of. Soon Burrich realizes that certain things may come of his powers that are only possessed by few selected with royal blood in them, and sees to stop the problem then and there.
As Fitz does errands for Burrich and others around the town, he comes to meet King Shrewd, who tries to find a use for him since he carries royal blood with which certain abilities come. Fitz starts to be more involved in learning other traits that people of royal class should know such as script, fighting with weapons, manners, and knowledge of herbs. What goes unknown only to a few is that Fitz is being taught how to deal death, to be an Assassin. He will be taught by Chade, an Ex-Assassin that worked for Prince Chivalry. As the tides start to turn and raids start to plague the coast of the Six Duchies, the kingdom seeks to find answers in the few special that are still around, those that can harness the Skill. As many endure hardships and training to master this skill for the kingdom, problems arise within the Royal family. Soon you realize you can't trust everybody and the struggle to find out who all is causing such issues arises.
Hardships are faced, loss of companions plague most, possibility of people living near you planning your demise frequents minds, and the actuality of all the occurrences are faced by Fitz as he travels the land to do what is right for the kingdom in these moments of truth.

Phillip Arvanetakis

Why is it that a youth alone in a hostile world draws so on our sympathies? Robin Hobb had me from page one. We know the boy survives because now he is old and writing a history (each chapter begins with an except from that history), but we agonize with the child who remembers his mother only as a voice calling "Father, please!" `Boy' or `Fitz', as he is called, has several mentors in the course of the story, including the gruff head of the castle stable, a scribe and the mysterious assassin who trains him secretly in the work Fitz isn't sure he wants.

Hobbs paints a world medieval in character with the addition of the Skill ( a kind of telepathy used by nobles to communicate and to subtly affect the enemy) and the Wit (a similar communication with animals which is believed to be dangerous and shameful.) Fitz is strong in both. From one he is barred from training, and the other he must keep secret.

Hobbs is a master of scene and knows how to draw on our deepest emotions. His characters never cease to surprise. The ending includes information that would have been better left to discover in the next volume of the series almost as though the author didn't have confidence that a second installment would actually be published. Happily that was not the case. I look forward to reading it.

Not a terrible book but definitely not a good one. The story is somewhat lame and unispired. Some characters are given names denoting their personalities (The author attempts to explain this as a royal tradition, but I know a lack of imagination when I see it).

Without any sarcasm i say: If you like bland, cookie cutter fantasy that's been hard at work trying to keep Tolkein's tradition alive, this is a good pick for you.

I purchased this book because it was free for the Kindle. I only read historical romance and evonavich, so I did not want to like a science fiction book. It was slow for the first few chapters but then I just needed to know what happened next. When I finished, I was disappointed because I wanted to know more of the fool. Well Lucky me, Robin has provided two more books for this series and a spin off series which I think is about the fool. I am now commited to Robin Hobb, excellent story and interesting characters.

Oh dear !

I really have wasted a lot of time, haven't I ?
Let me explain.

I read the first two tomes of "A Song of Ice and Fire" from G.R.R. Martin, and unlike most fantasy lovers, loathed it ! Almost with a passion. Something that had only happened with Jordan's later "Wheel of Time" novels.

On enquiring on Robin Hobb's series a little later on, someone I spoke with in a bookshop stated the two authors works were very similar. That put me off Robin Hobb for quite a few years.

Nonetheless, very recently, I picked up Assassin's Apprentice, lack of what I thought better fantasy works I hadn't read available on the library shelves, and wondered how far I'd be able to get into the book without shutting it for ever.

How I was wrong !

Unlike the previous author(s), words aren't wasted, characters are valued, the plot is consistent, and even if it seems like things are at their darkest, there is always hope.

Whatsmore, Robin Hobb's wordsmithing is just as good, if not better than that of Martin's. I didn't have to plough through a mess of descriptions for no reason whatsoever.

Of course, I don't usually write comments here, but this was just such a surprise I felt I had to.

Thank you.

First book I've read by this author and I really liked it. Kind of reminded me of Jennifer Falon's series. Now I'm going to have to buy the rest.

This has all the makings of being a great series, but the execution is terrible and this is being nice.
I struggled to get through the book and by the end wondered why I bothered.
It just leaves me feeling empty and I certainly will not read the rest of the series.

I enjoyed Robin Hood's writing so much I read the entire series. On my iPhone. I have always liked Science Fiction but found the Fantasy field a poor second cousin. But this book entranced me. I am grateful I discovered this author and will continue to enjoy her work. It is true that later works would have benefitted from editing but I realize that many fans prefer to stay in the author's world as long as possible.

This is an engrossing, very realistic book. The protagonist's story revolver around his maturation from a six-year old boy to teenager. The book gives a very realistic description of the difficulties in making it to and through the teenage years. He doesn't miraculously figure things out the way some other authors depict their heroes. In fact, he isn't exactly a heroic figure. He makes many mistakes as the story unfolds. His actions are not what the normal author writes for their hero.

The self-doubt and emotional upheaval the author puts him through reminds me of my years as a teenager at a remove of 34-years. He is put through struggles that you don't think that he'll survive. The suspense involving the seaborne raiders had me tempted to read the end of the book to see how it ends.

I have the Kindle version and have really enjoyed reading it on my Kindle 1.

Robin has done a remarkable job with the first book of this series and continues it all the way through the end. It is similar to George RR Martin in many respects, but the lack of grandiose ambitions make this a more enjoyable read. The first person perspective allows for a much tighter and coherent story line. It is about one man and his struggles. The supporting characters are not so numerous that you have to have pages and pages of reference material. It is a straightforward story with a clearly defined "first act" of the three part series.

It truly is a remarkable piece of straight fantasy that lacks some of the genres pitfalls. George RR Martin's (love every every every every every word) lack of an editor. I must be able to recall the motivations of 50 different squires throughout the land. It is also not politically preachy in the way that Terry Goodkind novels suffer unnecessarily.

Well paced, well written, and enjoyable. There are a few poorly edited bits that make parts of the story more confusing than it should. The sense of place is not nearly defined enough. It is one of the major weaknesses of the novel. The choices that are made many times depend on that. It sometimes makes decisions seem silly or incomprehensible, because you don't learn till much later how the land is populated and fits together. In any event, the problems do not overwhelm the book precisely because it is in the first person. It isn't about the nuances of statecraft. It is about one man and his place in the world. A sometimes eager and sometimes resentful "King's Man" must figure out what he wants to be and what he is willing give up in order to honor his vows.

Very compelling and enjoyable.

Quick moving story Interesting for those of us who are fantasy fans.
Follows a boy of unknown origins then known origins as he grows up
and takes some responsibility and training.

This book was modestly entertaining, albeit a bit stupid...the thing that annoyed me was that it didn't really let you know it was a fairy-tale of sorts until further into the book, by which time I was far enough I didn't want to abandon. Not terrible, but also not the greatest thing every published, that's for sure. Make believe story with supernatural abilities of main characters -- a bit over the top versus what I expected.

Overall I thought this a really great book, one I hadn't anticipated.
The story started off a little odd for me. I wasn't quite sure what to make of it.
However, my interest picked up as I became fascinated with the story of the bastard son of a noble dumped off at his father's family's house unannounced and left to find a place for himself, amongst most that would soon he not be alive. As he grows up around the palace, he ends up getting bounced around a little, with others deciding and then changing their mind on what they want him to do and where they want him to be. But finally settles into himself and gets assigned a 'job' by the King himself, as a assassin for the court, which sends him on all sort of adventures outside the palace.
I enjoyed the variety of characters that were presented, and the ever changing scenarios the author put them in. Some funny dialogue too, which is always great when you find yourself laughing out loud from a book.
I haven't read the whole series yet, so I can't comment on that. However, based on the first book, I will be picking up the rest of the series and possibly other series from this author.

I was given the Farseer series by a friend who was very into fantasy. I had never read fantasy and was not that interested in trying something new. He assured me this book was different.

From the moment I opened the first book in this trilogy to the moment I regetfully closed the last, I was hooked. I've read pages of reviews of this series and won't even dive into what these books put me through.

I was so exhausted when I finished the last book. I can't explain the emotions I felt. Sadness, disappointment, anger, pride... This literally opened up a new world in my mind. When I wasn't reading it I found myself wondering what Fitz was doing, what was happening in his world...

I have read the entire trilogy at least 3 times and I'm glad to have found more books by Robin Hobb. I'm now a dedicated fan.

I don't usually read much in this genre, although I enjoyed The Mists of Avalon series. This was free on Kindle, so I got it. You can wring emotions from people by writing about killing puppies and abusing children, but why??? I think a study should be done on the level of depression engendered and/or required by not just the writing, but also the reading of stuff in this vein.

Assassin's Apprentice was fairly well-written. (I did find it a little off-putting at the beginning that the royal characters are all named after personality traits or virtues: Shrewd, Regal, Chivalry, Verity. I adjusted to it after a few chapters but it still seems silly if I think about it.) The plot moves quickly and is engaging after the first few chapters, and so this book did provide the escape that I seek in fantasy novels.

I'm giving this enjoyable book three stars for a problem endemic to fantasy: lack of major female characters. After awhile reading this book, I started to wonder how there could be so many illegitimate children in this world where all the women are so unimportant to the plot that they might as well be invisible. Fitz has three quasi-paternal figures in his life but no mother (Lady Patience is too little, too late). All his enemies are men. Even his love interest is a very minor character--Fitz's dogs and horses have more character development than she does.

I do not normally read fantasy (as I'm a nonfiction sort) but I must say that this was a good read. Not too rediculous with novel ideas to cover up a bad story line.