Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - Assassin's Apprentice

The first half of this book was a bit of a drag but when I hit that halfway mark, I couldn’t put it down! The last 100 pages made it all worth it. I had no idea where this adventure was going to take me and I’m so glad I stuck it out to see. Hoping the next book has more of the Fool, I need to know more about him and his room full of trinkets.

If you’re looking for an action packed fantasy with romance, this first book won’t be it for you. This was all political/war building, magic system building, and relationship building.

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kirkwallsquad's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I haven‘t read a western fantasy novel set in a world completely new to me in some time, and this novel was perfect to ease me back into it and remind me of how good fantasy is when written with competence and care. I developed attachment to the characters, including some complicated feelings and changing opinions as the story progressed, and I was right there with Fitz as he tried to understand the weight of his orders and the intrigues of the world he‘d been given to.

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kristinrdub's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

5.0

Absolutely delicious classic fantasy! I cannot believe I’ve never read this series before but I can’t wait to continue. The story is a bit slow to develop but the world building is so well done that I was never bored.

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maximauve's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This may be one of the best fantasy novels I have ever read, and yet I can understand why others have had difficulty with it.

The pace is very, very slow, there is a lot of descriptive language and exposition to wade through, and even then, there isn't a whole lot of plot to be found, at least not at first. All these things considered, I can easily see why someone might get frustrated and give up.

But I found Assassin's Apprentice to be an absorbing, riveting, and immersive read - just what a good fantasy should be.

It also delivers in spades when it comes to political intrigue, which I also very much enjoy reading. The story is told from the POV of Fitz, who for

the first half of the book isn't even given a proper name

, and this was such a masterful move on Hobb's part. You see him as he

grows from a child into a young man

. He's very observant of people and he has a

strong affinity for animals

. His keen observational skills (and at times judgmental behaviour) could make him unlikeable, but Hobb takes care to show us the other sides of him - his compassion, his kindness, his curiosity, and his thirst for knowledge all made me care about him and root for him as a character.

The other characters are well-developed too (even the villainous ones[

well, mostly</spoiler]), depicted as complex, flawed human beings, with many shades of grey.

The plotting was overall excellent, although did find the ending

rather rushed and not well-explained

, but I am willing to overlook that because of how much I enjoyed the rest of it.

4.5 stars from me.

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