Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb | Spoiler Free REVIEW
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- čas přidán 24. 08. 2024
- Here's my review for Assassin's Apprentice, book1 in The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb! Farseer is the first trilogy in her larger Realm of the Elderlings series. Have you read any Robin Hobb?
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Realm of the Elderlings is my favourite story of all time, and you should definitely continue on. Fitz and the fool are some of my favourite characters of all time and I love seeing their relationship develop over the course of the story.
There isn't a book called Realm of the Elderling's is there?
The series is called Realm of the Elderlings.
@@johnmontagthe series called realm of the elderlings
Hobb's take on assassins is the most realistic I've ever read. An assassin in real life would be the most normal looking person ever. They'd use poisons mostly, would be patient, efficient killers. They'd strive to make their assassinations look like accidents or natural causes unless specified. They'd be really capable combatants but the point of an assassin is to not engage in out and out fights in the first place, to be so deceptive that you wouldn't know you have one sitting next to you. Hobb gets this which is why the titles of her books work for me. And Fitz is such an incredible character. Watching him evolve throughout the series from a passive character to a more active one is so satisfying.
This makes me really excited to pick this book up!
"I may be heartbroken, but I love it" I think perfectly summarizes my feelings after finishing The Farseer Trilogy. Hobb is a master. Great review!
The whole RotE to be fair. So worth it.
Realm of the Elderlings is the most beautiful series of books I've read. I absolutely love it. It might be slowz but I was still invested in it.
It didn't feel slow to me at all? Stormlight Archive felt slow af to me, Hobb's writing is better IMO.
I have been keeping my eye on this series for a while. Now I think I’m sold on it
Woooo!!! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did :D
Hands down one of my FAVORITE trilogies/series ever! Rereading the whole series currently and it’s even better than the first time I read through them 😁
Perfect timing, I was just thinking about picking this series up. Even more excited to start now!
Awesome, I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
my favorite fantasy series of all time!!! liveship trader trilogy is really great too but fitz and the fool was incredible!!! im currently on the fourth quartet in the whole series (rain wild chronicles) before the final trilogy; my goal to complete the entire series this year wasn't achievable, alas.
I'm also in the Rain Wilds quartet currently.
The realm of the elderlings is my favourite series of all time. I just finished re-reading all 16 books this year. Fitz goes on an amazing journey and every even trilogy/collection builds up the world and shows you what was happening in between his story beats
Haha I’ve been reading the Realm of the Elderlings for the past 9 months and I’m still halfway through the Rain Wild Chronicles and the Soldier Son trilogy. What a roller coaster these books are! Certainly my favorites now! These are the deepest stories I got to read in my entire life! I can never explain what I’m feeling when talking about Robin Hobb. I just l o v e her
Glad you're embarking upon this journey! I finished the entire Realm of the Elderlings last month, and it's a top 2 series of all time for me. And Hobb is easily my favorite fantasy author. I hope you enjoy it like I have!
Hiii!!! Thanks for a video ! 🥰🥰🥰
Thanks for watching! 😃😃
Hi Jay, as always I love the spoiler free reviews! Farseer was not to my taste but I really did appreciate the writing and the plot development. (I read the whole trilogy lol)
If you were a legend you would have read all 16 books smh
@@crypticweeb smh
I think even fantasy fans that haven't read the Assassin's Apprentice know the rough life of Fitz. It's one of those series that I always see on people's bookshelves, even my own, but still haven't gotten round to reading yet
I was in that boat until this year and I finally took the time to read it. I'm so glad I did, it now ranks up with my top fantasy series of all time and I immediately started reading the rest of Realm of the Elderlings!
Have I read the series? Oh, have I ever. I've been reading and re-reading Realm of the Elderlings since 2001. I'm in the middle of my 22nd re-read of Ship of Destiny, and as each book subsequent to The Golden Fool was published, they've been added to the continuous read.
Of all the sub-sets of Realm of the Elderlings, that you love Farseer is an excellent indicator. The most consistent rankings of those who complete the saga puts Farseer in fourth place, with The Rain Wild Chronicles rounding out the pack. With only the rarest exceptions - it's usually a tight race for 1st between the two later Fitz-centric trilogies (Tawny Man and The Fitz and The Fool) competing with Liveships.
The Liveship Traders is the strongest individual sub-set of books in RoTE. It's the most cohesive and well paced trilogy, with potentially the most nuanced and fascinating antagonist you'll ever read. Of them all, Liveships could be read as a standalone trilogy, though I *DON'T* advise reading it first (as I've seen often suggested elsewhere). The over-arching plot-lines require you to learn things in this order to get the most from the series, and most people will only read it once. Read them in order, you guarantee the best experience possible from the outset.
Feel free to visit my playlists for the series, I make sure to be clear which content is spoilery, and which isn't, and if a wee booktuber is welcome, I'm always open to collaborate about a series I adore.
This series has been on my want to read list for a while! I might need to start this book next. Great review!
Hope you enjoy it when you get around to it! Thanks for watching!
Great review and you should do audiobooks because your voice is really interesting and relaxing to listen to
Forever my favourite trilogy!!!! Hobbs writing and her characters are so well done and I'm currently on a reread of the farseer trilogy and I love it even more than I did the first time ❣️Can't wait for the comic adaptations to come out !!!
Hobb is an absolute mastermind. If you enjoy the slow burn I would also recommend Carol Berg and many of Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar works.
Thanks for the recs! I definitely want to get to the Valdemar books some time!
Please tell me she was being self mockery in Magic's Price with the evil villon, Master Dark? 🙂
Just started this... loving it so far
I have to tank you for introducing me to my new favorite series. After reading the King Killer Chronicles, I came across your video about books you might like if you liked the name of the wind, I picked Assassin's Apprentice and am on my third read though of the RotE series. 😅 Word of warning to anyone who thinks they should skip the LIveship Traders and go straight into the Tawny Man trilogy. DON'T DO IT. I did and I regret it. Even though they take place in separate parts of the world and about different characters, there are major spoilers for Liveship Traders in later parts of the story and I think it really affected my enjoyment of Liveship on my initial read-though. (I thought, no way I'm going to read all 16 books, may as well skip these, but ended up wanting to read all of them after all."
That makes me happy to hear!! Really glad you're enjoying RotE! I plan on starting Liveship Traders in early 2023
Yes I agree. I read the books as they were released and visited the rainwilds on the journey. Its amazing how much work Hobb had clearly done in the design and construction of the entire storyline. The fool had another entire life in the rainwilds and it was subtly woven into the storyline in the latter part of the story and tidied up what the fool was up to before suddenly appearing on the scene.
Love this book. and I loved this review! I will definitely be diving into a reread very, very soon :).
Will
I finished that series over 20 years ago. I will have to revisit it soon thanks to your review. On an aside, I am reading Brent Weeks Night Angel series and I am on book 2 and it is just so-so.
Hey how come no one talks about robin Hobbs the soldiers son trilogy ? It is brilliant! I loved it.
The Fitz and fool saga was astounding. One of the best endings I've ever read.
Loved the review! I’m making my way through this Trilogy and loving it so far.
I quite literally finished this about an hour ago so perfect timing on the review. I can't wait to start book 2 tomorrow
Awesome!! Hope you enjoy book 2!
What an awesome review!! So well done!!
Immediately subbed! I have read all books and this might be the best way to introduce the series to others!
Great review. Got me to try out the first book and I absolutely loved it, so I am definitely going to be checking out the rest in the series.
I have tried to read this a few times, maybe I'll try harder. You do a good job selling the need to stick with it. I struggled getting past the opening chapters to be honest. The pacing is the issue for me. But, I mean I've slogged through dusty NF tomes I can make time for Hobb. Thanks for the inspiration 😊
One of my favourite series ! I love it so much. I desperately need to start the Liveship Traders ! It will be for next year, maybe I'll start in January, I just can't wait anymore (just would like to finish Nevernight and City of Brass trilogies first)
I got into Robin Hobb when I picked up her book Fool's Fate. It's the last book in one of the later Trilogies, and its based on Fitz's life in his 40s. I found it quite adult and sad, a bit of a shock for 13 year old me. But the characterization and prose pulled me through and I'd reread it a few times. Fast forward fifteen years and I find the start of her latest and last Fitzchivalry trilogy and find myself still enjoying her magnificent writing. I still haven't read anything earlier than Fool's Fate, but with this review I think I'm going to have to read the series from the beginning. Thanks, Jay!
reading this book for the first time in 2023. really excited to start it!
I'm reading the whole saga for the third time, and I agree with you, Hobb did an amazing job. Definitely one of my favorite series !
I'm planning on returning to the fantasy genre and this book peaks my interest, thanks for the spoiler free review
Good review. I agree with nearly all your comments. i dont understand why the slow burn issue is always raised with Hobbs books.Im more inclined to be skipping over reading the mindless battle and violencec portions of other books. none of that in Hobbs books
You can say that farseer starts slow and is kinda a slow burn but oh boy does it bun hot and fast when it gets going.
Also I wanna emphasise to not skip Liveship trader and rain wild chronicles between farseer and Tawny man and Tawny man and Fitz and the fool, they absolutely tie into Fitz story at the end.
Also I think I cried at least twice in every RotE book and I'm not normaly so emotinal. Hobb is sich a great author.
i completely missed liveship treaders trilogy and rain wilds chronicles 4 books there was no fitz in them only fool in some way . i read online summaries for them . and read all other 9 books.
@@zararahmed712 oh if you ever reread them be sure to do them as well. They are wonderful books themselves and they gonna make you feel and cry and hate (kennit!) and having them tie into Tawny man and Fitz and the fool is amazing.
hmm. i think i will. but you know, i don't know when i will go back to realm of Elderlings .
I still read doggo's last convo with lady k often.
I started reading this series when my first kid was on the way - could not bare to finish the final book till about the time my second was nearly here - this series will tear you apart if you have gone through anything as a man - much less someone like Fitz and myself ;) Happy reading!
Listened to the audio of this book and cannot wait to get into the rest of the trilogy. I'm hoping there is a bit more explanation around the magic in the world and hoping the extended Realm of the Elderlings lives up to the hype. There is a lot of personal curiosity about many of the characters and I'd love to see how things progress.
I am committed to 2 read alongs on audiobook, Realm of the Elderings & Red Rising. Finishing up the Riftwar Saga and Swan Song. Plan on starting the War of Light and Shadow after watching Philip Chase’s panel discussion with author Janny Wurts. Finally I purchased the artful omnibus editions of the Elric Saga.
Finally, someone tells me what this book is ABOUT! Sounds a bit emotional/sad for me these days, but I do want to get to it eventually. I don't think I've ever seen negative reviews of her books.
The Realm of the Elderlings is probably my favorite series of all time but I'm not quite finished yet. I will read Assassin's Fate this month and I'm already sad that it will be over soon and at the same time I'm really scared to read that book because Hobb can be very very brutal with my feelings 😅
Good luck 💀
I think my new standard is to at least weep uncontrollable twice a book when reading Robin hobb. Just finished fools quest and I'm not picking up assassins fate cause I don't want it to be over soon..
I didn't expect to like Farseer as much as I did. Fitz is one of my all time favorite protagonists and I already ordered the rest of the Realm of the Elderlings books. About to start Liveship Traders!
Just finished the series, it was emotional and amazing. Still thinking about the final, i am not totally satisfied but also not dissapointed, which makes it perfect i think. Totally agree with you're review when it comes to the first book.
I read it in Italian and the translation was excellent but it wasn't until I decided to reread it in English that I finally understood how beautiful Robin Hobb's prose is, it made the whole experience 100% time more immersive
I agree, i First read in Estonian and discovered there is fewer books translated and i started to re read in english and prose was what encanted me even more . In my native language i liked good story, but Original form of prose is masterpiece.
I hope you have read the live ship series by now- I enjoyed them more than the first trilogy!
I’ve been meaning to get to the Farseer trilogy for some time now, however I’m currently on book 7 of WoT and I kinda want to finish that series before diving in to another expansive world.. someday tho 😮💨
Alright, it took my 3 chapters to dig what's it all about. Guess it's going to be yet another captivating journey
Hello. I agree Robin Hobb is a incredible author. I just finished the Liveships trilogy and have read this also they are good. Yet I am in the minority that feels they are not great. I got bored and felt some choices made by her characters were just flipped from good to bad without justification.
Good video.
Thank you!
Jen
Thanks for watching Jennifer! I'll be starting the Liveship Traders in early 2023 so I'll make sure to update with my thoughts on that in a video
I've watched dozens of reviews of this series and I'm not about to miss out on another one.
Edit: it's Burrik not Burrich, fight me 😤 (jk)
Haha thanks for watching!
This series is amazing and the depth of feelings it describes and evokes may be indicative of reading a female author. I also found that it was a slow read but that is because I had to process way more. I loved the series but I'm not sure I'll be rereading it often because it takes a lot to invest yourself in a journey that immersive.
Has absolutely nothing to do with being a female author lmao. It has to do with understanding relationships between other humans and then animals, both the beautiful and the tragic, in all its nuance, and then being able to describe such understandings eloquently with evocative prose.
might have to read this. I like books with strong characterization.
Bring us more Farseer!!!! Please. Please! PLEASE!!!
I had a different experience with the first book I felt it moved at a good pace but I’ll admit there wasn’t much action in the beginning of the book. I still enjoyed it I’ll be finishing this series.
I literally had this delivered today.
Awesome! Hope you enjoy it
@@CapturedInWords just got to finish the republic of thieves and then I can start another series might be this might be Joe Abercrombie.
This is my favorite series. I even love the Rainwild Chronicles and it seems like no one else does.
Yeah I always see people be more negative towards Rainwild, so I'm curious to see what my opinion is once I get to it! I'll definitely make a review on it when i do
@@CapturedInWords it's definitely not as good as the Fitz books or Liveship but I think it's a lot of fun. And it fills in a lot of information about certain world-building things.
Amazing series. One of the best ever written in the fantasy genre.
By twist If fate I read book2 and 3 first. Going back to book 1 definitely felt much slower, but is the one that hits back hardest on a reread of the first trilogy, for me. AQ end is up there too. Liveship was a trilogy I didn’t think I’d get into but Hobb made me love the characters I didn’t expect to like at first book and it all DOES tie into Fitz’s life and story, so it’s absolutely worth reading. As Mike’s reviews said, there more treasure island about it than moby dock when it comes to nautical based stories.
Yes
Yess 😈
ive read all the books. the last one was a while coming. A Similar situation to The name of the Wind. We can only hope that the final in the kingkiller is as good as Hobbs final. i think everyone that gets to the last book experiences a flood of incredible emotions. The compleion of the books was like part of my life had ended.
You would Have great voice for audiobook
Loved The Farseer Trilogy. I am nine books in to Hobb.
i once owned an albino and deaf great dane.i named him Fitz Chivalvry, Fitz for short. it seemed appropriate. and he fit his name .Im a hard man by nature and these books broke me more then once. Robin is a master of the craft.
If you love the Farseer Trilogy you would be absolutely crazy to not finish Realm of the Elderlings. Going to Liveship Traders really feels like "-and now for something completely different" but in the best way. Fitz isn't in it at all and there are many POVs but the trilogy really SHINES when it comes to characters and their individual development. I'm sure you will enjoy it.
Great Spoiler-Free Review again, Jay! :) Looking forward for more of these. Did you btw read into The Demon Cycle/Warded Man or Shadow and Bone? And another question: will there come a time where you talk a little bit more about your book, spoiler-free of course ;) Just like some interesting side infos: when did you start to write, how far have you come, do you think of trying to publish it at some point and so on and so on. I guess there are many interested souls out there!
i hope you talk about the following books! i would love to hear your thoughts on best boy nighteyes :)
Such a great book, Robin Hobb surely wrote a masterpiece
Him: ‘Interesting side characters’ shows a picture of HER.
Me: I see you are a man of culture.
assassins apprentice, imo its vv easy to get engrossed in this book and in this 1 book alone, i got rly invested in fitz and political situation in this world. idk why so many people say its not very accessible.
I'm worried that once I finish this book that I won't be able to walk away from the series (at least the farseer trilogy) until I read them all Lol. I'm only on like page 50 of this book, but I'm enjoying it so far.
I haven’t read any Robin hobb. I will put it on my list for next year.
This is a fantastic coincidence-- I just finished this book last night. My first ever Hobb read, and I'm an insta-fan
Perfect timing! I'm happy you enjoyed it!
I tried getting into it but the prose was a bit difficult for me, to the point I couldn't understand what was going on or being said at times
Currently reading Locke and Key Keyhouse Compendium. Very good. Enjoying it more than the TV show.
I just started watching the show! Only a few episodes in but I really want to give the graphic novels a read now
@@CapturedInWords there were a couple of bits in the show that made me give up, I found when I researched the book, these are not part of the original story.
Soap box ready: why do writers do that, think they can improve on a bestselling author?
That always bothers me! I had that issue with the Wheel of Time show as well as The Witcher, in both cases I guess the writers thought they could write something better and wanted to leave their mark... but it just ruined the shows in my opinion. I think for a adaptation to be successful, then the showrunner and writers need to respect the source material and try to honor it as much as they can (only cutting and changing things when it's necessary to translate it to film).
Why didn’t anyone say anything about the dogs?
WARNING: the summary blurb thing on the UK paperback (the one in this video) is full of spoilers!
There was a quote I really like. It goes something like this.
If you leave out things to not look like a fool, you'll look like a moron.
"Poor, poor Fitz. Have I mentioned how tragic his life is?"
Haha, this had me laughing out loud, but also shaking my head at how true it is. I was SO mad at Hobb when I finished the Farseer Trilogy for what she did to that poor boy.
Been having some trouble staying interested in the audiobook
The narrator of the audiobook does not do the book justice. I recommend you get and read the real book
This was a series on my list. Is it similar to Memory, Sorrow and Thorn in terms of pacing? If so, I’m down for it as I adore that trilogy.
Is Elder Ring game inspired by novel? If yes then how should I read about it tell me the exact novel series!
I’m half way through this book and really struggling. I’m not connecting with Fitz at all and it’s so slow.
Does it have a good ending? I’m half way through the first book and I had to put it down because of how depressing it is :(
I haven’t watched the whole video but can anyone tell me if this book is triggering in anyway? Fitz seems to have lived a rough life
I feel like Robin Hobb handles the trauma in her books really well, but that being said here's some of the stuff that could be triggering:
-Animal cruelty/death
-Child abandonment/abuse
-Suicide (attempted/assisted)
-Torture (can definitely be unsettling)
-Depression
-Very brief mention of sexual assault in book 3
Nothing is gratuitous or graphic, but they're all definitely serious and very adult books dealing with a variety of unpleasant subjects
I made a mistake and started reading Fool's Assassin instead of Farseer trilogie. Did I ruin my experience? I only read 200 pages
I haven't personally gotten to Fool's Assassin yet (as it's part of the Fitz and the Fool trilogy) however I know that Fitz is much older in it so you will be missing out on a lot of stuff. I think It's probably best to go back and read it in the correct order. Basically Hobb has a big saga called The Realm of the Elderlings, which has different series in it.
It's best to read these in order as follows:
Farseer trilogy → Liveship Trader trilogy → The Tawny Man trilogy → The Rain Wild Chronicles → The Fitz and the Fool trilogy. This is the best way to experience these books, and so starting with Fool's Assassin which is in the very last trilogy might not be the best choice.
However, if you mostly just care about the story of the main character FitzChivalry Farseer I've heard you could skip Liveship and Rain wilds and just read: The Farseer trilogy, The Tawney Man, and The Fitz and the Fool as they follow in chronological order the story of Fitz.
Liveship Traders and The Rain Wild Chronicles take place in different far-away regions with different characters, so theoretically they could be read independently from the other three trilogies.
@@CapturedInWords Thank you!!! I'm going to read Farseer trilogie, your video just convinced me ahaha
I loved the first book but my interest fade throughout the trilogy . I never finished the 3rd book.
Can you review the graphic novels as they come out? (First one comes out 12/14)
you have so much to learn little brother
Felt like I never got my payoff
I love the trilogy, but I think Robin Hobb failed spectacularly with the main conflict.
It felt like the antagonist was the only one participating in a fight, while Fitz and his allies were just passively letting shit happen until the point of no return. The ending suffered IMMENSELY because of that.
Regardless, Kettricken was my favorite character by far.
Can someone tell me how is the soundtrack used in this video called?
I used a few different songs:
Serpentine Trek - Kevin MacLeod
Myst on the Moor - Kevin MacLeod
The Mystery of the Wilderness - Kevin MacLeod
Snowy Wasteland - (Not sure of artist)
@@CapturedInWords Thank you so much
It's fun for me because you sound like veteran FFXIV players trying to convince new players to endure ARR: "is true is a bit slow at times but all is worth, just stick until HW and you will be glad when you reach ShB and EW"
I really wish I could read this story but I hate Fitz to an unnatural level. I literally despise the man because of his passivity and the only reason I would continue to read is to see him punished. I literally wanted to kill him myself.
I actually really liked the second trilogy (third book fell a bit flat for me but was still good) but I can’t bring myself to read anything else with Fitz in it so won’t continue.
I don't hate Fitz but it was like reading a book on Malta. He just whined a lot and I really had no connection and only a passing interest in him.
All of the side characters were just flat and the overall plot predictable. There were many story inconsistencies I just could not reconcile.
I read Liveship first and there I eventually liked the character work...eventually. But agreed the ending seemed flat and a lot darker and depressing than most seem to think.
Which is too bad because there really was some great writing in parts.
This series is such a slog
And her prose is hard to get into not an easy read
:D
The Farseer triology is a classic example of a series of books that potentially could have been great, but missed the mark, by quite a stretch. One of the main problems, without entering a long analysis, is that alongside great characters like Fitz-Chivalry, the Fool, Ketricken, you have absolutely terrible characters like Burrich & Molly. Molly in particular is an awful character, truly awful, that serves no real purpose at all. For me, the inclusion of Molly, & her & Fitz relationship ruined the story more than anything else, what Fitz sees in her & why he tolerates her nonsense is just ridiculous. He's a bastard, but he's also royalty, yet, she behaves as if she's royalty & he owes her something all the time. She ends up with Burrich, which is not at all believable, it's just awful, it ruined the books. Whereas the Fool, & Nighteyes are fantastic, as is Ketricken, she is a real strong female character, Molly is awful.
Fool is one of the most annoying characters out there! Almost on par with Denna from KKC!
This series wasn’t bad. Definitely a slow burn. I feel like it gets over hyped bc the author is a woman in a male dominated genre
Unpopular opinion here, but I really hated these books. I slogged through the first two and just Google how it ends because the thought of forcing myself through the third made me sick. I decided on this one because of the positive reviews, but I just don't see it. I disagree with everything in this video. There's nothing relatable to these characters and Robin has no business writing a first person perspective of a male.
You make an interesting point about the first person perspective of a male. i thought the same and was amased at her doing so. As a hetrosexual male i Speak as an authority in saying i think she did a supprisingly good job. Fitz as we all are is a unique character his values and beliefs governs his behaviour not his sexuality.