Rating: 
Summary: Very good first novel.
Review: I thought the plot line was very original, and I liked the way his system of magic worked. I have read the second book in the series and it too is very enjoyable. I look forward to the next book in the series
Rating:
Summary: Politics, murder and intrigue in a draughty castle!
Review: In Assasin's Apprentice, we enter a world of intrigue against a dark background of barbaric raids and political unrest. Hobb breathes life into this story of a royal house and it's trainee assasin, Fitch. As the illigitimate son of a handsome prince he finds that there are debts to be paid which he had never consciously incurred. This story is like stoneground bread, full of grit and unexpected content, and the delicate subject of killing people for political gain is explored without sensationalism but with a depth which makes this one of the best fantasy reads this year. Can't wait for the sequel to hit the UK.
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Summary: Dichotomy between Title and Cover Art, but it works!
Review: I held off purchasing the book because the title didn't
make sense if you looked at the art...
Well, it was all worth it. The book is not really gruesome
or dark fantasy, it's the almost first-person recollections
of a man as a young boy and the way his life was shaped. I have not yet put my finger on why I like this book, but I do.
The writing doesn't appear all that distinctive, but it is captivating and a classic page-turner. I'll let you know more
after I read Royal Assassin (the next book in the series).
Rating: 
Summary: Brilliant Series
Review: Robin Hobb has written a tremendous fantasy series. It certainly rates in the top five of any fantasy series I have read and ranks with the great epic series of authors like David Eddings and Raymond Feist. Assassin's Apprentice begins an epic nine book series featuring incredible character development and an intricate plot that leaves the reader guessing until the final volume. This is not a series for those who like their fantasy light. The characters are numerous and complex, but are so well defined that the reader has no trouble keeping up with them. The number of volumes should not be a deterrent as Hobb orgininally wrote them as three separate series. The Assassin series and Tawny Man series follow one upon the other, but the middle series (Liveship Traders) rounds out some of the details referred to in the final series and should be read before the Tawny Man if possible. All of the books are extremely well-written and the farther one progresses one begins to marvel that so complex a plot was worked out in advance. Perhaps Hobbs just made it up as she went along, but in any case it all fits together beautifully. It is definitely a series that is worth reading more than once, which is certainly more than can be said for 99% of the fantasy novels that have been written. For those who are connoisseurs of the genre the Assassin series followed by the Livship Traders, and Tawny man is a must read.
Rating:
Summary: Pass the Duchies
Review: Plot Summary: A young bastard is brought to the palace of the King. It turns out Fitz is the son of Prince Chivalry who proceeds to abdicate his position as king-in-waiting. The story follows the coming of age of Fitz from a boy of six left on the King's doorstep to a young man of indeterminant age (16-18ish) suffering through the teachings expected of boys of royal blood, plus the hardships associated with not being a pure royal and facing the threat he is to the other royal heirs. He is made into a tool for the king, as Assassin, and is sent on his first real assignment, alone, to conclude this book. How Fitz deals with this assignment holds the key to his character. He quite possibly could save or destroy one or more kingdoms by his actions. Opinion: Wonderful. Not overly complex with tens of plotlines threading through the story, just the relatively straightforward story of one boy's life. There are some pleasures and many hardships, and I felt with Fitz every step of the way. The situations and the characters of this book are very believable and brought to life on the page. There is not much in the way of warlike action, just a few scuffles with some Forged outlaws, but there is intrigue and action going on at all times as Fitz takes various amount of training in fields such as herb lore, killing, writing, fighting, animal care, etc. The naming conventions of the Six Duchies (of the main royal characters actually: Prince Regal, King Shrewd, Prince Chivalry, and Lady Patience, just to name a few) was a bit contrived and I thought it would make me not like the story. I was wrong, the story overcomes this thing that annoyed me for the first half of the book. By the second half, it was totally forgotten. Recommendation: Reat it. 5 out of 5 stars for a good opening novel. I look forward to the other 2 in the Farseer trilogy and possibly Hobb's other 2 trilogies set in the world of the Six Duchies.
Rating:
Summary: unique
Review: She just never falls into the typical traps or cliches. Very much a people-driven story. Couldn't put it down. I'm on the 3rd volume of the trilogy and looking forward to Tawny Man. Quite a few plot surprises without being convoluted. Very believable. A fairly large cast of characters but I never once had trouble keeping track of who's who. Hobb has a knack for making characters 3 dimensional and distinct.
Rating: 
Summary: Little action, little magic.
Review: Starts out very slow. I kept waiting for the action to pick up but it never did. Maybe there is more in the next two books of the trilogy but I am not sure I want to risk spending another twelve hours waiting for something to happen. Beware: these reviews are mostly written by people who LOVED the book. So let me warn you. If you want magic and spells and mythical creatures and monsters, wizards, dragons, etc, you won't find any of that here. Just a kid with some mind-bending talent. Women will like it more than men.
Rating:
Summary: The Bastards Son has never sounded so intriguing.
Review: Young FitzChivalry Farseer is the bastard son of well-known Prince Chivalry in a world where nobles and those of high-standing status' are named to an adjective, to bind them to life of that adjective. [i.e King Shrewd, Prince Regal, Prince Chivalry, Lady Patience, etc.]But, born into a world where he is the "life-ruiner" of Prince Chivalry, is the bastard son who is unnamed until the stable's caretaker Burrich takes him in, with the name of Fitz.
Now, through King Shrewds orders, he is trained by Chade- the assassin of the kingdom. Through secrecy he is taught the art of killing with silence, poisoning, and the different herbs that can kill, paralyze, or simply make the victim fall unconscience. Chade seems to be of a father figure to me for Fitz. Even though Burrich raised him, he provided a seeming conditional love. Chade seems to give an actual care to Fitz. Also, besides keeping secrecy of his learning of assassination, he is taught by the hard, the cruel, and the hated Galen, the use of Skill.
The two different magics, Skill and Wit, are introduced to us. Wit is shown naturally by Fitz as he attaches himself to the first puppy in Burrich's stables. Wit is the ability to communicate with animals, to attach yourself to them, to know what they feel, want, need. Burrich explains how once you constantly practice, you want to know more- you become an animal. Skill is more of a "magic". And, like it should be done, in order to use the Skill, you deplete your energy (if it did not deplete energy, you would basically have a God.) And is taught by Galen. Wit is the more forsaken kind of "magic" where the Skill is mainly taught to those of noble ranking.
Hobb caught the essence of a fantasy book very well. This isn't the Hero who saves the day kind of book. It's a book that grabs you in, and keeps you there. The details of the heartbreak, the anguish, the excitement, and the goals of Fitz are written perfectly to know EXACTLY what Hobb was trying to tell you. You find yourself nodding to something that Fitz will say, knowing he was right, or getting angry whenever something bad happens to him.
Rating:
Summary: "My life has been a web of secrets"
Review: When I sat down to read this book I was surprised by the way it starts, because we find a man full of spite and pain that sets out to tell us the story of how he got to that point. This trait of starting out a story knowing that the end result will be one of despair and sorrow makes this trilogy different from any other fantasy series I have ever read. The narrator's memories go back to the time when he was six years old and his grandfather decided to take him away from his mother and let his progenitor, Prince Chivalry, take care of his illegitimate son. Even though the person telling us the story is an adult now, we are able to grasp the way he felt during his childhood as if the events were being told by a kid. This fact increases the level of candor and warmth of the story in the reader's eyes.
When the Boy (written in caps since he did not have a name at this point of the story and that is how he was called) arrives at the castle, there is an instant surge of tension, since Lady Patience, Chivalry's wife, has not been able to bear any children that could serve as heirs to the throne. As most readers will realize, the characters' names have a lot to do with their personality, and with just that tiny bit of information we are able to understand the behavior of some of them in considerable depth. Another example of the accuracy of this technique is Prince Verity, who cutting to the chase and facing the issue straight one decides to entrust the care of the Boy to Burrich, the man in charge of the horses and hawks in the castle.
This book sets up what promises to be an outstanding series, since we get a very good understanding of where the main character is coming from, what drives him and what his feelings are. To make the main character even more interesting, we find out early in the story that he has the Old Wit, which is the ability to share feelings with animals; ability that in the old times was punished with death. But besides having this skill, the Boy is trained in the arts of the assassin by request of the King, and gets involved in a complicated web of games of power, betrayal and death.
The same day in which I finished this book I felt the urge to run to the bookstore and get the second installment. I hope the series delivers what it promises its readers through this first snippet; if it does I will undoubtedly rank it among the best, together with "A Song of ice and Fire". The other point I would like to make is that it is always uplifting to find a fantasy author that can really write, aside from having interesting ideas for the plots. I can confirm that Robin Hobb demonstrates that not only she has a prodigious imagination, but that she also is among the best in terms of her literary abilities.
Rating:
Summary: zzzzzzz...
Review: When i say that this book starts slow i really mean SLOW.
In almost 500 pages our little Fitz encounters about two 'adventures', which last a page or so, while the rest of the book is spent in his boring city without much of anything.
Sure the book is written very well but where is the suspense or anything? The only thing that caught me as a reader were the last 50 pages or so and it still wasnt enough to make me want to buy the second book.
Fitz, is not a likeable character to me and thats where the books dullness starts. He is WAY too emotional for a child who has barely reached puberty. I find his love for flowers, the sky, and his constant whining unrealistic for one so young.
Plus, his love for dogs and animals sounds as if he is a 8 year old with a new puppy on Christmas morning. Please.
Pick up the book if you can stand a well written dull 500 page fantasy about an overly emotional and annoying pre-teen. If that doesnt appeal to you then try George Martin, which you should have read by now.
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