Kindle Price: $14.99
Price includes tax, if applicable

These promotions will be applied to this item:

Some promotions may be combined; others are not eligible to be combined with other offers. For details, please see the Terms & Conditions associated with these promotions.

You've subscribed to ! We will pre-order your items within 24 hours of when they become available. When new books are released, we'll charge your default payment method for the lowest price available during the pre-order period.
Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at
Your memberships & subscriptions
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet or computer—no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera, scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

Assassin’s Apprentice: Beloved by fans, read this classic Sunday Times bestselling work of epic fantasy (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 1) Kindle Edition

4.4 out of 5 stars 23,370

‘Fantasy as it ought to be written’ George R.R. Martin

The kingdom of the Six Duchies is on the brink of civil war when news breaks that the crown prince has fathered a bastard son and is shamed into abdication. The child’s name is Fitz, and he is despised.

Raised in the castle stables, only the company of the king’s fool, the ragged children of the lower city, and his unusual affinity with animals provide Fitz with any comfort.

To be useful to the crown, Fitz is trained as an assassin; and to use the traditional magic of the Farseer family. But his tutor, allied to another political faction, is determined to discredit, even kill him. Fitz must survive: for he may be destined to save the kingdom.


Kindle Daily Deal: Save at least 70%
Each day we unveil a new book deal at a specially discounted price - for that day only. See today's deal or sign up for the newsletter
All 3 for you in this series See full series
See included books
Total price: $44.97 + applicable tax
By clicking on the buy button, your order will be finalised and you agree to the Kindle store terms of use.
Sold by: HarperCollins Publishers (AU)
Price set by publisher.

Popular Highlights in this book

Product description

Review

'Hobb is one of the great modern fantasy writers … what makes her novels as addictive as morphine is not just their imaginative brilliance but the way her characters are compromised and manipulated by politics.'
The Times

‘In today’s crowded fantasy market Robin Hobb’s books are like diamonds in a sea of zircons’
George R.R. Martin

‘Hobb is superb’ Conn Iggulden

‘Hobb is a remarkable storyteller’ Guardian

‘This is a historical novel with a sly touch of magic. The first in the Farseer trilogy, this book will get new readers hooked on a series that recalls HBO’s Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings’ Telegraph

From the Back Cover

In a faraway land in which members of the royal family are named for the virtues they embody, one young boy will become a walking enigma.

Born on the wrong side of the sheets, Fitz, son of Chivalry, is a royal bastard, cast out into the world, friendless and lonely. Only his magical link with animals -the old art known as the Wit - gives him solace and companionship. But the Wit, if used too often, is a perilous magic, and one abhorred by the nobility.

So when Fitz is finally adopted into the royal household, he must give up his old ways and learn a new life: weaponry, scribing, courtly manners; and how to kill a man secretly, as he trains to become a royal assassin.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B005JE1K9M
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperVoyager (1 September 2011)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4760 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 401 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 23,370

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Robin Hobb
Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Robin Hobb is a New York Times best-selling fantasy author. She is published in English in the US, UK and Australia, and her works have been widely translated. Her short stories have been finalists for both the Hugo and the Nebula awards, as well as winning the Asimov's Readers Award. Her best known series is The Farseer Trilogy (Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin, and Assassin's Quest.)

Robin Hobb was born in Oakland California, but grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska. She has spent her life mostly in the Pacific Nortwest region of the US, and currently resides in Tacoma, Washington State, with her husband Fred. They have four grown offspring, and six grandchildren.

Robin Hobb is a pen name for Margaret Ogden. She has also written under the name Megan Lindholm.

She published her first short story for children when she was 18,and for some years wrote as a journalist and children's writer. Her stories for children were published in magazines such as Humpty Dumpty's Magazine for Little Children, Jack & Jill and Highlights for Children. She also created educational reading material for children for a programmed reading series by SRA (Science Research Associates.) She received a grant award from the Alaska State Council on the arts for her short story "The Poaching", published in Finding Our Boundaries in 1980.

Fantasy and Science Fiction had always been her two favorite genres, and in the late 70's she began to write in them. Her initial works were published in small press 'fanzines' such as Space and Time (editor Gordon Linzner). Her first professionally published story was "Bones for Dulath" that appeared in the Ace anthology AMAZONS!, edited by Jessica Amanda Salmonson in 1979. A short time later, a second Ki and Vandien story entitled The Small One was published in FANTASTIC in 1980.

During that time period, she and her family had moved from Alaska to Hawaii, and subsequently to Washington State, where they settled. She had various money making occupations (waitress, salesperson, etc.) while striving with her writing. Her husband Fred continued to fish Alaskan waters and was home only about 3 months out of every year. The family lived on a small farm in rural Roy where they raised lots of vegetables, chickens, ducks, geese and other small livestock.

In 1983, her first novel, Harpy's Flight, was published by Ace under the pen name Megan Lindholm. Her later titles under that name included Wizard of the Pigeons, Alien Earth, Luck of the Wheels, and Cloven Hooves.

In 1995, she launched her best selling series of books set in the Realm of the Elderlings. At that time, she began writing as Robin Hobb. Her first trilogy of books were about her popular characters, FitzChivalry Farseer and the Fool. The Farseer Trilogy is comprised of Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin and Assassin's Quest. These books were followed by The Liveship Traders trilogy, set in the same world. The Tawny Man trilogy returned to the tale of Fitz and the Fool. Most recently, the four volumes of the Rain Wilds Chronicles were published: Dragon Keeper, Dragon Haven, City of Dragons and Blood of Dragons.

In 2013, it was announced that she would return to her best-loved characters with a new trilogy, The Fitz and the Fool trilogy. The first volume, Fool's Assassin, will be published in August of 2014.

Other works as Robin Hobb include The Soldier Son trilogy and short stories published in various anthologies. A collection of her shorter works as both Lindholm and Hobb is available in The Inheritance.

She continues to reside in Tacoma, Washington, with frequent visits to the pocket farm in Roy.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
23,370 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Came as ordered, not a scam
5 Stars
Came as ordered, not a scam
This book has come in beautifully and the texture is amazing.
Thank you for your feedback
Sorry, there was an error
Sorry we couldn't load the review

Top reviews from Australia

Reviewed in Australia on 29 February 2024
Verified Purchase
Love that it is not predictable.
Reviewed in Australia on 14 August 2020
Verified Purchase
Other than science fiction fantasy, I do not often read fantasy books (18 of about 600 ebooks). I really enjoyed C.T. Rwizi's "Scarlet Odyssey" because of its African origins. This is another different but very interesting book I've been most pleased to read.

Fitz, the bastard child of the King-in-Waiting, retells his life while looking back over his long, eventful life, beginning as a 6 year old in this novel. With excellent writing, an intriguing plot line with great political machinations, and a little magic to enable the story to progress, kept me intrigued for the duration. As was expressed near the end, 'Justice' and 'Law' can be two different things, producing different results.

For those who want to know, to 'Farsee' is the ability of those who possesses it to see through another's eyes, to subtly influence, and/or control the actions of another from close by to far distant lands. (A king on a battlefield, a spy in a distant land, or to commune with animals.) Theses are the magics of this book but are not dominant. Highly recommended.
2 people found this helpful
Report
Reviewed in Australia on 26 December 2023
Verified Purchase
Artfully penned story that had me hooked. A truly exceptional book.
Loved all the little details bringing
characters and settings alive.
Reviewed in Australia on 14 August 2023
Verified Purchase
Really enjoyed this. My husband highly recommended Robin Hobb years ago and I am so glad I finally got around to reading this. It's as good as he said! Very good writing, which is harder and harder to find these days. I just need to not read them so quickly or they'll be over!
Reviewed in Australia on 31 July 2023
Verified Purchase
This book has come in beautifully and the texture is amazing.
Customer image
5.0 out of 5 stars Came as ordered, not a scam
Reviewed in Australia on 31 July 2023
This book has come in beautifully and the texture is amazing.
Images in this review
Customer image Customer image Customer image
Customer imageCustomer imageCustomer image
Reviewed in Australia on 19 April 2022
Verified Purchase
beautiful rendered fantasy, my first read of Robin Hobb and in record time. Maybe only slightly PG rated but highly recommend.
Reviewed in Australia on 2 February 2020
Verified Purchase
One thing about a great book - you can re-read it again a couple of years later and enjoy it all over again!!
Reviewed in Australia on 3 March 2024
It is a good book with great characters and a mixture of intrigue, heartbreak, and hope that grips you to keep reading. No romance but lots of adventure.

Top reviews from other countries

Translate all reviews to English
K. B. A.
5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal book. Excellent edition.
Reviewed in the United States on 24 February 2024
Verified Purchase
I’m a classic lit fan generally. But I needed a change. From the very thorough research I did - seriously I study Data Science so it’s my thing - this series is always at or very near the top of fantasy reader’s favorites. I loved LoTR so fantasy was what I figured I’d try.
This immediately has not disappointed. I started with the kindle version and was blown away by the beauty of the art that’s included-especially using my iPad to read it. I’ve included 2 illustrations that are included in the kindle-on-my-iPad edition. These paperbacks do not have pictures. The story is at once beautifully crafted, detailed, interesting and I couldn’t put it down for a few hours - homework be dam*ed.
But I work on my laptop so much I prefer actual analogue books. And these paperbacks are so well done. If you understand the importance of “floppyness” and binding then I’ll say these are amazing. I literally just opened the box and opened the book. As you see in the pic it’s not a struggle to keep them open even with one hand. But are strongly bound. And easy to hold in any position.

And again the story is 100% fantastic. Either kindle or paperback it’s a book that anyone would enjoy and though it’s fantasy it’s not YA - thank the Almighty above. No ridiculous toxic teenage storylines (I definitely checked before I started reading it). But a true coming of age story. But it is much more than that. It’s not a kids book. It’s not HP but HP fans could easily love it. I bought all 3 of this first series and I already know I’ll end up with every single book in the entire collection.
Phenomenal world building, character development, flow, depth, sentence structure (!). Just brilliant. I’m stuck in and grateful for the study break where I do not feel guilty at all. Pure pleasure. Feel like a giddy kid.
Customer image
K. B. A.
5.0 out of 5 stars Phenomenal book. Excellent edition.
Reviewed in the United States on 24 February 2024
I’m a classic lit fan generally. But I needed a change. From the very thorough research I did - seriously I study Data Science so it’s my thing - this series is always at or very near the top of fantasy reader’s favorites. I loved LoTR so fantasy was what I figured I’d try.
This immediately has not disappointed. I started with the kindle version and was blown away by the beauty of the art that’s included-especially using my iPad to read it. I’ve included 2 illustrations that are included in the kindle-on-my-iPad edition. These paperbacks do not have pictures. The story is at once beautifully crafted, detailed, interesting and I couldn’t put it down for a few hours - homework be dam*ed.
But I work on my laptop so much I prefer actual analogue books. And these paperbacks are so well done. If you understand the importance of “floppyness” and binding then I’ll say these are amazing. I literally just opened the box and opened the book. As you see in the pic it’s not a struggle to keep them open even with one hand. But are strongly bound. And easy to hold in any position.

And again the story is 100% fantastic. Either kindle or paperback it’s a book that anyone would enjoy and though it’s fantasy it’s not YA - thank the Almighty above. No ridiculous toxic teenage storylines (I definitely checked before I started reading it). But a true coming of age story. But it is much more than that. It’s not a kids book. It’s not HP but HP fans could easily love it. I bought all 3 of this first series and I already know I’ll end up with every single book in the entire collection.
Phenomenal world building, character development, flow, depth, sentence structure (!). Just brilliant. I’m stuck in and grateful for the study break where I do not feel guilty at all. Pure pleasure. Feel like a giddy kid.
Images in this review
Customer image Customer image Customer image Customer image Customer image Customer image
Customer imageCustomer imageCustomer imageCustomer imageCustomer imageCustomer image
6 people found this helpful
Report
Shane Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars amazing new world
Reviewed in Canada on 18 September 2023
Verified Purchase
Not many books capture my interest as fast as this one, it was a great read look forward to book 2
Hercules Spieler
5.0 out of 5 stars immer wieder!
Reviewed in Germany on 1 April 2024
Verified Purchase
immer wieder!
Werner
5.0 out of 5 stars A beautifully written story with a magnificent cast and a world of wonders.
Reviewed in Belgium on 19 December 2023
Verified Purchase
I expected a good story, but not this well-written and beautifully framed. The characters, setting and change are so expertly handled, it's a hard ask to put down. My first Robin Hobb leaves little to be desired beyond.
Tania
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing purchase
Reviewed in Spain on 9 November 2023
Verified Purchase
It came really fast and in perfect conditions.
Report an issue

Does this item contain inappropriate content?
Do you believe that this item violates a copyright?
Does this item contain quality or formatting issues?