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Assassin’s Apprentice: Beloved by fans, read this classic Sunday Times bestselling work of epic fantasy (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 1) Kindle Edition
‘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.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHarperVoyager
- Publication date1 September 2011
- File size4760 KB
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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.
About the Author
Robin Hobb is one of the world’s finest writers of epic fiction. She was born in California in 1952 but raised in Alaska. She raised her family, ran a smallholding, delivered post to her remote community, all at the same time as writing stories and novels. She succeeded on all fronts, raising four children and becoming an internationally best-selling writer. She lives in Tacoma, Washington State.
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
- Best Sellers Rank: 4,826 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- 18 in Classic Action & Adventure (Books)
- 98 in Crime Action & Adventure
- 123 in Mystery Action & Adventure
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
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
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Top reviews from Australia
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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.
Loved all the little details bringing
characters and settings alive.
Top reviews from other countries
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.
Reviewed in the United States on 24 February 2024
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.