Moving to the third book on my overdue review list brings me to Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb. I enjoyed this coming-of-age story about a noble bastard training to become a royal assassin. It’s a well-paced, touching story that sets up a trilogy of novels.
The story is set in the fictional medieval world of the Six Duchies, where each member of the royal family takes the name of the virtue they supposedly embody. So, we are introduced to King Shrewd and his three sons: Chivalry, Verity, and Regal. The story’s narrator and protagonist is Fitz, the bastard son of Prince Chivalry, who never met Fitz and ultimately abdicated his claim to the throne. Instead, Fitz is raised by Burrich, Chivalry’s stableman.
Early on, we learn that Fitz can communicate telepathically with animals, bonding closely with a dog named Nosy. Burrich, however, believes this skill is an abomination, so he takes Nosy from Fitz’s life at a young age. This is one of the novel’s sadder moments, but Fitz perseveres, and we see him grow from a six-year-old boy into a young man over the course of the story.
His apprenticeship begins when King Shrewd takes a keen interest in Fitz, believing he could have value as a royal assassin. From there, we are introduced to Chade, the king’s master assassin, to whom Fitz becomes an apprentice. Chade is a mysterious character with a secret origin, but he becomes a kind and trustworthy mentor to Fitz. Despite Chade’s kindness, Fitz has a lot to overcome, including his half-uncle Regal, who looks down on his bastard nephew, a stern teacher named Galen who despises Fitz, and an increasingly dangerous web of palace intrigue. Fitz’s royal blood makes him a target to those with designs on the throne, and his occupation as an assassin naturally puts him in danger.
There’s more. Fitz’s royal blood also gives him access to a second form of magic called the Skill, which allows the Farseers to communicate over vast distances and influence the minds of others. Meanwhile, the Red-Ship Raiders harry the kingdom’s shores and leave their victims as soulless, violent beings known as the Forged. Many of the novel’s larger conflicts are left unresolved for later books in the trilogy. But enough is wrapped up here as Fitz comes of age, learning who is friend and who is foe.
Overall, the book is filled with enough intrigue and treachery to keep it engaging. But Fitz is the main draw, along with the relationships he builds along the way. Finally, while I’ve seen this novel described as Grimdark fantasy, I beg to differ. Fitz is more of a true hero than the antiheroes typically found in Grimdark, and there is plenty of humanity in this story. That said, this is not epic fantasy in the style of J. R. R. Tolkien either. I suppose it’s just good fantasy fiction, however you want to categorize it.