Daryl Tay.net

Assassin

After finishing reading A Clash Of Kings by George R. R. Martin, I was in the mood for some good fantasy and so I crowdsourced for recommendations. Robin Hobb’s Farseer Trilogy appeared too many times to be ignored, so I hopped on to Amazon.ca and gave it a go.

When I got the book, two things were potential obstacles: 1) the book was written in 1995 and I seldom read stuff that isn’t published recently, 2) the book is written from a first person point of view, a writing style I generally do not enjoy. I’m glad to say, neither was a factor and I enjoyed the book a lot.

Coming off such an epic fantasy series like A Clash Of Kings, the tone in Assassin’s Apprentice was very different. It’s not as sweeping, and is very much a character piece focused on FitzChivalry, the Bastard son of Prince Chivalry. It’s not a notion unknown to the fantasy/science-fiction realm. Underdog boy has to be the hero of the nation, but it the distinctness of Fitz’s character, and indeed the characters of every member of the cast in the book, makes for very good storytelling.

The plot of a nation under siege likewise, is not something new. But the twist of adding the danger of the Forged Ones was a good move by Hobb, and every time there was to be an encounter with them, I was on the edge of my seat.

One thing I did not like at the time of reading the book, was the inclusion of Lady Patience (Prince Chivalry’s wife) into the story. While it didn’t make much sense in the first book, it does pay off in the second book, Royal Assassin.

The second thing I didn’t particularly like was the magic of the Skill. From what I can infer, at best the Skill is similar to a mesh of telepathy and the Force from Star Wars. By that I mean the usage of the Skill, besides long range communication seems unclear, which threw me off my reading a little bit.

On it’s own, Assassin’s Apprentice is a very good read and an excellent character piece. But I feel it is part of a trilogy that it truly shines. I have only just finished book two, Royal Assassin and felt many seeds planted in Assassin’s Apprentice only develop in book two. I expect to see the same in book three, Assassin’s Quest, which I am beginning to read now.

In short, given the lack of good fantasy right now, digging back thirteen years to 1995 and unearthing this gem might be a really good move, if you’re starved for some traditional fantasy.