The Farseer Trilogy (Assassin's Apprentice / Royal Assassin / Assassin's Quest)

So I don't normally read these kinds of stories, but came across it on a list of fantasy books for those who are new to the genre. The idea of a trilogy about an assassin sounded interesting enough for me to try it. It's long, about 2000 pages in total, so it took a long time to read.

I really liked the author's writing. She makes the environment so real - I can see myself interacting along with the characters. I can climb up the stone castle steps and look into the rooms, see the horses in the stables, walk among the shops in town. The world felt very real and well-researched. I was glad also that there wasn't too much fantasy, no witches or dragons (at first anyway!), just a little bit of psychic abilities in some people.

I loved show more watching the main character Fitz grow up. We first see him as a little boy, and the author did a good job of making him sound like a young child. Some reviewers felt he was too whiny and felt everything revolved around him. But most for most of the trilogy Fitz is a child or teen. And Fitz suffers from the condition that most teens have, where all adults are stupid and only he knows what's what. So I felt his views were valid for his age. And the Fool's character was great. I loved his prophetic riddles and tried to work out what they meant before the actual events happened. And Fitz's interactions with his wolf were great.

The story dragged for me in the third book. I wished things were more condensed. The drama near the end is what really mattered. The ending of this trilogy is mostly satisfying, although I do feel bad for Fitz. He finally gained independence but not much else. I know the author wrote additional trilogies, so I guess the story continues with those, but if I read them, it'll be after a break for other books. show less

Robin Hobb Collection I bought the first book in the trilogy as my "christmas read" purely on the strength of the user reviews on Amazon. I don't normally read fantasy or whatever this genre is. Within the first half hour I was completely hooked. I flew through it enjoying every page.I live in an out-of-the-way place in an out-of-the-way country (NZ). Thanks to the wonders of the Kindle I could buy the second and third books and keep on reading. All up around 2000(?) pages.I found the characters believable and the settings credible. The constantly interwoven threads all hung together to make a riveting read. The introduction of "fantasy concepts" was smooth and not laboured and done in a way that made the whole thing more multilayered show more and at the same time simple enough to be able to follow.I didn't need a geneological(?) tree to know who was who and I also didn't need a map to work out where things were.I won't rehash the plot as I couldn't do it enough credit.If you are not a fantasy reader (like me) and you fancy a gamble then get the first book and give it a go. show less

This Farseer trilogy is fabulous! Action, intrigue, deceit, mystery, magic, THE WORKS! This one was even more suspenseful than the Soldier's Son Trilogy - I can't wait for the next one in the series......?

What a trilogy.... One of the best series I've ever read. I can't even write a review. It's just well written, expertly crafted story. Highly recommended.

Here we meet Fitz fore the first time, the bastard son of prince Chivalry. Fitz is raised in the stables by the grumphy stablemaster and later on by a mystic scarred man that lives in the shadow of the royal court. Fitz has a secrets, he has the royal magic running in his blood and also an older and darker forbidden magic.

All three novels reviewed separately at FanLit:
http://www.fantasyliterature.com/fantasy-author/hobbrobin