Audiobook Review: Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb

I read Assassin’s Apprentice when it first came out in 1995 and immediately fell in love with FitzChivalry Farseer. I did not know then that the book was the beginning of the Farseer trilogy. Seventteen years later, it has become “The Realm of the Elderlings” series of books which by my count comprises of 19 books.

A sale at Audible made me buy the audio book version. For one week, FitzChivalry became my constant companion during my daily commute. Because 17 years had passed since I read “Assassin’s Apprentice,” everything was new to me again. And since I was listening to it rather than reading, the lyrical quality of Robin Hobb’s writing became evident from the first chapter. Of course, Paul Boehmer, the reader did more than just justice to the material. He aced it!

A coming of age story, readers meet FitzChivalry Farseer when he was only six years old. The illegitimate son of Prince Chivalry, heir to the throne of the Six Duchies kingdom, FitzChivalry was in an untenable position. With Prince Chivalry and his wife Patience being childless, Fitz immediately became part of the court intrigue by just being born.

In “Assassin’s Apprentice,” Robin Hobb created a vibrant world, which 17 years ago was the one that drew me into the series. Listening to the audiobook, that world came alive to me once again. Its pull has not changed and it is as animated to me today as it was almost two decades ago. The magic system of the Skill and The Wit, which was novel in 1995 has remained fresh up to today.

“Assassin’s Apprentice (The Farseer Trilogy, Book 1)” is a timeless story and it is no surprise that it has become a fantasy classic that lovers of fantasy treasure. The book is Rated T for Teens due to violence. There are no sex scenes in this book.