The Farseer: Assassin's Apprentice

By: Robin Hobb

Narrated by: Paul Boehmer

Length: 17 hrs and 18 mins

Publisher's summary

With unforgettable characters, a sweeping backdrop, and passionate storytelling, this is a fantasy debut to rival that of Robert Jordan. Filled with adventure and bloodshed, pageantry and piracy, mystery and menace, Assassin's Apprentice is the story of a royal house and the young man who is destined to chart its course through tempests of change. Young Fitz is the bastard son of the noble Prince Chivalry, raised in the shadow of the royal household by his father's gruff stableman. An outcast whose existence has forced his father to abdicate his claim on the throne, Fitz is ignored by all royalty except the devious King Shrewd, who has him secretly tutored in the arts of the assassin. For in the young man's blood is a heritage of magic, the talent called the Skill, as well as another, even more mysterious ability.

As barbarous raiders ravage the coasts and leave behind the zombie-like husks of the townspeople to prowl the countryside, Fitz is growing toward manhood. Soon he will face his first dangerous, soul-shattering mission, a mission that poses as much a threat to himself as it does for his target---for Fitz is a threat to the throne...but he may also be the key to the survival of the kingdom.

©1999 Robin Hobb (P)2010 Tantor

Critic reviews

“Intriguing, controlled, and remarkably assured...at once satisfyingly self-contained yet leaving plenty of scope for future extensions and embellishments.” ( Kirkus)

Was left with slight feeling of disappointment

It’s a good story - imaginative and well thought out. The characters are well developed and one gets a real sense of the setting. The reason I was left with slight disappointment is that I felt that the story seemed to be too slow in developing. There were some wonderfully intense moments that had me vocalizing my emotions but too few. The protagonist was subjected to many insults and injustices that I felt were not resolved to my satisfaction. And even his successes were mostly mixed with setbacks. Fitz never turned into what I had hoped he would become. Lastly, I cannot say I enjoyed the reading performance at all. This is of course highly subjective but it’s how I felt. I’m sure it is the same performer for the books to come which makes it very difficult for me to get the next book.

First audiobook, so maybe biased, but really liked

I really enjoyed it. It was my first audiobook, and it turned my dreaded commute into one of the highlights of my day. I'm not sure if it was because of this book in particular being good, or just the audiobook experience in general. Perhaps listening to audiobooks during tedious commutes makes all books better... but I do think this one in particular was pretty good. I don't think I read many 1st person perspective books - I enjoyed it here. Author is a good writer. Some interesting characters - I liked how many of the even seemingly infallible characters made mistakes (making the wrong assumptions), and how we sometimes get unreliable information from characters, and our protagonist has to sort through it all. Good book - excited to start the next one!

Great Fantasy Story

Would you listen to The Farseer: Assassin's Apprentice again? Why?

yes, as it is very well written. Not easy to anticipate. Exciting!

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Farseer: Assassin's Apprentice?

When Fitz is reunited with Nosey..

Have you listened to any of Paul Boehmer’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

?

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

When Fitz and Barach were reconciled.

Any additional comments?

I was sorry when it ended. I wanted more info....did Fitz and Molly get together?

Great series to get into while waiting for GRRM/Rothfuss

Robin Hobb lays the ground work for a fascinating world with just the right amount of court intrigue, an interesting, if not well explained magic system, and murder.

Great story, Characters, and Wonderful Narration

Great Book! Great story, Characters, and Wonderful Narration.
The previous reviews really helped. The narrator was wonderful and the characters were well developed story line and plot. I look forward to reading book 2.

A favorite

What about Paul Boehmer’s performance did you like?

Paul Boehmer did a fantastic job on the books. His superior performance was up to the high level of the story.

Any additional comments?

The Farseer story is one of my favorite fantasy series. I love the characters and the way the story unfolds. I'm hoping the final three books in the series become available on audio book soon.

great fiction story

I enjoyed this story. the time went by very fast. I look forward to the other books in the series.

A Good Fantasy Read For 16+

Would you consider the audio edition of The Farseer: Assassin's Apprentice to be better than the print version?

It is neither better, or worse.

What did you like best about this story?

Like most good reads like _Harry_Potter_ and _The_Name_of_the_Wind they start off dreadful, but if you give it a chance it becomes a real thriller.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Yes, but not its main character's voice.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

The Life of a True Assassin.

What a great story!

Any additional comments?

I love fantasy and I am so glad that I stumbled onto this series! I am not sure why this story has captured me so completely, for the characters are predictable (good are good and bad are bad) but the plot is interesting and the pacing is done masterfully.

Starts slow ends with a bang!

The narrator was good for the most part hard to hear at certain points like he was backing away from the mic.. Story started out slow but by the end was thoroughly enjoyable. Will be reading the next installment!!