Assassin’s Apprentice Book 1

by Robin Hobb, Joe Eyre (Narrator)

‘Fantasy as it ought to be written’ George R.R. Martin

The kingdom of the Six Duchies is on the brink of civil war when news breaks that the crown prince has fathered a bastard son and is shamed into abdication. The child’s name is Fitz, and he is despised.

Raised in the castle stables, only the company of the king’s fool, the ragged children of the lower city, and his unusual affinity with animals provide Fitz with any comfort.

To be useful to the crown, Fitz is trained as an assassin; and to use the traditional magic of the Farseer family. But his tutor, allied to another political faction, is determined to discredit, even kill him. Fitz must for he may be destined to save the kingdom.

Genres: Fantasy

Audible Audio

Published January 29, 2026

About the author

** I am shocked to find that some people think a 2 star 'I liked it' rating is a bad rating. What? I liked it. I LIKED it! That means I read the whole thing, to the last page, in spite of my life raining comets on me. It's a good book that survives the reading process with me. If a book is so-so, it ends up under the bed somewhere, or maybe under a stinky judo bag in the back of the van. So a 2 star from me means,yes, I liked the book, and I'd loan it to a friend and it went everywhere in my jacket pocket or purse until I finished it. A 3 star means that I've ignored friends to finish it and my sink is full of dirty dishes. A 4 star means I'm probably in trouble with my editor for missing a deadline because I was reading this book. But I want you to know . . . I don't finish books I don't like. There's too many good ones out there waiting to be found.


Robin Hobb is the author of three well-received fantasy trilogies: The Farseer Trilogy (Assassin’s Apprentice, Royal Assassin, and Assassin’s Quest), The Liveship Traders Trilogy (Ship of Magic, Mad Ship and Ship of Destiny) and the Tawny Man Trilogy (Fool’s Errand, Golden Fool, and Fool’s Fate) Her current work in progress is entitled Shaman’s Crossing. Robin Hobb lives and works in Tacoma, Washington, and has been a professional writer for over 30 years.

In addition to writing, her interests include gardening, mushrooming, and beachcombing. She and her husband Fred have three grown children and one teenager, and three grand-children.

She also writes as Megan Lindholm, and works under that name have been finalists for the Hugo award, the Nebula Award, and the Endeavor award. She has twice won an Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Readers’ Award.

Reviews

[Fredy Molina · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first dive into Robin Hobb’s work and I was pleasantly happy with the book. It definitely is a 90s fantasy work because everything is a slow build up with various cogs working to drive the main narrative. I’ve noticed that while the story is slow, the characters are more fleshed out. The choices Fitz makes have direct and long lasting consequences, which follow him to the end of the first book. Overall a fun, slow read that leads a huge but not entirely surprising turn of events in the last few chapters.

[Bryan Frye · Rating 4 out of 5]

A tale told from Fitz memory in first person of his beginnings and the coming to grasps of what his calling is to be as a princes bastard. Deep world building, slow pace, but furious final chapters that nicely wove in and revealed little details from the very beginning. I enjoyed the read. A slower pace than typical but I enjoyed the growth of the main characters and the development of the world Hobb has built.

[Danielle (yelli3_reads)]

I tried but this is just so boring. I don’t get the hype of this book and I know it’s from the 90s but I also cant do books with multiple dog deaths.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great writing and story. Love that it’s not smutty and just sucks you into this world.! How have I never heard of this series until now!? IDK. But it’s a long one …

[danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Been wanting to get into Hobb’s work for a long time and I already cannot wait to finish this series (and more).