Assassin's Apprentice

Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of child abuse.

Assassin’s Apprentice is the first book in Robin Hobb’s Farseer trilogy, which is, in turn, the first trilogy in the larger 16-book Realm of the Elderlings series. Nine of the 16 books, published from 1995 to 2017, focus on Fitz Farseer and the royal family of the Six Duchies, while the others provide important world building, including historical, cultural, and geographical context. Hobb’s books are relatively unique for their time, standing apart from contemporary fantasy novels that focus on the more socially important characters and broad action. In particular, the Farseer trilogy focuses on the internal emotional life of a child born to royal parents outside of marriage, with no power or access to the line of succession. 

The events of Assassin’s Apprentice establish many of the key dynamics that the rest of the series explores. The power-hungry Prince Regal becomes a bigger threat as the series develops, and the narrative continues its unique strategy by focusing not on the larger movement of his plots but on the children important to reclaiming the throne. For example, Kettricken and Verity’s ability to produce an heir to take the throne from Regal is a key part of the series, reflecting real-life historical anxieties in royal families about the line of succession.

In addition, Fitz’s relationships, as established in this book, and the royal intrigue in the Farseer line are key to the progression of the themes and characterization of the rest of the series. The Wit is a crucial element of the narrative’s world, and its illegality is a key element of Fitz’s growth. The narrative’s representation of the Wit is further complicated by Burrich’s perspective on it. Burrich’s past reveals his reason for hating the Wit as well as the dangers of the skill: He lost several animals that he was bonded with, and his grandfather’s use of it harmed his family. Fitz eventually finds other Wit users throughout the series, but after the trauma he suffers because of it in Assassin’s Apprentice, he struggles with accepting them and himself. The abuses that Fitz suffers throughout the first book—both physical and mental—have strong effects on later developments in the series, highlighting the permanent consequences of trauma and abuse.

Fitz’s relationships with Molly and the Fool, established in this book, are also vital pieces of the series. Later in the series, Fitz has had two children with Molly, Nettle and Bee, and their family adds another layer of complication to Fitz’s choices and work as an assassin. The romantic overtones of Fitz’s relationship with the Fool also become vital throughout the series, as the two save and help each other as much as they reject and misunderstand one another. Fitz’s role as a catalyst to the Fool’s prophecies creates an inseparable dynamic that drives the plot of the ongoing narrative as the court intrigue worsens and Fitz’s understanding of himself as an adult grows more troubled and complex. While Assassin’s Apprentice can be read alone, as the first novel in the series, the following books in the series build on the threads established in this novel; to understand the series, it is vital to understand the long-lasting importance of the elements introduced in this first book.