Assassin’s Apprentice cover art

Assassin’s Apprentice

The Farseer Trilogy, Book 1

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Assassin’s Apprentice

By: Robin Hobb
Narrated by: Paul Boehmer
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About this listen

The first volume in Robin Hobb’s internationally bestselling Farseer series.

In a faraway land where members of the royal family are named for the virtues they embody, one young boy will become a walking enigma.

Born on the wrong side of the sheets, Fitz, son of Chivalry Farseer, is a royal bastard cast out into the world, friendless and lonely. Only his magical link with animals – the old art known as the Wit – gives him solace and companionship. But the Wit, if used too often, is a perilous magic, and one abhorred by the nobility.

So when Fitz is finally adopted into the royal household, he must give up his old ways and embrace a new life of weaponry, scribing, courtly manners; and how to kill a man secretly, as he trains to become a royal assassin.

©2012 Robin Hobb (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Animals Epic Fantasy Genre Fiction Military Political

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Critic reviews

'Hobb is one of the great modern fantasy writers … what makes her novels as addictive as morphine is not just their imaginative brilliance but the way her characters are compromised and manipulated by politics.'
The Times

‘In today’s crowded fantasy market Robin Hobb’s books are like diamonds in a sea of zircons’
George R.R. Martin

‘Hobb is superb’ Conn Iggulden

‘Hobb is a remarkable storyteller’ Guardian

‘This is a historical novel with a sly touch of magic. The first in the Farseer trilogy, this book will get new readers hooked on a series that recalls HBO’s Game of Thrones and The Lord of the Rings’ Telegraph
All stars
Most relevant  
If the story hadn't been so good I would have given up. The narration is terrible. Why do Americans try to do English accents? Some of the words were definitely not proper English and laughing at the pronunciation spoilt some of the tense atmosphere.

The story is great and I may have to put up with the accent just to find out what happens ...

What's with the narrator?

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I love the series, reread and now listened many times. the narrator and fake British accent is annoying but not enough to stop me.

I have read these books over and over

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loved this book, immediately started the next one!

had me hooked from the beginning.

excellent

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This is a super series read in paperback many years ago, and revisited in audio, And it has indeed stood the test of time,
Please do not let the negative reviews of the narrator put you off, He does take a bit of time to adjust to, and yeah some strange pronunciations, But he does do some nice character voices, very important for narration, His female voices are great and to be honest, I started to find his mispronunciations endearing, gave the narration an "olde worlde" feel. Been through a few 100 audio books over the years and trust me, narrator wise I have listened to a few doozies. Paul Boehmer is not one of them,

Brilliant

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Here starts the journey of the FitzChivalry Farseer! A fantastic start to series documenting the world of the elderlings. After having read the series on paperback I decided to listen to the audiobooks before finishing the last book in the tawny man series. I have definitely enjoyed the books second time round being able to pick up on all the sutble points of the story.

I would highly recommend the book and the whole series to any fan of fantasy novels!

Engrossing!

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What did you like most about Assassin's Apprentice?

I loved the story. It is evenly paced and well written. The characters are

What did you like best about this story?

The way the characters are manipulated by faith, duty and power. The combination or animal magic and telepathy is almost believable.

What does Paul Boehmer bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

Overall I found the narration but in certain parts the pace and voice levels were noticeable different. Also his chosen voices for the characters were too similar and often I the context to decipher which character he was vocalising.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

The book is long but I enjoy long books.

Great Story

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I got mixed up between people but still was a good listen would recommend .

good storey going to listen to them all

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Sucked me straight in could not stop listening. Looking forward to continuing the story in the next book.
Narration quite good which is always important.

Loved it

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A good story and worth a listen. Well performed. Found it a bit sticky until about halfway. Worth sticking with. Skill in assassin not so much but some nice fantasy stuff.

Struggled til it came good.

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A good listen. I was off put at first by the narrator, but he grew on me over time. The story is top notch, had me staying up all night to see what happened.

Give it a try

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