Die Gabe der Könige

Assassin’s Apprentice was my first experience of Robin Hobb’s writing and boy was it a rollercoaster.The writing style/language in Assassin’s Apprentice can only be described as Charles Dickens-like. It takes a little getting used to which honestly makes this book one that you need to read in long stints, rather than short bursts. Because once you sink in, it's quite free-flowing and comforting in terms of style.It's a narration, an autobiography of sorts. The main character is telling his own story. So he talks about the past and his childhood with great clarity.The first few chapters are a lot of telling. In a fairly short amount of writing, the narrator describes a lot of ‘stuff’. What the kid was up to, how he grew up, what he saw and ate, and who he hung out with. It's a lot.The book starts by maintaining a very subtle inclusion of magic or fantasy. It's more focused on the slow childhood and growth of the main character. There are hints at powers and magic, but not a whole lot.It's just a lot of politics. Scheming and telling rather than showing. A lot of information, which is great if you like that kind of information-heavy world-building. But I prefer world-building that's done character-first. Seeing the world through the characters within it. Rather than endless talking and planning and politics. It's slow going. Things happen but they don't feel like they're really contributing to the overall story in a big way. It almost feels like book one is the build-up and book two will be the actual story. Like this book is a pre-story. 0.5.This style of fantasy requires patience and commitment. It's a slow burn, one that you have to be in the right frame of mind for. And after last month's Brandon Sanderson slow burn, I don't think I was in the right frame of mind at all. Robin Hobb's writing takes patience and as a reader, I'm not sure I have that.Hobb has an amazing way of writing dialogue scenes though. On more than one occasion I had this weird sense of being sucked right into the scene. I completely lost all sense of my surroundings. That's how powerful and engrossing some of the scenes were. Not all of course, but the important ones.I really struggled to connect with Fitz as a character, he seems almost devoid of personality. I'm not sure if it’s because he actually struggles to find one due to his upbringing, or if it's due to the autobiographical writing style, or simply because the author struggled to give him one.After the introduction of one particular character (a character with a personality who brings some positivity to the book and pushed the story along faster), the story transforms. Magic is a huge part of it, more interesting characters are too. It completely transforms from a boring, slow, and plodding book, to one that has intrigue, action, and suspense. The end was fantastic, emotional, and satisfying. So, it’s on to the next one!Honestly, the first half of the book felt like 2 stars, the second half though, 4 stars. Which means I can only really give this a 3.For more reviews and book recommendations, check out my YouTube channel

Pretty solid, but not perfect.I was vibing with Assassin's Apprentice for the most part. Robin Hobb’s writing is very impressive; super descriptive, immersive, and cozy, and she really knows how to capture the emotions of the characters, which makes it way easier to get invested in their journeys. The world-building is on point, and I loved how diverse the characters were, each with their own unique personalities. That being said, there were definitely some parts where it felt like things were just dragging. I get that there's a lot of build-up, but a couple of chapters could’ve been trimmed.But the best part? Hobb made me seriously care about Fitz. He definitely has abandonment issues and deals with depression. The way he talked about his loneliness and the way some of the other characters treated him so badly made me want to give him a big hug so it hurt even more because I couldn’t do anything but read about his pain. I'm so invested in his story and can't wait to see where he goes from here. oh, also shout out to Lady Patience!!! A QUEEN