Starting a new series by an author I have never read before always makes me a little anxious. Am I going to like it? Will I give it a fair chance? Will others opinions cloud my judgement? I will admit, Robin Hobb wasn't on my list of top authors to read, but I found the complete Farseer trilogy at a resale book store and decided to pick them up. I hadn't read a lot of reviews before starting this book, and the ones I did were either great or DNF. This only fueled my apprehension, but I was in between book series and I had already bought them so I decided to give it a go. It didn't take long after staring Assassins Apprentice for all of those worries to melt away. Robin Hobb has woven a tale that has all the feels of a great classic fantasy. 
 This is a coming of age story about our main character and story teller FitzChivalryFarseer, or as most refer to him as the bastard. Nobility in the land of the Six Duchies give their children a name that they hope befits their personality. Fitz is the bastard son one of these men. None other than the king-in-waiting Prince Chivalry. When Fitz is discovered Prince Chivalry gives up his position as king-in-waiting and moves to an estate in the country to live a life of solitude with his wife Lady Patience. Fitz is taken to Buckkeep by Chivalry's right hand man Burrich to live in the shadow of King Shrewd and the court. 
 Since Fitz is a bastard he is not given a position in the court. Instead he is the keep's stable boy and Burrich is the stable master. He is seen as an outcast and treated as such by almost all those that know who he is. Fitz's life growing up at Buckkeep is remote and tortuous for a while. His only escape is going into Buckkeep town and playing with the kids there. They don't know who he is, so he feels a sense of freedom among them that he can't get back at the castle. 
 The story gets more and more interesting as Fitz gets older. His relationships with Chade (Assassin), Lady Patience (His father's wife), and Galen (Skill master) were the most entertaining to me. There is also the Fool who pops up every so often to give Fitz some crazy or morbid warning. Also, Prince Verity, Chivalry's younger brother and now king-in-waiting, becomes closer with Fitz near the end of the book. With all of these influences Fitz is constantly struggling to figure out what he wants to become and what is expected of him. This made him an easy character to empathize with, and helped me enjoy the story even more. 
 The last 15% of the book was probably my favorite. Events finally move away from Buckkeep and Fitz joins a royal caravan to the mountain city of Jhaampe. He has finally been given a mission by King Shrewd, but when he arrives the situation is not what he has been told. This was the most exciting sequence of events, because Fitz is finally on his own having to rely on his wit and training. There was only one thing I didn't agree with in the conclusion, but I won't ruin it. Hopefully, this will be taken care of in book 2. 
 Overall, this was a solid and enjoyable read. This is no grimdark fantasy by any stretch of the term, but it does have a dark feel to it at times. The pacing is slower than most fantasy I have read, but it does gain momentum after a while. The payoff was definitely worth the effort put in. Robin Hobb has made yet another fan. I have already started book 2. 
 4 stars ****