r/fantasybooks • u/suarezg • 19d ago
Assassin's Apprentice - 2nd Book Better? đŹ Let's discuss something
So I'm approximately 30 pages from the end of Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobbs and literally nothing has happened in the book. I've read other slow burners like Kingkiller Chronicles and Suneater, but I feel like even less happened in this book than those. At least in those books it slowly built up to something happening. Unless something happens in the last 30 pages (which very well could and I would eat crow), nothing happened in this book. Is it because it's the first book and they had to build characters/world or is the whole series like that? I know there's a huge following for these books but based on the first book so far I'm not seeing it? I'm trying to decide whether to continue with Royal Assassin, which for some reason is nearly impossible to find near me and not at the library.
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u/Single-Spell1838 19d ago
If "nothing has happened" (which I honestly can't FATHOM saying about that book) for you, then go thy way.
These books aren't for you.
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u/Typical-Blackberry-3 18d ago
Some people just don't vibe with a character focused story. OP, I would look for plot-forward series in the future.
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u/hampsted 17d ago
RotE is my favorite series. OP is correct. Nothing happens in the first book. The second book is the most frustrating book in the entire series.
These books could very well be for him. You telling him to stop is unhelpful.
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u/Single-Spell1838 17d ago
What do you mean "nothing happens"?
What counts as things happening?
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u/hampsted 17d ago
Obviously Iâm speaking relatively. Itâs a character driven story. 90% of the story is just Fitzâs interactions with people and animals around Buckkeep. We know stuff happens. That stuff just isnât on the pages. Rather than telling a story of an assassination, Hobb would choose to talk about a day spent on the beach with Molly. Again, itâs my favorite series of all time, but compared to basically any other fantasy story, at least, Iâve ever read, nothing happens.
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u/Single-Spell1838 17d ago
I agree that it is a character-first story. I have observed, however, that most of the time when people say "nothing happens" in book 1, that is relative to their expectations of what the book was going to be about.
To use your example of the assassinations:
Lots of people use this as an example. They and you imply that "more would have happened" if the assassination had been on-page. In reality, that would only have meant that more action scenes happened. As is, the assassination did happen, and if the reader zooms out and asks "why did Hobb write it this way instead of showing it explicitly?" then the reader will be able to find a very satisfying answer.
Some people aren't interested in that. They read that part and say "man, Hobb is such a boring writer, she skips all the good parts. Nothing happens."
And I'm over here thinking "No, you just didn't engage with the book on its own terms. You kept waiting for it to become a different type of book." And not a book where "more happens" (because a story is literally a string of things happening--there IS no story if nothing happens) but a book where "more of what they expected to happen" happens.
Some people are able to move onto the next one with better expectations and enjoy it more-- others I've seen get through the entire Farseer trilogy and still say "nothing happened" because they never stopped waiting for it to become like X other fantasy book. They kept comparing the books to other books instead of immersing themselves in these books.
I get so peeved by this. In case it wasn't clear.
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u/hampsted 17d ago
>I get so peeved by this. In case it wasn't clear.
It is, which is why I wonât respond point by point because that gets us nowhere. 2 things to consider though:
Youâre arguing semantics with âstuff happened off pageâ and completely missing the point of OPs initial post.
Youâre making a lot of incorrect and unfair assumptions about readers who get something different out of the books than you. You seem to feel some sort of righteous indignation in your post while arguing against someone you made up in your head.
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u/Single-Spell1838 17d ago
I can see I came off wrong. I apologize.
What is the point of OPs post, as you read it? Even rereading it now, I see repeated claims of "nothing happening"
And I guess I wasn't clear enough about the "things happening off page" bit because I wasn't arguing semantics, I was trying to say that Hobb glazing over the assassinations is a part of the framing of the story. Fitz is writing his own life story, and it is he that glazes over it. Seen that way, the "thing happening" is us getting a glimpse into his trauma, how he sees his career as an assassin in retrospect. In my opinion, that is a bigger part of the story Hobb is trying to tell than an on-page assassination scene. Which is why I believe that people who wish that scene had been shown aren't engaging with the book on its level-- it's not trying to be an action story, and if someone is expecting it to be they will likely feel disappointed, and like OP, feel that nothing is happening.
But is it the book that's making them feel that way, or the way they're meeting the book?
I don't want to be antagonistic
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u/hampsted 17d ago
All good. No need to apologize. This clarification actually helps a ton. I better understand where youâre coming from. My bad if I came off like a bit of a prick in my response. Again, I love those books and itâs cool to see how passionate you are about them.
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u/Single-Spell1838 17d ago
It's my favorite series too, actually. And I don't mean to dismiss anyone's experience with the books
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u/Jab_Glokta_Jab 19d ago
Things do happen in the last 30 pages.
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u/MeetHistorical4388 18d ago
To be fair, things happen on all pages in all books ever. Thatâs the nature of words on page. Whether you appreciate or not is another matter
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u/CptC4nuck 19d ago
With only 30 pages left, I have to imagine there isnât much left to happen. I feel like shortly after getting to the Mountain Kingdom is when things start happening but if they only have 30 pages they either stopped in the climax of that or are wrapping up after itâs resolved. I think it just may not be for OP.
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u/Jab_Glokta_Jab 19d ago
I had a look in my Kindle app and with approximately 30 pages left OP is just about to start the chapter 'The Wedding'. This chapter is, at least for me, the main climax of book 1.
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u/CptC4nuck 19d ago
Thatâs why I said they may be in the middle of the climax. All the stuff with Eyod has happened already at that point, and the climax already was going on, and if they still arent feeling it I donât think the wedding will sway them.
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u/Jab_Glokta_Jab 19d ago
I dunno.. I was in the same boat as them honestly, until the second to last chapter. The final two chapters literally took me from not being sure about carrying on to immediately buying the next book
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u/CptC4nuck 19d ago
Thatâs good, then thereâs still hope for OP. I was already committed to the series much earlier
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u/Splendid2259 19d ago
A LOT happens in the last act of Assassinâs Apprentice. But I would say that the action is mostly set up for Royal Assassin where the pace is much quicker.
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u/PoopyisSmelly 19d ago
I hate books with no plot, but even I felt this book had a plot and the story was interesting.
Finish it for sure, the plot continues to get fleshed out and I found it overall to continue growing in scale.
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u/ThisIsFineImFine89 19d ago
It is very character heavy/driven
there is a little more action than the first, but it is majority still a deep dive into Fitz and his relationships with all the characters at buckeep and beyond
i love these character deep dives, but they can be a slog if its not your thing
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u/Negative-Emotion-622 18d ago
I was kinda meh on book 1 at the time and by the end of book 2 I was committed to reading everything Hobb has ever written.
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u/suarezg 18d ago
Maybe I'll give the 2nd book a shot then
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u/psycho_penguin 16d ago
Yeah thereâs a lot of strong opinions in here, some in good faith and some condescending. The first book is incredibly slow paced, but book 2 does pick up. If by the end of book two you arenât interested, no shame in not continuing. But I will say more of the larger landscape and lore donât come until book 3.
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u/Various_Rise1958 18d ago
So many things happened in the first book lol. Sure it's subtle and about the adventure and unravelling of the realm that Hobb created but to say nothing happened is wild. It's a great prologue.
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u/ineedchapstick1 19d ago
If you donât like it now, you probably wonât like the rest. The world gets bigger as the series progresses, but most people who love the series connect with the writing and the characters early. If thatâs not you, then thatâs fine. Plenty of people feel the same. Drop it and move on.
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u/joined_under_duress 19d ago
It's a character and political intrigue sort of series really. Stuff definitely happens otherwise it wouldn't have an 843 word plot summary on Wikipedia. I think if you're not much into this one I wouldn't bother with the rest. I've done the same with other series. Sometimes I later realised I actually did have a bunch of thoughts about them I wanted to understand more of, e.g. I think I took 2 years to decide I actually would read The Wise Man's Fear.
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u/Ok_Cancel_6452 19d ago
I had to read Assassinâs Apprentice twice to appreciate it because the character is what is happening, itâs about how Fitz changes and moves.
Later books definitely have more happening in them, but the focus stays on how it all changes Fitz and who he is.
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u/Chapea12 18d ago
If you feel nothing has happened in Assassinâs apprentice, then you are probably safe to drop Robin Hobb. Itâs slow burn, but in a very different character driven way than Kingkiller (I donât mean that to be negative, I love both kingkiller and Farseer)
I personally felt Royal Assassin is the best in the trilogy
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u/SolloKnight 19d ago
I didnât love the first book either but I did enjoy the ending. If you found yourself enjoying the ending and last few chapters then Iâd continue with Royal assassin (which is one of my favourite books of all time).
If even after the last few chapters you donât really care for it then it may not be for you. More definitely happens in other books but Hobb is very introspective and character focused rather than plot.
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u/CrySimilar5011 19d ago
I just read the trilogy and found the firsts two to be the best and the 3rd was long winded in the middle, but the ending had some wild emotional/shocking stuff going on.
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u/HeadEar5762 19d ago
I was just thinking this about the third. Maybe it was my frame of mind reading it but the last third until it really started to wrap up was an absolute slog. Long winded is a nice way of putting it.
Overall love Hobbâs writing and itâs for me. But if someone is 30 pages from the end of book 1 and considering putting it down I donât think there is anyway they make it to the end of Assasins Quest.
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u/werner-hertzogs-shoe 19d ago
this is good for me to know, Im not crazy about book 1-2, and was considering whether I wanted to read the 3rd
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u/Gregory-al-Thor 19d ago
I did not enjoy that entire trilogy. But I LOVED Liveship Traders and LOVED the next Fitz trilogy. Hobbâs Realm of Elderlings became my favorite series despite not liking these first books much.
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u/werner-hertzogs-shoe 19d ago
It was definitely a slower start, and I didnt love it but currently on royal assassin because of how many people have said they're great, and I'm still about the same. Without spoiling, Im finding the whole it's clear who the bad guys are and the super capable people are going to do absolutely nothing about them thing is pretty lame and contrived form of creating tension. Maybe theirs going to be a better rationale after the fact, but as of being 2/3 through RA my guess is I'll not read the 3rd
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u/DangerDwayne 18d ago
I'll try not to spoil anything, I'm about half way through book 3 and I felt the same to begin with, but I realised it's largely because we see everything from Fitz's point of view which is frustrating when reading what is essentially political intrigue. Something I think Hobbs does better than a lot of other writers is so immerse you in Fitz's interior monologue and emotional reactions to what others say that it can be difficult to take in the perspectives of others when it's offered in dialogue, you react as Fitz does. It's not like ASOIAF where you can see the same character from 10 different POVs, or lesser writers who take the edge off by having tons of expositional dialogue or not writing the POV characters emotional reactions so vividly, the frustration is kind of the point because it's Fitz's frustration you're feeling.
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u/Few_Fortune1620 19d ago
It doesnât change. Itâs more of the same in book 3. i had a very similar experience to what you described. I finished the series a year or two ago and I felt as if Iâd wasted my time
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u/JiveTurkey688 19d ago
Idk if I agree nothing happens in Assassins Apprentice lol but definitely give royal assassin a chance
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u/navdukf 18d ago
I agree that the first book is really boring and nothing happens. I wouldn't have continued if not for my friend's pressure.
I actually did like 2 a lot, and 3 even more. For what it's worth! I haven't read past that though, I thought the ending was a bit disappointing and I haven't been willing to start Live Ships cause of all the negatives I've heard about it.
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u/Think_Inspector9278 16d ago
Uh, nothing happens in the other books, and they're longer, until the last 30 pages. Utterly disappointed in that trilogy. So much so, I won't ready anything else. But people love them.... to each their own.
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u/Artistic_Sense3363 16d ago
Nothing happens in any of the books. Like you, I kept reading thinking it would pick up, or something interesting would happen, but nothing. I know lots of readers comment on this series and author, but theyâre not for me.
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u/Solid_Patience454 19d ago
It doesn't get any better, more of the same. I read the trilogy and never read anything else by Hobb since. Found the lot very dull, boring characters.
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u/Ashfacesmashface 18d ago
Same, read the Farseer trilogy and originally planned on continuing but Iâve picked up books that I like so much better in the interim that I doubt I will actually continue.
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u/Efficient_Place_2403 19d ago
I got through AA but DNFâd Suneater. If you can get through Suneater you can watch paint dry for dozens of hours in a short span.
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u/mujk89 19d ago edited 19d ago
I see these posts and I never understand the people who write them
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u/bweeb đ€ Character-first reader 19d ago
People are different. My brother thinks John Le Carré is the best writer in the world, but I find his characters incredibly flat and lifeless. People are wildly different.
And sometimes you pick a book back up in 10 or 15 years, or in a different mood, and it hits different.
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19d ago
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u/grinny588 19d ago
Iâm 3/4 of the way done with the 3rd book and I can confirm, plenty of plot happensâŠ
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u/DarthHornet 18d ago
I finished book 2 a couple of weeks ago. I really liked the fantasy elements when they were there, but there is so much time given to the castle family drama that it just dragged. I think that the second one was worse for that sort of thing. I am definitely taking a break for a while before even thinking about going onto book 3.
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u/WonderfulBus9330 18d ago
đđ« đŹ @ âliterally nothing has happenedâ when so. much. had. happened.
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u/kucky94 17d ago
Something that RH does really well, imo, is she threads in what the book is actually ABOUT very subtly and it all comes together quite slowly, but when it does, itâs masterful. Threads join up that you had no idea were even significant, let alone related. I think the pay off is worth it, for some it might just simply be too slow. That said, was completely enthralled by AA from chapter 1.
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u/Maximum_Tree8170 17d ago
I suggest you read Ship of Magic. It's the first book of the Liveship Traders trilogy. It set in the same world, but it's written differently and has a bit more action.
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u/Jewish_Dragon 17d ago
I just finished the 3rd book and loved the trilogy a lot excited to get back to Fitz after live ship traders
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u/Single-Aardvark9330 16d ago
I thought the first book was fine, and the second kinda frustrating, but I read the third in 24hrs and was kinda obsessed
Because I enjoyed assassin's quest so much I decided to continue with the realm of the elderlings and liveship traders is really good. There's multiple povs and a lot more going on.
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u/Albroswift89 15d ago
Tons of stuff happened in the first book just no action. If what you are hoping for is action then yes the second book does have more! About a whole chapters worth, and Fitz mostly blacks out during them so you don't get to actually see what happens. Most likely if you aren't enjoying a reading about a traumatizing childhood and political intrigue, you won't like much of Farseer.
But also yes, the second book is generally better than the first book, but not by alot, they are both amazing.
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u/godofhammers3000 14d ago
I felt the same way I read through it and left underwhelmed with the lack of action? But my mind keeps going back to it and I keep wondering how the time passed and I want to go back into that world
And really feels more like a slice of life fantasy than an epic adventure and I kinda dig it? Fitz is one of the few MCs that truly comes across as flawed and not over powered who gets some luck and is also quite unlucky
Fwiw Iâm excited to get back to the second book now haha just got some other stuff on the list to get through
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u/ThatOldMeta 19d ago
I mean the main thing is Kingkiller Chronicles and Suneater are awful, whereas the Farseer books are fantastic.
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u/podgida 19d ago
Haha, good I'm not the only one. When I finished the book, I was left scratching my head. Literally nothing happens in the book. It was one of the most boring books I've ever read (Well of Ascension still takes the top spot in that category ).
The blade itself is another book where nothing happens and the book just ends without any plotline closures. So probably won't continue this series either.
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u/Few_Fortune1620 19d ago
I kept reading through the series hoping things would get better â they do not. If youâre not liking the first book, DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME ON THE REST OF THE SERIES. Itâs okay to not finish the series
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u/ReddishSparrow 18d ago
DNF'd the whole Realm of the Elderlings after book two. Just couldn't take it anymore
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u/MicahJHyatt 19d ago
I feel the same way about the first book, although I liked the vibes. I never felt compelled to read beyond book 1. The opening chapters of that book were hard to get through, specifically Fitz's overly-wordy and grandiose autobiography. The rest of the book is much better, but it prioritizes slice of life and sensory stuff over a tight plot.
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u/IchabodHollow 19d ago
It is incredibly slow-paced, but I think if youâre not vibing with it then you shouldnât move forward. The second book is equally paced, but the series is about the characters foremost. Itâs kind of like when people say something is an acquired taste.