From the Bookshelf: Assassin's Apprentice

I picked up this first book in the Farseer Trilogy, Assassin's Apprentice, by Robin Hobb, mostly on the recommendation of a friend who had enjoyed this author's other books, but not really knowing much about the book itself.

I really enjoyed this one.  If you are a Game of Thrones fan, you'd probably like this one too.

The young hero, who is the illegitimate son of the heir to the throne is dumped at the gates of the castle, shuffled around, and brought up by the master of the hounds and horse.  The boy (who is known as Boy) through most of the book, has no real identity and is sort of adrift within the intrigues and politics of castle life.  He does have a Skill - he can communicate with the animals he works with - but this Skill (known as Wit) is a slippery slope, which most feel will drag the user down to the level of the animals he can speak with, so he learns to hide his power at a young age.

Boy eventually is singled out by the King, and sent to learn the skills of being an assassain, as well as being a reader of men and their plots.  Add to this pirate raiders off the coast, who perform some kind of mind-wipe of the citizens they capture, turning them into a sort of zombie group, plus the early death of the King's heir, and all kinds of infighting amongst the lesser nobles, and this turned into a book I couldn't put down.  I think I read the final half of it in a day!

Lots of fun little details and an engrossing story line.  I would heartily recommend this book.  I'm anxious to pick up the next in the series and read on with the Boy's adventures.