Assassin's Apprentice

A six year old unnamed boy is marched by his maternal grandfather to the Farseer's army base in Moonseye, the Six Duchies' outpost on the borders of the Mountain kingdom. He is given to a soldier, who is told that the child is King-in-Waiting Chivalry's bastard son. The soldier brings him to Prince Verity, the second Son of King Shrewd who is currently in command of Moonseye. Verity orders that the boy be given into the care of Burrich, Chivalry's right-hand man and stableman, who names the boy "Fitz." With Burrich, Fitz travels to Buckkeep, the seat of the Farseers. Before Fitz arrives, Chivalry abdicates from the post of King-in-Waiting so that there will not be uncertainty about his bastard son's claim to the throne. Chivalry retires to the royal holdings of Withywoods with his wife Lady Patience without ever meeting Fitz. Chivalry's and Verity's younger half-brother, Regal, despises Fitz and treats him badly when he arrives.

Burrich is left with the task of raising Fitz, and trains him as a stable boy. Fitz is treated poorly for being a bastard, so he becomes a close friend of a young dog named Nosy. Fitz possesses what is known as Wit, an ancient and distrusted magic which allows him to communicate telepathically with animals. He 'bonds' with Nosy, but this is discovered by Burrich. With apparent disgust, he takes Nosy away, thus breaking the bond, and warns Fitz not to use the Wit. Fitz believes him to have killed the dog, and afterwards is fearful of Burrich, believing his life just as easy for Burrich to take. The only other companionship Fitz finds is with children living in Buckkeep town — in particular, a girl called Molly who is two years his senior.

Fitz is desperately lonely and seemingly has no prospects, but he catches the attention of King Shrewd, who sees that a bastard can be either a threat or an asset to the royal line. Fitz agrees to become a "King's Man" is bound by oath to serve the king. He is taken into King Shrewd's service and moves into the castle proper, and develops a sense of loyalty to the Farseer line, especially with Verity. Fitz is schooled and is taught basic combat skills by Hod, the weaponmaster. One night he is introduced to a recluse named Chade, who is a skilled assassin. Fitz agrees to learn Chade's skills and completely minor assassin work for King Shrewd. Meanwhile, news comes from Withywoods of Chivalry's death - it is said that he was thrown from a horse, but it is strongly suspected that Queen Desire, King Shrewd's second wife and Regal's mother, has had him assassinated. The widowed Lady Patience arrives at Buckkeep, where she and Fitz become close.

As Fitz is growing up at Buckkeep, the coastal regions of the Six Duchies are being attacked by Outislanders known as the Red-Ship Raiders. The Raiders rampage through villages and towns, killing and taking hostages while stealing little, making their attacks seem to lack a motive. The hostages are returned, reduced to an brutal state with little memory of their former lives. Fitz, when he encounters these returned hostages, finds he cannot sense them with his Wit at all. This stripping away of people's humanity is named after Forge, the first village to be raided in such a way. Later on these Forged Ones become robbers that start to plunder the countryside, putting another burden on the Six Duchies.

Fitz is eventually made part of a class of students to be taught the Skill, a magic found in the Farseer bloodline which allows its users to share thoughts and strength. The teacher, Galen, despises Fitz while curiously revering his father (it is revealed later that Chivalry imprinted a false loyalty on him, using the Skill, in a fit of rage). During the classes, Galen treats Fitz without respect and abuses the students. Eventually he tries to kill Fitz, then, with more success, tries to sabotage his Skill training. During the last test of Galen's Skill classes, Galen sends Fitz to Forge, ostensibly to see if he can use the Skill to get back. The area is infested with Forged Ones, and Fitz is attacked, although he manages to return safely. While he is away, a stable hand in league with Galen attempts to assassinate Burrich. During this event, Smithy, the dog Lady Patience gave Fitz, and with whom Fitz is Wit-bonded, is killed.

To gain allies against the Raiders, Prince Verity is to be married to Princess Kettricken of the neighboring Mountain Kingdom. Fitz travels there with orders from Shrewd to assassinate its prince and Kettricken's brother, Rurisk, to bring Verity closer to the throne. However, this is compromised when Regal reveals Fitz's secret mission to Kettricken while drunk, rendering Fitz useless. Fitz finds himself in the middle of a plan to steal the throne for Prince Regal with the help of Galen, who tries to assassinate Verity using the Skill. Prince Rurisk is poisoned and killed, leaving Kettricken the sole heir of the Mountain Kingdom. Fitz is poisoned in an assassination attempt by Regal. Fitz manages to contact Verity using the Skill to help him destroy Galen. He is rescued by his dog Nosy, who was not killed by Burrich, but sent to the Mountain Kingdom as a gift to Prince Rurisk. Fitz is healed by Jonqui, King Eyod's sister. Fitz laments the death of Nosy during that event and the pain of an older narrator at writing this.

Assassin’s Apprentice earned generally positive reviews. Publishers Weekly stated the book was "a gleaming debut in the crowded field of epic fantasies and Arthurian romances."[2] Kirkus Reviews found the story to be "satisfyingly self-contained yet leaving plenty of scope for future extensions and embellishments."[3] Reviewer Adam Miller praised the novel's characters for being "deep and complex."[4]

The Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation used this book as inspiration for their song "Hand of Sorrow" from their album The Heart of Everything.[5] British girl group Kitchen Party cited the novel as an inspiration for their 2013 single "Fitz's Poem".[6]

• An American English paperback edition was issued in New York by Bantam Books in 1995 with ISBN 0-553-37445-1. The cover of this edition is illustrated by Michael Whelan.
• A British English hardback edition was issued in London by Voyager/HarperCollins in 1995 with ISBN 0-00-224606-6. This edition's cover is illustrated by John Howe.
• A British English clothbound edition was issued in London by Voyager/HarperCollins in 2013 with ISBN 978-0-00-749155-1.
• In September 2020,[7] Folio Society released a new illustrated hardback edition of the trilogy, with illustrations by David Palumbo.[8]

• Assassin's Apprentice title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Assassin's Apprentice at the Internet Book List