Assassin’s Apprentice

A royal bastard is a dangerous thing to have about the place. When the crown prince of the Six Duchies abdicates in disgrace, young Fitz is left to grow up in the castle stables, scorned by nearly everyone. His only comforts are the king's fool, the ragged children of the lower city and an unusual affinity with animals. Then the crown finds a use for him: he is to be trained as an assassin, and in the old magic of the Farseer line.

His tutor, allied to another political faction, would rather see him discredited or dead. Told by Fitz himself, this is epic fantasy built on character rather than spectacle, thick with court intrigue and quiet loneliness. It suits readers who like their fantasy intimate, with a hero who earns every inch of ground. It opens the Farseer trilogy.