Assassin's Apprentice

Hobb is one of the best characterization writers in the Fantasy genre. Her characters are vividly real, leaping out of the pages into our minds as living characters. She has no qualms about allowing her protagonists to suffer and she readily avoids Dues Ex Machina (at the cost of drawing out her stories, which is not a bad thing). Her Farseer books are full of fantastic characters and an interesting, mysterious world to explore. The world occupied by Fitz is arguable almost a character in its own right. You'll come to know The Six Duchies like you do your own living room. You'll hear the cries of fish mongers, smell the dirt and decay, and practically feel the cobble stones beneath your feet as you journey with Fitz Chilvary through this intoxicatingly crafted word.Toss in a gripping plot and fantastic prose and these books make for some glorious reads. The books are also home to the most hated villain ever to grace the pages of fantasy.Hobb's The Farseer trilogy is perhaps her greatest work; she's carried on with the character is two direct sequel trilogies as of 2016 and two tie-in trilogies set in the same world, but with different characters and in different locales. And even now with the fantasy genre being moved in completely new directions with the likes of Martin, Abercrombie, Lynch, Lawrence, and Sanderson, Hobb's works are still worthy to be on anyone's top fantasy book list. She's like that good old fashioned dinner you visit there's nothing particularly new on the menu, but you know what you get and it's always delicious.The Farseer world is vast, spanning over 15 books now. The chronological order goes like this with two of the trilogies TIE-IN series that don't feature the characters in The Farseer.The Farseer Trilogy The Liveship Traders Trilogy (tie in series)The Tawny Man Trilogy (direct sequel trilogy)The Rainwilds Chronicles (tie in series)The Fitz and the Fool Triology (direct sequel trilogy to The Tawny Man)