About this title: A glorious classic fantasy combining the magic of Ursula Le Guin's The Wizard of Earthsea with the epic Mastery of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Now reissued in gorgeous new livery. Fitz is a royal bastard, cast out into the world with only his magical link with animals for solace and companionship. But When Fitz is adopted into the royal household, he must give up his old ways and learn a new life; weaponry, scribing, courtly manners; and how to kill a man secretly. Meanwhile, raiders ravage the coasts, leaving people soulless. As Fitz grows towards manhood, he will have to face his ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Spectra
Date Published: 1995-04-01
ISBN-13:9780553374452ISBN:0553374451
Description: Fair. The cover is worn. The spine is curved and the book is slanted. Every heavytail order includes with a sweet! We carefully hand clean and reinspect each and every item we ship. Our quality control process ensures items to be in the condition described or better. Heavytail is determined to earn your repeat business through old fashioned customer service. We love international orders. read more
Description: Pages are clean and in good condition, the pages are curled from reading, no writing or highlighting on inside book pages, average wear on the cover, small tear on the top left corner on the front cover. read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Spectra Books
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9780553573398ISBN:055357339X
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Some cover wear and toning. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 464 p. Farseer. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Mass Market Paperback
Publisher: Bantam, New York
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9780553573398ISBN:055357339X
Description: Very Good. Very Good. Very Good. Spine is uncreased, minor edgewear, interiors are tigh t an clean, slightly faded. Book One of the Farseer Trilogy, Hob b's exquisit ely written fantasy of a boy's strange and oft-times brutal upbri nging. Highly recommended! .. read more
Description: Very Good. 055357339X Mass Market Paperback, Condition: Very Good; this book is in very good condition with light curve to the spine / light reading creases to the covers. read more
Description: Good. 055357339X Mass Market Paperback with moderate shelf-wear, rubbing, fraying, tears, fading, chipping, and bumping to the cover, edges, corners, and spine. The spine is creased from the book being read. Inside pages are free from underlining, note taking, and/or highlighting. Book is in stock and ready to ship same or next business day. ELIGIBLE FOR! Buy with confidence. Please leave feedback after your purchase. It helps other buyers know we are a responsible and reliable seller. Thank ... read more
Binding: Mass-market paperback
Publisher: Spectra Books
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9780553573398ISBN:055357339X
Description: Good. No dust jacket as issued. Used; spine creases, corners bumped. Pages clean and unmarked. Good solid reading copy. Mass market (rack) paperback. Glued binding. 464 p. Farseer. Audience: General/trade. read more
Edition: First Edition
Binding: Softcover
Publisher: Bantam Books, New York
Date Published: 1996
ISBN-13:9780553573398ISBN:055357339X
Description: Fine. Paperback. 7h x 4 1/2w. A real nice 435 page first edition 1996 Bantam science fiction paperback with a cover price of $6.50. Fitz is the bastard son of the noble Prince Chivalry, treated as an outcast he is secretly tutored by a devious King in the arts of an assassin with magic skills. Check out my other sci-fi I have listed on this site. read more
Description: Very Good. 055357339X Mass Market Paperback, Condition: Very Good; this book is in very good condition with light curve to the spine / light reading creases to the covers. read more
"You owe it to yourself to try out this first book of the Farseer trilogy (followed by the Tawny Man trilogy). If it doesn't appeal to your personal taste, nothing lost. If it does, *much* to be gained. This and the Tawny Man trilogy are not only a very good story well told, but also true literature on a par rarely to be found in the fantasy genre, much as I hate to admit that.
Personally, I connect with Fitz, Night Eyes and the Fool on some sort of bizarre yet real level, so for me, this is hands down the most thoughtful and inspiring fantasy series that I have read--and that includes Martin, Bishop, Zelazny, Pullman, Williams, and many others.
Not insignificantly, it is also a *complete* series--no pining away for the next novel (well, at least until you're done and wish that you weren't :)).
Themes: self-worth, choice vs. destiny. World: roughly medieval with several types of magic. Warning: Fitz, the main character, is more of an anti-hero than hero so if you hate that, this probably isn't for you-although I defy anyone not to fall in love with the Fool."
"This book as been in my 'to be read' pile for two or three years and despite always seeing good reviews I've never managed to start reading it. As is so often the case for me, it's only when I get into it that I realise I've been sitting on a gem and curse myself for not picking it up sooner. The story is told through an older first person narrative looking back on his life and starts with the narrator, Fitz, as a young boy, aged six, and tells of his life through childhood. The plot includes courtly machinations, a hint of magic and the occasional quest of sorts. And tt has to be said, Fitz doesn't have any easy life but the effect of his struggle is well portrated. The pacing of the book is pitched perfectly. The early years could have dragged the story down but the author keeps the pace moving at just the right speed. One aspect of the story I really enjoyed was the inclusion of dogs. Overall, really enjoyed this; difficult to put down and a disappointed when it was finished. Yet another series to pick up on."
"This wasn't the version I read--I downloaded this one free on my Kindle. Of course, after reading this fantasy (the Skill is a telepathic power connecting individuals in a far away kingdom), I was hooked enough to purchase the second one. The title of the book describes it: a youngster in a medieval society grows to become the King's man, training with the King's half brother in the fine arts of assassination. There is much more to this book than the simple sentence I added above, and if you have a Kindle, free is definitely a good price to get started on a darn good series. There are three books in the trilogy. I may read another free book from a different author next--but I know I will eventually buy the third one in this series when I finish the second book, as well as another series featuring the same characters found in this series. I don't know if I would put this one in a middle school media center, but I certainly could add it to a high school library; I even have a couple of past students to whom I would have recommended it!"
"When I picked up this book back when it was first released, I thought it would be boring and decided not to read it. I'm glad so many people recommended it to me that I caved in and tried it out last night, though, because I found myself pleasantly surprised.
The first thing that struck me was Hobb's ability to write in first person without shoving the character's thoughts and emotions at you so that you feel smothered by his/her inner ramblings. Rarely do authors manage to write first person without doing so; it takes real talent to do it so well. The reader is allowed into Fitz's world; you understand what he's thinking and what he's going through, but since Fitz is a quiet person and spends a lot of time observing, it is possible to develop your own opinion about other characters without much effort spent filtering out Fitz's bias.
Although most of them are somewhat prickly and very much flawed, the characters are engaging, and I enjoyed seeing Fitz grow up and learn from his numerous mistakes. He has his idiotic moments, but I was pleased to find that he wasn't as annoying whiny as I was led to believe. Characters like Burrich, Verity, Chade and Patience grow on you quickly, and the Fool stays mysterious but interestingly so. The only character I found myself disliking was Molly; what's her role? She seems to have none other than to show us that Fitz isn't gay.
All in all, the first installment of the Farseer trilogy was quite enjoyable, and I'm looking forward to picking up the second one. It won't leave you foaming at the mouth to get to the next one, but it is definitely one of the better fantasy series out there today. Comparatively light in content, perfect if you found the gloomy and depressing atmosphere in Martin/Irvine's books too difficult to get through."
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