Just Finished Reading Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb

I just finished reading Assassin's Apprentice, a 1995 fantasy novel by Robin Hobb, pseudonym for Margaret Astrid Lindholm Ogden, a good enough name as far as I'm concerned although shortening it a little might have helped.  This book is the first of the Farseer Trilogy, which in turn is the first trilogy in her Realm of the Elderlings "superseries" of series.  I checked out this book because my son Will had read it and I hadn't been reading much of the fantasy genre for a few years besides rereads of George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire.  I had tired of the utter misery that most of the characters were living in as well as the extreme disparity in rights and privileges of the different classes.  And whenever someone in "nobility" wanted to come down on a commoner, there was never any due process and brutality reigned supreme.  And yes, there were always special secret mental abilities such as telepathy and other magic as well as exotic, fantastic creatures.  I havn't yet encountered any strange beasts yet while reading Assassin's Apprentice, but my somewhat cynical depiction of fantasy literature pretty much rules this first book as well...sigh.  FitzChivalry, or Fitz as he is usually called, is the young illegitimate "bastard" son of a prince he never met.  Half into nobility and half out of it, he is accepted by neither class while kept by King Shrewd to be trained for various roles of royal service within the family...including that of assassin, taught by Chade, probably the most interesting character in the book to me.  Fitz has a close bond from childhood with Burrich the keeper of the royal dogs...it is here that he discovered the ability to mentally bond with them, something that Burrich rejects as an abomination.  There is also a "higher" mental ability to project and perceive thoughts that the King wants Fitz to learn...much of the plot deals with his efforts in this as well.  As with most fantasy epics we have bad guys, especially conniving Prince Regal, and much murderous castle intrigue, along with a little romantic interest.  The narrative is told from Fitz's viewpoint, and he is a compelling character as he struggles to find a place for himself in a society that seems hell-bent to reject him no matter where he goes or what he does.  Naturally, I'm not going to give away the story, but it has to do with marauders from the sea who have the ability to turn the people in the conquered coastal towns into nothing more than predatory zombie-likes.  I'm sure that, down the line in the series, this subplot will be more deeply explored.  The reading in this book flows well and I enjoyed it in spite of all the general objections I have expressed regarding fantasy epics.  While waiting for Martin's The Winds of Winter...and waiting and waiting...I think I'll try out this Farseer Trilogy and then see where I want to go from there.  For now, though, I've begun reading a completely different book, one for young readers by Kelly Barnhill...