10 of the Best Discussion Questions for Assassin’s Apprentice Fans
Book Club questions for Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb.
Welcome to the Six Duchies. If your book club has recently stepped into the shadowed halls of Buckkeep and followed Fitz through his lonely, often brutal beginnings, you likely have a lot of feelings to unpack. These questions are designed to delve deep into the quiet emotional power of Robin Hobb’s Assassin’s Apprentice, the first in her beloved Farseer Trilogy. Bring tissues. And tea.
1. How does Fitz’s illegitimacy shape his identity throughout the book?
From the moment he’s dropped at the keep’s doorstep, Fitz is seen as a problem to manage, not a person to nurture. How does that foundational rejection shape his relationships, and his sense of self?
Reflect: Can we truly separate who we are from how we’re treated?
2. What role does Burrich play in Fitz’s development, and does he help or hinder him?
Burrich is complex: loyal, strict, and emotionally closed. Is he a father figure, or merely a steward doing his duty?
Further reflections: Chart Burrich and Fitz’s relationship throughout Assassin’s Apprentice – what moments shift the dynamic?
3. Let’s talk about the Wit. Is Fitz’s connection to animals a gift, a curse, or both?
His bond with Nosy (and later, other animals) is deeply intimate, but it’s also stigmatised. Why is the Wit so feared? And how does it conflict with Fitz’s role as an assassin?
Debate: If you lived in the Six Duchies, would you hide your Wit?
4. How does Chade’s mentorship influence Fitz’s moral compass?
Chade teaches Fitz the trade of an assassin alongside philosophy, discipline, and strategy. How do his lessons blur the line between right and wrong?
Quote to discuss: “We are tools, Fitz. Not judges.”
5. The Skill vs. the Wit: Two magics, two identities.
One is royal and revered, the other secret and shameful. How do these magics mirror the struggle between duty and desire in Fitz’s life?
Activity: Create a Venn diagram of how these powers affect his emotional world.
6. What is the cost of loyalty in this world?
Fitz is constantly sacrificing his own needs for the good of the realm. Is this noble, or tragic? Or both?
Prompt: Where is the line between loyalty and self-destruction?
7. Lady Patience and Kettricken: How do women navigate power at court?
Both women are unconventional in their roles. How do they influence Fitz? What do they reveal about gender and agency in the Six Duchies?
Discuss: Compare their strength and how they wield it differently.
8. Is Fitz truly a hero, or something more complicated?
He saves lives, ends others, and often acts from a place of emotional damage. Can he still be called a hero?
Reflect: Does Fitz ever choose his path, or is he always a pawn?
9. What themes of isolation and connection emerge in Fitz’s journey?
So much of Fitz’s life is shaped by being cut off – emotionally, socially, magically. How does that evolve across the book?
Try this: Pick a scene where Fitz connects with someone in Assassin’s Apprentice. What does it cost him?
10. What questions are left unanswered and what do they set up for the next books?
This is only the beginning. What threads are you eager to follow? What haunts you as the story closes?
Activity: Predict how Fitz will grow (or suffer) in the next book.
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I hope these questions inspired some exciting conversations at your book club meeting – head over to the blog for more posts like this one 🙂
Amy x
