Assasin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb

BLURB:

In a faraway land in which membersof the royal family are named for the virtes they embody, one youg boy will become a walking enigma.

Born on the wrong side of the sheets, Fitz, son of Chivalry, is a royal bastard, cast out into the world, friendless and lonely. Only his magical link with animals - the old art known as the Wit - gives him solace and companionship. But the Wit, if used too often, is a perilous magic, and one abhorred by the nobility.

So when Fitz is finally 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, as he trains to become a royal assassin.

MY TAKE:

460 pages. Long buildup to when he begins the training. very detailed, solid characters.