The Open Book

So I think everyone and their sister has read this book, but basically, Fitz, the bastard son of a beloved Prince, is taken to court and raised to be an assassin. Fifteen year old me would have LOVED this book. Forty year old me is both pickier and lazier. Fitz is a very appealing character, all tragic backstory and quiet and brooding. And he's magic! Fifteen year old me is all over that! Forty year old me is bummed that Hobb chose to frame the narrative as a memoir, with adult Fitz looking back on his youth. I'm not fond of this particular convention, particularly in action/suspense stories where I'm supposed to be worried about the survival of the main character. Additionally, each chapter begins with a paragraph from the memoir, and the writing style of these paragraphs tends towards the florid and grandiose, which Is really not my thing. They continually drew me out of the story, so I stopped reading them around chapter 8, which, coincidentally (?) was about the point where the pacing picked up and the story finally hooked me. The world building in the story is great, and I suspect this novel is really all about setting up the next two. I'm looking forward to them and to more of Fitz.