Hurray! I've discovered another great fantasy series!
Fitz, bastard son of a prince, lives in the shadow of his dead father, who would have been King. Instead of being raised as family, Fitz is secretly trained from childhood to be assassian and spy for his grandfather, the king.
Not much of a childhood is it?
One of the most interesting characters in this book is Patience, widow of Fitz's father. In her ecentric way, she arranges for the education of Fitz, the child she could never have. It is apparent that Patience, a free-thinking denzian of a medieval society, has ADD.

RELEASE NOTES:

I found these books at a used bookstore, Second Glance Books, a few weeks after a friend recommended the author and this trilogy. The writing and the characters were compelling. As usual with a good book, I stayed up way too late! The book started out dark and sad, but the farther I got into the book and the trilogy, the more hope I found. The relationships were very real, full of the mistakes and bumbling of real life. After I've caught up on my sleep, I'll have to look for more books by Robin Hobb.