Assassin's Quest

In an unexpected turn of events, The Farseer Trilogy improved in its final volume. I wouldn't say Assassin's Quest was good though, just better. And the book definitely doesn't begin as such: I would compare the misery of the experience to watching Logan which I truly hated.

Assassin's Apprentice & Royal Assassin

Robin Hobb is kind of an obvious pen name though I didn't realize it until my sister pointed it out. I pretty much never guess when an author is using a made up name and when not. Based on the name I also assumed Hobb (Margaret Lindholm Ogden) is a man even though that's not at all clear from just Robin.