Seconding the Fray recommendation - loved the art, loved the character, loved loved the character's big sister.
It just sounds like the typical fantasy novel of the special stable boy (who is really the son of the king) with the special powers that everyone discovers and who changes the world.
He does have special powers. They disgust most people. This does not change through the course of the series. I really enjoyed the books, and the "Liveship Traders" trilogy she did immediately after (though I think I'm one of about three people on the entire Internet that prefers the Liveships). There's also "Shaman's Crossing", though I don't think it's out in paperback...a little Wild West, a little proper Edwardian stuff, a whole lotta shamanism, and the usual creeping doom that comes from a Hobb book.
Re: With my luck you've read both.
It just sounds like the typical fantasy novel of the special stable boy (who is really the son of the king) with the special powers that everyone discovers and who changes the world.
He does have special powers. They disgust most people. This does not change through the course of the series. I really enjoyed the books, and the "Liveship Traders" trilogy she did immediately after (though I think I'm one of about three people on the entire Internet that prefers the Liveships). There's also "Shaman's Crossing", though I don't think it's out in paperback...a little Wild West, a little proper Edwardian stuff, a whole lotta shamanism, and the usual creeping doom that comes from a Hobb book.