FOOL'S ASSASSIN (Fitz and The Fool Trilogy #1)
Robin Hobb
Del Rey Books
August 12, 2014
I am so happy that Robin Robb has returned to the world of the Six Duchies and to Fitz and the Fool for another trilogy I can barely contain myself. After my less than pleased (Ok, I hated it) reaction to the Soldier Son Trilogy, I had pretty much given up. But when I saw the galley on netgalley.com I requested it right away. Thanks, netgalley and Del Rey!
After an absence of about 10 years, the details of the Farseer and Tawny Man were pretty hazy. But Fool's Assassin was so easy to get into that I remembered much more than I had thought I would. Fitz has been settled, as Tom Badgerlock, at Withywoods with his beloved Molly. The Fool has completely disappeared from his life, a fact that pains Fitz, but life in general is peaceful and pleasant. It is sad that Molly is aging and Fitz is not as a result of a Skill-Healing, and that they have not had a child of their own in their middle years. The roiling politics of Buckkeep Castle have intruded only minimally because Fritz won't be sucked in. Anyone who knows Fitz also knows that the peaceful life can't last forever. It is extremely difficult to write a review of Fool's Assassin without spoilers so that is all I have to say about the plot.
Robin Hobb is unsurpassed in her characterization and world-building. Many of the well-known characters appear in Fool's Assassin and we are introduced to several new ones. There is a second narrator, besides Fitz; one whose voice is arresting as his. I loved the details of life at Withywoods with a minor caveat: all those details tended to drag down the narrative pace in places. That is my only complaint however as I thoroughly enjoyed the book, even the cliff-hanging end. I highly recommend Fool's Assassin.
RATING 4.5 stars
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