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The Golden Fool: Book Two of the Tawny Man (Tawny Man 2)
 
 

The Golden Fool: Book Two of the Tawny Man (Tawny Man 2) (Paperback)

by Robin Hobb (Author)
4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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The Golden Fool: Book Two of the Tawny Man (Tawny Man 2) + Fool's Fate: Book Three of the Tawny Man (Tawny Man 3) + Fool's Errand: Book One of the Tawny Man (Tawny Man 1)
Price For All Three: £20.07

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Product details

  • Paperback: 712 pages
  • Publisher: HarperVoyager; New edition edition (6 Oct 2008)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0006486029
  • ISBN-13: 978-0006486022
  • Product Dimensions: 17.6 x 11.2 x 4.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 2,664 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #6 in  Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > H > Hobb, Robin

Product Description

Amazon.co.uk Review
The Golden Fool, the second volume of Robin Hobb's Tawny Man trilogy, is explicitly a sequel to both the Farseer and Liveship trilogies. The palace intrigues, which Fitz has found himself dragged back into, have as much to do with the politics of trade and conquest--the war between the Bingtown traders and their living ships and the theocratic bullies of Chalced--as with the oppression of the beast-speaking Witted by the majority and the terrorism of the Piebald faction among the Witted. Fitz has always been a deeply flawed hero--growing up as a royal bastard trained in assassination has not been good for his character--and his inability to understand how deeply he is loved upsets all the people around him.

One of Robin Hobb's strengths is her capacity to set up an interesting dialogue between metaphor and the literal; at both levels, The Golden Fool is a novel about moving through estrangement to reconciliation, about finding out the truth and then finding a way of living with it. This thoughtfulness means that, as always with Hobb, Fitz's role as tutor of a magically gifted prince, is as exciting as the book's occasional explosions of violence. --Roz Kaveney --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
'Hobb is one of the great modern fantasy writers! what makes her novels as addictive as morphine is not just their imaginative brilliance but the way her characters are compromised and manipulated by politics.' The Times Assassin's Apprentice: 'A gleaming debut' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY Assassin's Quest: 'Assassin's Quest achieves a bittersweet, powerful complexity rare in fantasy' LOCUS 'Robin Hobb writes achingly well' SFX Praise for The Liveship Traders series: 'Even better than the Assassin books. I didn't think that was possible' George R R Martin 'Hobb is a remarkable storyteller.' Guardian

The second part of Hobb's new trilogy (Fool's Errand, 2001) continues the story of FitzChivalry Farseer, royal bastard and trained killer, as Hobb maneuvers her characters through a complex maze of intrigue and shaky relationships. Returning to Buckkeep Castle, where he spent his youth, Fitz now poses as bodyguard to the extravagant Lord Golden, formerly the King's Fool. At the same time, he gathers intelligence for Chade, the royal assassin. Fitz faces the continued threat of the Piebalds, a rebel group who commune with animals. Plus, Prince Dutiful, heir to the throne, needs training in the Skill, the magical discipline by which the kings of the Farseer line protected their kingdom. The prince is supposed to marry a young princess from the Outislands, but both royals appear reluctant, and Fitz's own son Hap, apprenticed to a local tradesman, is staying out late at night with a girl whose parents disapprove. Finally, Fitz's relationship with the Golden/Fool is shaken by the revelation of his friend's activities while he was traveling in a foreign country. The narrative can bog down in the mundane at times, but, still, Hobbs generates a number of surprises and a cliff-hanging close: another solid fantasy with strong characters. (Kirkus Reviews)

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

The Golden Fool: Book Two of the Tawny Man (Tawny Man 2)
73% buy the item featured on this page:
The Golden Fool: Book Two of the Tawny Man (Tawny Man 2) 4.4 out of 5 stars (23)
£6.39
Assassin's Quest (The Farseer Trilogy - Book 3)
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Assassin's Quest (The Farseer Trilogy - Book 3) 4.0 out of 5 stars (40)
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The Liveship Traders 1: Ship of Magic
7% buy
The Liveship Traders 1: Ship of Magic 4.5 out of 5 stars (40)
£6.99
The Mad Ship (Liveship Traders)
6% buy
The Mad Ship (Liveship Traders) 4.9 out of 5 stars (27)
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Customer Reviews

23 Reviews
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3 star:
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2 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.4 out of 5 stars (23 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A fine read but suffers from 'middle book' syndrome, 15 Jan 2004
By Mr. RCS Young "rcsy" (Camberley, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
First and foremost this book is a fabulous read. I was gripped from the very beginning and hugely enjoyed it. The other reviewers are correct in that this book does not move the story forward enormously but I think that it is a necessary scene setter. A large amount of characterisation is built up in this book including Chade's flagging influence on the queen and Fitz's rediscovery of his loyalty to the Farseer's. It also adds in some tantalising plot lines that needed this book in which to develop - the outislanders, the Bingtown traders and the Piebalds - all of which will doubtless be major factors in the final book.

Don't let other reviewers put you off reading this. Hobb's writing is wonderful and though not much happens in terms of battles and action, an amazing amount of plot is being set up and we see deeper than ever in to the characters that have made the Assassin series so riveting from the very first.

I for one am fascinated to see how the threads of these eight books (yes, the liveship traders are part of this too) are brought together in Fool's Fate.

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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A Bridge of Character, 19 Mar 2003
By Patrick Shepherd "hyperpat" (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
Middle books of planned trilogies are difficult, as they must necessarily not be complete in themselves, but can only build the setting for the last book. The middle book of the last of three related trilogies must be even more difficult. Haven gotten through the Assassin and Liveship Trader sets (and if you haven’t, you need to before tackling this set – you won’t regret it), and Fool’s Errand as a the first book of this set, this becomes an obvious bridge work between all that has gone before and (presumably) the tie-up of all the various plot threads in the last volume.

FitzChivalry Farseer is once more the star, opening this volume as a very much-wounded man, having lost his bond mate, and forced to once more try to fit in to the court intrigues by playing the servant to Lord Golden as Tom Badgerlock. New problems almost at once descend upon him, from his adopted son Hap’s wayward ways to complications in his own love life, while the pressures of the Piebald group mount upon both Fitz and the kingdom, and Prince Dutiful’s training in the Skill becomes an imperative, regardless of Fitz’s own feelings of inadequacy in matters of the Skill. Add in problems with the Outisland delegation and Dutiful’s promised bride, and the Bingtown traders requesting help in their war against Chalced, and there are more than enough plot threads for several novels. But the focus of this book is not so much in unraveling all these threads, but rather in Fitz’s development as a person, along with all the people around him. Throughout this book, we see Fitz make errors in judgement, fail as a parent, as a spy, a lover, a teacher, as a friend. Each error leads to further growth of the man as he tries desperately to fix all his self-imposed problems while also working to aid the kingdom in what he sees as the best way possible. Lord Golden is exposed as having even more personas than previously known, each equally as enigmatic. Lord Chade comes into his own as a real human, with understandable desires and forgivable failings, and even Hap becomes a very recognizable young man with a very normal set of young man’s problems.

This is therefore a quiet book, without a great deal of surface action, but with a great deal of character development, and the setting in place of all the things and characters needed for a final denouement. As the characters make up so much of the charm of this entire set of interrelated stories, it is a fully satisfying book, even though it has no real ending, and with possibly even more questions raised than answered within its various disclosures of tie-ins between the various plot threads. The only real problem with this book, like almost every other middle book of a series, is the agonizing wait for the final volume.

--- Reviewed by Patrick Shepherd (hyperpat)

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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Golden Author, 22 Oct 2002
By A Customer
Having read Terry Goodkind and Robert Jordan I was looking for another fantasy writer to explore.Several reviewers suggested Robin Hobb and my thanks goes out to all of them .The Golden Fool is writing of the highest quality.It explores the strengths and weaknesses of the human condition with warmth and accuracy.I found myself laughing not because something was funny but due to the insight the writer lends to her characters.Unlike most fantasy writers her books are actually getting better.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Once again Fitz gets thrust back into Farseer court intrigue in this excellent new instalment of the Tawny Man trilogy
After saving Prince Dutiful and helping to crush the Piebald uprising, any hopes Fitz has of returning to some kind of normality are quickly extinguished. Read more
Published 10 months ago by N. Burgess

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down
Really great read. This was one of the books I took on holiday with me, along with the 1st in the series and I just could not put it down. Read more
Published on 30 April 2007 by Judith Chasseguet

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
The second in The Tawny Man trilogy, it has a bit more action than the first one. It rather frustrated me because of all the spying and not getting things out in the open and... Read more
Published on 3 Dec 2006 by Anyasco

4.0 out of 5 stars Not as engaging....
If you love the Farseer books you must read this book.
Although it does lack the action and adventure of the others in the series I loved the way it goes into more detail... Read more
Published on 26 Feb 2006 by Lori

5.0 out of 5 stars Best book yet!
I loved The Golden Fool! The eighth in the Farseer / Live Ship series, full of intrigue, human interest and magic, I thought it was one of the best yet.
Published on 5 Dec 2005 by P. Carr

4.0 out of 5 stars What you'd expect
If you're considering this book then I'm assuming you've read others by the same writer. A good engaging read - like all her books. Read more
Published on 5 Sep 2004 by exhippy

3.0 out of 5 stars trilogy blues
Hobb is addictive, and I suppose reading her books and looking forward to her next is the most sincere form of compliment one may offer her. Read more
Published on 10 Mar 2004

2.0 out of 5 stars The trouble with trilogies
While I did enjoy Robin Hobbs previous 2 trilogies, Royal Assasin and Liveships, this third one seems to be labouring the story line slightly, while the books are well written... Read more
Published on 14 Jan 2004 by M. Nicholson

4.0 out of 5 stars Its like reading a book by a different author.
I think that the Farseer trilogy is one of the best fantasy concepts around. The idea of the skill and wit magik is amazing, it justs kind of grips you and whirls you along with... Read more
Published on 24 Nov 2003

5.0 out of 5 stars Continuing her high standards
Robin Hobb has an amzaing ability to make a book interesting and compelling, even when not much happens. Read more
Published on 8 Nov 2003 by Andy Barkham

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