Amazon.co.uk Review
In
Fool's Errand, first of the "Tawny Man" trilogy, Robin Hobb brings back Fitz, hero of her emotionally powerful and intrigue-filled Assassin trilogy, from 15 years of self-imposed exile from his royal relations and from the world of power. Hobb is particularly good at the passage of time and the things it does not change; Fitz plausibly thinks of himself as older and more settled than he actually is. She is also good on the actual changes--Fitz's mentor Chade is teetering on the brink of old age and his androgynous ally the Fool has returned to court as the fop Lord Gallant; these are characters we cared about before and she makes it matter that they have aged or altered. Fitz is bonded by Wit to a wolf; the heir, Prince Dutiful, the son he never saw, is adrift with his own Wit in a world where people get lynched for it. Hobb's leisurely story-telling never lacks urgency and menace; this is a humane book which includes nightmarish touches along the way. Her sense of the world of magic and the world of political power is acute--she makes us see more than her flawed hero, even though we share his eyes.
--Roz Kaveney
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Book Description
Fifteen years have passed since the end of the Red Ship War, when the Outislanders' threat to the Six Duchies was crushed. For many, the memory of dragons passing high overhead has faded, becoming the stuff of dream - or legend. But for Fitz the past cannot be so easily laid to rest. Since he helped his King, Verity, raise a Skill-dragon with which to defeat the Outislander Raiders, Fitz has wandered the Six Duchies - from the Trader port of Bingtown in the south to the frozen lands of Bearns in the north - accompanied only by his wolf and Wit-partner, Nighteyes.
Asuming the name of Tom Badgerlock, Fitz now lives in a small cottage as far from the demands of Buckkeep and the cares of the world as possible. His responsibilities extend only as far as the chickens he keeps, his ageing wolf and Hap, the orphan boy he has adopted. But for the ever-present gnawing of his Skill-hunger, Fitz is content in his new life.
But this peace and contentment cannot last. Visitors bring the outside world crashing back into his life. The minstrel, Starling, brings news of how the Witted are being persecuted throughout the Six Duchies because of their magical bond with animals; and Fitz old mentor, the assassin Chade, begs him to come back to Buckkeep to train the young Prince Dutiful in the ways of the Skill.
Yet it is only with the appearance of his third visitor, and the news that Prince Dutiful - fathered by Fitz's body - has gone missing does he decide to rejoin the world of the Farseers. With the young Prince's bride-to-be on her way from her Outisland home, Fitz's assignment to get him back in time for the ceremony seems very much like a fool's errand, but the dangers ahead could signal the end of the Farseer reign.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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