Golden Fool (The Tawny Man, Book 2) 
asked by reader99 on November 14, 2006 10:02 PM
The acclaimed Farseer and Liveship Traders trilogies established Robin Hobb as one of the most splendidly imaginative practitioners of world-class fantasy.
Now, in Book 2 of her most stunning trilogy yet, Hobb continues the soul-shattering tale of FitzChivalry Farseer. With rich characters, breathtaking magic, and sweeping action, Golden Fool brings the reluctant adventurer further into the fray in an epic of sacrifice, salvation, and untold treachery.
Golden Fool
Prince Dutiful has been rescued from his Piebald kidnappers and the court has resumed its normal rhythms. But for FitzChivalry Farseer, a return to isolation is impossible. Though gutted by the loss of his wolf bondmate, Nighteyes, Fitz must take up residence at Buckkeep and resume his tasks as Chade’s apprentice assassin. Posing as Tom Badgerlock, bodyguard to Lord Golden, FitzChivalry becomes the eyes and ears behind the walls. And with his old mentor failing visibly, Fitz is forced to take on more burdens as he attempts to guide a kingdom straying closer to civil strife each day.
The problems are legion. Prince Dutiful’s betrothal to the Narcheska Elliania of the Out Islands is fraught with tension, and the Narcheska herself appears to be hiding an array of secrets. Then, amid Piebald threats and the increasing persecution of the Witted, FitzChivalry must ensure that no one betrays the Prince’s secret—a secret that could topple the Farseer throne: that he, like Fitz, possesses the dread “beast magic.”
Meanwhile, FitzChivalry must impart to the Prince his limited knowledge of the Skill: the hereditary and addictive magic of the Farseers. In the process, they discover within Buckkeep one who has a wild and powerful talent for it, and whose enmity for Fitz may have disastrous consequences for all.
Only Fitz’s enduring friendship with the Fool brings him any solace. But even that is shattered when unexpected visitors from Bingtown reveal devastating secrets from the Fool’s past. Now, bereft of support and adrift in intrigue, Fitz’s biggest challenge may be simply to survive the inescapable and violent path that fate has laid out for him.
From the Hardcover edition.
Now, in Book 2 of her most stunning trilogy yet, Hobb continues the soul-shattering tale of FitzChivalry Farseer. With rich characters, breathtaking magic, and sweeping action, Golden Fool brings the reluctant adventurer further into the fray in an epic of sacrifice, salvation, and untold treachery.
Golden Fool
Prince Dutiful has been rescued from his Piebald kidnappers and the court has resumed its normal rhythms. But for FitzChivalry Farseer, a return to isolation is impossible. Though gutted by the loss of his wolf bondmate, Nighteyes, Fitz must take up residence at Buckkeep and resume his tasks as Chade’s apprentice assassin. Posing as Tom Badgerlock, bodyguard to Lord Golden, FitzChivalry becomes the eyes and ears behind the walls. And with his old mentor failing visibly, Fitz is forced to take on more burdens as he attempts to guide a kingdom straying closer to civil strife each day.
The problems are legion. Prince Dutiful’s betrothal to the Narcheska Elliania of the Out Islands is fraught with tension, and the Narcheska herself appears to be hiding an array of secrets. Then, amid Piebald threats and the increasing persecution of the Witted, FitzChivalry must ensure that no one betrays the Prince’s secret—a secret that could topple the Farseer throne: that he, like Fitz, possesses the dread “beast magic.”
Meanwhile, FitzChivalry must impart to the Prince his limited knowledge of the Skill: the hereditary and addictive magic of the Farseers. In the process, they discover within Buckkeep one who has a wild and powerful talent for it, and whose enmity for Fitz may have disastrous consequences for all.
Only Fitz’s enduring friendship with the Fool brings him any solace. But even that is shattered when unexpected visitors from Bingtown reveal devastating secrets from the Fool’s past. Now, bereft of support and adrift in intrigue, Fitz’s biggest challenge may be simply to survive the inescapable and violent path that fate has laid out for him.
From the Hardcover edition.
Reviews
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In Fool's Errand we were introduced to Ms. Hobb's outstanding ability to surprise us - yet again - when we think we've heard everything there is to know about the world she's created and the characters we've come to love and enjoy. And this book is no different. We are introduced to a considerable amount of "new things", and "possible new things".
Dutiful's betrothed is the Narcheska Elliania of the Out Islands - the same Out Islands who peppered the Farseer trilogy with the Red Ship Raiders and created horrors from citizens in the Six Duchies that were dubbed the Forged Ones. The two kingdoms are attempting the typical "medieval truce", but when the Narcheska arrives with her retinue, it is obvious that their cultures are so considerably dissimilar that any pairing between the two seems unlikely. Not exactly Eleanor of Aquitane and Henry II.
And as always, with everything that Robin Hobbs has written, there is more here than meets the eye. Luckily, our Catalyst, Fitz, is quite adept at his role of "royal spy", and sees just enough to know something is very wrong. What he sees is fascinating.
Robin Hobb gives us just enough information to intrigue us, but not enough to give anything away. This is not a skill to be undervalued - this is one of the skills that separates good writers from great writers. I would place Ms. Hobb squarely in the latter.
Serving as almost more of a foreground than a background is the need for the prince to learn how to both Skill and use the Wit. Chade demands that Fitz be his tutor, for who else could do both, but Fitz finds himself considerably at odds with the ethics of teaching anyone to use the Skill. Chade does not share these ethical qualms (unsurprisingly), and has designs of his own with the Skill.
While the Out Islanders are at Buckkeep Castle, Bingtown traders arrive unannounced asking for help from the Six Duchies in their seemingly never ending war with the Chalced states. This upsets the Out Ilsanders, but as you get to know them you have to wonder what doesn't. The Bingtown traders bring some startling revelations about the identity of Lord Golden, and Fitz finds himself fitted with yet one more burden as a result. As if he needs more. Robin Hobb spent three books in the Farseer trilogy practically slaughtering him, and she's back at it again. She took Nighteyes from him in Fool's Errand (not a spoiler because it's on the jacket of this book), and now he juggles a relationship with Dutiful, who is his physical son, and other relations of his that come into his life unannounced and certainly unlooked for. If Fitz survives this trilogy intact, it will amaze me. Ms. Hobb has hit Fitz harder than Donaldson hit Thomas Covenant, and that's saying a lot.
But she hasn't done it gratuitously. Her treatment of Fitz, so to speak, has arisen out of his role as the Fool's Catalyst. There was/is no one else suited to bear his burdens by the nature of his existence.
Back to the story...
The Prince is a child. The Narcheska is a child. The Prince spoke out of turn, and the Narcheska believes that he slighted her. Therefore, in her youthful genius, she commands of him a ridiculous and impossible task: to bring her the head of a dragon, and not any dragon (as if there are multitudes), but her people's legendary "champion". Dutiful foolishly accepts the quest before his mother can put a stop to the nonsense, and as he has given his word, she must go along with his decision.
Now Chade has all of the ammunition he needs to demand that the Prince have a coterie, but what the Prince gets isn't quite what Chade expected. It might be, however, just what he needs.
Robin Hobb fans - enjoy this. It is a feast.
Dutiful's betrothed is the Narcheska Elliania of the Out Islands - the same Out Islands who peppered the Farseer trilogy with the Red Ship Raiders and created horrors from citizens in the Six Duchies that were dubbed the Forged Ones. The two kingdoms are attempting the typical "medieval truce", but when the Narcheska arrives with her retinue, it is obvious that their cultures are so considerably dissimilar that any pairing between the two seems unlikely. Not exactly Eleanor of Aquitane and Henry II.
And as always, with everything that Robin Hobbs has written, there is more here than meets the eye. Luckily, our Catalyst, Fitz, is quite adept at his role of "royal spy", and sees just enough to know something is very wrong. What he sees is fascinating.
Robin Hobb gives us just enough information to intrigue us, but not enough to give anything away. This is not a skill to be undervalued - this is one of the skills that separates good writers from great writers. I would place Ms. Hobb squarely in the latter.
Serving as almost more of a foreground than a background is the need for the prince to learn how to both Skill and use the Wit. Chade demands that Fitz be his tutor, for who else could do both, but Fitz finds himself considerably at odds with the ethics of teaching anyone to use the Skill. Chade does not share these ethical qualms (unsurprisingly), and has designs of his own with the Skill.
While the Out Islanders are at Buckkeep Castle, Bingtown traders arrive unannounced asking for help from the Six Duchies in their seemingly never ending war with the Chalced states. This upsets the Out Ilsanders, but as you get to know them you have to wonder what doesn't. The Bingtown traders bring some startling revelations about the identity of Lord Golden, and Fitz finds himself fitted with yet one more burden as a result. As if he needs more. Robin Hobb spent three books in the Farseer trilogy practically slaughtering him, and she's back at it again. She took Nighteyes from him in Fool's Errand (not a spoiler because it's on the jacket of this book), and now he juggles a relationship with Dutiful, who is his physical son, and other relations of his that come into his life unannounced and certainly unlooked for. If Fitz survives this trilogy intact, it will amaze me. Ms. Hobb has hit Fitz harder than Donaldson hit Thomas Covenant, and that's saying a lot.
But she hasn't done it gratuitously. Her treatment of Fitz, so to speak, has arisen out of his role as the Fool's Catalyst. There was/is no one else suited to bear his burdens by the nature of his existence.
Back to the story...
The Prince is a child. The Narcheska is a child. The Prince spoke out of turn, and the Narcheska believes that he slighted her. Therefore, in her youthful genius, she commands of him a ridiculous and impossible task: to bring her the head of a dragon, and not any dragon (as if there are multitudes), but her people's legendary "champion". Dutiful foolishly accepts the quest before his mother can put a stop to the nonsense, and as he has given his word, she must go along with his decision.
Now Chade has all of the ammunition he needs to demand that the Prince have a coterie, but what the Prince gets isn't quite what Chade expected. It might be, however, just what he needs.
Robin Hobb fans - enjoy this. It is a feast.
reviewed by jdog on November 15, 2006 3:05 PM
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The Tawny Man Trilogy picks up the tale of Fitz and the Fool some fifteen years after the Red Ship wars. Queen Kettricken is determined to secure her son's throne by arranging a marriage between Prince Dutiful and Elliania, the daughter of their old enemies in the Outislands. But the Six Duchies themselves are restless. The Witted are weary of persecution, and may choose to topple the throne of the Farseers by revealing that young Prince Dutiful carries an old taint in his blood. The Narcheska Elliania sets a high price on her hand: Dutiful must present her with the head of Icefyre, the legendary dragon of Aslevjal Island.
Meanwhile, to the south, The Bingtown Traders continue to wage war against the Chalcedeans, and seek to enlist the Six Duchies into the effort to obliterate Chalced. Bingtown's temperamental ally, the dragon Tintaglia, has her own motives for supporting them in this, ones that may lead not only to the restoration of the race of dragons but also to the return of Elderling magic to the Cursed Shores.
Fitz, in the person of Tom Badgerlock, will accompany the prince on his quest to secure the dragon's head. For reasons of his own, he decides that it is of the utmost importance that his old friend, The Fool, not accompany him. Chade agrees with him, and thus Fitz sets out without his companion, to face an enemy from his past and also decide what future he will claim for himself.
Meanwhile, to the south, The Bingtown Traders continue to wage war against the Chalcedeans, and seek to enlist the Six Duchies into the effort to obliterate Chalced. Bingtown's temperamental ally, the dragon Tintaglia, has her own motives for supporting them in this, ones that may lead not only to the restoration of the race of dragons but also to the return of Elderling magic to the Cursed Shores.
Fitz, in the person of Tom Badgerlock, will accompany the prince on his quest to secure the dragon's head. For reasons of his own, he decides that it is of the utmost importance that his old friend, The Fool, not accompany him. Chade agrees with him, and thus Fitz sets out without his companion, to face an enemy from his past and also decide what future he will claim for himself.
reviewed by csean85 on November 29, 2006 4:04 AM
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The Tawny Man, Book 2, is a book that is full of suspense. It is a very well written book, that keep your interest until the final pages. I am pretty picky about what I read, but, I love Robin Hobb's imagination, it is believable, and thought provoking.
reviewed by bulldogs on November 29, 2006 2:53 PM
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See my review of the first book in this trilogy. The whole series is ultimately a very satisfying read.
reviewed by mattisboss on November 29, 2006 6:03 PM