Golden Fool: The Tawny Man Trilogy Book 2 - Softcover

Hobb, Robin

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0553582453 ISBN 13: 9780553582451

Publisher: Spectra Books, 1900

Synopsis

"Fantasy as it ought to be written . . . Robin Hobb's books are diamonds in a sea of zircons."--George R. R. Martin

Prince Dutiful has been rescued from his Piebald kidnappers and the court has resumed its normal rhythms. There FitzChivalry Farseer, gutted by the loss of his wolf bondmate, must take up residence at Buckkeep as a journeyman assassin.

Posing as a bodyguard, Fitz becomes the eyes and ears behind the walls, guiding a kingdom straying closer to civil strife each day. Amid a multitude of problems, Fitz must ensure that no one betrays the Prince's secret--one that could topple the throne: that he, like Fitz, possesses the dread "beast magic." Only Fitz's friendship with the Fool brings him solace. But even that is shattered when devastating revelations from the Fool's past are exposed. Bereft of support and adrift in intrigue, Fitz finds that his biggest challenge may be simply to survive.

Praise for Robin Hobb and Golden Fool

"[Robin Hobb] ranks near the top of the high fantasy field. . . . [She] juggles all the balls with aplomb, besides providing spot-on characterizations."--Publishers Weekly

"Solid storytelling with warmth and heart."--The Kansas City Star

About this title

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

Review:

Praise for Robin Hobb and Golden Fool

"Fantasy as it ought to be written . . . Robin Hobb's books are diamonds in a sea of zircons."--George R. R. Martin

"[Robin Hobb] ranks near the top of the high fantasy field. . . . [She] juggles all the balls with aplomb, besides providing spot-on characterizations."--Publishers Weekly

"Solid storytelling with warmth and heart."--The Kansas City Star

About this edition

• Publisher: Spectra Books
• Publication date: 1900
• ISBN 10: 0553582453
• ISBN 13: 9780553582451
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Number of pages: 720