DECEMBER 2015 - AudioFile
This audiobook is the second installment in a trilogy that is part of a series begun 20 years ago. Complicated plots and relationships are a hallmark of the series, and this story is no exception. Elliot Hill’s narration relies on a number of accents that are distinctive but don’t bear any relationship to one another in terms of class differences or the origins of the characters. The king is presented as whining and annoyingly condescending, traits that are not consistent with his character. The Fool, who is a major presence, is tiresome. The audiobook is long, and the hodgepodge of accents and attitudes does not help the time pass quickly. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2015, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
07/13/2015
Hobb’s second Fitz & the Fool fantasy novel (following Fool’s Assassin) untangles numerous story lines and weaves them into a complex tapestry of adventure, betrayal, destiny, and unrelenting peril. FitzChivalry Farseer has reunited with the Fool after years of isolation. Fitz is ecstatic at finding his friend, but a horrible misunderstanding—related to the Fool’s drastically changed looks, his blindness, and his torture-scarred body—leaves Fitz feeling off-balance and as unhappy as ever. Worse, even as Fitz has found his long-lost friend, he has had to abandon his own fragile but strong-willed daughter to the untrustworthy care of servants at his holding, Withywoods. The Fool is eager for a quest of revenge, which soon meshes with Fitz’s own needs when he finds his daughter has been kidnapped. Though there is some sluggishness in places, and a bit of reliance on magic to move the plot forward, Hobb’s expertise is evident as always. Agent: Chris Lotts, Lotts Agency. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
A complex tapestry of adventure, betrayal, destiny, and unrelenting peril . . . [Robin] Hobb’s expertise is evident as always.”—Publishers Weekly
“Glorious and beautiful storytelling . . . Hobb lets rip with revelations, treachery, vengeance, sword fights and full on magical mayhem.”—SciFiNow
“If readers have any doubt that Robin Hobb is one of the finest writers in the fantasy genre, then they haven’t read any of her work.”—SFFWorld
“Hobb finds a way to always show us more details of the universe she’s been building over the course of the four previous series. . . . The friendship of Fitz and the Fool brings danger to them both, but it’s one of the most touching in fantasy fiction.”—Library Journal (starred review)
Praise for Robin Hobb and Fool’s Assassin
“Fantasy as it ought to be written.”—George R. R. Martin
“Hobb knows the complicated workings of the wayward human heart, and she takes time to depict them in her tale, to tell her story sweetly, insistently, compellingly. . . . A book meant to be inhabited rather than run through.”—The Seattle Times
“[FitzChivalry Farseer is] one of the best characters in fantasy literature.”—Fantasy Book Review
“[Hobb’s] prose sparkles, her characters leap off the page.”—Tordotcom
“Modern fantasy at its irresistible best.”—The Guardian
“Fantastic . . . emotionally rich storytelling.”—Library Journal (starred review)
Library Journal
★ 07/01/2015
Fitz has rushed his old friend, the Fool, back to Buckkeep for healing (immediately following the events of Fool's Assassin), leaving his home at Withywoods undefended. The unthinkable happens, with Servants of the White Prophet attacking Withywoods and kidnapping Fitz's small daughter, Bee. The Servants believe Bee is capable of prophecy, just like the Fool, and are determined to keep her under control at their distant school in Clerres. Fitz gets the news of the attack on the eve of what should have been his greatest happiness—he's been acknowledged by the court and can finally step out of the shadows he's dwelt in so long. Now all Fitz can think about is getting Bee back and helping the Fool get revenge on the White Servants. VERDICT Hobb finds a way to always show us more details of the universe she's been building over the course of the four previous series set in the same world, going all the way back to the first book, Assassin's Apprentice. The friendship of Fitz and the Fool brings danger to them both, but it's one of the most touching in fantasy fiction. [See Prepub Alert, 2/9/15.]—MM
