Fool's Quest

I loved Fool's Assassin but I LOVED Fool's Quest and found it immensely satisfying as a long time reader of these books. It's been a long time since I enjoyed a book this much (I believe the last book I found this compelling was Karin Lowachee's Warchild, which I read nearly 2 years ago).

Full Review: http://www.fantasybookcafe.com/2015/08/mini-review-of-fools-quest-by-robin-hobb/

3.5 out of 5 stars – see this review and others at The Speculative Shelf.

After a stellar first book, this follow-up was a bit of a let down. Fool's Assassin felt fresh, with new characters and circumstances reviving Fitz's tale. Fool's Quest feels stagnate, with very little forward plot momentum. The events at the end of the previous book led me to believe that we would see an emboldened Fitz, hellbent on seeking revenge on those who have wronged him. Instead, we see travel preparations, brooding, licking wounds, and minimal plot progression. Hobb's writing is still wonderful but this feels very “middle book-ish” with no resolution or sense of completeness. I'm still excited for the final book, though. Onward!

With The Fool near death, and no sign of his little daughter Bee, Fitz is drowning in despair. He must pull himself together and search for her. Skills long buried must be honed again, and those responsible must pay. WOW!!!! I thought the last book deserved a 5 star rating, but this was even more amazing! Robin Hobb is a genius, and I can't believe I just now started to read her books. I have been missing out!

Executive Summary: I loved this book. It's everything I had hoped [b:Fool's Assassin 19288321 Fool's Assassin (The Fitz and the Fool, #1) Robin Hobb https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1393886110s/19288321.jpg 26474462] would have been. There are a things I didn't like, that will understandably be much more off putting for some than they were for me however.Audio book: Elliot Hill once again does an excellent job. He does a variety of voices and inflections that make doing this book in audio a good option.Full ReviewI absolutely loved [b:Fool's Fate 45108 Fool's Fate (Tawny Man, #3) Robin Hobb https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388181998s/45108.jpg 2960725]. I'd have been perfectly content if the series ended there. Last year's [b:Fool's Assassin 19288321 Fool's Assassin (The Fitz and the Fool, #1) Robin Hobb https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1393886110s/19288321.jpg 26474462] was enjoyable, but not as much as I'd have liked. It left me apprehensive for this book. I shouldn't have been. That isn't to say bad things don't happen to our beloved Fitz. Any fan of the Ederling books won't be surprised by that. Ms. Hobb sure loves to torment Fitz, though probably not as much as he torments himself.This book grabbed me from the start, and never let me go. I hated every time I had to stop listening. In fact once my hardcover copy arrived, I augmented my audio time by reading as well.For reasons I can't fathom, many people seem to skip the excellent Liveship Traders series and more have skipped the quite enjoyable Rainwild Chronicles. While I wouldn't call it a prerequisites for this book, I would highly recommend reading those books first. There are so many great rewards in the book for people who have. If you haven't, I doubt you'll be lost, but you won't get the same enjoyment in my opinion.It's pretty much impossible for me to get into why I loved this book more than the last one without massive spoilers. I suspect most longtime fans will share my excitement however.That said, despite getting one of my rare 5 star ratings (this is only the second book by Ms. Hobb I've given that too), there are some complaints. Or maybe not complaints so much as things I wish weren't in this book. I found them very upsetting. I'd have preferred some kind of alternative reason used to drive the plot forward. I suspect some people may be more upset than I was, and others may be more indifferent.Overall though, those were very minor things to me in an absolutely fantastic book. I will warn that if you hate cliffhangers, you may wish to avoid reading this book until we're much closer to the release of the next book. It is a pretty big one. With it being the second book of a trilogy, and how the first book ended, I can't say I'm very surprised.Much like the last one, I am both nervous and excited to read the next one and see what Ms. Hobb has in store.

I can't believe I only have 1 book left before theses characters' stories are done for me. I refuse to acknowledge that any further at the moment.

I'm so beyond elated that Fitz has finally been recognised and yet I'm so fucking worried about what will happen to them all because I have become undeniably and irreversibly attached to every single character in this wider series.

That is to say, I am not ready to leave Realm of the Elderlings. Simply, no other fantasy series will ever compare.

I wasn't quite anticipating this on as much as I did for each book in the Tawny Man Trilogy, as Fool's Assassin didn't quite grab me. But this book makes up for it in spades. If I could give it more stars I would!

If you haven't read the Dragon Keepers yet (I'm listening to them slowly on Audible) then be forewarned that Fool's Quest contains numerous spoilers to how that series ends. No details of course, but numerous pretty major spoilers none the less.

I wonder if Robin Hobb has multiple personalities inside her, I never did like the Liveship series, Solider Son was so so, I'm sick to death of Dragon Keepers (mostly because it's difficult to skip certain bits when you're listening to audio rather than just flicking pages), yet I loved Farseer and Tawny Man.

Hmm. This isn't really reading as a review of Fool's Quest. It was intense. Awesome. Revealing. A little frustrating now and then. But awesome. I can't wait for book 3!

Oh, and I think the UK cover is superior to the US cover.