Fool's Quest

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.