Prince of Fools

Executive Summary: I liked this book better than his Broken Empire trilogy, but not nearly as much as his Book of the Ancestor trilogy. 3.5 stars.

Audiobook: One of the reasons I wanted to pick this series up is because Tim Gerard Reynolds is the narrator. He does his usual excellent job, although there was one or two times when I was wondering if Hadrian Blackwater had made a crossover appearance.

Full Review
There was a span of time where most of the fantasy books I read and enjoyed were pretty dark and often featured an Anti-Hero. That definitely describes the Broken Empire trilogy, which I liked more as it went on despite Jorg Ancrath being completely unlikable. However I don't have the same kind of tolerance/interest in anti-heroes anymore.

I'm not sure that I'd describe Jalan as an anti-hero. My initial thought was along the lines of “is there such a thing as a non-hero protagonist?”. Maybe he's a less hateable anti-hero. It's hard to say. I did find him obnoxious for much of the book. That was helped by a more typical fantasy hero in Snory.

The biggest thing I liked about Broken Empire trilogy was the world building, and there continues to be a lot of that here. There are also a lot of subtle (or maybe not so subtle?) nods to that trilogy and its characters. I found myself scratching my brain trying to remember some of the events as we witness them again from a different perspective (and much greater distance).

Overall I liked this book better his Broken Empire trilogy books and I'm optimistic I'll like the rest of the series even more.