This is a hard book to rate, so I spent a few days thinking about it, and ultimately think it could be anything from a 2.5 to a 4. It is a book in which very little happens except for some very slow-paced character development. Hobb once again puts on a master class in frustrating her reader with her characters' (often absurd) level of self doubt. The story has strange absurdist and surreal elements to it, which were not fully fleshed out though they set the stage for subsequent books. The plot was simply awful. Every new character she introduced was nauseating, and the entire story behind and involving the Fool shows such a less developed sense of detail than her character development that you wonder why there is a story at all.

I'll probably read the next book, but I really hope Hobb learns how to make her Fitz novels more compelling (in the way that her Liveship series was).
( )

In Book 1 of the latest Farseer trilogy, Fitz is firmly esconced in his life as alter ego Tom Badgerlock, a holder who has the running of his daughter Nettles' estate of Withywoods. His wife is well into middle age while he remains physically in his mid 30s due to a healing done on him years ago using the Skill magic. Molly's children from her first marriage to Burrich have all left home and have families and/or absorbing jobs of their own as does his foster son Hap the harper and their own daughter Nettle, who is Skillmistress to the Queen and lives at Buckkeep Castle. Fitz's old spy master and mentor Chade is still thriving and ends up sending two strays to 'Tom' for him to house and keep safe as both are in danger from enemies. Meanwhile, the lives of Tom and Molly are complicated by the arrival of a strange new child, Bee.

As usual this is beautifully written and it was that which kept me going when the story lagged and was lost in huge amounts of the domestic concerns of running a large household, pangs about Molly's ageing, various parenting issues, and Fitz's brooding about how he misses his close friend the Fool. Unlike earlier volumes in this extended series this book has a dual viewpoint which helped to add some interest. I have always found Fitz irritating, and I'm afraid the author's tendency to make characters obtuse to the point of stupidity, which I have commented on in previous reviews, was deployed once again. When a supposedly intelligent character (Fitz) remains completely oblivious to the truth in front of him, which was obvious to me from the moment his child was born, it just makes the reader impatient with the character's plot-determined stupidity.

Also, although it is reasonable that Fitz has tried to move on from his past life as an assassin and tool of the monarchy to whom he is related, his negligence when told that a messenger had arrived with an urgent message for him at the beginning of the story beggared belief. Especially when his steward told him that the woman was pale - because all through the book he repeatedly broods over how he misses the Fool and wishes he would have a message from him. So you would think that a flag like that would have him rushing off to speak to her. Because he was busy, had guests in the house for a celebration and was keeping his wife waiting for a dance, he puts off meeting the messenger to the point of eventually telling his steward to offer her a room for the night with the intention of finally finding out why she is there the next day. Molly is dancing with someone else when he goes into the party, yet he doesn't then pop out and find out what is so urgent and why the messenger seems to think she's in danger. Meanwhile he agrees with his friend Riddle that certain "minstrels" who have turned up without instruments at the party and seem to be going round looking for someone are suspicious characters then does absolutely nothing about it. I found all that extremely unconvincing and an example of how too often the author makes characters act in certain ways purely to serve the plot, regardless of how out of character it makes them.

I also found him obtuse at times regarding Bee's plight with the bullying she receives especially from certain children, given that he had a rotten childhood himself at the hands of bullies, and was becoming irritated again when her tutor took their part in the schoolroom scene. So it was a relief when Tom/Fitz finally showed that he took her part. But it was all too little, too late and he blundered seriously , making it necessary for him to leave Bee in the care of certain people who had already proved how totally unsuited they were and how unworthy of trust. That action of his seemed too extreme also; it is setup by having something happen beforehand that upsets him but jars badly with his portrayal throughout the story of someone who had lost his edge. Whereas if he had been suffering from PTSD it might have made sense.

Another problem I had was that I couldn't stand the character of Shun (and wasn't too keen on the tutor but he wasn't quite so awful). Possibly she was supposed to be the 'person you are meant to hate' but I did think it spineless of Fitz not to have refused to take her into his household given early indications of what an unpleasant troublemaker she was going to become. She is a caricatured drama queen/diva and it's a pity that someone a lot nicer was killed off and not her.

Given all this, the outcome at the story's end wasn't totally unexpected, though the Fool's reintroduction was well managed. Overall I would rate this at 3 stars. ( )

Everything about this read was awesome. I absolutely loved the deliberate slowness with which Hobb sets up the plot. I felt like all the tough bits I found in the Farseer Trilogy were righted in this book. I care about the characters. I feel their joy and their pain and I worry about their decisions. Hobb develops a sense of PLACE in this text which anchors the story - something I feel the Farseer Trilogy never managed.

In short - read it! You might have a few sleepless nights - as I did - but that's how you know you've discovered the BEST sort of book! ( )

OK. Here's the thing: If you like martyrs for protagonists, and you're ok with the hero NEVER being OK, Robin Hobb is the author for you. I wasn't surprised by the twist, but as usual I was upset with how shoddily Fitz is treated, and unusually, annoyed with how shoddily he behaves, as well. ( )

I have had two life-altering experience when it comes to fantasy, first reading David Eddings The Belgariad as a teenager and then reading Robin Hobb The Farseer trilogy in my early twenties. They made me love fantasy. So it was with a great pleasure to finally be able to read the first book in The Fitz and The Fool Trilogy.

In this book Fitz is living a happy life with Molly, raising her sons, living a peaceful life in the country. But when a messenger disappears, everything changes, although he doesn’t know it yet, it will take some time before he realizes that. And that’s how much of the plot I’m going to reveal. The rest is up to you to find out!

Robin Hobb has written a fabulous book, a worthy follow-up The Tawny Man trilogy and I loved every page, every chapter was a truly joyous experience, it’s a book you read until your eyes can’t take in anything more and you have to sleep so you can continue reading the next day. It’s well written and intriguing to read and it’s never boring, even though there isn’t much action in the book. I was pulled into the story and the only thing that I didn’t like was reading the last chapter and knowing that it will be a while before the next book. ( )