Fool’s Errand

By: Robin Hobb

Narrated by: Nick Taylor

Return to the world of the Farseers…

Robin Hobb’s best loved characters, Fitz , The Fool and Nighteyes the wolf, face new adventures and trials in the first book of The Tawny Man trilogy.

When Assassin’s Quest closed, Fitz was living in self-imposed exile. Wracked with pain, he had chosen to discard the magical gifts that had seen him survive the wonders and torments of navigating the legendary city of the Elderlings, and of raising a dragon.

Now, in this the first of a new trilogy, we are returned to the world of the Six Duchies and the lives of those who managed to survive the events of the first Assassin trilogy.

Fifteen years have passed and events are about to sweep Fitz out of his quiet backwater life and into the main political current again. Persecution of the Witted has become rampant throughout the Six Duchies despite Queen Kettricken’s effort to damp it. The Witted themselves have begun to strike back. So when 15 year old Prince Dutiful disappears, is it only because he is nervous about his betrothal ceremony to an Outislander princess, or has he been taken hostage by the Witted? Worse, is he perhaps another ‘Piebald Prince’, a Farseer tainted by Wit magic? As the desperate situation worsens, Kettricken has no choice but to summon Fitz to Buckkeep, for who better to track the young prince down than another gifted with the Wit, together with his bonded companion, the wolf Nighteyes?

Critic reviews

'Hobb is one of the great modern fantasy writers… what makes her novels as addictive as morphine is not just their imaginative brilliance but the way her characters are compromised and manipulated by politics.'
The Times

Assassin's Apprentice:
'A gleaming debut'
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

Assassin's Quest:
'Assassin's Quest achieves a bittersweet, powerful complexity rare in fantasy' LOCUS

'Robin Hobb writes achingly well'
SFX

Praise for The Liveship Traders series:
'Even better than the Assassin books. I didn't think that was possible'
George R R Martin

'Hobb is a remarkable storyteller.'
Guardian

Editing not perfect

Biggest complaint would be that there is 0 downtime between end of a chapter and start of the new one, resulting in no room to let the chapter to sink in.

Great book, one audio problem

I loved the book, like all other Robin Hobb books so far.
In this recording, I found it annoying that there is no break whatsoever after a chapter ends and a new one begins. For me, it destroyed some moments where I’d have wanted to think about how the previous chapter ended but there isn’t even a milisecond of space left to do that.

Robin Hobb is one of the most brilliant writers ever! Her writing is so beautiful and emotional, it’s truly gorgeous.

I love how the story describes Fool and Fitz’s lives in a slow pace, allowing so many details to be written into the book. This whole Tawny man trilogy is just simply brilliant. Robin Hobb’s poetic way of writing the Fool is one of my favorite parts of the trilogy. And having a whole set of books based on Fitz and the Fool’s adult years together is just a dream come true! This trilogy is truly the best I’ve ever seen!

Robin Hobb really said: “Here, love these characters. Now suffer.” 💀

5/5 ⭐️

Man… I missed Fitz so much 😭❤️

After finishing the Liveship trilogy, coming back to the Six Duchies felt like coming home. I loved seeing Fitz again and getting to know the person he has become after everything he went through.

But Fitz and Dutiful’s relationship??? 😭😭 I loved it so much. There’s something about Fitz trying to be the person for Dutiful that he needed when he was younger that really got to me.

And then there’s Nighteyes… 💔😭
I genuinely have no words. Their relationship is one of my favorite things in this entire series, and I was NOT ready for how much the ending would hurt.

Robin Hobb really said: “Here, love these characters. Now suffer.” 💀

5/5, obviously. But I’m still not over Nighteyes 😭

An amazing continuation of a splendid series.

Not much to say, other than enjoy your read. If the Narrator bothers you, don't worry. He grows on you over time. While not as excellent as Paul Boehmer, the narrator manages to put his own interpertation on the characters in a way that does The Farseer Trilogy justice, while setting up The Tawny Man trilogy to be the wild ride that it is.