Fool's Quest

Book II of the Fitz and the Fool trilogy

By: Robin Hobb

Narrated by: Elliot Hill

Length: 33 hrs and 12 mins

Publisher's Summary

New York Times best seller

Named One of the Best Books of the Year by Buzzfeed and The Independent

Ranking alongside George R. R. Martin as a groundbreaking master of fantasy, Robin Hobb delivers the second book in her long-awaited Fitz and the Fool trilogy.

The harrowing adventures of FitzChivalry Farseer and his enigmatic friend the Fool continue in Robin Hobb’s triumphant follow-up to Fool’s Assassin. But Fool’s Quest is more than just a sequel. With the artistry and imagination her fans have come to expect, Hobb builds masterfully on all that has gone before, revealing devastating secrets and shocking conspiracies that cast a dark shadow over the history of Fitz and his world - a shadow that now stretches to darken all future hope.

Long ago, Fitz and the Fool changed the world, bringing back the magic of dragons and securing both the Farseer succession and the stability of the kingdom. Or so they thought. But now the Fool is near death, maimed by mysterious pale-skinned figures whose plans for world domination hinge upon the powers the Fool may share with Fitz’s own daughter. Distracted by the Fool’s perilous health, and swept up against his will in the intrigues of the royal court, Fitz lets down his guard . . . and in a horrible instant, his world is undone and his beloved daughter stolen away by those who would use her as they had once sought to use the Fool - as a weapon.

But FitzChivalry Farseer is not without weapons of his own. An ancient magic still lives in his veins. And though he may have let his skills as royal assassin diminish over the years, such things, once learned, are not so easily forgotten.

Now enemies and friends alike are about to learn that nothing is more dangerous than a man who has nothing left to lose.

Praise for Fool’s Quest

“A complex tapestry of adventure, betrayal, destiny, and unrelenting peril... Hobb’s expertise is evident as always.” (Publishers Weekly)

“Glorious and beautiful storytelling... Hobb lets rip with revelations, treachery, vengeance, sword fights and full on magical mayhem.” (SciFiNow)

“If readers have any doubt that Robin Hobb is one of the finest writers in the fantasy genre, then they haven’t read any of her work.” (SFFWorld)

©2015 Robin Hobb (P)2015 Random House Audio

Critic Reviews

“Hobb finds a way to always show us more details of the universe she’s been building over the course of the four previous series.... The friendship of Fitz and the Fool brings danger to them both, but it’s one of the most touching in fantasy fiction.” (Library Journal, starred review)

Great book, great series, misses the old reader

loved the story but it should be a requirement that the reader listed to the prior books for pronunciation and accents. the fool should not sound like an elderly Asian man.

What's with the Fool's weird accent?

If you could sum up Fool's Quest in three words, what would they be?

Great story, bad perfomance

Who was your favorite character and why?

The Fool is my favorite and Elliot Hill is ruining him! He sounds like a Nazi in a bad movie. There's nothing in the books to suggest he speaks Fitz's language with any accent at all.

Would you be willing to try another one of Elliot Hill’s performances?

Not if I can help it. I'm seriously considering turning this off and just reading the book.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, until the performance started driving me nuts. He doesn't do Bee well, either, and his Fitz is kind of lackadaisical, but the Fool is really the last straw!

First time I've quit an audiobook because of the reader

I am a huge fan of Robin Hobb and have listened to all her other series on audible (and read all the Fitz books on paper as well). This is the first time I've ever quit an audiobook because I found the reader unbearable. His character voices and accents are way over the top and the voices he does just don't match the characters. Queen Kettricken's voice is just horrifyingly pompous in this recording - utterly out of character. And the Fool's accent is so intense that it's distracting. I feel like I'm reading about characters I've never encountered before. It's ruining the story for me, and I'm stopping. I made it about 2 hours into the recording.

Terrible voice acting

There's no connection between this and the other books in the series when it comes to the way things are pronounced or how people sound. So be it; it's a different actor.

But this guy can't even keep the voices of characters straight in, literally, the same sentence. Toward the beginning of the book there was a conversation, and one character had three different voices. Beyond that, about a quarter of the characters have voices that sound like parodies of real people.

**Somewhat Spoilers ahead** Lant and Rain both are just completely ridiculous, with Lant constantly talking through clenched teeth regardless of the situation, and Rain sounding like a slimy effeminate villain, when there is absolutely no indication that he should sound like that. Dutiful and Kettricken both sound unbearably posh, which makes no sense, since their defining character trait is their down-to-earth-iness. It's like the voice actor took no effort to think through these characters, and just picked a voice at random when he came upon a new name.

What makes all of this even more frustrating is that the primary characters, Fitz and Bee, are both great! So you know that he can act, and apparently just chooses not to put in the effort for the majority of characters.

Very frustrated, and I'm really mad that he'll be back for the final book in the trilogy.

Excellent Story, Execrable Narration

I loved this story, as I've loved all stories in this world setting... A great story line, punctuated w/ intrigue and adventure... Characters like old friends... I particularly liked the new character Motley, which was imaginatively and humorously done... All that being said... The narration was just plain awful... The poorly done accents were distracting at best... Nearly unlistenable at worst... Being blind didn't have the option to switch to print, which I would have done... Listening to an Ebook version spoken aloud in a robotic voice was a tempting option... Sincerely hope narrator is replaced for 3rd book!!! The setup and cliffhangers have me excited for said book, but the idea of the same narrator has me considering other reading options...

SERIOUSLY???!! Please fire the narrator!

What would have made Fool's Quest better?

A different narrator - almost ANY other narrator - but preferably James Langton or Paul Boehmer. Didn't this guy listen to the previous Fitz/Fool Trilogies to get a feel for the personalities, voices, and accents of the characters that also appear in this new trilogy? I've listened to all Robin Hobb's books and she's one of my very favorite authors but this narrator grates on my nerves almost like nails on a chalkboard. The story is very good but Elliot Hill is so terrible it makes it almost unbearable for me to listen to it. It has nearly put me off this series and author and still may have - I'm just not quite sure if I can go on listening to this dude murder this series and author! He actually changes the meaning of what the characters are saying with his awful accents and inflections. So sad...

What other book might you compare Fool's Quest to and why?

Farseer Trilogy, Liveship Traders, Rain Wilds Chronicles, Tawny Man, Wheel of Time, The Inheritance Cycle, The Licanus Trilogy, Hangman's Daughter...

What didn’t you like about Elliot Hill’s performance?

EVERYTHING! There's nothing I DIDN'T like about Elliot Hill's performance! Sheesh!

Any additional comments?

Please get rid of Elliot Hill for the 3rd book in the trilogy and replace him with James Langton or Paul Boehmer - or practically anyone else!

Good tale, poor narration

I have listened with pleasure to the rest of the Farseer books by Robin Hobb. This latest series has a different narrator, which would be okay if the voices he chooses were not so jarring and wrong. The Fool has always had a light, crisp voice with both prior narrators. Suddenly, he voice is low, gruff, and has a fake germanish accent. Terrible. Kettricken, a woman who is simple, direct and sincere, is suddenly given a snooty, falsely upper class British accent. Readings from the chapter epigraphs are stilted, with breaks at highly unnatural places in the middle of sentences. I have over 450 Audible titles, and I am pretty easy to please, but this reading is awful.

Frustrating

Any additional comments?

This book has been very frustrating. I've immensely enjoyed Hobb's Fitz/Fool and Live Ship Traders trilogies. I wanted to love this book. I've tried to love it. But there are two issues that I can't seem to ignore. First, the characters lack insight into their situations. The most glaring example is Fitz's inability to recognize the nature of his daughter, Bee. Second, the plot is often driven in a certain direction because the characters don't communicate basic information or they keep secrets unnecessarily.

Slower and slower

Is there anything you would change about this book?

The narrator, I was so confuse by the narration.

What could Robin Hobb have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Once again Robbin Hobb has made fritz a whiny character. I have been waiting for this book to come out over a year and sad to say i was so disappointed. Where were all the action it promised, I thought we were suppose to see Frits kicking butts and take names. All that this was is a bunch of whining.

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

Get another narrator.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

No because I would fall asleep.

Any additional comments?

I'm don't with this, going to get out and save to good memories of the passed books.

A Worthy Addition to the Series

What was one of the most memorable moments of Fool's Quest?

I really liked it when Chade winked at Fitz while acting like a senile person.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

The narrator's choice of accent for the Fool was unfortunate. I also wanted to kick Dutiful in the teeth every time he spoke because he sounds like a spoiled, arrogant muppet of a monarch and it really just drove me insane. I just don't understand why narrators feel the need to "show us they're real actors" or something and go all crazy with the accents. Are there directors for book readings? Maybe there should be. Despite all of that, I did not think the narration rendered the book unlistenable. Still worthwhile, imho.

Any additional comments?

I continue to find Fitz's slow uptake on the nature of his own daughter to be a little ridiculous and unbelievable. I'm going to need the story to reveal that he's been the target of a Skilling to make that part ok. I don't think these two novels in this trilogy are quite as good as the earlier trilogies, but I think that's to be expected. I think there are perhaps too many sappy emotional moments, but that didn't bother me because I like that kind of stuff more than I like to admit.