Fool's Errand (Tawny Man #1) Mass Market Paperback – November 26, 2002

I’ve read this now being the seventh in the series. Each one better than the last.I am so excited for the works to come

Geez, I’m really liking Robin Hobb! She is such a fantastic author. I feel like I’m burning through all her books faster than I should. Glad that I found her later in life when there’s so many more to continue to read, and not looking forward to when they’re all done!

As mentioned repeatedly, Fool's Errand begins the 'Tawny Man,' a sequel trilogy to Robin Hobb's 'Farseer' series. I've just begun the new series, so I'm only going to talk about the first volume.You don't need to read the first trilogy before you start the second, but it does add enormously to the emotional resonance. You also don't need to read the Live Ship Traders trilogy, set in the same world with different characters. I gather that there's some connection, but I haven't read it and so far I don't feel like I'm missing much.The story is in first-person, with the main character (FitzChivalry Farseer) telling his own story. Robin Hobb's writing is evocative and picturesque. She seamlessly blends Fitz's perceptions of the world around him with his responses to it. Fitz is a complex character, with memories, emotions, and sensations constantly weaving through his thoughts. It's hard not to be pulled in by his tangled psyche as you sympathize and want to shake him by turns. Fitz is a really good, personable guy...but he's definitely got his issues. If you've read the first series, you know they're warranted. I find his most admirable quality is that he forges on and does what he needs to, no matter what his internal landscape looks like.In fact, all the characters are very believable. Each of them possesses a unique, realistic personality with their own merits and flaws. They're people you could meet in your own life, put in desperate situations that bring out the best and worst in them. Even the animals are shaped with their little ways and idiosyncracies. The Fool, especially, is a vibrant, living character. Out of everyone in the book, he's the one that Fitz is closest to, and their interactions sparkle like jewels scattered through the text. I found myself practically skimming some through sections of the book, just to get to the next part where the two of them talk.Which leads me to the next point. I gave the book four stars because while Robin Hobb is an excellent writer, she's not a great one. She can get repetetive about plot points. Sometimes you feel a bit like she's bashing you over the head with them lest you somehow miss one. And I think she occasionally tries *too* hard with Fitz--there are times when she pushes his emotional reactions so hard that I feel embarrassed for him, like he's making a public spectacle of himself.But on the whole, this is a wonderful book. I stayed up till 4 am two nights running, and spent Sunday trying to do housework one-handed while I read.I leave one final caution: the Farseer trilogy was spectacular up till the final book, and then everything sort of crammed together and got melodramatic. It wasn't bad, but it just wasn't as strong as the rest of the series (I would give Assassion's Fate 3 stars, while the rest of the trilogy was 4 bordering on 5). I'm not certain whether she's overcome that problem with this new effort. So if you're a reader who puts a lot of weight on endings, you may want to keep that in mind.

I noticed when skimming the other reviews that a lot of people didn't seem to like this book. I was not one of them. Where some people found middle-aged Fitz annoying, I found him relatable. This may say more about my own personal failings than about Hobb's overall level of skill (I, too, struggle with letting go sometimes...okay, maybe more than sometimes), but regardless, I enjoyed Fitz as a protagonist in this book. I actually liked him much better than I did in the Assassin books. The character formerly known as The Fool (and by another name in another trilogy, if you're paying the least bit of attention) continues to delight, as does Nighteyes. Reading about both of them was like reuniting with old friends. Some of Nighteyes' "dialogue" had me literally laughing out loud at times. No, Kettricken doesn't get much attention, but that's because she's not a significant character in this book, and that's okay.Hobb continues to expand her world-building exploration of the Wit and the Skill in this book in ways that intrigue and provoke reflection on a variety of topics, from small-scale ones such as personal boundaries in relationships to larger-scale ones such as how humans in general tend to "other" and find reasons to hate and fear one other. The tempo does start off slow, but that seems appropriate given that Fitz starts off arguably "stuck" in the isolated life he has chosen. That sort of life has a slow tempo built into it (as anyone who has lived in relative isolation can attest), so causing the reader to experience that tempo is just one more way that they can become immersed in Fitz's experiences- as I did.Without getting into spoilers, I will say that even though I saw some plot twists coming, it didn't diminish at all from the experience for me. There were still parts near the end where I couldn't bring myself to set the book down, and had to read just one more chapter, even if I should have been sleeping. And there were parts where I cried. And kept crying, well after I'd set the book down. That might sound bad, but I wouldn't trade away the experience of reading this book for anything... strange as it might sound, I loved it.The epilogue initially struck me as strange and irrelevant. At the time I shrugged and was just like, "whatever." Then twelve hours later I was laying down with a cat on my chest, just contemplatively looking out a window, and all of a sudden the theme hit me like a tsunami crystallizing on impact. It just all came together in a single moment, and shifted something in my soul a little bit.Anything that can cause that is very good writing, indeed. Maybe I read it at the right time, and that amplified the impact. But it still had to be the right book, at the right time. So while this was an enjoyable escapist adventure in a detailed fantasy world (as Hobb provided in her previous two trilogies), it also tells what can be (depending on the reader, I suspect) a deeply meaningful and thought-provoking story. I expect this one will stay with me for some time.

Wonderfully written book!

Robin Hobb did it again <3

Après avoir lu les 2 premières trilogies de l'univers de Robin Hobb, avec un intervalle de plusieurs mois chaque fois pour bien "digérer" l'histoire, ce livre marquait mes retrouvailles avec Fitz, Nighteyes, le Fool, Kettricken, Lady Patience... Quel bonheur de les retrouver, de voir leur évolution, de sentir une nouvelle trame se tisser...J'ai aimé le rythme, plus lent que les autres livres de Robin Hobb... et j'ai encore plus apprécié ces moments en arrivant vers la fin du tome, où tout bascule et devient irrémédiablement différent.Les personnages sont terriblement humains et nous nous attachons complètement à eux, ce qui est l'une des très grandes forces de Robin Hobb, outre l'originalité de son univers et son style.Je conseille vraiment de lire les livres dans l'ordre conseillé par l'autrice elle-même sur son site, et donc de découvrir ce livre au moins après avoir lu la trilogie de l'Assassin Royal.

Robin Hobb is a genius...Such a great in depth characterisation is phenomenal.. World of six duchies is as intriguing as was in the farseer Trilogy...Well u will definitely like this one..

È arrivato praticamente subito, grazie mille :)La mia trilogia preferita di robin hobb, non vedo l'ora di leggerlo in originale