Hobb-A-Long Read-A-Long discussion

Loved this book! To sum up my thoughts: Fitz will be teaching the new line of Farseers, I'm happy we're learning about the Outislanders and hopefully we'll learn a bit about the red ship war, I'm very sad Nighteyes is dead, and I really love the Fool and want to know the whole White Prophet thing that seems to be shaping his character's arc.

This was te first Robin Hobb book that made me share a tear or two. Even though I was not a huge fan of nighteyes in the Farseer Trilogy and tolerated him at most it feels like this is the first time Robin Hobb took a chance with a characters death. So far she has only killed of villains plus Shrewd and Verity (kind of) and those two, while likeable characters, were really jut sidecharacters while Nighteyes has been Fitz' companion.
At the same time as losing Nighteyes he also found a new bond with Dutiful and I loved their exchanges. I really hope they will never have a "why didn't you tell me that you are my father" scene.
Somehow Fitz seems the least melancholic and self-pitying we have seen him so far, even though he lost his wolf.
I bet this "pale woman" who was with the Outislander Raider guy talked about in one of the chapter starters is the other white prophet the fool told Fitz about at the start of the book.
I am torn about the chapter starters. On one hand I think they are a great way to expand the worlld on the other hand some of them are really repetitive. I don't know how many times I have already heard about the mountain King being Sacrifice.

All in all I really enjoyed this book, even if it did take a LONG time to get started.

Sarah wrote: "This was te first Robin Hobb book that made me share a tear or two. Even though I was not a huge fan of nighteyes in the Farseer Trilogy and tolerated him at most it feels like this is the first ti..."

I think Fitz is quickly beginning to assimilate to his renewed human relationships with the Fool, Chade, Jinna and surprisingly by the end of the book, Dutiful( given that he was agitated enough to want to kill Fitz during most of time they have been together); and these fresh social interactions have made the grief of losing Nighteyes more bearable for him.

So the hero of Fool's Errand ends up being Dutiful's cat, who sacrifices itself to save the Prince from the kind of prolonged misery that the cat has itself endured from Peladine, with the unnatural invasion and domination of it's own body and also the careless negligence Peladine displayed in performing the essential needs of the cat's basic grooming, proper feeding and exercise; the cat's body was a disgusting mess when Fitz saw it later. The Piebalds clearly have no respect for the Old Blood emphasis on parity and maintaining separateness between bonded humans and animals.

Laurel explains herself to Fitz by disclosing her past as an Unwitted member of a Witted family(which exposed her to abuse and disrespect over the years, as Old Bloods distinctly see themselves as better than people who aren't Witted( I wonder that they don't call them the Witless, haha).

Laurel, therefore, is somewhat biased against the practice of the Wit, telling Fitz some of her objections throughout the book: She thinks it is unconscionable to raise children to be Witted and that people who are in Wit-bonds should not marry because of the imposition it puts on those relationships. But Fitz counters that the Witted are born that way and might develop Witted relationships that are unwholesome if as children they are not trained to ethically use their Wit abilities with the values that the Old Bloods espouse.

In Fitz's case, he was originally raised by Burrich, who was anti-Wit in his principles( if not by his nature), and did not train Fitz to do other than abstain from the Witted practice. By this deprivation of proper training in the Wit, and the forcible removal(and presumed killing) of Nosy, who Fitz had innocently formed a bond with when he was only six and too young to realize the responsibilities and implications of being in a Wit-bond, Fitz rebelliously and resentfully persisted in the practice anyway.

Also, in Fitz's particular case, he was Chivalry's son and a member of the Farseer royal family(though a bastard), where a known Wittedness about him could jeopardize the royal government owing to the widespread prejudice about the Wit and the scandal it might cause at Buckkeep were he to have a Wit-bond that became public knowledge; so that therefore an understanding of ethical considerations of being Witted might have encouraged Fitz to voluntarily refrain from forming a Wit-bond, at least until he wasn't in a potentially compromising situation.

Laurel's point about not simultaneously maintaining a Wit-bond and a wife(or husband) seems reasonably sound, and perhaps Fitz would adopt this principle.

But I think Fitz would still assert that a family man like Burrich (now with Molly and their children), though forswearing Wit-bonds for himself, still needs to provide a knowledge of using the Wit to any children he might have who show the proclivity for the Wit, so that they may responsibly choose for themselves when they are older.

I wonder how will Fitz cope with the death of Nighteyes as it was Nighteyes who has always helped keep Fitz sane; from his traumatic past and painful experiences during the period of Regal's tyranny to the protracted self-imposed isolation in which Fitz has spent his entire life as an adult, there was always Nighteyes inside of his mind, always ready to give him companionship even at a distance; or a smack upside the head to veer him from his natural bent toward melancholy and self-destruction.

And is there any reason for Fitz to return to his rural home with both Nighteyes and Hap now gone? It seems now his future lies with training the young Prince in the Skill, and resuming his former life with Chade, the Fool and Kettricken, in spite of his many (probably often legitimate) reservations about doing so.

Fool's Errand has rekindled my love for the Farseer- related characters, and for the atmosphere of the Buckkeep community with all of it's intrigues and machinations, that made the first two Farseer books so engrossing.

This book has the most well developed linear plotting of the series, culminating in some of the most intricately written scenes of moral jeopardy and complexity that Hobb has yet devised, particularly involving Fitz's dilemma with the fate of the archer he captures, and later his trying to wrestle with the horrific option of "saving" the Prince for the sake of a slavish existence, or for a merciful death by his own hand.

And then there is the Fool, who in the role of Lord Golden has a turn in his most hilarious caper yet while guesting in the Bresinga household, where he holds forth on the matter of breeding hunting cats, feather collecting and also brazenly (but chastely) seducing and cuckolding the innocent, to no end of amusement (except for his infuriated host, Lady Bresinga).

This is close to being ( with Royal Assassin) my favorite of the Six Duchies books, and Golden Fool is supposed to be even better!

So my first question is, was there a pale woman mentioned in the first trilogy?? I don't even remember if the leader of the Red ships was mentioned by name.

I really ached for some Fitz, Fool and Nighteyes action, sadly he is gone, as expected. I really though he would go out in a heroic way, but I'm satisfied he had a peaceful passing.

I really liked this book as it feels nostalgic and familiar but at the same time introducing new and intriguing stuff.

I can't wait to see what happens with the Fools crown and how the relationship between Fitz and the Fool grows and to see the ending of this trilogy which I know will be epic.

If you don't remember we still have some mysteries as to Fitz parentage, and the fools powers and connections to the world, even more now that dragons have been born to the world.

All in all I'm excited, for the next books, as I said before I really see Fitz becoming master assassin after Chade is gone and at the same time Skill master for the Farseer heirs.

Abner wrote: "So my first question is, was there a pale woman mentioned in the first trilogy?? I don't even remember if the leader of the Red ships was mentioned by name.

I really ached for some Fitz, Fool and..."

Yeah, I didn't remember a mention of the pale woman at all, but I'd been looking for that Kebal Rawbread character during the Farseers trilogy because of that bizarre name coming up once or twice. Sure enough, if you have a Kindle version of Royal Assassin, you can use the search function to punch in "Kebal" or "Rawbread" and find him (and the pale woman) in the beginning section of Chapter 20 of RA.

Also, I want to see Burrich and Fitz meet up and have that awkward conversation about Molly that everybody's waiting to happen!

John wrote: "Abner wrote: "So my first question is, was there a pale woman mentioned in the first trilogy?? I don't even remember if the leader of the Red ships was mentioned by name.

I really ached for some ..."

Yes I only read/listen on kindle, I knew it must have been mentioned but is those things that you only notice in a re-read once you know what you are looking for. I was going to sear for it later, I'll def go back and read a bit to see what info I can gather there.

The Burrich/Fitz reunion should be awesome!!!!

I already started Golden full and I have a few burning questions that need answering and might not be answered in this trilogy, makes me dread the Rainwild Chronicles. I want more Fitz and Fool!!!!