New trilogy featuring Fitz and the Fool by Robin Hobb

[Drogon's Personal Trainer]

:agree:

You hold him down, I'll search the bookshelf

And I'll fill my poison sacs :)

[HexMachina]

And I'll fill my poison sacs :)

We could always pin him to a block of memory stone...

[The BlackBear]

Wow. Like, this is one of my favourite series but I definitely need to reread it because I have to admit I've completely forgotten that. I've looked it up, so I know where it is, but I can't for the life of me remember reading it or remember how it affects her character after that. Huh. Can you remind me of the circumstances and ramifications and see if it jogs my memory?

She's drugged and he's thinking about Wintrow and his abuse at the hands of Igrot. And then there are practically no consequences at all.

[lojzelote]

Yea, it seemed to me Hobb put it there to remind readers that he was truly just a psychopath, not a world-weary, noble visionary the other characters considered him. (To be fair, you might call him visionary, but most of it was pure luck and all of it was for self-gain. I was far from impressed.)

[HexMachina]

I think it did serve a purpose actually, it showed Kennit's loss of control, showed how the (paraphrasing the Fool here) 'wheel needed bumping out of its rut'. I dont think it was just thrown in to show Kennit was unhinged.

[lojzelote]

I understand what you're saying and in essence I think I agree with you; it's shown us whatever his bluffing was, he was on the path of becoming a new Igrot. But I don't think that it was necessary to add the rape for readers to realize it; his wizardwood charm kept bringing the similarities up. Anyway, I was more bothered by how Althea's healing was kinda glossed over by Paragon taking the pain away. I don't think it's so easy in the RL. Overall, IMHO the story could have done without this plot point, although I'm not of the opinion it ruined the story or anything.

[Starkess]

I think it was mostly to show just how blinded the other character's were by Kennit. He was a fucking terrible person, but they kept seeing him as a good because they couldn't see his motives, to the point that no one believes Althea. Which is sadly quite realistic. Anyway I never felt like it was an unnecessary plot point except in the sense that almost any plot point doesn't have to be there. Unlike many other books where a rape scene does feel like a weak tool.

[Gertrude]

Just want to add that Kennit is one of my favorite characters. The contrast between how people perceived him and his inner thoughts was very well done and so interesting to me. Won't comment on the rape aspect because honestly, it's been a while since I've read it and don't want to rely on memory. I will say that the lingering feeling I have about that whole thing was I didn't like how the aftermath was handled.

[Migey]

I loved Kennit too (well, in terms of how great a character he was), although I like every character in that series.

What makes Kennit truly unique in the series is that he is singularly static. The entire point of the series is the characters; it's not hard to notice that just about every single major character has a very clearly defined and explored arc. They start in one place, and they end in another, and you can chart out how they got there pretty easily. Every character adapts in interesting ways to their circumstances and what happens around them, and this changes who they are. Kennit is the exception to this, however. His circumstances change, and events around him are fluid, yet he and the manner in which he reacts to and experiences these events changes relatively little. It would be a disservice to claim he is exactly the same by the end as he is at the start; he does undergo subtle changes, but by and large he remains one of the only characters who changes everything around them more then they are changed by what happens around them.

[HexMachina]

I haven't finished the book yet, but thought I would comment on it now, so I can write down my speculations and thoughts so far, then look back when I've finished the book.

Thoughts on the book so far:

It's a much stronger start than

Golden Fool I think. With Golden Fool there was a lot of time with Fitz spent telling of what he had done since the events of the Farseer Trilogy. Fool's Assassin seems to jump in much quicker and gets into current events much more smoothly.

I think this book is very well written too. Particularly the chapter with Molly's pregnancy. Right until she gave birth, I was convinced it was all just her mind wandering, and from that perspective I was completely heart-broken when reading it. There was something awfully tragic about reading that chapter thinking that Molly was slowly losing her mind.

I'm quite interested to see that we've now got more than just Fitz as a narrator. I've enjoyed the chapters from Bee so far, and while she has some similarities to Fitz, she is different enough to make change things up a little.

Molly's death crushed me. It's possibly the closest I've ever come to crying when I was reading a book. It was bad enough reading it from Bee's POV, but then reading Fitz's grief was terrible. Wonderfully written, but heart-breaking.

Chade is as unlikable as ever to me. I was a bit disappointed not to have seen more of Dutiful, Elliana, and Kettricken, but then I suppose with Fitz giving up his life at Court it was to be expected.

My speculations:

• I think Bee might be a White Prophet. Her "dream" when she is chased by the other children, with multiple "roads" leading to different outcomes is one of the biggest hints. Her paleness is another. And the dream that Fitz had of the Fool being chased by the children of Buckkeep also reminds me of Bee. We also have the recordings of her dreams at the start of chapters, and iirc the Fool mentioned that all of his dreams had been recorded too. I'll be interested to see if I'm right about this.
  
• I'm not very sure about this one, since I can't remember her age in the first trilogy, but I wondered whether Jofron was Fitz's mother. I'll have to check how old she appears in the first books to see if this would even be possible. But I got that sense when Fitz went to the Mountain Kingdom and saw her.
  
• Shun I believe to be Chade's daughter. I can't think of who else's daughter she could be. The only other Farseer's would be Dutiful and Fitz. And Chade asked Fitz early in the book whether he wrote things down hoping Nettle would read them. It made me think he had a child himself. I don't know who her mother would be, but from the way Chade stopped her mentioning her name at the Inn, I think it is someone, or at least a Family that we've met before.
  
• There have been a few subtle mentions of Chalcedeans throughout. With the events of the Rain Wild Chronicles I don't think this will come to much but you never know.
  
  

[peterbound]

I haven't cried from reading a book since ASoS, or maybe The Road.. but his one got me. Goddamit Hobb.

[ljkeane]

I'm about 40% through. It's a bit odd so far, not really what I was expecting.

[HexMachina]

I'm about 40% through. It's a bit odd so far, not really what I was expecting.

71%. The mysteries just keep stacking up, though now I can see whats likely the "main" storyline

ETA: spoilers:

I'm trying to puzzle out both Shun and FitzVigilant. I think one could be Chade's bastard, most likely Shun. FitzVigilant...No idea if I am honest. Fitz thought he looked vaguely familiar. Possibly some connection to Regal/Regal's mother? Damnit, so many mysteries and they probably wont all be answered in this book. Gah! (yes I'm dreadfully.impatient)

[Shaun Snow]

I very much enjoyed it. It's a bit slow paced and theres not much action, but Fitz and the Fool belong to a select group of characters that I have developed such a sentimental attachment to that I could quite happily read about them shopping for groceries (along with Miles Vorkosigan and Arya Stark, for example) so I was well entertained. I suspect others may dissagree though.

Spoilers for the full book.

I found Bee to be a particularly endearing addition to the cast. I like that she has traits of both Fitz and Molly, but is almost certainly a White (Prophet?) as well, with all the oddness that entails. It's like she's the child of Fitz and the Fool in a way. Like I said, totes sentimental here. [:)] Also, it was pleasant getting to see Fitz from her POV. While I love Fitz and sympathise with his mental hangups, sharing several of them myself, I can't deny that his tendancy to view everything he does in the most negative light possible can be draining. So it was nice to see a more positive (but not worshipful) image of him through Bee.

I'll admit, I was dissapointed that we had to wait so long for the Fool to make his appearance, and horrfied by what happened to him. Between that and Bee's kidnapping I think the whole retired assassin thing is going right out the window. I expect to see Fitz go full-Taken in the next book. :devil:

4 out of 5 stars, from my admittedly very predjudiced self.

[Xanrn]

Yeah FitzVigiliant gets book. Giving FitzChivalry another reason to feel shit and say sorry alot.

Shun doesn't make an appearance at the end unlesss she is..

Also Fool explaining the Whites means Bee isn;t as pure blood as he is, shes not actually white.

Then the main bad guy, maybe Fools son, seems to think Bee is a he and his brother...

Question how the fuck did they raid a building that deep into the Six Duchys. I think Chalced was involved somehow.

Also Mountain woman isn't Fitz mother because its a diffrent mountain woman. Too young aswell, and Fitz mother is likely dead. Because she is like 20 when she got Fitz taken away.

It took a big long to get to the point, Fitz from the start and Fool doesn't even show up till 3 chapters left

Next book looks good with maybe a year to wait, huzzah.

[Darth Richard II]

Yeah spoiler tag that shit for fucks sake.

[peterbound]

I very much enjoyed it. It's a bit slow paced and theres not much action, but Fitz and the Fool belong to a select group of characters that I have developed such a sentimental attachment to that I could quite happily read about them shopping for groceries (along with Miles Vorkosigan and Arya Stark, for example) so I was well entertained. I suspect others may dissagree though.

Spoilers for the full book.

I found Bee to be a particularly endearing addition to the cast. I like that she has traits of both Fitz and Molly, but is almost certainly a White (Prophet?) as well, with all the oddness that entails. It's like she's the child of Fitz and the Fool in a way. Like I said, totes sentimental here. [:)] Also, it was pleasant getting to see Fitz from her POV. While I love Fitz and sympathise with his mental hangups, sharing several of them myself, I can't deny that his tendancy to view everything he does in the most negative light possible can be draining. So it was nice to see a more positive (but not worshipful) image of him through Bee.

I'll admit, I was dissapointed that we had to wait so long for the Fool to make his appearance, and horrfied by what happened to him. Between that and Bee's kidnapping I think the whole retired assassin thing is going right out the window. I expect to see Fitz go full-Taken in the next book. :devil:

4 out of 5 stars, from my admittedly very predjudiced self.

Never use the term 'totes' again.

I loved this book. Not sure how they could have packed any more action into it. Did you think you were reading a space marine novel? Tons of shit happened, people died, battles were fought, tension was raised.

And hot shit did it make me weep.

[SheriD]

Question - does include spoiler. I am 61 % done.

Why does the white woman tell Fitz to keep the butterfly cloak, but to burn everything else she has touched? Wouldn't it make sense to burn the cloak as well?

[peterbound]

Question - does include spoiler. I am 61 % done.

Why does the white woman tell Fitz to keep the butterfly cloak, but to burn everything else she has touched? Wouldn't it make sense to burn the cloak as well?

She saved it for the cat?

[SheriD]

She saved it for the cat?

Doesn't actually answer the question.

If all the bedding, the body, any cloth that had touched the body, was possibly infected - then why not the butterfly cloak?