| Product: |
Fool's Errand: Book 1 of the Tawny Man - Robin Hobb |
| Date: |
08/05/08 (40 review reads) |
| Rating: |
 |
Advantages: A very welcome return to a familiar cast of old friends....
Disadvantages: You may lose much of the impact if you have not read the Farseer and Liveship series'
The third of Robin Hobb's four trilogies begins with a welcome return to a familiar part of the Six Duchies and a revisit to the life of our old friend, Fitz Chivalry and his constant companion, Nighteyes. Fifteen years have passed scince the end of The Red Ships War and Fitz, long considered dead by many of the people who once shared his life including his lost love, Molly, and the daughter he has never met, is living out his days in a secluded wood cabin with only his wolf and his adopted son, Hap, for companionship. Apart from the occassional conjugal visit from the minstrel, Starling, and his occasional Skill-Dreams of both his daughter, Nettle, and his former life at Buckkeep, Fitz has pretty much managed to leave his former life behind him. But, as attacks against Witted gain more prevalence with the Six Duchies' folk looking for enemies amongst their own people to fight and with members of the Witted joining to form the Piebalds, a rebellious faction determined to erase the bad name associated with The Wit, the winds of change begin to blow through Fitz's sheltered existance.
This change is heralded by three visits much like in Dicken's Christmas Carol, but these are not the ghosts of past, present and future who come to Fitz's door but faces from the life he thought left behind. First comes Starling, whose latest stay takes a dark turn after Fitz discovers that all this time she has been married and that he has been cuckolding another man's wife!! Fitz being a man of honour refuses to see Starling anymore and, unsurprisingly, the minstrel doesn't take the news very well....next comes Fitz's old mentor, Chade, with a proposition for his former apprentice which would see him returning to Buckkeep as the only person left alive with any true knowledge of The Skill; a magic used by the Farseer family for generations that lately threatens to be lost to the ages....finally The Fool returns to visit Fitz with an update on his life away from his old friend and confirmation of all he (or she....?) has been up to in the time in which the two of them have been apart. He also brings the news that the time is coming soon when The Changer will have need of his Catalyst once more and that the Fate of the world again hangs in the balance. That time comes sooner than either of them expect....
Prince Dutiful, the son Fitz fathered with Queen Kettricken whilst his king, Verity, inhabited his body through The Skill, has either run off to join The Piebalds or has been abducted after showing signs of both The Skill and The Wit. With a delegation, including the Narchessa of the Outislands with whom the Farseers wish to arrange a truce through marriage, arriving in under a fortnight to Buckkeep, Fitz has to work against the clock as he returns to the intrigue of his former world and witnesses the closing of one chapter in his life. At present, none at court know of the Prince's disappearance and the Farseer family would like to keep it that way. Again Fitz finds himself making sacrifice for his throne....
All of Hobb's books seem to have a theme and here, it is obviously all about closure. You can tell Hobb, like her many fans, has an affinity for Fitz and attempts with this series to make up for all he has endured in his life until now! This is a chance for Fitz to once more become the hero and this time you sense he might even get for it the recognition he deserves. But it is not just closure for Fitz, it is closure for all the characters we knew and loved and have missed since the end of The Farseer Trilogy. Heavy hints are dropped all through this first novel in THE TAWNY MAN series that other familiar faces are going to feature though in this opening chapter we are given only a taste of what is to come. The book also expands on ideas that were mere acorns in the Farseer Trilogy and that began to sprout in her second, Liveships series that set the stage for later events here.
This could all go a bit Pete Tong; it could be a disaster returning to a familiar setting when so much before seems to have reached full circle and yet it's not the mistake it could have been and is instead a mark of real, writing talent!! Stepping back into Fitz's life is like donning a comfortable pair of shoes in preperation for a long journey home and the end result of this first installment is a feeling of satisfaction that finally at least some of Hobb's characters might just get a happy (ish) ending to their lives that until now has been lacking. Of course, first Fate must extract it's own price for this blessing and you get the real sense here that this is just a beginning and that there is much more yet that Fitz is going to have to face; not least because this is only the first part of a trilogy and that Hobb and Fate must yet have some nasty tricks up their sleeves to play...
If you haven't read either of her previous series' then this new trilogy may lose you a bit. Similarly if you have only read one of her other two trilogies, you may find it difficult to follow exactly what has gone before, though Hobb does try to give a bit of a catch-up. This is defenitely a series for the fans and is a very, very welcome return to a familiar setting that is only a mere whisper away from being real....
Summary: A new trilogy set in The Six Duchies and returning to the unfinished story of Fitz Chivalry Farseer
|
|
