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    Fool’s Errand
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    Fool’s Errand
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    Fool’s Errand
    Audiobook23 hours

    Fool’s Errand

    Written by Robin Hobb

    Narrated by Nick Taylor

    4.5/5

    ()

    Unavailable in your country

    Unavailable in your country

    About this audiobook

    Return to the world of the Farseers…

    Robin Hobb’s best loved characters, Fitz , The Fool and Nighteyes the wolf, face new adventures and trials in the first book of The Tawny Man trilogy.

    When Assassin’s Quest closed, Fitz was living in self-imposed exile. Wracked with pain, he had chosen to discard the magical gifts that had seen him survive the wonders and torments of navigating the legendary city of the Elderlings, and of raising a dragon.

    Now, in this the first of a new trilogy, we are returned to the world of the Six Duchies and the lives of those who managed to survive the events of the first Assassin trilogy.

    Fifteen years have passed and events are about to sweep Fitz out of his quiet backwater life and into the main political current again. Persecution of the Witted has become rampant throughout the Six Duchies despite Queen Kettricken’s effort to damp it. The Witted themselves have begun to strike back. So when 15 year old Prince Dutiful disappears, is it only because he is nervous about his betrothal ceremony to an Outislander princess, or has he been taken hostage by the Witted? Worse, is he perhaps another ‘Piebald Prince’, a Farseer tainted by Wit magic? As the desperate situation worsens, Kettricken has no choice but to summon Fitz to Buckkeep, for who better to track the young prince down than another gifted with the Wit, together with his bonded companion, the wolf Nighteyes?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJan 31, 2013
    ISBN9780007509041
    Unavailable
    Fool’s Errand
    Author

    Robin Hobb

    Robin Hobb is one of the world’s finest writers of epic fiction. She was born in California in 1952 but raised in Alaska. She raised her family, ran a smallholding, delivered post to her remote community, all at the same time as writing stories and novels. She succeeded on all fronts, raising four children and becoming an internationally best-selling writer. She lives in Tacoma, Washington State.

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    Reviews for Fool’s Errand

    4.5/5

    181 ratings16 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      This book was a good start to the second trilogy. I've noticed that there is a lot of "quiet space" in the book as it leads up to the exciting bits near the end. I actually enjoy it as it lends more time to get to know the characters. The book can be pretty sad at times, b/c no one ever gets to truly do what they want or be with who they want, at least not the main character. But this book opens up the possibility of somewhat happy endings (or at least the hope for them).
    • 5/5
      This is the start to the sequel trilogy of Hobb's earlier Farseer trilogy and it is just as good. As always Hobb's writing style is fantastic. And her characters... Fitz has matured immensely in these books but he is still the same Fitz from the earlier three books. You can see it in how he acts and responds. I love that it is shown and not really told. The book still ends up being depressing like most of Hobb's books are, but I still love them. Some people I saw found the beginning of the book a little slow. I found I liked the re-introduction to Fitz. Granted, the book becomes a 'can't put down!' book after around 200 pages. I found myself once again staying up late into the night and early morning reading because I simply couldn't bear to put it down and go to bed. And I've already read this book once. :) I absolutely love these books and I'm sure I will be rereading them again in another few years. I'm off to pounce on the next book in this Tawny Man trilogy. Highly recommend.
    • 4/5
      Fascinating and complex, intricate and well written. A compelling story that was hard to follow and difficult to put down. Somewhat slower reading than many stories due to the complexity but quite good. I will definately read the rest of this trillogy. I wonder if I am missing much of the stories interwoven fabric by not having read the Ship trillogy that comes between the first three and this set.Again, I picked this up because of my relationship with Fitz. I still like the Fool & Nighteyes. I am compelled to see Fitz struggle with his overly complex relationships with everyone. Can't wait to see how the story unravels. I was absolutely rocked by the situation with Nighteyes at the end - I can only imagine how that twist bodes for the remainder of the story.I'm glad the Prince returned willingly to Buck and will await how that develops.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoy Robin Hobb's Elderlings books, but this one is a little "small" after the epic scope of the Liveship Traders series. Partly it's the first person narration, I think. I enjoyed it, but not as much as that series. Not enough Fool, who is the best character ever.
    • 5/5
      Just as good as the original trilogy! 
    • 4/5
      It was good to get back to the Six Duchies, but I felt that the charactyer of Fitz was very different from the one I left at the end of Assassin's Quest, and that wasn;t a particulalry good thing IMO. Whilst being completely understandable taking into account everythig he went through in the previous trilogy, i longed for the days of the young Fitz finding his way in the Keep. Maybe I should have read the first book again..? I'm not sure there was enough of a story for a second trilogy, and maybe this would have been better as a one-off to catch up and conclude the story of Fitz.
    • 5/5
      Fifteen years after the end of Assassin's Quest, Fitz reluctantly returns to Buckkeep to fulfill a mission that requires his particular blend of Skill and Wit.Robin Hobb has very quickly become one of my favourite authors, and I consider this her best book yet. It continues the story begun in her Farseer series, (with a few brief mentions of the Liveship Traders books, as well), and I'd definitely recommend reading those books first. Fool's Errand does cover new ground, but I'm pretty sure that anyone who hadn't read the first trilogy would find at least the first two hundred pages either confusing or boring, if not both. As someone who greedily devoured the previous series, I considered this a welcome chance to catch up with old friends, but it does delay the point at which the action begins.Once it gets going, though, this is a fast-moving and readable book. Once Fitz returns to Buckkeep, things wrap up in the space of about two weeks; quite a departure from Hobb's previous books, which all cover at least a year's worth of activity. There's always something going on, and it all directly relates to either the plot or the character development. It's fantastic. The book flew by.Despite the strong plot, the story's main strength lies in its characters. Hobb really excels at crafting characters who grow and change even as they retain their core character. Fitz is no exception; he's still very definitely himself, but the reader can really tell that he's lived every moment of the past fifteen years. It was his relationship with the Fool, though, that really made this book for me. The two of them fit together so well! There's great tension between them, and great empathy as well. I loved it. It was also great to see him renewing his ties with Chade and forging new ones with Dutiful.Overall, this was absolutely fantastic. I highly recommend it, but really urge you to read at least the Farseer books first.
    • 5/5
      A sequel to the Farseer Trilogy, this is set fifteen years later. Fitz has a new identity as Tom Badgerlock and has carved out a life for himself. However his retirement can't last and he's called on to help the Farseer dynasty again. This time it's the next generation and he's gone missing, if he's dead it's Fitz's daugher who's next in line.There's also people hunting the "witted" and Fitz has to try to keep from being killed.I liked to see how the characters had developed and how people who had moved along over time. How the politics had changed.
    • 5/5
      Adorei! Fitz reencontra velhos conhecidos e regressa a Buck Keep para uma tarefa inesperada. Boa caçada Nighteyes
    • 4/5
      This trilogy is a return to Fitz. In my opinion, that's a very, very good thing, because my enjoyment of Hobb's writing skyrocketed back up, after Liveships which I found difficult and disappointing. It's interesting to see how Hobb builds Fitz back up into a fit and capable character after his life seemed to be over at the end of Farseers.
    • 4/5
      Loved the book, but the recording wasn't great - the end of every chapter cut off abruptly, and when compared against my ebook copy I noticed words missed.
    • 5/5
      I re-listen to the rich world of Farseerer characters once a year.
    • 5/5
      I thoroughly enjoyed this audio book.
      The narrator subtly changed his voice so every character was distinct. I could envisage each person clearly.
      The plot is as deeply woven as anticipated. The book leaves me wanting more! Bravo??????
    • 4/5
      I've read this book without having read the previous trilogy. I disagree with the other review that says that doing so would mean finding the first 200 pages boring and/or confusing: I definitely didn't. It is a slow book, with a slower start, but one that kept me fascinated and glued to the page throughout. It is a slow book in a good way. It was pretty obvious that it continued a previous story: but this made for a deep, layered background that was revealed bit-by-bit without blatant summary/exposition, and not in a linear way. In fact, I enjoyed this aspect a lot: I do prefer being fed tidbits and having to piece them together myself rather than having it all laid out for me like See Spot Run.A very satisfying read, and I will definitely look for the continuation of this series. Then I may go back and read the previous trilogy. (I don't mind that I already know "what happens": but I like the characters as they are now, and I might like them less as younger people.)SPOILER SECTION BELOW: and I do mean it, don't read it if you haven't read the book yet. It's only gossip anyway, and unlikely to affect anybody's decision to read the book or not....I was smitten by the Fool from his first appearance. That's when the book changes from pleasant retirement story to Sensawunda Fantasy. And then I spent the rest of the book wanting him and Fitz/Tom to fall into bed together. Which is peculiar because I'm not generally given to slash: in fact, I think it's the first time I've ever done this "seriously", as opposed to "wouldn't it be funny if...?" I do believe that the author is teasing readers about it, seriously. Alas, by the end of the book this outcome seems unlikely (even in later books). But wouldn't it be great? :-)
    • 3/5
      A good start to a good trilogy. Robin Hobb once again starts us on a magnificent journey across a beautiful world. Picking up from the Farseer Trilogy it continues Fitz's tale. The Fool comes back from the Liveship Traders trilogy and his catalyst is caught up in events beyond his control. It continues the character development of the previous two trilogies very well and sets the scene for quite a bit of rising action.
    • 5/5
      The books brings us back to Buch Duchy and Fitz and Nighteyes and it is a welcome return. Although I enjoyed the Liveship Traders trilogy the characters were not as engrossing or lovable as the characters in these books. This trilogy promises to reveal more about the Wit and the Skill, as well as focusing more on the relationship between the Fool and Fitz. Hobb's writing is on top form and this, combined with the truly interesting characters and plots, means that you quickly find you can't put it down. These series are some of the best written and engrossing novels I have read in recent years and I recommend them wholeheartedly.