He always used to say he was the fool

The Golden Fool by Robin Hobb

Oh my god, Robin Hobb just gets better and better. I could not put this book down, and even now, three days after finishing it, it's still running round the inside of my head. I still find myself wondering what will happen in the conclusion of the tawny man series (and the conclusion of the whole Fitz-Fool saga if the dust cover of Fool's End is to be believed). I still find myself marvelling at the complexity of this book; Fitz's relationships with those around him (both the old characters and those that are introduced or given bigger roles) are ever changing, and they all work together perfectly to shape the person that Fitz becomes and how he behaves.

There is a slight disappointment in the fact that not a lot seems to be resolved in the book. The purpose of the book seems mostly to set up for the action of the third, for the final conclusion, and at this the ending might be seen as unrewarding by some. Trick is, the book is so well written, so engaging that you don't really mind. It works well, I personally don't know if I can wait the year or so it's going to take for Fool's End to come out in paperback.

The involvement of some threads from The Liveship Traders is a surprise. I was quite impressed to see things that didn't appear to be related being tied together by Hobb in this book. For that reason, whilst I'm going to wholeheartedly recommend this book, I'm going to suggest that people not only read Fool's Errand first, but also The Farseer and The Liveship Traders series first, as I've a feeling this series is going to bring them all together.

Later . . .