Product Description

Robin Hobb has emerged as one of today’s foremost fantasy authors. Now she continues the adventures of one of her most popular heroes in the first book of what promises to be her most spectacular trilogy yet.

Fool’s Errand

For fifteen years FitzChivalry Farseer has lived in self-imposed exile, assumed to be dead by almost all who once cared about him. But that is about to change when destiny seeks him once again. Prince Dutiful, the young heir to the Farseer throne, has vanished and FitzChivalry, possessed of magical skills both royal and profane, is the only one who can retrieve him in time for his betrothal ceremony--thus sparing the Six Duchies profound political embarrassment...or worse. But even Fitz does not suspect the web of treachery that awaits him or how his loyalties to his Queen, his partner, and those who share his magic will be tested to the breaking point.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28812 in Books
• Published on: 2002-11-26
• Released on: 2002-11-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 688 pages

Amazon.com Review
This first volume of a new trilogy from one of fantasy's most popular and skilled authors will delight longtime Hobb fans as well as first-time readers of her work.

FitzChivalry, the hero of The Farseer trilogy, now lives an isolated and quiet life with his foster son Hap and his Wit partner wolf, Nighteyes, until he is sought out by his old mentor Chade and the enigmatic, charming Fool. Once again, duty calls: Fitz must find a missing prince and prevent political chaos in the Six Duchies. The mission will test his conflicting loyalty to country and family, his uneasy compromise with his own magic, and all the relationships he values most.

If you're a fantasy fan who hasn't yet explored the Farseer world, this is a fine place to start: Hobb deftly provides new readers with all the needed information. The finely detailed world building and intensive character development rarely slow down the action of the story. Fool's Errand is a complex, beautifully written and sometimes heart-rending examination of the consequences of duty and love. --Roz Genessee

From Publishers Weekly
In this hard-to-put-down follow-up to the Farseer Trilogy, Hobb maintains the high standards of her earlier fantasy series. The Fool and FitzChivalry Farseer band together once more to ride against the foes of the Farseer royal family in the kingdom of the Six Duchies. Last seen in Assassin's Quest, FitzChivalry (aka Tom Badgerlock due to the shock of white in his dark hair) has matured beyond the youth blindly following orders. For the past 15 years, Fitz has quietly led the life of a semi-recluse, trying his hardest to disappear. Believing that his glory days are over, he's surprised when fate (in the form of the Fool) pulls him back into the political intrigues that plague the Six Duchies. Endowed with both royal Skill magic and beast magic, Fitz assumes the task of returning the wayward heir to the throne, Prince Dutiful, to his home before his betrothal ceremony something that should be an easy task. In the event, the easy task proves extremely difficult, both physically and mentally for Fitz. The first half of the novel mostly focuses on Fitz's angst-ridden past. The heart-thumping, sword-clashing action that Hobb is known for emerges only during the second half, bringing Fitz fully to life. This is not to say that the first half is by any means dull. It's not. But the full range of Fitz's capabilities doesn't come to the forefront until later. When the action sequences finally kick in, they're non-stop. What starts as a very good read shifts into a stay-up-until-2:00 a.m.-to-finish type of book. (Jan. 9)Forecast: Stephen Youll's quiet jacket art gives no hint of the novel's intensity, but Hobb fans will know better and not be deterred.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Hobb continues the adventures of FitzChivalry the Wit, the protagonist of her Farseer trilogy, in the first volume of a new triptych, The Tawny Man. Now in his mid-thirties, Fitz enjoys life in a forest cottage with his bond-wolf and a boy he has raised as virtually his son, and he is most reluctant to go questing again. But his old companion the Fool, now the Tawny Man, makes a compelling case that Fitz's help is needed. Prince Dutiful, a local royal, has got into a parlous situation through a romantic entanglement that suggests he was very inaccurately named. The consequences of this misalliance bode far worse things than negative media coverage, so Fitz, who hasn't lost his sense of responsibility or, fortunately, any of his old skills, launches another quest. In the remainder of the book's many pages, he encounters a dazzling array of characters, many of them human, and all of them drawn in exquisite detail, particularly the women. Is Hobb fashioning as world-class a fantasy saga as The Liveship Traders? Seems so. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Robin Hobb Rocks
Robin Hobb's 'Farseer' fantasy novels are great. They are original and fresh, not knock-offs of other fantasy worlds. They are character based and contain a unique and compelling perspective on the world.

Grand ideas, so-so plot
I am sorry to say that this book was something of a disappointment to me. I thoroughly enjoyed the Farseer Trilogy, consider the Liveship Traders trilogy to be some of my favorite books ever... and then there is this. Don't get me wrong; it was wonderful to see Fitz and Chade and the rest again, and I realize that this is the first installment of a trilogy, but I guess I expected more of a plot from Ms. Hobb. Once the story got going, it never ammounted to what it suggested. The concepts were promising, but in the end it was little more than a chase scene and some dialogue. Still, Hobb is a gorgeous writer and knows her characters, which is enough for me to keep reading.

Finally, a series worthly to rival "The Lord of the Rings"
Robin Hobb is a master of story weaving. I am not especially fond of fantasy, but after a friend turned me on to the Assassins Apprentice series, we embarked on subsequent writings including the Liveship Traders and Tawny Man series. To maximize the effect of these interwoven novels, read them in that order (ie., The Farseer Trilogy, the Liveship Traders Series, and the Tawny Man Series.) The depth of the stories, as well as the richness and development of the characters easily rivals my all-time favorite series, The Lord of the Rings. Robin's work is truly a mastery of story telling. In fact, the only complaint I could conceive with her books is that they are too detailed (much in the same fashion of The Lord of the Rings.)