Fool’s Assassin (book 1 of Fitz and the Fool), by Robin Hobb

What to say about this book? It’s as effortless and excellent to read as one can imagine, and brings me right back to the preceding trilogies, which are amongst the best fantasy I’ve ever read. Hobb excels at placing a reader in her characters’ shoes and extorting emotive responses (don’t think I’ve ever encountered a writer better at that). And this return to Fitz and the Fool is no different.

We return to an older Fitz, in a sort of relaxed retirement at his father’s old country estate. All is well, which is a sure sign it won’t be that way for long. He’s still in touch with old friends in the capital but isn’t really involved in politics, and hasn’t assassinated anyone for quite some time.

It’s Winterfest, and a messenger turns up. But what’s the message, and who’s the sender? And who are the unknown strangers that have shown up?

This is the third of a series of trilogies, so it makes little sense to start here if you’ve never read the previous ones, (the Farseer and Tawny Man trilogies) but if you have these continue the story in splendid fashion.

Thaddeus