And so to the third part of the third trilogy featuring the eponymous Fitz and the Fool. I’ve been a little slower reading this than the others, partly due to a natural tendency to drag out endings of books/series I enjoy.
But I devoured the last two hundred pages in a little over a day. The climax of the story as our namesake heroes head to Clerres to try and wrest Bee, Fitz’s daughter, from the vicious, torturous grasp of the Servants is a highlight of the trilogies. I won’t betray the ending, but I found it to be perfectly done.
Naturally, there are spoilers for earlier entries in this series, as well as the preceding trilogies (Farseer, and Tawny Man).
The main characters have come a long way from the first
book, and are accompanied by Lant (the son of Chade, who was Fitz’s mentor),
Spark (Chade’s last protégé as a shadow-sneaking thief-spy-assassin), and Perseverance,
the aptly named stableboy who has sworn to rescue Bee. There are some
unexpected allies both within and without Clerres, some of whom may be more
trouble than they’re worth. Will Bee survive? Will she see her father again?
And will saving her cost him his life?
As always, Hobb absolutely excels at emotive writing that’s also incredibly easy to read, letting the reader get swept away on a churning river that ranges from slow sentimentality to rapid stress, gnawing dread, and tentative hope.
It’s a wonderful book, and if you’ve got this far then frankly you’re a daft sod if you miss out on the final book in the final trilogy.
Thaddeus
