Fool's Assassin

Fitz and the Fool, Book 1

By: Robin Hobb

Narrated by: Lee Maxwell-Simpson, Avita Jay

'Fantasy as it ought to be written' GEORGE R.R. MARTIN

Tom Badgerlock has been living peaceably in the manor house at Withywoods with his beloved wife Molly these many years, the estate a reward to his family for loyal service to the crown.

But behind the facade of respectable middle-age lies a turbulent and violent past. For Tom Badgerlock is actually FitzChivalry Farseer, bastard scion of the Farseer line, convicted user of Beast-magic, and assassin. A man who has risked much for his king and lost more…

On a shelf in his den sits a triptych carved in memory stone of a man, a wolf and a fool. Once, these three were inseparable friends: Fitz, Nighteyes and the Fool. But one is long dead, and one long-missing.

Then one Winterfest night a messenger arrives to seek out Fitz, but mysteriously disappears, leaving nothing but a blood-trail. What was the message? Who was the sender? And what has happened to the messenger?

Suddenly Fitz's violent old life erupts into the peace of his new world, and nothing and no one is safe.

©2015 Robin Hobb (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

'Hobb is superb, spinning wonderful characters and plots from pure imagination' Conn Iggulden

'Hobb is one of the great modern fantasy writers… what makes her novels as addictive as morphine is not just their imaginative brilliance but the way her characters are compromised and manipulated by politics' The Times

‘Robin Hobb is without question among the two or three finest writers of fantasy working today’ 5 stars for Fool’s Assassin, SFX

‘Fantasy writers don’t come much bigger than Robin Hobb’ Independent

Robin Hobbs work is let down by her Narrators

maybe I was spoiled by Nicolas Taylor's work in the Tawny man trilogy but I was let down by the vocal performances in this book. Lee Maxwell-Simpson seems to have one cadence that gets used in every line irregardless of the context and Avita Jay's voice for Bee's character doesn't change at all as the story progresses despite it being a large part of her Arc.

The story is slow burn but like the first book of all Hobbs trilogy is sets the stakes and has plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing.

I'll probably choose to read the text for the rest of this trilogy but that's not a reflection on Hobbs work, just my preference. I can't un-hear Nicolas Taylor's voice for Fitz's character

Utterly brilliant

What a delight to be back with Fitz and the Fool! I have sorely missed them. Robin Hobb has crafted another masterpiece! Can't wait to read the next one!

Great book, but a bad voice actor

The male voice actor Lee Maxwell-Simpson was the wrong choice for this series compared to the previous books. Bland, boring voice, no acting in my opinion. Avita Jay’s part was done well and she saved the voice acting in this book. The story is great and if you loved the previous books then this is for you! Loved it!

Absolutely trash voice acting.

Ruined the book for me. The actors changed the entire feel of all the characters I had come to know & cherish, all of which portraying temperaments contrary to their characters as depicted in both the farmer trilogy and the tawny man trilogies.

That and in all honesty this is by far my most un-enjoyed book by Robin Hobb. Perhaps it’s a slow start because I’ve only gotten through about half but the story is incredibly boring and all the hinted at sub plots so far are painfully transparent whilst purporting to carry mystery.