RotE5: Fitz and the Fool trilogy (BR)

[Anna]

Final stretch, let's see how this thing ends!


October 2019: Fool's Assassin
November 2019: Fool's Quest
December 2019: Assassin's Fate

For full schedule and details of Realms of the Elderlings buddy reads, go here!

Remember to use spoiler tags, and mark all spoilers with both book name and chapter number!

[Anna]

It's October! Wait, it's June. Oh well, I started the final trilogy :D

F&F1, chapter 10:

(view spoiler)[ For the most part all I have to say so far is more Fool please! I am enjoying listening to this though, it's suiting my mood with its slow, senior life feel. I've been feeling very meh about everything I've been reading, so it's nice to just be lulled with simple country life for a little while, before we undoubtedly jump into some action.

I was expecting Molly to die soon, and didn't expect to care. Doing it from Bee's perspective though? That was a great move, I did end up caring.

Also, seeing "Bee Farseer" and the start of the chapter was amazing. I love that it was revealed like this, and not drawn out. (hide spoiler)]

[Travis]

Anna wrote: "It's October! Wait, it's June. Oh well, I started the final trilogy :D."

You're killing me here! I'll be starting later this month.

[Anna]

Don't worry Travis, I'll probably just gush a lot, if applicable, or do a post-finishing grumble if not.

Oh, did you quote on the app? Why is the spoiler not hidden in the quote? Sigh, GR fix this already! Fortunately the part that's showing isn't at all spoilery.

[Travis]

Oops. Fixed!

[Anna]

I didn't mean you needed to fix it! I wish GR got their act together and made using spoiler tags on all platforms work like it should.

[Travis]

Anna wrote: "I didn't mean you needed to fix it! I wish GR got their act together and made using spoiler tags on all platforms work like it should."

Here here! I mean it's not like they're owned by one of the world's most powerful corporations or anything.

[Wen]

Ahh, you two are so fast! I just saw Assassin's Fate on the library shelf the past weekend and I have to control myself not to borrow it. I am still at book 4...-_-

[Anna]

I can't imagine not reading a series back to back. I'm amazed I managed to take two breaks before the last two trilogies! But these threads will all still be here when you're ready to jump in! :)

[Wen]

Anna wrote: "I can't imagine not reading a series back to back. I'm amazed I managed to take two breaks before the last two trilogies! But these threads will all still be here when you're ready to jump in! :)"

Thank you, Anna. Because it's a brand new book, I was like, ahh, I'll be the first person to read it:) Ok, I'll follow the sequence...

[YouKneeK]

Anna wrote: "F&F1, chapter 10:"

(view spoiler)[I too was surprised when I cared about Molly’s death. It doesn’t erase the annoyances from previous books, but I did think Hobb finally gave us a more substantial, believable representation of Fitz and Molly’s relationship in this book.

I was actually not terribly happy when Bee was first introduced as a POV character, but I ended up enjoying her chapters very much. (hide spoiler)]

[Anna]

F&F1, chapter 14:

Yeah I agree, (view spoiler)[ I wanted to go back to Fitz and kept wanting to get on with the Real Story, but surprisingly I've grown fond of Bee and her POV chapters. I just listened to the part with her special wolf dream, and I don't know how I'm supposed to go to sleep now and not keep listening?!

Also Wolf Father! <3 :'( (hide spoiler)]

[Anna]

I finished F&F1

(view spoiler)[ I had a great time with this book, despite the very slow start and hundreds of pages spent on wondering about something that everyone in the universe could immediately figure out. The audio was otherwise fine, but both narrators do Bee's voice in a really annoying shrill way. I can live with it, but I thought it was unnecessarily weird.

I continue to be amazed by how clueless Fitz is. Of course it's Hobb's fault for writing him that way. I was hoping maybe everything wasn't as obvious as it seemed, but alas, it was. It baffles me how Fitz is able to pull his boots on in the morning. I know he's writing these events after they happened, but still.

I love that Nighteyes is sort of back, he is a furry darling and it's like he has all the wits to Fitz's Wit. Wolf Father is smart, caring, honest, amazing, and Fitz is a clueless log. I still like Fitz, don't get me wrong! :D I just wish he'd exercise his brain every once in a while.

I really dislike Shun's character, she belongs in the Rain Wilds with all the other attention seeking drama royals.

Favorite part, besides Nighteyes:

My father caught me and held me tight. He was so contained that it did not hurt. But for all that, I felt the anger that simmered in him like hot oil inside a lidded pot. He spoke in such a growl I felt as if it were Wolf Father speaking inside me. ‘I will always take your part, Bee. Right or wrong. That is why you must always take care to be right, lest you make your father a fool.’

I spoke quietly. ‘Does this go both ways? That if I always take your part, I will not end up a fool?’

Bee, I seriously hope you won't end up a Fool! (hide spoiler)]

[YouKneeK]

Anna wrote: "I finished F&F1"

(view spoiler)[I’m glad you enjoyed it. :) I enjoyed it surprisingly well considering how little of the Fool it had. I spent the whole book anticipating him around every corner, and trying to figure out how he might fit into each next chapter.

A shrill voice for Bee would have driven me nuts. That definitely isn’t how I heard her in my head. I don’t think I could ever do this series in audio now that I’ve already read it in print. I would undoubtedly be angry over every voice not sounding like the “real” people.

I hated Shun. And I loathed FitzVigilant. (hide spoiler)]

[Anna]

Yes, I was going in (view spoiler)[ wanting and expecting all the Fool and the F&F dynamic. I'm surprised I didn't mind!

I also hated FV, but there's less/no chance of him annoying me in the next book, so I didn't feel like I needed to vent about him.

I'm still thinking about that fool quote, and all the delicious ways you can interpret it :D (hide spoiler)]

[Anna]

I finished F&F2 chapter 12, just some random thoughts.

(view spoiler)[ First of all, I thought FitzVigilant died, but maybe I was just hoping that was the case. Surely we won't have to see any more of him, please?

I said that Shun has Rain Wilds drama, and of course that meant she was promptly raped. It's like Hobb doesn't know how to write a book with a female POV without including rape. I'm going to be so disappointed if Shun's role is to be obnoxious, get raped, and then become the courageous defender of Bee, yuck.

The way the book opened with Nighteyes as a cub broke my heart :( On the plus side I love the Fool&crow dynamic!

While I enjoyed the first book sans Fool, now that I've had Foolish moments, I'm not happy when the story turned back to Bee. (hide spoiler)]

F&F2, ch14

(view spoiler)[ Now we have implied incest? Why? Why do I have to read this shit that will completely spoil an otherwise enjoyable book?! <_< (hide spoiler)]

[Anna]

I finished F&F2

(view spoiler)[ I don't really have much to say. It's like Hobb took the Fitz books and the Rain Wilds books and merged them together to form something you can love and loathe at the same time. Fool is still great, Fitz is still foolish, the RW rape dragon drama is still annoying the heck out of me, and I am angry I have to read it. I thought I was done with that, and could end on a high note. The third book better drop that shit and go back to what I expect from a Fitz trilogy after Tawny Man. I already have a plan in place to erase all books after Tawny3 from existence, and some chapters from the end of Tawny3, too. I could be happy with the story ending with Fitz, Fool and Prilkop sitting in an Elderling tent on Aslevjal.

4-5 stars for Fool
3 stars for Fitz
-100 stars for Shun, Lant, dragon drama, rapes, etc.
Averages out at 3 stars (hide spoiler)]

[CBRetriever]

Book 3 is different:

(view spoiler)[Assassin's Fate is a sequel not only to her earlier books featuring Fitz but to the Liveship and Rain Wilds books. (hide spoiler)]

[Anna]

I'm not going to look at that spoiler yet, because I don't want to know anything before I start! That's going to be tomorrow probably, so I'll get back to reading that later.

[Anna]

CBRetriever wrote: "Book 3 is different:

[spoilers removed]"

OK I started F&F3 and looked at the spoiler. I feel like that was already true for F&F2? But yeah, it looks like (view spoiler)[ maybe I should've stopped with Tawny Man :/ (hide spoiler)]

An annoying thing about book 3 is that while the narrators are the same, the man pronounces some names, like (view spoiler)[ Per (hide spoiler)], differently. I kind of understand saying (view spoiler)[ Kelsingra (hide spoiler)] differently, since the Rain Wilds narrator was different, but the character is from this trilogy! Also he says liveship like 'livship', not '(a)liveship'. So 'I live' instead of 'I am (a)live'. So annoying!

I wonder why every trilogy has a different narrator? I think Rain Wilds had three different narrators, with only the last one by the same one who narrated Liveship? They've mostly all been OK, so it's fine, but it'd be so much nicer to have the same voices and pronunciation throughout the series, especially when you're binging it back to back.

With all that whining out of the way, I shall now continue enjoying the book! :D

[Anna]

F&F3, chapter 11 start

(view spoiler)[ I like Bee's journal entries in general, but I really like this one!

This is my most frightening dream. I dream it as a vine that splits into two branches. On one branch there are four candles growing. One by one they are kindled to flame, but their light does not illuminate. Instead, a crow says, ‘Here are four candles to light you to bed. Four candles lit means their child is dead. Four candles burn for the end of their ways. The Wolf and the jester have wasted their days.’

Then, on the other branch of the vine, three candles are suddenly kindled. Their light is almost blinding. And the same crow says, ‘Three flames burn brighter than the sun. Their blaze engulfs an evil done. Their angry mourning purpose gives. They do not know their child still lives.’

Then the crow suddenly has a broken candle. She drops it and I catch it. In a slow and frightening voice she says, ‘Child, light the fire. Burn the future and the past. It’s what you were born to do.’

(hide spoiler)]

[Anna]

I finished it. All of it. The whole thing.

(view spoiler)[ I hope you weren't expecting something profound. This is not it. I don't think I'm ready to express anything, but in short I wish the dragon stuff had been resolved in the previous trilogy (of four). Such a mixed bag.

Tawny Man is still my favorite sub-series, but parts of this trilogy are up there, too.

I need to sleep, take a break from all books, and mop up the puddle of tears that suddenly emerged on my floor.

I do have one thing about the plot though, and that's Nighteyes as Wolf Father. I was a little disappointed when it turned out he had moved from Fitz's head to Bee's, because I'd imagined him as an actual co-father to Fitz and Fool. Fitz spent time in both their bodies, so he could have magically had Essence of Nighteyes/Fool to pass on to Bee. I do love that Wolf Father was a thing, no matter how it was explained, but it would have made sense to me to see the little pack of three all be co-parents <3 But maybe they'll finally have time to talk about all the things, now that they're together for eternity. (hide spoiler)]

[YouKneeK]

Anna wrote: "I finished it. All of it. The whole thing."

I've enjoyed reading all your comments as you flew through the series! :)

Spoilers through the very end:
(view spoiler)[I think Tawny Man was my favorite also. At least, it had most of my favorite parts, but it also had some of my least-favorite parts.

I had mixed feelings about how everything ended. On the one hand, I thought the ending was fitting. It was sad, but also something I could imagine Fitz and the Fool choosing to do together near the end of their natural lives if they hadn’t been forced into it sooner. It also would have been much more painful if only one of them had been left. In a way, I felt like I should have expected that ending much further in advance than I did.

What I had the most trouble with was the end coming from Bee’s perspective. I know it was the only logical way to tell it, because Fitz was no longer there to write it, but it would have been much more satisfying to me to experience those last moments from Fitz’s perspective. I could imagine what they were thinking and feeling at that moment, but I wanted to be told their “real” thoughts and feelings.

That leads to why I was unhappy when Bee first showed up as a POV character. I had suspected Hobb would go for some sort of bittersweet ending, but it seemed likely (not a sure thing, but likely) that Fitz would make it to the end if he was narrating the last trilogy. Then Bee had her first POV chapter and I knew he wouldn’t, because now Hobb had somebody else to tell the end of the story. I’d like to read this again someday while already knowing exactly how everything turns out, so that I can appreciate it more without all the suspense and dread. I know I appreciated Tawny Man even more the second time around for similar reasons. (hide spoiler)]

[Anna]

All books

(view spoiler)[ I also took it for granted that adding Bee's POV meant it was there to narrate events after Fitz's death, but I did dare to hope a tiny little bit after Bee dreamed something about them sitting in front of the fire, very old. I can't remember exactly, but she said there was sadness, and in my mind it was because Fool had died of very old age, and they'd all lived happily together until then. I'd love to see that ending!

I also wanted to see the end from Fitz's perspective, or Fool's, but I understand why it wasn't possible. I don't agree with making everything so damn hard though, like Fitz and Fool never talking about anything, and Fitz spending months staggering around while everyone thought he was dead. They've all been through so much already, I don't think the end needed to be extra dramatic.

And while it did make me very emotional to have the trio end up together, I'm not sure I like it? I wanted to see Fool have a life that didn't revolve around Fitz. At the end of Tawny Man I could imagine that happened, but instead Fool was tortured for all that time Fitz spent in bliss with Molly. I understand that getting to "rest" after all that may be very tempting, but there was a lot of closure for Fool in the final book, and I feel like it might have been a chance to find a (more) normal life. I don't think it was absolutely necessary for Bee to hate Fool as much as she did, I wish they'd had a better relationship. Fool really didn't have anyone or anything else in life but Fitz and Nighteyes, and that makes me sad :(

I ended Tawny Man angry with Fitz and Molly getting back together because it didn't make sense, and now I sort of feel like Fitz and Fool don't make sense. Yes, they have/had a connection, and it was strong, but all that time apart with one living a cozy family life, and the other suffering? I'm not against it, obviously, but I wish their connection had been stronger in the final trilogy. (hide spoiler)]

[YouKneeK]

(Spoilers through end.)

(view spoiler)[I’d love to see that ending too. :)

I agree, I think the way everything was so hard leading up to the end took away or at least limited the sense of closure I might otherwise have felt at the end. I hated how much Fitz and the Fool were at odds with each other, especially in the last book. I also hated the way Bee treated the Fool, and her too-little-too-late actions at the end did not redeem her in my eyes. (hide spoiler)]

[Anna]

Another thing about the whole last trilogy

(view spoiler)[ I liked seeing all sides of Fool in one book. Amber was the one highlight in Liveship (I guessed it very early on), and getting to hear Fitz call Fool Amber/her and accept the character as a person was nice to see after the fuss he made in Tawny Man. In contrast Bee talking about how she didn't want to call Fool Beloved, though she did, nor Amber, Fool or anything else really. I wanted to like the fact that she picked Beloved, but it didn't mean anything so I don't think I can like it :D

That part from Tawny Man where we learn Fool's name is still my absolute favorite part in the whole series! <3 The second would be something with Nighteyes, probably something to do with calling the trio pack. And I think the fool discussion between Fitz and Bee is the third.

When are we getting a novella from the young Fool's POV? Or let's say a novella trilogy, one for each Fitz trilogy. No more need to hide any secrets, so it could spell everything out and we'd get to be inside Fool's head! (hide spoiler)]

[Mareike]

Anna wrote: "I finished F&F1

[Spoiler Removed]

I loved (view spoiler)[that Nighteyes came back (as you said "sort of") as Wolf Father. I had goosebumps all over and teared up a little the first time him and Bree meet.

And I agree, Fitz's cluelessness continues to astound me. That was definitely the most frustrating thing about the first book in this trilogy. (hide spoiler)]

For all books

(view spoiler)[God, yes, they've really all been through so much by the end of this. Part of me really wanted them to have a nice, quiet, but long rest of their lives. But the ending as Hobb wrote it also really worked for me. I got pretty emotional over that one.

I think one of my absolute favorite scenes from the entire series of novels is in Fool's Fate when Fitz re-emerges from the glacier and reuniting with Burrich in the camp thinks: 'Suddenly, it seemed as if everything would be alright, as if everything could be mended. Heart of the Pack was here and he had never let us come to harm.'

I'm probably forgetting a ton of other moments right now, but I really loved that one. (hide spoiler)]

[Anna]

Mareike wrote: "For all books"

That quote was indeed a great moment! It seems so long ago I'd almost forgotten.

[Mareike]

Anna wrote: "Mareike wrote: "For all books"

That quote was indeed a great moment! It seems so long ago I'd almost forgotten."

I think I instantly re-read that scene two or three times. It really, really struck a chord and stuck with me.

[Anna]

That got me thinking about (view spoiler)[ when Burrich died and it was very off screen, and the mourning didn't seem to fit what had happened. Yes, there was a lot going on, but looking back it feels like it was just a quick mention compared to everything else. I was happy to see Burrich so fondly remembered in the last trilogy. So many things came full circle, so it was extra nice to also have Burrich present in a sense. (hide spoiler)]

[Mareike]

Oh yes, agreed 100%!

Another favorite scene from all the books is (view spoiler)[when Fitz meets Nosy again in Jhaampe in Assassin's Apprentice. I hadn't cried at a scene in a book in quite a while, but that one really got to me. (I'm a dog person, what can I say.) (hide spoiler)]

[Anna]

That was lovely, although I had a suspicion that (view spoiler)[ Nosy was alive, so it was a bit sad to have him come back only to die. (hide spoiler)]

[Mareike]

Oh, yes that is true. (Spoiler for Assassin's Apprentice) (view spoiler)[I was honestly shocked and heartbroken when Burrich took him away and Fitz lost his connection to him. I couldn't believe Burrich would do such a thing, but it did seem so final.... (hide spoiler)]

[Bonnie]

FitzFool3 Assassin's Fate
Chapter 38 "Ship of Dragons" 80%
(view spoiler)[Would someone start teaching these folks how to swim?
Particularly those who are professional sailors?
Please and Thank You
(hide spoiler)]

[CBRetriever]

Bonnie wrote: "FitzFool3 Assassin's Fate
Chapter 38 "Ship of Dragons" 80%

"

wasn't common in the times of England ruling the seas or the Spanish explorers or in most navies

[Bonnie]

FandF3 - trilogy
Nice touches:
(view spoiler)[
Bee - i didn't like her at first -- seemed like a TV tactic when the sitcom family has a baby so the sitcom has "fresh" conversation and jokes to make about the youngster -- but she grew on me. Little Bee! Small but strong, spunky, powerfully Skilled, super smart. Hanging on tight to her mum's scented candle.

Nighteyes helping Bee in the guise of Wolf Father, most of her life plus helping her to stay alive and fighting during her torturous journey of captivity.

Motley the Crow. WitMaster Web hoped she would bond with Fitz, but instead she became friends with a group of people, not an official Wit-Bond with any one person. Motley could hang out with and speak out loud with Fitz, Fool, Per and Spark/Ash.

How the liveships who become dragons with Silver will be wiser dragons than the others, will get along / communicate better with humans because of their memories as part of Trader families. That will be important as the dragon population increases!
(hide spoiler)]

[Bonnie]

YouKneeK wrote: "Anna wrote: "I finished it. All of it. The whole thing."
I've enjoyed reading all your comments as you flew through the series! :) "

I also have appreciated everyone's comments. I think in the future as I remember the summer of 2019 I will connect it to Realm of the Elderlings! Oh that year, I was living in Berlin and also in the Six Duchies/ Mountain Kingdom / Rain Wilds / Kelsingra /Chalced-Jamaillia-Clerres world.

I feel a renewed appreciation for Fantasy.

[Bonnie]

CBRetriever wrote: "Bonnie wrote: "FitzFool3 Assassin's Fate
Chapter 38 "Ship of Dragons" 80%

"wasn't common in the times of England ruling the seas or the Spanish explorers or in most navies"

LUDICROUS! Then or now. Put Queen Kenntricken in charge of the Navy or Merchant service. she would fix things up.

[Bonnie]

Mareike wrote: "Oh yes, agreed 100%!

Another favorite scene from all the books is..."

One of my favorite scenes was in Tawny Man trilogy, with Thick:
(view spoiler)[
Thick, the servant with Downs Syndrome and powerful Skill magic who emitted music. Fitz decided to befriend him instead of getting into conflicts with him, and was talking to him.

I could get you some nice clothing. What sort of things would you like, if you could have whatever you wanted? Cake. What kind of cake, seed cake? Yes, and Pink cake with frosting. What else? A pocket knife like yours. What else? A whistle on a red string... Then Skill memory of how his mam gave him that whistle, and boys bullied him and took it away and they didn't even use it to whistle.
Heart breaking.
(hide spoiler)]