Fool's Errand

Tawny Man Trilogy, Book 1

By: Robin Hobb

Narrated by: Nick Taylor

Return to the world of the Farseers…

Robin Hobb’s best loved characters, Fitz , The Fool and Nighteyes the wolf, face new adventures and trials in the first book of The Tawny Man trilogy.

When Assassin’s Quest closed, Fitz was living in self-imposed exile. Wracked with pain, he had chosen to discard the magical gifts that had seen him survive the wonders and torments of navigating the legendary city of the Elderlings, and of raising a dragon.

Now, in this the first of a new trilogy, we are returned to the world of the Six Duchies and the lives of those who managed to survive the events of the first Assassin trilogy.

Fifteen years have passed and events are about to sweep Fitz out of his quiet backwater life and into the main political current again. Persecution of the Witted has become rampant throughout the Six Duchies despite Queen Kettricken’s effort to damp it. The Witted themselves have begun to strike back. So when 15 year old Prince Dutiful disappears, is it only because he is nervous about his betrothal ceremony to an Outislander princess, or has he been taken hostage by the Witted? Worse, is he perhaps another ‘Piebald Prince’, a Farseer tainted by Wit magic? As the desperate situation worsens, Kettricken has no choice but to summon Fitz to Buckkeep, for who better to track the young prince down than another gifted with the Wit, together with his bonded companion, the wolf Nighteyes?

©2013 Robin Hobb (P)2013 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"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)

"A gleaming debut" ( Publishers Weekly)

"Assassin's Quest achieves a bittersweet, powerful complexity rare in fantasy" ( Locus)

"Robin Hobb writes achingly well" ( SFX, Praise for The Liveship Traders series)

"Even better than the Assassin books. I didn't think that was possible" (George R R Martin)

"Hobb is a remarkable storyteller." ( Guardian)

Editing not perfect

Biggest complaint would be that there is 0 downtime between end of a chapter and start of the new one, resulting in no room to let the chapter to sink in.

Great book, one audio problem

I loved the book, like all other Robin Hobb books so far.
In this recording, I found it annoying that there is no break whatsoever after a chapter ends and a new one begins. For me, it destroyed some moments where I’d have wanted to think about how the previous chapter ended but there isn’t even a milisecond of space left to do that.

Robin Hobb is one of the most brilliant writers ever! Her writing is so beautiful and emotional, it’s truly gorgeous.

I love how the story describes Fool and Fitz’s lives in a slow pace, allowing so many details to be written into the book. This whole Tawny man trilogy is just simply brilliant. Robin Hobb’s poetic way of writing the Fool is one of my favorite parts of the trilogy. And having a whole set of books based on Fitz and the Fool’s adult years together is just a dream come true! This trilogy is truly the best I’ve ever seen!

An amazing continuation of a splendid series.

Not much to say, other than enjoy your read. If the Narrator bothers you, don't worry. He grows on you over time. While not as excellent as Paul Boehmer, the narrator manages to put his own interpertation on the characters in a way that does The Farseer Trilogy justice, while setting up The Tawny Man trilogy to be the wild ride that it is.

mesmerizing!

this is my first audiobook ever, so I picked a book I'm familiar with to "test the water".
i'll admit, at the begining I did not like it but I think that when the narrator begane to speak as Nighteyes; I was hooked.
I listened to it while working, and while the narrator's voice lured me in into the realm of Robin Hobb; it did not make me lose my focus.
absloutely amazing!!

Amazing

This was perfect. I laughed and I cried and now I don’t know what to do with my life.

Horrible voice actor..

Yet again another voice for this series.. Unfortunately you can hear him breathe, swallow and mistakes aren't cut out, so sometimes it repeats itself..
Story is awesome, but if you have the patience read the book yourself

Great

I love the story. The narration at first is a bit jarring compared to the assassins trilogy but you quickly become attached to it. The only thing is between chapters there isn't even a breath taken between the last word and the next chapter. Still wonderful though.

Great narrator for a great book

Long time fan of Robin Hobb, but this is my first time listening to the Tawny Man trilogy in audiobook form. While I enjoyed the narrators of Hobb’s previous two trilogies on Audible, Nick Taylor just kills it. Normally I would have interspersed my listening with reading an actual paper copy of the book, but this narration was too good to choose anything but audio!

Awesome. FITZ is back

What made the experience of listening to The Tawny Man Trilogy (1) – Fool’s Errand the most enjoyable?

After loving the Farseer trilogy, Fools errand puts you straight back into Buck all be it quite a few years later and delivers.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Nighteyes - His wolfish way of looking at life which is more human than some of the actual human characters.

Which character – as performed by Nick Taylor – was your favorite?

FitzChivalry

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

If you loved the Farseer, you'll love this. Could not stop listening and had a few close encounters with the misses because of it. All worth it.