Golden Fool

"Golden Fool" is a book by Robin Hobb, the second in her "Tawny Man Trilogy."

Plot summary

Fitz has succeeded in rescuing Prince Dutiful from the clutches of the Piebald rebels. But once again the cost of protecting the Farseer line has been dear: Nighteyes is dead. Following the discovery that Dutiful, the heir to the throne conceived by Verity using Fitz's body fifteen years earlier, is both Skilled and Witted, Fitz, though bitter and grieving after the death of his beloved wit-partner, the wolf Nighteyes, reluctantly takes the post of Skillmaster. He does so to protect Dutiful from the addictive qualities of the Skill, the dangerous temptations of the Wit and the political machinations surrounding both as the Piebalds threaten to throw the Six Duchies into civil war. Maintaining a pose as the servant Tom Badgerlock to the Fool's decadent noble Lord Golden, at the urging of his old mentor the Master Assassin Chade, now Queen Kettricken's Lord Councillor, he also attempts to seek new Skill users as companions for Dutiful. His search leads him to a most unlikely candidate; a mentally-troubled young man named Thick, suspicious after years of mistreatment but stronger in the Skill than anyone Fitz has ever encountered.

At the same time, the Six Duchies also faces what may be its salvation in a long-term peace, or a new threat to the fragile peace that has existed since the end of the Red Ship War. Queen Kettricken plans to betrothe Dutiful to the Outislander Princess Elliana, to forge a lasting alliance between the two lands as her marriage to Verity once did. The task is less simple than it appears, and Fitz becomes aware of wheels within wheels, as different interests war with each other with the stakes higher than anyone has imagined. These finally come to a head as Elliana declares she will not wed Dutiful without his undertaking a quest to slay one of the last true dragons.

Editions

* A British English edition was issued in London by Voyager/Harpercollins in 2003 with ISBN 0-00-648602-9. This edition's cover is illustrated by John Howe.

References