The Tawny Man Trilogy: Robin Hobb’s Fantastic Fantasy Series Continues

Fool’s Errand (Book One of The Tawny Man Trilogy) 

So, at this point, I think it’s safe to say that I’m a big Robin Hobb fan. When I set out to read more fantasy novels, I didn’t expect that I’d find a single author that I’d enjoy as much as I do Hobb’s work. Hobb’s Realm of the Elderlings books all take place in the same universe, with The Tawny Man Trilogy being the third trilogy of novels, after both the original Farseer Trilogy and Liveship Traders.

Though Liveship Traders focused on a different part of the world Hobb created and featured a new cast of characters, Fool’s Errand has us return to the Six Duchies and focus once again on the main players we followed in Farseer. While it’s not completely necessary to read the six books that preceded this one, it definitely adds a great deal to the story, and I’d recommend doing so.

In fact, the first third of this book basically acts as an epilogue to that original trilogy. The majority of this part of the book takes place in Fitz’s cabin with Nighteyes and Hap, and just explores the goings on of his current life. When another character from the original trilogy that Fitz hasn’t seen in a decade and a half arrives, Fitz recounts to this old friend all that’s happened to him.

I really enjoyed this opening section of Fool’s Errand. It’s beautifully written (as all of Hobb’s work is) and sort of a nice way to ease readers back into Fitz’s story.

The next part of the novel is as much a mystery as it is a fantasy adventure. Fitz (going by the alias Tom) must track down Prince Dutiful who has gone missing. Together with the Fool, Nighteyes, and a warrior named Laurel, he undertakes a quest to discover what’s become of the prince. These parts of Fool’s Errand reminded me almost of a Sherlock Holmes type story, where you find yourself trying to figure out what’s going on, with characters having secret motivations, and trying to determine who’s really behind what.

There are many elements that go into Fool’s Errand, but, at its core, it is a character study of Fitz. Unlike Liveship Traders where we focused on multiple characters, here we’re getting everything from Fitz’s perspective. And, boy, is Fitz a complex and nuanced individual. Hobb has crafted one of the most interesting protagonists ever.

Taken as a whole, Fool’s Errand is nothing short of phenomenal. As a new father myself who’s close to the age Fitz now is in the story, I felt a real connection to him. Even without this personal connection, I think I’d still find this to be one of the best books I’ve ever read. It has one of the most emotional scenes I’ve ever experienced near the latter part of the book and is overall just excellent.

Fool’s Errand claims the spot of my favorite Hobb novel to date, just ahead of Assassin’s Apprentice. Just wow. 

Grade: 10/10

Golden Fool (Book Two of The Tawny Man Trilogy)

So, I really enjoyed Golden Fool. Do I think it’s quite as excellent as the first book in this trilogy? No, probably not. But honestly, that first book would’ve been near impossible to top.

If anything, Golden Fool feels very much like a middle book in a set of three (which is exactly what it is). We pick up right where we left off after Fool’s Errand and the book serves as a ton of setup for the final book. That doesn’t make Golden Fool not an enjoyable read though.

In fact, I think I read Golden Fool faster than I’ve read any other Robin Hobb books to date. I tend to take my time reading any novel, but this was a true page-turner for me. The overall story with Fitz returning to Buckkeep and getting back into the heart of the goings on there is just extremely engaging to me. I enjoy this older, yet still incredibly flawed, version of Fitz more than I did the young version of him in the Farseer books.

Further exploration of characters like Dutiful, Chade, and the Fool/Lord Golden is also expertly done in Golden Fool. I wish we got a little more of Kettricken’s character, but overall, Hobb’s character exploration is fantastic as usual.

More than anything, Golden Fool has me excited to Fool’s Fate. It’s a setup book, but it’s a supremely well-crated one.

Grade: 8.5/10

Fool’s Fate (Book Three of The Tawny Man Trilogy)

Fool’s Fate is a fantastic conclusion to The Tawny Man Trilogy. As with the second book in the trilogy, this one is a real page-turner. For me to read a 850-page book in around a week is pretty unheard of these days, but I really had trouble putting this one down.

With the original Farseer Trilogy, I always felt like the third book there, Assassin’s Quest, was by far the weakest of the bunch. Like that story, Fool’s Fate is a “band of heroes going on a quest” tale, but while that one was a letdown, this finale sticks the landing. The entire quest drew me in. 

If you’ve reached this novel on your journey through Robin Hobb’s book list, you know that her character work is some of the best there is. In this one, Thick and Nettle were two side characters that hadn’t been featured prominently in prior books that I enjoyed as a couple of my new favorites.

Really though, Fool’s Fate is the story of two main heroes: Fitz and the Fool. The journey that these two have gone on together to reach where they end up at the conclusion of this story… it’s hard to even find the words to express how great an accomplishment these characters are. These have got to be two of the most complex fantasy characters ever written, with Fitz having become one of my favorite protagonists in any book ever.

If I had to point to any weakness in Fool’s Fate it would be that it does feel a tad too long. Even trimming 50 or so pages would’ve helped speed up the pacing towards the ending in particular. I can see some readers also taking issue with one aspect of how things end up for Fitz (and another character who becomes more important later on), but I didn’t mind it.

It’s clear that at the time she wrote Fool’s Fate, Hobb had planned it to be the final book in Fitz’s adventure. If that had been the case, this would’ve been an outstanding sendoff to FitzChivalry Farseer. As it is, this is another outstanding entry in her Realm of the Elderlings.

Grade: 9/10