Fitz and The Fool

On October 16^th this year, Harper Voyager announced that it signed a new trilogy from fantasy novelist Robin Hobb. When I read this headline, I got so excited that I could not help but jump up and down with joy. Robin Hobb is by far my most favorite fantasy novelist of all time. The even better news? Her new trilogy is based off of two of her most famous characters – Fitz and the Fool. The first book in the trilogy is scheduled to be released in August 2014 and is titled Fool’s Assassin.

My love for Fitz and the Fool, and consequently my love for all of Robin Hobb’s characters and stories started when I stumbled upon a book years ago in a Barnes & Noble called Assassin’s Apprentice. I was looking for a new book and it sounded ok, so I bought it to see if it was any good – not really expecting much. I was blown away right from the beginning as Fitz tells us his tale: a bastard son of a prince, thrust suddenly into the intrigues and dangers of court life. I followed the life of Fitz as he grew from boy to man in the other two books of the Farseer Trilogy: Royal Assassin and Assassin’s Quest. Through him, you meet lasting characters like Burrich – the stable master and man who raised Fitz, Chade – Fitz’s assassin mentor, the Fool – the court jester that befriends Fitz, and the two brothers of Fit’z father – the kindhearted Prince Verity and the cruel Prince Regal. With these pivotal characters, deep and complex plots of betrayal and power play out through Fitz’s viewpoint. And as the royal assassin, Fitz is always right in the thick of things. To try to explain the full complexity of the storyline would be near impossible without re-writing the whole book. What makes Robin Hobb one of my most favorite authors I have ever read is how well she develops all the characters in these novels – she writes them so that they are very real, in all their good qualities and in all their imperfections.

Throughout the novels, Fitz struggles with the Wit and the Skill. The Wit is an abhorred magic that is believed to give people power over animals. In reality, the Wit is something much more natural in its essence, and allows people to bond with an animal and understand what animals are saying. Throughout the novels, Fitz’s bond animal, a wolf named Nighteyes, is an essential part in who Fitz is as a character. The Skill is a magic of more esteemed lineage and is often associated with the royal family. The Skill is more of a person to person contact that allows users to do such things as talk to another user with their mind or befuddle the minds of their enemies. It is often with both the Wit and the Skill that Fitz is able to protect the royal family from harm.

While Fitz is focused on the present day problems, the Fool is focused on the bigger picture. Claiming to be a White Prophet, the Fool names Fitz as his Catalyst and insists that through his actions the world will be set on a better path. Through a series of events in which Fitz dies, is brought back to life, and completes a quest to awaken the legendary Elderling dragons to fight off their enemies, Fitz proves that he will sacrifice much to ensure the royal family remains in power. His only reward, he asks, is to be left alone in peace with his wolf Nighteyes. By the end of the Farseer Trilogy, you would never expect to hear from Fitz again.

"The Farseer: FitzChivalry" by Maija Pietikäinen

http://www.elfwood.com/~maija/The-Farseer-FitzChivalry.3006416.html

When the Tawny Man Trilogy deputed, I was beyond happy to find out that Fitz was once again the focus of the story. He truly is a character you grow to love because of his flaws and quirks, because everything about him is believable. The three books in this series focus much more on the relationship between Fitz and the Fool and delve even deeper into the Fool’s belief that he needs to set the world on a better path through their actions. The rich storyline from the Farseer Trilogy picks right back up again as Fitz is brought out of his retirement and thrown back into the intrigues of the royal Farseer family court. Fitz is determined to keep his identity a secret upon his return and chance meetings with old friends and family only make you feel for all the characters even more. Throughout the trilogy, Fitz has to face court intrigues, a journey to a distant island to unearth a frozen dragon, and political uprising throughout his homeland. All is well, however, by the end of the novels when he is re-united with his long lost love, Molly. The end to his story is content and happy. I was certain this time that I would never hear from Fitz again.

But I was wrong. With the release of Fool’s Assassin in 2014 it seems that Fitz and the Fool will be back at it again. At the end of the Tawny Man Trilogy, Fitz and the Fool never get to say a proper goodbye – Fitz settled into the life he had always wanted and the Fool went out to learn more about his purpose in life. Fitz is happy now with is life in the Withywoods – he has Molly and his daughter, Nettle. The Prince Dutiful, who he forms a close bond with in the Tawny Man Trilogy, visits often. He lives a settled and comfortable life – finally able to stop revisiting the pains his past has caused him. In the Tawny Man Trilogy, the Fool always said that he regretted having to find Fitz and that he wished he could leave Fitz in peace. Fitz never fully understands what the Fool means – he sees the Fool only as his best friend. The Fool also views Fitz as his closest friend, but he also knows that he is the White Prophet and he must use his Catalyst to set the world on a better path – no matter what it takes. I am almost sad that the Fool will find Fitz again in this new trilogy because it means that the happy ending that Fitz had in the last trilogy wasn’t really an ending, only just a break.

"Verity-as-dragon" by Perkan

http://perkan.deviantart.com/art/Verity-as-dragon-122585661

Despite my forebodings for what is to come of Fitz, I am still very excited for 2014 and the new release. Robin Hobb is a master storyteller. She has created an entire world with it’s own unique and detailed history in the Farseer and Tawny Man Trilogies. The Liveship Trader Trilogy is another series that ties in with this world and contributes to a plot line that weaves throughout all of her novels. Set to take place in a time between the Farseer Trilogy and the Tawny Man Trilogy, the Fool even appears in the story, but as a woman named Amber. While Fitz is many, many miles away recovering from his ordeals, the characters in this trilogy have their own unique problems to face and overcome. Althea, Brashen, and Paragon are just as powerful and real characters as anyone else Hobb creates and it is hard to put these books down.

The last installments relating to this world Hobb has created were four books called the Rain Wild Chronicles. These stories are set to take place after the Tawny Man Trilogy and expand on the theme of dragons that runs throughout all of the story lines. Although missing characters like Fitz and the Fool, the Rain Wild Chronicles introduces a new set of characters that you easily grow to love and sometimes hate. The Fool has always wanted to see real dragons come back into the world, and with their release of the dragon Icefyre in the Tawny Man Trilogy, he and his mate, Tintaglia, are desperately trying to revive the serpents of the seas and help them change into dragons. But the serpents are weak and when they are born into dragons, they are not fully formed. Enlisting the help of several youths from the city in the Rain Wilds, the weak dragons and their handlers set out on a quest to find the ancient city of Kelsingra: the long lost tale of Elderlings and dragons that Fitz grew up listening to as a child has suddenly become a reality. With dragons in the skies once more, it seems that the Fool has completed his mission to set the world on a better path – but it appears Fitz is once again needed.

I look forward to reading more of Hobb’s writing. Just recently, I purchased the short story The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince – which tells the full tale of the legend of the Piebald Prince that is often referenced in the Farseer and Tawny Man trilogies. I even got my fiancé Michael to read it despite its unfortunately girlish sounding title. Even though he took off the book jacket while reading it in public, he enjoyed it very much. The tale is just a taste of what the world of Robin Hobb is like, however, because it lacked the character development that is always found in her longer novels.

The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince

 The Soldier Son Trilogy is another story by Robin Hobb that amazed me with a very unique storyline and characters that you had an easy time relating to and finding believable. However, it is not tied into any of her previous trilogies and is set in a whole different world with a whole different set of magic and histories. I have read the Farseer and Tawny Man Trilogies easily seven times through, and the other series almost as often. The Soldier Son Trilogy is one that I always have in mind to read again, but then I find myself reading Fitz’s story again instead.

What amazes me the most about Robin Hobb, besides the world she has created that is full of history and complexities and unique characters, is that she is also a completely different author! That’s right, before she was Robin Hobb, she was Megan Lindholm. To this day, she writes as both Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm, depending on the type of story she is writing. If you haven’t already, go read The Inheritance. It is a collection of short stories by Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm – the first time “they” have published a book together. The most remarkable thing is that I have tried to read several books by Megan Lindholm and have not enjoyed them at all! It amazes me that she is able to write in two such different styles that I would absolutely love one and not really enjoy the other. As an aspiring author myself, it is so interesting to see how this one person can become two different authors depending on the story. I couldn’t ask for a better author and I am looking forward to 2014!