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A review by bookwoods
Fool's Errand by Robin Hobb
5.0
4,5/5
After the massive Liveship Traders trilogy, the six hundred page long Fool’s Errand feels almost short. But it is still a fantasy book of considerable size, and thinking back on it, not that much happens in it. A lot of space is taken up by setting up the story and Fitz’s current life situation plus a quest, and it all proceeds slowly. I didn’t mind that too much, because the character development, which continues seamlessly from the Farseer trilogy, is so fascinating. I also appreciate how this book explores human-animal relationships - Fitz’s thoughts very much brought to mind Gandhi’s famous saying of “the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”. And of course I love that there’s cats in the story, how could I not! And they are described as perfectly cat-like.
After the massive Liveship Traders trilogy, the six hundred page long Fool’s Errand feels almost short. But it is still a fantasy book of considerable size, and thinking back on it, not that much happens in it. A lot of space is taken up by setting up the story and Fitz’s current life situation plus a quest, and it all proceeds slowly. I didn’t mind that too much, because the character development, which continues seamlessly from the Farseer trilogy, is so fascinating. I also appreciate how this book explores human-animal relationships - Fitz’s thoughts very much brought to mind Gandhi’s famous saying of “the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated”. And of course I love that there’s cats in the story, how could I not! And they are described as perfectly cat-like.