I’ve been trying to work my way through my shelves of unread books, and
one book on the shelf is Fool’s Errand, a book my brother
loaned me some while back. It’s the first in a trilogy; but that trilogy
is, taken all-in-all, a sequel to a previous trilogy which my brother
loaned me even longer ago. In order to have the background for
Fool’s Errand in mind, then, it seemed wise to re-read the
three books of the previous trilogy first; and then I could give all four
volumes back to my brother at our family Christmas gathering. That was
the plan, but in fact I was only part way through the third book in the
first trilogy, Assassin’s Quest, when Christmas rolled
around. Ah, well; I’ve since finished it, and here’s what I think this
time.

The three books listed above tell the first part of the story of
FitzChivalry Farseer, the bastard son of a prince of the kingdom of the
Six Duchies. Acknowledged by his father, who promptly abdicates in
embarassment at having sired a bastard, he is given a place by his
grandfather, King Shrewd. Shrewd makes a deal with the young boy: he
will provide FitzChivalry with food, clothing, training, and a life of
relative comfort; in return, FitzChivalry will pledge his complete
loyalty and discretion. And then begins his training as King Shrewd’s
back-up assassin.

It’s a time of troubles for the Six Duchies; red ships from the Out Islands
have begun raiding the coastal regions in earnest. Out Island raiders
are not uncommon–the ruling Farseer line was founded by a successful
raider–but now there’s a difference. The raiders are not carrying off
goods or slaves. Instead they are destroying entire villages. Those
they do not kill are carried away and held for a very unusual kind of
ransom. If the ransom is paid, the captives are killed. Otherwise, the
captives are returned to their devastated homes–returned, alive and
physically unharmed, but with all humanity stripped from them. The
Forged, as they come to be known, are rather like locusts, eating
anything that comes to hand with no thought for the morrow, and killing
anyone who has anything they might want. The Forged must be put down, and
a lot of that work goes to the unfortunate Fitz.

That’s just the beginning. There’s a lot to like in these books: magic
(two distinct kinds),
intrigue, interesting good guys, horrendously evil bad guys, a touch of
mystery, and even a somewhat happy ending. There’s a certain amount to
dislike, as well. Fitz goes through so much, and so much that’s awful,
that reading about it can be an ordeal. Also, I think the books are
rather longer than was really necessary, and would benefit from some
judicious trimming.

I liked them better this time than the first time, though. I read them
more slowly, which helped, and though I’d forgotten most of the details
I had a vague notion of where the plot was going, and that helped too.

I can’t recommend these unequivocally; but on the other hand, I stopped at
a bookstore yesterday and picked up some more of Hobb’s books. So I guess
I can recommend them equivocally.