Fool's Fate (Tawny Man S.) - Robin Hobb

The Tawney Man

I loved this trilogy, and particularly this last book so much. I really enjoyed the Farseer trilogy, but I didn't realise just how much until I started reading the Tawney Man trilogy! Being back in this world with all the characters I grew to love so much, Fitz, the Fool. I got so into the books, I was devastated when Nighteyes died, and loved the development of the relationship between Fitz and the Fool.
I felt that this trilogy finished off the previous books completely but I'm still left wanting more......
Onto the Liveships then!

A fate worth reading about

This was quite a riveting read and kept me on the journey until the very end. There were some unexpected twists and turns but through it all the characters were written well, true to the entire series. It was all in all a great end to a very good series.

Unsatisfying ending and the whole trilogy is a big let down

Overall impression is one big disappointment.
The whole trilogy left a feeling of the bloated fourth volume of The Farseer Trilogy where all loose ends are being tied up. Although, it is done very ungratefully.

!!!WARNING!!! SPOILERS

Fitz & Molly reunion plus 7 kids bonus is very artificial and out of context. 16 Years is not 16 months. They would be totally different people regardless of what happened within this period. Let alone vast life experience that affected both of them.
Fool...my personal disappointment here. I hoped that Fitz is going to realise that Fool is a woman and They Live Happily Ever After with a sense of wonder about each other and respect and exciting life...
On top of this the usual numerous repetitions of what happened only a hundred pages before.

The Tawny Man trilogy is a let down.
Hobb was at the top 5 of my favourite writers since 2002, it is very sad to lose her now.

Highly Recommended

As for some of the other posted reviews, these comments are as much about the Farseer trilogy and the Tawny Man trilogy (Fool's Fate is the last of the Tawny Man trilogy).

I started off with the Assassin's Apprentice, the first book in the Farseer trilogy. This took me a chapter or two before I really got into it, but from there on in, I looked forward to continuing with the story at every opportunity. The characters and the world that they reside in is detailed and extremely immersive. You find yourself really caring about what happens to the key characters and I thought that the latter books particularly are very emotional. The storylines can be a little slow in parts, but it's worth persisting as it all starts to piece together especially for the finale. Maybe it's me, but I didn't really find any gaps in the storylines either which can be a major frustration with other authors.

Overall, I would recommend that you start off with the Assassin's Apprentice. If you enjoy that, then buy the remainder of the Farseer Trilogy and the Tawny Man trilogy as you'll love them too. I am now starting on the The Liveship Traders trilogy and have similar expectations...

Slow but good

I notice a few bad reviews of the series, not just this book, say it is slow in places. I agree and I thought some bits were just filling pages (each book in the series is 600-700 pages or more).
You may also get annoyed at times by the lead characters because they do stupid things.
But I guess that is part of what makes it good - no character is a "perfect" fantasy hero - but a real person with faults and baggage as well as good traits.
Overall it is excellent, gripping, exciting and desperately emotional the further it goes.
If you like fantasy that is not too overdone and you can stick with it through a lot of reading you will enjoy