u/louiechapman7

Two books left :( :

Bee is taken by the Servants after barely saving Shun. Nice going Bee! I think she’s going to benefit loads as a character by being on her own.

Fitz back to his machinations in court… god I miss prime scheming Fitz era.

The Fool and Fitz sharing injuries… explains Bee’s existence, and how close the two of them biologically are now… very interesting.

Not much to say on these early chapters, just tons of set up and positioning.

Well… the both of them being so mixed and talking through it does really add up when you recall just now many insanely shared experiences they’ve had.

Fitz meets with Kettricken and Web… TO TALK ABOUT BONDING WITH A CROW? This could be very interesting, I could not imagine a more perfect animal for Fitz other than Nighteyes!

Hobb has pulled some really left field ideas out of no where in this final trilogy.

Riddle and Nettle are having a baby! Cool.

I like this crow situation a lot, I think it’s a really interesting idea.

HOLY FUCKING SHIT. Fitz is fully outed in front of the entire Six Duchies… and is WELCOMED A HERO.

A LETTER FROM JEK ON KELSINGRA AND SILVER WELL… TO WHO?! RAPSKAL MENTION! THIS IS WHAT IVE WANTED FROM FINAL TRILOGY BOOKS, LETS MIX THESE WORLDS UP

This crow being slightly white…. Keeps saying ‘white’….. HHHHMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Wow. Unbelievably emotional letter from Verity, declaring Fitz would have been King in another life. If it hadn’t been so many books without him, Verity could have been a Top 10 character once upon a time!

A letter from ‘The Apprentice’ talking about secretly befriending The Fool… Ash? Who are u really! What do you mean the Fool will probably figure out ur true guise before Fitz does!

I still hate what Hobb has done to the Fool so fucking much.

I am doing this for the first time ever about any of these books, as for the first time ever I have so many conflicting detailed thoughts that I genuinely believe a full review is the only way to fully and constructively communicate my emotions. 

I want to acknowledge a few things: yes, to some this may seem dramatic and indulgent, but these books are everything to me and have taken up a year of my life, so they mean a heck of a lot to me and I want to honour Hobbs hard work by showing my emotions freely. Secondly, I will say overall this is my least favourite book in ROTE and I have, within less than 24 hours, accepted that this is okay. After 13 consecutive books that I consider to be at bare minimum a 9 or actually flawless 10's, I hope people can remember that despite the tone of negativity I am probably going to strike in this review, this is still the best fantasy series I have read in my life and in my all time favourite fiction category. I am a Realm Of The Elderlings fanboy till I die, no matter what. Lastly, thanks to West Coastal and Saintfed for helping me organise my thoughts and giving great insight into the story!

Now thats out the way, Lets go through the positives, the negatives and then the constructive critisicms. 

Positives : I admire truly Hobb's bravery to introduce another 1st person POV with the addition of Bee. That takes REAL balls, and ultimately I think it paid off and gave a real interesting insight into interacting with Fitz from a 3rd person perspective. I look forward to watching Bee grow, she has real potential and is as good an addition as we could have asked for in a final trilogy. Following on, Riddle absolutely SHONE in this book. I love how in each trilogy of every book you could pick a character out that has no right to be as good as they are with the screen time/ lack of POV they get and yet somehow, Hobb makes u absolutely adore them and beg for them to stick around. Again, the mystery here is great, Hobb is so good at making things feel portentous and epic, I ESPECIALLY loved all the dream sequences and how we gleaned what The Fools life has been like via Bees dreams. Lastly, I will always love Hobbs prose, writing and general vibe, and this does not deviate. 

Negatives: Okay. Strap in. Fundamentally I have 2 major flaws here and in my mind they are so major that they irrevocably harmed my overall opinion in this book to the point I couldn't see past them. First: from almost page one to the end, it did not feel like FitzChivalry Farseer at all. Like, at all. Ignoring a messenger turning up at his house? Letting 3 random people in with little care? Stabbing The Fool immediately upon seeing him holding Bee with no context? Bee out loud word for word recites prophetic events that are upcoming, just like The Fool would, and Fitz doesn't even react or acknowledge it ONCE? WTF ! Thats not even 'god Fitz makes bad decisions' as some community like to pin on Fitz, thats just genuinely not in the heart and soul of the character. Any decision Fitz has made in the past, like his infamous public assassination in Royal Assassin, in my mind felt totally vinddicated. This did not. 

My second biggest problem, which arguably upset me as much or even more than the first, is everything pertaining to The Fool. WTF Hobb. In Fools Fate, everything that happened to the Fool felt like a culmination of every word Hobb had written. It felt honest, it felt justified and in a heartbreaking way, ultimately beautiful in how his pain helped culminate the story. THIS however. What did we gain! 15 years worth of the most insane torture describable, when already the last time we left Fool was fresh off a torturing in FF... this felt vulgar and unearned. Not only is it unbelievably distressing to read as it feels ultimately pointless (torturing the Fool for a plot hook? Really?) it did not fit with the prior 500 pages... we just spent the entire book dithering about at Withywoods to turn up at a random village and have a mutilated Fool be stabbed. This felt soooo left field, so unfitting with the rest of the story and just so... unnecessary. It felt damaging to the soul of the character and to finally see the Fool after such a long wait and him be this mangled, broken version of himself was not only deflating but... just wtf!! I dont want to read a broken Fitz AND a broken Fool, thats not how it works!!!!!!!

Overall, I am willing to chalk this up on the forgive and forget list. This is the first time I have ever in 13 books had a properly negative reaction to anything Hobb has done, and on a sheer mathematical level, that is astounding. She has not written 13 masterpiece books for me to dismiss that on the first slip up... I just think it feels especially brutal as its come right at the end, when were supposed to be in peak territory and everything is truly mastered. Listen, we have 2 books left with over 1200 pages, anything can happen and im hoping this is just a bump in the road and were back to usual form! There is plenty left to get excited about, and if there is one example of ultimately gripping storytelling, its that I have no idea whats going to happen next!  

……………………………………………………… What the fuck. :

I’ve suddenly garnered an overwhelming feeling that all of this effort at Withywoods, all of this desperate work to perfect his relationship with Bee and help everyone means Fitz is going to die in these last 100 pages. Or, at the very least, if Withywoods doesn’t end being burned to the ground, I will be shocked.

“Remind my sister that our father is a very brave man when you see her. Tell her I am learning to be brave, too.” Awesome stuff.

A being down an alleyway that Bee can’t see from producing so much light ? Fool, is that you? An a blind beggar she’s terrified of? This is trippy shit.

I deeply dislike Shun.

The Fool is the old man? Fitz has stabbed him? If the Fool dies here and now I’ll legit be so viscerally angry I will actually implode.

What the fuck is going on genuinely.

This can’t be it. Genuinely. This cannot be how The Fool dies. Usually if there’s a bait and switch in these books I can semi see them coming, but this is so insane on a genuinely shocking level that I am stunned.

If you gave me a thousand million guesses as to what happens in these last hundred pages or even what happens when we immediately see the Fool again, I would not have guess what’s unfolding.

I am feeling so many emotions right now. I’m frightened and in agony more than anything. Please don’t let The Fool die like this. I’m furious, if this truly is the way he goes. I’m also so confused. Why is he an old man? Why was he begging? Why has he been tortured? What is Hobb gaining from having this play out?

Genuinely, I think Riddle submitting to going through the Skill pillars and not even being mad that he just probably had a slice of his soul cut short has put him into top 10 characters of ROTE territory for me. The guy is and has always been, a GOAT.

So I was … mostly right. Servants of the Whites, hunting The Fool. Doing unspeakable things to him and his brethren. Horrendous.

The Fool isn’t a full White… leaving the door open for Bee?

Fool asks Fitz to assassinate the Servants. Hmm.

Wolf Father the spirit of Nighteyes (obvious but really cool).

And of course, the Servants are here… with a woman as a leader. Plump and ordinary looking.. interesting.

Fog man!?!?? WHO IS THE LIGHT MAN NOW FOG MAN FROM THE VILLAGE WITH THE SERVANTS?

FitzVigilant dead. wtf was the point of him!

THEY CAUGHT BEE. OH FUCK.

Holy shit, the fog man and Bee are … brothers? WHAT?

Also, called it! Bee is unexpected son.. (obvs).

Book complete. I mean… I don’t even know what to think. I absolutely love some parts, and I … don’t love some parts. Hobb’s most controversial book BY FAR. My number one aggravation is how aggressively the Fool has been mutilated… that has deeply upset me and ultimately felt weirdly delivered with him being a random beggar. It felt classless for a character I adore.

Outside of that here is a list of quick fire thoughts: Bee is amazing. Riddle is amazing. What was the point of Shun or FitzVigilant. Introducing another 1st person POV was insanely bold. We dithered in Withywoods for way too long. Revel was great. I hate everything that happened to the Fool. I love everything dream related and portentous that happened. I have no idea what happens next.

Will have this book finished tomorrow night! Shorter Bee chapters help:

I don’t really have a lot to say about what’s going on currently as a lot of it is kinda… the same? Fitz being a shit dad and Bee being a misfit! This isn’t a positive or negative, just a remark.

I can see that FitzVigilant and Bee seem to be set up as the next generations Fitz and Fool and ultimately whilst Hobb is selling their joining as quite portentous… I don’t know. For some reason I’m struggling to buy it?

I know I’ve said this before, but god Riddle is such a cool dude. Something about being reliable, dependable and honestly good in a world such as ROTE’s really hits.

I am ultimately enjoying this book but god I think it has suffered from being entirely based in Withywoods. I can see why, as clearly Hobb’s number 1 priority in this book is to bring the readers emotional attachment to Bee up to scratch, but I just think it’s dithered a LOT. Like I said, still enjoying, but a dormant Fitz is a … placid one maybe?

I will also say wild rampant speculation and personal expectation has probably set an unrealistically high bar for the final trilogy, whereas I know Hobb time and time again likes to reinvent herself.

I am still so taken aback by the route this final trilogy has took. How does all of Rainwilds, like bringing full dragons back to life, and having a Chalced at war with itself, and real Elderlings walking the earth, and a populated Kelsingra, how do all of those things correlate back to a plot that’s so far purely based in a countryside estate? What about Wintrow and Etta, and Prince Paragon? This feels so far away right now, like it will never happen, but I’m holding out hope we see them.

gun to my head, and this is probably entirely all wrong with 100 pages left, we end with The Fool arriving, probably in disarray after being chased by Whites (my only educated theory), and upending Fitz and Bee’s newfound life by revealing Bee is the unexpected son and we leave to go on our grand adventures in books 2 and 3.

It’s hilarious how wildly out of control things are getting in such a mundane environment LOL:

A MESSENGER FROM THE FOOL!

Jesus I genuinely thought that was The Fool dead on the floor then, just shit my pants.

Not ANOTHER missed message from The Fool, where the fuck did that lady go!!!

Genuinely tho the jig is up Hobb like where is The Fool now man, come on stop playing games just send him to me.

HOLY shit she’s back!!!

Insane message.. my thoughts : I believe the boy referenced is Bee. I really HIGHLY doubt the Fool slept with someone, so Bee is not only the logical answer as a half white via Fitz and Fool body mingling shenanigans, but also it was proven by the Fool that White’s can be genderless or appear as either gender. I also think the White’s themselves are the ones hunting Fool and Bee… the messenger girl spoke about eggs being planted in her for betrayal? She’s been made to borne 3 children? No regular human is going to have such intimate knowledge of Whites… again, I feel it must be a culling of the Whites via their own, like with the Piebalds killing their own witted. And finally… hunters arriving as friends? My brother, Fitz does not make friends… does this mean… some of his true friends are betrayers? Some of the Buckkeep retinue, even if they mean well… if they found out about Bee and her true nature, are they the ones to worry about? Brain is spinningggggg.

Oh also WHERE IS THE FOOL.

Also this is so starkly off topic but if I don’t get my Avengers Endgame callbacks in these books of all my favourites returning from all the other books I will RIOT.

Cannot for the life of me work out why Hobb made Shun so far. Need to see where this goes.

Wonder how many more brand spanking new characters like Bee and Shun we will see in these books. So fun! Although saying that.. I miss my Buckkeep crew :( miss you Thick and Dutiful my messy fucked up coterie

Will we leave Withywoods this book? Find out next time on Dragon Ball Z!:

So.. Chade meet up at the inn, Riddle is here (love Riddle so much man, what a solid guy) and … a new bastard assassin, which hasn’t been revealed yet but is SO OBVIOUSLY Chade’s daughter.

Shun. Weird name.

Still no confirmation as Fitz leaves but… dude. It’s Chade’s daughter. COME ON.

Wow, UBER portentous dream journal from Bee there… I do believe at some point in these books, we will see Fitz die fully, and having Bee’s 1st person POV now all but confirms that for me… she will be able to continue the narrative beyond the pages post his death

Bro… Bee’s dreams are amazing. It’s so fun to see inside the head of a prophet. I also really like Bee’s prose.

Is The Fool…. Is the Fool dead? If you’ve off screened the Fool Hobb, I will never forgive you!!!!!!!

Something Bee, The Fool and the narrative in general has always referenced is the story going on further than it should do… is this what FATF is all about? The Prophet and Catalyst taking it too far?

Okay, I really really really really like Bee. She has very quickly grown on me a TON. I’ve loved listening to her dreams, I’ve loved watching her discover the secret writings of Fitz and put together pieces of the past, I love her dialogue and I love how much she reminds me of The Fool. It’s like having a POV with the Fool, something I always wanted. I am a sucker for anything portentous!

Just keep swimming, just keep swimming!:

Enjoyed Fitz showing that he still has his stealth and tactile ways in front of Rosemary and Chade.

This early childhood Bee stuff is … slow.

HOLY FUCK?! IS THIS A BEE FARSEER POV?!

HOLY SHIT. Of all the things to expect, NEVER EVER did I expect another 1st person POV. WOW. What a twist.

And there it is. Bee is a White Prophet, confirmed by her seeing diverging paths.

Holy fucking shit dude. Bee is like a full prophet, even giving fits ethereal lines from her dreams like the Fool would. FUCK. What does this mean for The Fool, more than anything?

Molly dying doesn’t even surprise me in the slightest. Truthfully, I thought that the story would begin with her JUST having died.

For how slow this has been, I love Fitz and Bee’s dynamic now she is engaging with him more. This is great stuff.

Riddle hugging Fitz HARD, everyone responding to Fitz with the Skill so quickly when they felt Molly go, everyone including Thick in the less than 5 people in Fitz’s life that he genuinely loves are reasons why this story is so special to me.

Bro all jokes aside WHERE THE FUCK IS THE FOOL.

I’m still a little bit in awe that there’s another first person POV in the story. That is wild. It feels a little bit … dirty? Unsacred… almost like Fitz should be the only POV!

I’ve truly lost track of age and time in this book. How old is Fitz now? Hold old is everyone else? Jesus.