Rating: 
Summary: A fantastic conclusion to a fantastic series.
Review: First off, the entire series (the Farseer and Tawney Man trilogies) that this book concludes is wonderful. As every other review so far has mentioned, if you have not read any of the books yet it is best to start with Assassin's Apprentice, not Fool's Fate. This book has a lot to live up to. It follows five books with very complex plot developements and amazingly deep characters. It not only does so, but in my humble opinion is the best of the series. It is easily my favorite book of 2003 (I have the UK edition, which was released in '03), and one of my all-time favorites. Fool's Fate follows Fitz to Aslevjal, where Prince Dutiful is expected to kill the dragon Icefyre. Of course, this is Robin Hobb; things aren't that simple. Fitz has to face his past, which is no small undertaking, as well as his future. I won't give anything away; that's what the book is for. But do know that this book is absolutely enthralling. I spent an entire weekend attached to it. The story is heartrending and elating, depressing and endearing. Hobb is a master of twisting emotions. Fool's Fate completely messed with my mind, and I absolutely loved it. It's the kind of story that sticks with a reader for a long time. It is very worth reading.
Rating: 
Summary: reads like life, and yet not quite like life
Review: I find I shouldn't leave the Fitz books without saying goodbye in a review. The series as a whole is perhaps my favorite story to come out in the last decade. Fitz is a splendid protagonist, the Fool perhaps the greatest fantasy character of all time. The Assassin trilogy in particular renewed my faith in the emotional power of story, after I thought I'd been pretty well jaded by adulthood. I could hardly put those down; I could hardly put Fool's Fate down, but read most of it off in one compulsive and completely irresponsible afternoon. Hobb makes you read. I think it's because she drives the story with major secrets, but keeps feeding you partial resolutions throughout, so that you can hope the end of the next chapter is a good stopping place (you tell yourself you hope this, but of course, you don't), yet when you reach that resolution, another tension has begun. She interlocks her plot-tensions brilliantly--a wonderful writer. Fool's Fate reads less like a novel than like an autobiography. Fitz, Dutiful, Chade travel oversea to slay the dragon Icefyre (or to prevent the slaying, as the case may be) and win for Dutiful the lovely, cool, and politically-advantageous hand of Narcheska Elliania. The dragon element of the plot--indeed, the novel's ostensible driving force--is resolved with 200 pages to go, however (as opposed to Assassin's Quest, the final book of that trilogy, when Verity flies off with 20 pages to go); the remainder of the book finds Hobb clipping off, one by one, all the taut ropes of Fitz's life, so that we see Fitz, at the end, slack and content in a situation of his own deep liking. When I was reading the book, I liked this, because I've been with Fitz from the beginning, and am frankly more interested in him than I am in the quest for the dragon. I want him to find answers for his life, for my sake and for his. But in the end, I have two complaints about the extended denouement: Hobb answers too many of his life's questions, and she does not answer them in sufficient depth. I give you, for example, the Old Blood/Piebald scenario, which we had been led to care about in the first two books of this series, but which resolves itself in this book thoroughly and with scarcely a mention. Fitz wasn't there to see it. As an autobiographical ploy, this makes sense (a lot of things which affect our lives we aren't around to see to completion), yet as a device in a novel, it leaves the reader unsatisfied. The ending is far too cursory; months, seasons, years go by in pages. What this amounts to is a lack of integration between Fitz's personal life and the novel's plot, a notable difference from the Assassin trilogy, where Fitz's life and identity were the plot. Perhaps because of this, Hobb's justly-lauded emotional machinery begins to clank (especially apart from the excellent character Thick). Sometimes I just didn't buy the character motivations, felt instead like "of course this had to happen for plot purposes," as if plot led character, not vice versa. Despair and the joy of discovery--the source of much tumult and plot-generation in the first four books--are gone. Perhaps Fitz is too old for either of those things. One hopes not. Do these complaints mean that you shouldn't read the book? No, no. Hobb is still Hobb; there are lovely--even perfect--plot twists (e.g., the relationship the Fool wants with Fitz), delicate emotional moments (e.g., a reconciliation between Thick and Fitz), a richly-detailed fantasy world (welcome to the Outislands), and a lot of people you can't help but come to like.
Rating:
Summary: Awsome
Review: I thought this book was by far the best of the Tawny Man series, not that I did not love the other two. I have not read the other two series by Robin Hobb, but after reading Fool's Fate I was convinced that I wanted to read the other series also, starting at the beginning and then re-reading the Tawny Man series.
I thought that the character development was amazing and that you really know the characters... almost enough to guess their favorite color. I loved the developing relationships between the Prince and Elliania, Fitz and Nettle, even Thick and the other characters. The story was intriguing and I was always guessing the true reason for Elliania's challenge to Dutiful. Basically this book gets the position of my favorite book, at least until I stumble upon another great fantasy.
Rating: 
Summary: Caviar & Cheez-its
Review: Like a Cheetah, she started off strong, then crapped out in the end. I AM a fan of R. Hobbs' writing, and I expected more out of her than what she gave. I received the distinct impression that towards the end she was struggling to tie everything into a neat package, perhaps as a warning that this really is the end of "The Tawny Man" trilogy; possibly at the urging of her publisher to meet a deadline. I felt that she didn't "do justice" to the complex and unique relationship she created between Fitz and the Fool. It was like being served fine Russian caviar on a Cheez-it. Life is full of mundane events and relationships, why serve us more of the same?
If you've already invested time and money into the first two books of this trilogy, by all means please finish! I would say that it's better to follow through than not to. Don't expect to be disappointed, but don't be suprised if you are.
Rating:
Summary: Very good, but not a worthy conclusion
Review: The first half of this concluding book is wonderful... it stands alone and with the entire series. That last half (after the motley crew lands at the icy kingdom of the dragon) feels perfunctory -- as if Hobb wanted to finish the story but knew she needed to put her readers through their paces to do it. This should NOT discourage anyone from reading this book! Good heavens... if you have slogged through Fitz's suffering and triumphs the least you can do for yourself is read this book to achieve closure. And it is very much like a funeral ... at the end the reader feels like she is saying goodbye to an old friend who, in the last 30 pages of his story, achieved some sort of contentment.
Rating:
Summary: 5 stars.
Review: Not a perfect book but a great read.
Will miss the Fool and Fitz.
The nine volumes are a great achievement from a great
Author. Wonder what the next series will be like.
Rating:
Summary: A Sweeping End to a Fantastic Series
Review: This is the stirring conclusion to the saga of Fitz, first begun in Assassin's Apprentice. Dutiful, the prince that Fitz serves, has sworn to give Elliania, a woman of the Out Islands, the head of the dragon Icefyre as a betrothal gift. However, the Fool, Fitz's greatest friend who is also a prophet, believes that Icefyre should not be killed so that the race of dragons may be allowed to continue. In addition, the Fool has predicted his own death in the Out Islands and Fitz is determined to see this prediction made wrong. As with all Hobb's stories, this creates layers and layers of intrigue, where everyone has dual and triple motives in everything they do, and it is up to Fitz to find the heart of the matter and make the proper decisions.
As with her previous stories, this one is well written and engaging. It did drag a bit in parts, especially where Fitz re-explored well-worn emotional ground with no new resolutions. Also, especially for such a long novel coming out of such a long series, I found the end to be rushed and the rationalization behind it quite disappointing. Thus, a rating of four stars rather than five.
That said, if you have made it all the way through the previous eight books, there is no reason not to read this one as well. If you have not read the previous books (including the Liveship Traders trilogy), you should read them before this one or most of the fun of a very enjoyable series will be spoiled for you.
Rating:
Summary: A well deserved rest
Review: A truely excellent finish to a very fine series. Hobb masterfully weaves together both major an minor points from all of her previous books to deliver a satisfying conclusion.
Rating:
Summary: A fantastic conclusion
Review: While I enjoyed each of these books individually, taken as a whole they are one of my favorite series of all time. Throughout each trilogy I would find myself yelling out loud at Fitz because he would make such a frustrating decision and, yet, I often could not imagine making a different decision myself. He is just so human. And I always wanted better for him than he got. I have read several reviews of this final installment that found the story to be too neatly wrapped up. I disagree. Admittedly, there is a tidiness to the conclusion but, while I loved the frustration throughout the story, I really WANTED Fitz to be happy in the end. Conversely, it really isn't all that 'neat' of an ending. There are still complications. I thought it was a perfect finale. There were so many times in this book when I was moved to tears by a touching moment between Fitz and one of the many people in his life - Burrich, Patience, the Fool, Chade, and...well...read the book. The book was especially powerful as it reached its climax which, of course, is about FitzChivalry, not Dutiful and his struggles with the dragon, Icefyre. Hobb's characterization is almost unparalleled in today's market. Each character is rich, vivid and distinct. I cannot remember a recent book where so many characters were so well developed. Of course, Hobb continues with the excellent characters created in other books. I feel like I know Chade and Kettricken and Patience. But in these last two books she gently creates another brilliant addition, Thick, to the cast. Thick makes the story even more human than it already was, which I would have thought impossible. Well done. A must read.
Rating:
Summary: One of the best fantasy series out there...
Review: Loved it. Just finished it today. Savor this book as it's probably the last time we'll see Fitz and the Fool. Robin is amazing. She still manages to surprise us with characters we know very well after the 5 preceeding books. I cheered and cried while reading this - which hardly ever happens. I've been reading fantasy for over 25 years and have to say this is one of the top 10 series I've read, possibly top 5. These characters stick with you, because you experience so much with them.
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