Hobb, Robin - Golden Fool
Mon, Jul. 28th, 2003 02:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
oyceterStayed up till truly bad hours of the morning finishing off Robin Hobb's Golden Fool. Thoughts below, with tons and tons of spoilers.
First thought upon finishing: When is the last book coming out?!
Anyway.
I liked Golden Fool a great deal, much more than Fool's Errand. I don't know, it just seemed a change of pace from the usual action adventure, but in a good way. I missed Nighteyes dreadfully, but also found myself growing very fond of Dutiful. He's a good boy, even though I wasn't sure I'd like him after the first book. Kettricken is still wonderful, everything a queen should be, and a good friend to Fitz to boot. One of my favorite parts of the book was when Kettricken mourned with Fitz for Nighteyes instead of merely sympathizing. I also loved the forming of Dutiful's coterie, Fitz and Dutiful together winning over Thick and the Skill lessons in the tower. I got a very solid sense of who Dutiful was, of what he could become, and the core of goodness in him.
I like the Narcheska very much. Hope that in the third book she and Dutiful start talking or something! Because I think they would find each other interesting once they got past mutual dislike of an arranged marriage.
And oh, Fitz. It's so strange to have him back. I haven't reread the Assassins series for quite some time, and I don't really plan on doing so. That trilogy is simply heart-wrenching, and I'm not sure I could. That, and it's so painful watching Fitz make all the mistakes he makes. GF finally brought it home for me that this was Fitz, fifteen years after the book, a headstrong boy no longer. He's very much a man here, and a father to boot, but in his heart he still seems and acts like the lost boy he used to be at times. But I loved watching him finally grow up a little and realize Chade's weaknesses, form a friendship with Dutiful. He's been broken and bloodied in so many ways in the first trilogy that it's nice to see him get a little peace at last. Even though he almost dies again! And he's still Fitz, and he can still mess up any relationship he has with a few very ill-chosen words.
Which brings me to the heart of the book and the series (for me) -- Fitz and the Fool. It was strange... I remember after reading Fool's Errand, I hopped online to see if there were any Fitz/Fool shipperes or whatnot out there, and instead, I found half the forums were saying things like they were just friends or whatnot, even after reading this book! Anyway, they're a great love story to me, except Fitz is so stubborn and just... so stupid sometimes. There's something about the character of the Fool/Amber/Lord Golden/Beloved that I love, the randomness and jesterness he had as the Fool in the first trilogy, the quietness of Amber, the foolishness and frippery of Lord Golden. And I desperately want to see more of Beloved.. I think we did see him/her (?) when he revealed his tattoo to Fitz. There's something about the Fool that's heart-breakingly open and vulnerable that I love. And he and Fitz are trapped in something too big, and he's in love and Fitz is... stupid, and there's everything else going on too. Guh. I'm really kind of scared that Hobb will actually kill off the Fool. Well, not really. But the possibility is still there, and I feel she's a bit like Joss. You never really know for sure. I remember my heart stopping at the end of Royal Assassin... and I didn't know it was a trilogy! But I want the Fool and Fitz to go off somewhere and be happy. Because I am a sap.
Other things... loved the shout-outs to the Liveship series, because I love Bingtown and the Rain Wilds. I really want Fitz to go there and to meet Paragon and to see the dragons. I loved Jek just walking in and completely messing up the Fitz/Fool dynamic. I loved the catch-up they played and learning that Althea was pregnant. And I very much loved seeing Selden again, and now I'm very much looking forward to Fitz and company meeting Tintaglia. I'm just so amazed that things in the past two trilogies are being tied up here and that Hobb has actually connected them all so that they're all necessary parts to the entire story of the White Prophet and the Catalyst. I do wonder what Amber was looking for in Wintrow and in Althea though... another Catalyst? Is this why the Fool was so scared and so relieved that they were still on the right path, because she had kind of messed up as Amber? I remember Amber's words about scribes becoming kings when they didn't want to... but then, in Verity's case, it was because of Fitz, and ended with a Farseer heir, and was a good thing.
And loved the last scene with Fitz and Beloved.
And I just had to make an icon like this. Not as pretty as I wanted, but having Buffy quotes and other characters collide in icons is fun!
First thought upon finishing: When is the last book coming out?!
Anyway.
I liked Golden Fool a great deal, much more than Fool's Errand. I don't know, it just seemed a change of pace from the usual action adventure, but in a good way. I missed Nighteyes dreadfully, but also found myself growing very fond of Dutiful. He's a good boy, even though I wasn't sure I'd like him after the first book. Kettricken is still wonderful, everything a queen should be, and a good friend to Fitz to boot. One of my favorite parts of the book was when Kettricken mourned with Fitz for Nighteyes instead of merely sympathizing. I also loved the forming of Dutiful's coterie, Fitz and Dutiful together winning over Thick and the Skill lessons in the tower. I got a very solid sense of who Dutiful was, of what he could become, and the core of goodness in him.
I like the Narcheska very much. Hope that in the third book she and Dutiful start talking or something! Because I think they would find each other interesting once they got past mutual dislike of an arranged marriage.
And oh, Fitz. It's so strange to have him back. I haven't reread the Assassins series for quite some time, and I don't really plan on doing so. That trilogy is simply heart-wrenching, and I'm not sure I could. That, and it's so painful watching Fitz make all the mistakes he makes. GF finally brought it home for me that this was Fitz, fifteen years after the book, a headstrong boy no longer. He's very much a man here, and a father to boot, but in his heart he still seems and acts like the lost boy he used to be at times. But I loved watching him finally grow up a little and realize Chade's weaknesses, form a friendship with Dutiful. He's been broken and bloodied in so many ways in the first trilogy that it's nice to see him get a little peace at last. Even though he almost dies again! And he's still Fitz, and he can still mess up any relationship he has with a few very ill-chosen words.
Which brings me to the heart of the book and the series (for me) -- Fitz and the Fool. It was strange... I remember after reading Fool's Errand, I hopped online to see if there were any Fitz/Fool shipperes or whatnot out there, and instead, I found half the forums were saying things like they were just friends or whatnot, even after reading this book! Anyway, they're a great love story to me, except Fitz is so stubborn and just... so stupid sometimes. There's something about the character of the Fool/Amber/Lord Golden/Beloved that I love, the randomness and jesterness he had as the Fool in the first trilogy, the quietness of Amber, the foolishness and frippery of Lord Golden. And I desperately want to see more of Beloved.. I think we did see him/her (?) when he revealed his tattoo to Fitz. There's something about the Fool that's heart-breakingly open and vulnerable that I love. And he and Fitz are trapped in something too big, and he's in love and Fitz is... stupid, and there's everything else going on too. Guh. I'm really kind of scared that Hobb will actually kill off the Fool. Well, not really. But the possibility is still there, and I feel she's a bit like Joss. You never really know for sure. I remember my heart stopping at the end of Royal Assassin... and I didn't know it was a trilogy! But I want the Fool and Fitz to go off somewhere and be happy. Because I am a sap.
Other things... loved the shout-outs to the Liveship series, because I love Bingtown and the Rain Wilds. I really want Fitz to go there and to meet Paragon and to see the dragons. I loved Jek just walking in and completely messing up the Fitz/Fool dynamic. I loved the catch-up they played and learning that Althea was pregnant. And I very much loved seeing Selden again, and now I'm very much looking forward to Fitz and company meeting Tintaglia. I'm just so amazed that things in the past two trilogies are being tied up here and that Hobb has actually connected them all so that they're all necessary parts to the entire story of the White Prophet and the Catalyst. I do wonder what Amber was looking for in Wintrow and in Althea though... another Catalyst? Is this why the Fool was so scared and so relieved that they were still on the right path, because she had kind of messed up as Amber? I remember Amber's words about scribes becoming kings when they didn't want to... but then, in Verity's case, it was because of Fitz, and ended with a Farseer heir, and was a good thing.
And loved the last scene with Fitz and Beloved.
And I just had to make an icon like this. Not as pretty as I wanted, but having Buffy quotes and other characters collide in icons is fun!
Loved "Golden Fool", too.
Tue, Jul. 29th, 2003 06:00 am (UTC)On the other hand, Jek thinks of Amber as a woman, unquestioningly, and doesn't even consider for a moment Amber could have been a disguised man when she met her. Who is right? The beauty of the books is that it doesn't matter. And the Fool/Amber rightly does not enlighten us. I think that's what is going to be the challenge for Fitz - making that leap of faith and declaring love without the certainty of knowledge.
Lastly, just to be cruel: have you considered that Hobb might not kill off the Fool but will kill off Fitz after he arrived at that remarkable conclusion?
Re: Loved "Golden Fool", too.
Tue, Jul. 29th, 2003 07:11 pm (UTC)I do as well. Lurked on a few Robin Hobb message boards online and was rather amused by the debate about the Fool's sex. A lot of people seem to think that the only way Fitz could ever love the Fool in a romantic sense would be if the Fool "outed" him/herself as female. Yet, I don't know. I like the idea of an androgynous Fool who can shift from Lord Golden to Fool to Amber in a heartbeat. Still want to meet Beloved. I have an inkling we'll only get to see Beloved once Fitz (hopefully) realizes that love doesn't have to be dependent on gender. As the Fool says, when he loves, he loves completely.
Yeah, so picked myself up another OTP ;).
And... oh that would just be the irony to top off everythingn -- Fitz's third and final death. I actually haven't thought that, but considering everything Fitz goes through... I'm just going to hope that she doesn't. It's kind of like the Buffy syndrome. One can only "kill" a character so many times before it loses its effect or becomes a cliche. But that would be cruel! I loved GF because of the sense of a healing of Fitz's psyche and body, despite the argument with the Fool and his near-death. Instead of steadily losing people and his health as in the previous books, he's gained his nephew/son in Dutiful, another friend of a sort in Thick, redevelops his Skill, etc.
let's hear it for androgyny!
Wed, Jul. 30th, 2003 04:44 am (UTC)As for deaths, don't worry, I was just messing with you. After the angst fest which was the Assasssins' trilogy, with loss as a dominating them, these books, as you noticed, seem to be about rebuilding. Which means life, not death.
Re: let's hear it for androgyny!
Wed, Jul. 30th, 2003 04:58 am (UTC)I also wonder if Hobb's playing with the readers' minds as well, the fact that many are probably clamoring for some set gender for the Fool. And by not having a yes/no answer as to the Fool's sex, Fitz can't handily categorize himself either... nothing like "Oh, I guess I have been a rampant heterosexual all along" or "Hrm, playing for the other side now, ok." I do think it's interesting/funny that Fitz thinks nothing of bonding with a wolf, someone obviously very very different from him, but that loving a "guy" romantically puts him off. Hrm... now thinking maybe the gradual acceptance of the Witted and their "wicked and bestial" practices could kind of be seen as a metaphor for homosexuality? Now I'm just rambling!
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Tue, Jul. 29th, 2003 05:19 pm (UTC)*note Mole grabbing for tissue* Waterworks. Total waterworks.
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Tue, Jul. 29th, 2003 07:16 pm (UTC)OTP. I'm just saying...
I hate sounding fen-ish, but much heartbreak will ensue if Hobb ends the relationship tragically! Have been waiting for this for, what, at least four books (for me, when I got the not so subtle hints in AQ. I'm bad at subtext).
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Tue, Jul. 29th, 2003 11:23 pm (UTC)The first three books seem to break Fitz apart. These last two appear to be - slowly - drawing him back into a...wholeness, a willing to accept who he is as far as the Farseer line. First he returns to Buckkeep and then people from his past like Molly and Nettle and Burrich brush by him (that whole time Fitz was debating to talk to Burrich, I kept saying out loud, "Do it! Do it!").
I think one of the things the Fool signifies is that Fitz has to accept not only his place in the Farseer line and in the prophecies, but that he is loved and can be loved. Almost that he has to take that leap to believe in love without conditions and without restraint.
I just don't know if he can do it. My heart is going to break if there's a death.
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Wed, Jul. 30th, 2003 12:05 am (UTC)!! That's exactly what I just told one of my friends an hour ago! He was saying how he didn't think Fitz was changing and how he thought that Hobb was going to kill off the Fool at the end. And I was arguing that I thought the books were going in a complete different direction from the Assassins trilogy, because yes, everything's finally healing... not just Fitz, but the entire kingdom as well. The Red Ship wars are over, Kettricken is trying to reach out to the Old Blood. Dutiful looks like he's going to turn out to be a good king, not like the reluctant king Verity was (though I thought he was a good ruler too). Fitz is healing, bodily and mentally... I thought the scene in which he discovers his old scars are gone quite significant.
And I think Fitz is slowly figuring out that he doesn't have to be alone, and that through much of his life, he's made a conscious decision to be alone (ala his revelation early on mourning for Nighteyes). He's got three surrogate sons now in Hap, Dutiful and Swift, Kettricken, Chade, Thick. And if he can just stop being stubborn or finally get his head around things, the Fool'll be there. Grrr.
Definitely think that a lot of this is leading to an acceptance of the Fool's love, but then, OTP and wishful thinking involved ;). I desperately want Fitz to meet Paragon and to "meet" Amber.
And... it would just be so cruel to kill off one of them after all this bringing together! Heh, running off to reread the slight Fitz/Fool reconciliation!
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Wed, Jul. 30th, 2003 11:40 am (UTC)LOL! GMTA :).
...because yes, everything's finally healing... not just Fitz, but the entire kingdom as well. The Red Ship wars are over, Kettricken is trying to reach out to the Old Blood. Dutiful looks like he's going to turn out to be a good king, not like the reluctant king Verity was (though I thought he was a good ruler too).
Oh yeah. Fitz is and always was the Catalyst. His arrival as a child set in motion everything that's happening now. If Chivalry had actually become king, then the whole structure of Buckkeep would have been completely different. However painful it was, his presence cleared the way for what's happening now in The Tawny Man.
Fitz is healing, bodily and mentally... I thought the scene in which he discovers his old scars are gone quite significant.
Definitely. Those scars (besides being the physical representation of his emotional state) are an important part of his armor. When I read about him looking in the mirror and seeing his face without them, there was this sense of...see, this is who you truly are. This is you without the masks you wear - whether those provided by Chade or the ones you've chosen to don yourself. Fitz has denied who he is for so many years that I think he really needed to see himself as a Farseer - see the resemblance between himself and his father.
And I teared up when he learned that Chivalry did ask about him over the years. And when he learned that Tom wasn't just some random nickname from a dotty old woman?
He's learning that his conceptions and his preconceived notions aren't correct. The Fool is going to be the biggest part of that and I have this feeling it's going to be so painful for Fitz because he's going to have to accept it (if he does) completely on trust of The Fool when, right now, he's not sure he does or can.
Fitz/Fool. OTP. (Please, Robin! Let 'em live!)
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Wed, Jul. 30th, 2003 08:53 pm (UTC)And I love that entire scene with Dutiful, when Fitz finds that Kettricken thinks he's the true Sacrifice all along and how so many people have loved him and cared for him over the years.
I think Fitz is already down the path of breaking with his preconceptions -- Dutiful telling him about Chivalry was just one crack... Love the first chapter when Fitz discovers that he is lonely not because he has to be, but because he chooses to be. 'Course the Fool helps with that ;). And for me at least, I could very much see him wrestling with this notion and finally deciding to not be alone like he was for so long, especially in that last scene when he calls the Fool Beloved *cue tears again*