Group read: Golden Fool by Robin Hobb - The Tawny Man Trilogy

Welcome to our group read of Robin Hobb's Realm of the Elderlings series. This is the thread to discuss Golden Fool the eighth book in the Realm of the Elderlings series and the second book in The Tawny Man trilogy.

There's no set timetable for this read but a few people are planning to start this trilogy in February.

Link back to the main group read organisation thread with a full series listing and timetable.



Please use the spoiler tags (<spoiler>spoilery comments</spoiler>) and also include the chapter in bold so people who are reading along know whether it's safe to read the spoilers.

I’ve added this thread to the group wiki.

Sooo, I've just recently read this! Looks like I'm the first. I can't remember what schedule we agreed upon now - perhaps I've raced ahead? I am so enjoying getting back into the world of these characters though. Although I think we have discussed before how annoying Fitz can be when he makes stupid decisions and doesn't listen to what others are telling him. There's a lot of that on show in this book. Also, lots of the story of the Outislanders that come to the castle just doesn't add up and it stretches the reader's credulity that silly old Fitz is the only one that seems to be pondering these things, and even then, not particularly intensely. It's clearly a massive deal that the Narcheska is presented by her Uncle, not by any female relatives from her family, when we are told that it is a very matriarchal society. The author drops pretty big hints about where all this could be leading, but Fitz and even wiser heads like Chade don't seem that interested in interrogating them
I loved the introduction of the Bingtown traders in a quick cameo - it's nice to begin to see how all the stories come together and form a larger whole, something that was perhaps missing from the previous trilogy, that felt very disconnected from the first. Overall a very strong entry into the series, although it does suffer from the "middle of a trilogy" problem of being full of loose ends.

>3 HanGerg: Oops, I just realized that I hadn't chimed in here when I finished it back in May! Shame on me! I agree, Hannah, that Fitz is back to his frustrating, stupid decision making. And yes, Chade is even uncharacteristically not making the best decisions either. Thank goodness for Kettricken and The Fool, who seem to be the only ones capable of rational thought!

It was fun to see the Bingtown folks. I think I actually enjoyed the Liveship trilogy a little more than the Farseer trilogy, but then I think I've enjoyed this one most of all. Perhaps I'm getting used to Fitz's bad decisions, but honestly, I think he has grown a little. Plus he's getting some payback in the form of Hap and his decisions!

I've been reading them about one every 3 months. I finished Fool's Fate in August and plan to start The Rain Wild Chronicles in November.