Description:

Amazon.com Review

Fool's Fate is the third book of Robin Hobb's Tawny Man trilogy, and the ninth and concluding volume of the Fitzchivalry Farseer saga, one of the best high-fantasy series of the turn of the millennium. Fitz is the bastard son of the royal family of the Six Duchies, which he serves as assassin, guardsman, and Skill-magician. Fitz also serves the White Prophet as "Catalyst," the unique person who may enable the White Prophet to change human destiny for the better. In Fool's Fate, Fitz must accompany his kinsman, Prince Dutiful Farseer, to a distant northern island, where the prince must slay the world's last male dragon to win the hand of the Out Islands princess Elliania, the woman he loves. However, not even Elliania wants the dragon dead; why, then, does she require Dutiful to kill Icefyre? Are darker forces manipulating Elliania? Even worse, if Icefyre dies, the White Prophet foresees not only his own death, but a grim future for humankind. The prophet's only hope of changing the future is his Catalyst. --Cynthia Ward

From Publishers Weekly

In Hobb's riveting conclusion to the Tawny Man series in the Farseer world (after Fool's Errand and Golden Fool), FitzChivalry Farseer and the man known as the Fool follow the dizzying, complex and treacherous steps that destiny has arranged for them - even though they both know that the end of the dance leads to agonizing decisions and, ultimately, death. Thrown in with Fitz and the Fool are a band of travelers who are on a quest to seek the head of the dragon Icefyre so that Prince Dutiful Farseer may marry the Narcheska Elliania. Most of the group find the time-consuming undertaking difficult and repugnant, for none of them truly wants to kill the ice-bound dragon, not even the Narcheska, it seems. All, however, are duty-bound to honor their word. Since the Fool has foreseen that all the possible consequences of killing the dragon spell his doom, his is the lone voice of dissent. With its carefully modulated tension, wonderful final revelation and strong characters who remain true to themselves throughout, this series may well become a classic in the fantasy field.
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