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.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
The conclusion of the Tawny Man trilogy is generally as distinguished as its predecessors, Fool's Errand (2001) and Golden Fool [BKL N 15 02], although Fitzchivalry Farseer continues to be hardly a fool, and his fate is not particularly dire. He reaches the end of this portion of his journey only after physical, intellectual, and ethical travels that involve every part of the Six Duchies, most of the characters in the previous two novels, and plenty of adventures that show off Hobb's exalted world-building skills. As before in Hobb's work (see the Liveship Traders trilogy), the saga's ethical journey is its most important movement, and not only for the protagonist. Fitzchivalry has to find true love, remain bonded to his animal companion, deal with deadly intrigues to whose resolutions he is key, and realize that solutions all parties regard as ethical have the best chance of enduring. In this vast --and vastly rewarding --tale, Hobb largely avoids the sententiousness such an ethically loaded agenda portends. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
"Riveting.... 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."
-- Publishers Weekly, starred review


From the Hardcover edition.

Review
"Riveting.... 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."
-- Publishers Weekly, starred review


From the Hardcover edition.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

A heralded writer of epic fantasy, Robin Hobb has given readers worlds within worlds in her heroic Farseer and Liveship Traders trilogies. Now she takes the final step in the breathtaking trilogy of the Tawny Man, as the tale of FitzChivalry Farseer comes to an epic end. Rife with boundless adventure and unforgettable characters, Fool's Fate is destined to become a classic of the genre.

Assassin, spy, and Skillmaster, FitzChivalry Farseer, now known only as man-at-arms Tom Badgerlock, has become firmly ensconced in the queen's court at Buckkeep. Only a few are aware of his fabled, tangled past--and the sacrifices he made to survive it. And fewer know of his possession of the Skill magic. With Prince
Dutiful, his assassin-mentor Chade, and the simpleminded yet strongly Skilled Thick, FitzChivalry strives to aid the prince on a quest that could ultimately secure peace between the Six Duchies and the Outislands--and win Dutiful the hand of the Narcheska Elliania.

For the Narcheska has set the prince on an unfathomable task: to behead a dragon trapped in ice--the legendary Icefyre, on the island of Aslevjal. Yet not all the clans of the Outislands support the prince's effort to behead their
legendary defender. Are there darker forces at work behind the Narcheska's imperious demand? As the prince and his coterie set sail, FitzChivalry works behind the scenes, playing nursemaid to the ailing Thick, while striving to strengthen their Skill--ultimately bringing his unacknowledged daughter into the web of the Skill magic, where the truth must finally unfold.