Fool's Assassin spoiler thread

[Relpda]

It's been a long time since I last posted but had to come back after reading Fool's Assassin! LOVED it! So good to see Fitz again and what happened to the Fool is heartbreaking! :-'(. Love Bee, she's up there now with Fitz and Fool as a favourite - if I'd had my daughter this September instead of last she'd have been a Bea for sure...as it is she's a Molly instead, an equally fine namesake ;-). I'm just afraid now that the end of the trilogy will see the end of Fitz's 'story' - I just see him going to Molly as Patience did Chivalry! Oh Patience! :'-(

So am I right in thinking the Servants were the keepers of the White archives and they've decided to abuse their knowledge for power - liking them as villains, very chilling and i'm afraid for Bee!

Agree that some of the Fool went into Fitz to make Bee and was so thrilled to see Nighteyes again

Lastly - Shun and Lant. Shun is Chade's without doubt (but who is her mother?). Lant? At first I linked him to Regal (the description of him made me think of Regal) but that wouldn't work as he had no heirs. Then I considered him as Nettle's and Riddle's as they are fond of him for some reason but i just can't see Nettle allowing him to be hidden away and beaten. I guess i'll just have to keep reading

I'm so excited! This book has made my year!

[Sini]

I think Lant's parents are who they were told to be in the book: Huntswoman Laurel and this minor noble Vigilant. I was sorry to hear that Laurel was dead

[Relpda]

Me too . I suppose if she'd stayed at Buckeep though she'd have recognised the Fool/Lord Golden, still it's very sad.

I thought the same for ages until near the end when Fitz thinks he's going to demand Chade tell him all about Lant and Shun's parentage. Plus Fitz thinks about it on and off for ages and he or Bee at one point think how alike Lant and Shun look...I just get a feeling he's a Farseer in some way although it doesn't make sense that Lord Vigilant recognised him as his son I must admit? I'm also not convinced he's dead....I just cannot wait for the next book!!

[BrilliantFarseer]

I was surprised that Fitz did not press Chade more on who her parents were. It looks like Lant's parents are Vigilant and Laurel, but I agree that there is something fishy there. Especially with Laurel's death. Maybe I am taking to many lessons from reading ASOIAF, but I won't believe Laurel is dead until it is confirmed either by a grave or something or her absence in the second and third books.

[Relpda]

Yes, I think I've been reading too much ASOIAF - seeing plots and hidden parents everywhere! I'm re-reading Fool's Assassin now and trying to take in every word for clues of what's to come.

[KekPafrany]

4. What this about Lant being such a great guy, that everyone trust, except Fitz? It was mentioned too many time to be insignificant, but Hobb just killed him.

5. Shun must be Chade's daughter. I really dislike her and I hope I won't end up liking her like it was with Malta.

I am not sure if Lant is dead, he can be unconcious at the same time.

Shun.. My thought from the first monent that she is from Regal. She was totally unskilled.
I hope she will grow up a little. And yes, I think she might grow up and be something more than a sissy little lady.

[thjan]

Hi everybody, I'm a new member, but long time Robin Hobb fan(and especially Fitz fan).

Anyway, I greatly enjoyed Fool's Assassin, and I wanted to share my thoughts on it(even though I'm not very good at doing that). I loved being able to read about Fitz, Molly, Nettle, the Fool, Chade, Kettricken, Dutiful Patience, and even Nighteyes(very unexpected, but awesome) again. I had really missed Fitz and the Six Duchies. I also loved being introduced to a great new character in Bee. Of course as this is a Fitz book, bad things have to happen to him, and man they do. This book has the distinction of being the second book to ever make me cry(the first being Fool's Errand).

I really can't wait for the next book. This Wolf-Father thing as really got me intrigued, and I am really excited about when Fitz and the Fool finally have a conversation about Bee, and Fitz finally realizes what Bee is. I'm glad that Robin Hobb writes so fast. Imagine having to wait 2 or three years for the next one like you do with some writers, yikes.

---

Now I wanted to reply to some people.

3. I really liked Revel, too bad she killed him off.

I know! I hated that too. I had really come to like him.

3. Cruel, so cruel, what has happened to the Fool.

Yep . I hope they are able to heal the worst of it in the next book.

4. So many missed opportunities and misunderstandings. Pretty standard for RH...sometimes so infuriating!

Definitely. It was very sad and frustrating at times.

I thought the same for ages until near the end when Fitz thinks he's going to demand Chade tell him all about Lant and Shun's parentage. Plus Fitz thinks about it on and off for ages and he or Bee at one point think how alike Lant and Shun look...I just get a feeling he's a Farseer in some way although it doesn't make sense that Lord Vigilant recognised him as his son I must admit? I'm also not convinced he's dead....I just cannot wait for the next book!!

I think he is a Farseer as well. I actually think he is Chade's son. There are a bunch of things that I think point to this-

1. Chade certainly took a great interest in the boy, and really wanted Fitz to protect him the same as Shun.

2. Like you said, Bee thought about how alike Shun and Lant look(same nose, good looking ect.), and I'm pretty confident that Shun is Chade's daughter.

3. The rumor that Laurel had quarreled with someone in a high position and it was well hushed. Chade is definitely in a high position and we know he likes to get around when it comes to women and is good at keeping it quiet.

4. Riddle thought Vigilant was a boor and he was surprised that he was able to get any woman to lie with him and was surprised that he would acknowledge a bastard. That doesn't sound like someone Laurel would go for.

5. Riddle said that Vigilant's estates were in disorder for many years, but that he finally got a good man to help run his estates and began to prosper. I think that maybe Chade helped him get his estates in order in exchange for saying that Lant was his bastard to help in the cover up of Lant being Chade's.

6. Vigilant doing nothing to protect Lant from his wife. It might be just because he is his bastard that he doesn't care about now that he has legitimate children, but it could also be that he just didn't care at that point about showing concern or a stake in a son that was not even his own(especially since his estates were now in order).

[Remtron]

Hi All,
I absolutely loved revisiting Fitz and his world. I thought after the Tawny Man trilogy had finished that it was the end of Fitz's story, and I was not too disapppointed to be honest. I thought it was a reasonable ending, and I have enjoyed rereading the Farseer Trilogy and Tawny Man trilogy when I have felt the need to touch base again with Fitz and his world.
Catching up again in Fool's Assassin has felt like coming home. I have had a small smile on my face while reading the whole book (when I wasn't crying like a baby when Molly passed and Fitz's reaction to it).
I love Bee to pieces and love the relationship that has developed between her and Fitz.
I have started to wonder whether the next Wit bond Fitz has is not with an animal but with Bee? It seems that she is a mix of Fitz, the Fool and Nighteyes, could she have enough of the wolf in her to form a Wit bond with Fitz?

I don't think Fitzvigilant is dead. There has been too much emphasis on him for his story to end so soon. And I also think that he may have Farseer blood too. Although whose?

I think Shun, in all likelihood is Chade's daughter, but I do not think Fitzvigilant is Chade's. Nettle's? Perhaps, she does seem to have some link to him.

[Sini]

I think he is a Farseer as well. I actually think he is Chade's son. There are a bunch of things that I think point to this-

1. Chade certainly took a great interest in the boy, and really wanted Fitz to protect him the same as Shun.

2. Like you said, Bee thought about how alike Shun and Lant look(same nose, good looking ect.), and I'm pretty confident that Shun is Chade's daughter.

3. The rumor that Laurel had quarreled with someone in a high position and it was well hushed. Chade is definitely in a high position and we know he likes to get around when it comes to women and is good at keeping it quiet.

4. Riddle thought Vigilant was a boor and he was surprised that he was able to get any woman to lie with him and was surprised that he would acknowledge a bastard. That doesn't sound like someone Laurel would go for.

5. Riddle said that Vigilant's estates were in disorder for many years, but that he finally got a good man to help run his estates and began to prosper. I think that maybe Chade helped him get his estates in order in exchange for saying that Lant was his bastard to help in the cover up of Lant being Chade's.

6. Vigilant doing nothing to protect Lant from his wife. It might be just because he is his bastard that he doesn't care about now that he has legitimate children, but it could also be that he just didn't care at that point about showing concern or a stake in a son that was not even his own(especially since his estates were now in order).

Ok now you have convinced me that he might be Chade's and Laurel's I've bolded the statements that seem very likely to me. If this is true then he must be alive.

I think Fitz would have known if Nettle had given birth - they are strongly Skill-linked. Thus Chade seems more likely.

[joost]

I'm currently struggling my way through Fool's assassin. I'm not sure yet whether I like it. Bee is a great character, but for the rest I haven't found anything really interesting yet, and I'm about 2/3rd in the book (Shun just arrived, and Lant is on his way).

Shun when Fitz first meet her and Shun when she arrives in Withywoods seem two completely different persons, and I'm not sure that one poisoning can change a person that much. She's also completely unlovable, but perhaps she's a Malta in disguise.