Rating: 
Summary: Finally Someone Gets a Middle Book Right
Review: I just finished reading Robin Hobb's Second installment and I actually breathed a sigh of relief. Finally a middle book worth my time.
I must disagree with those reviewers who said there isn't much in the way of plot development in this installment. This entirely not true. True, Fitz is not off racing into the mountains, but the large amount of information revealed in this book is daunting (I had to go back and look at one of the characters in the Liveship Triology)
The relationships from both The Assasin's Triology and Liveship Triology are brought back in this book and given astonshing twists. And we FINALLy get to Fitz interact with All of his children which is great. The pace of the book is a little slower than the first book, but it was worth it. The only question we are left hanging onto is "will there be another bond-mate".
If this is your first Robin Hobb's triology, you are really doing yourself a disservice if you do not go and read the two preceding trilogies. I refuse to ruin the book for you, but I can't imagine how you can figure anything out without that background. Overall, during this month of duds this is welcome treat.
Rating:
Summary: strong fantasy
Review: It has been many years since FitzChivalry Farseer has been in Buckkeep or had anything to do with his legitimate relatives but when the Piebalds kidnap Prince Dutiful, Fitz mounts a successful rescue operation. Now he is permanently ensconced in the keep, posing as a bodyguard to a man with more personas then fingers, acting as a spy to his former mentor, Chade the Assassin. Fitz uses the alias Tom Badgerlock because if his real name and identity became known, many people will want him executed for crimes and actions he never committed.Tom has many difficult tasks to perform including teaching the Prince how to use Wit and Skill (forms of magic) when he is only learning how to use it himself. He must also keep himself and his Prince safe from the Piebalds, open practitioners of magic who think they should be the ones residing in the seats of power. The prince and Fitz must also be prepared for a quest that might cost them their lives if they complete it. The hero of GOLDEN FOOL is one of the most likable protagonists to grace a fantasy novel. Unlike most heroes, Fitz isn't very heroic but that doesn't stop him from trying to do the right thing even if he occasionally makes errors. His concern for the well being of his Farseer relatives is another reason that readers will gather him into their hearts. The next installment in this exciting trilogy will take place on the island where the Prince must undertake a quest if he is to stay engaged to the girl who he hopes win one day be his wife so stay tuned to this series. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: brilliant, esp. for a middle of a trilogy book
Review: There two things that are just horribly wrong with this book.
1) It's way too short.
2) It makes me that much more impatient for the book that follows it! (It's really going to seem like forever till then, now....) So, to say it better: I want more, I want more... Definitely!
Rating:
Summary: Good book!
Review: This book was worth buying and reading. Although it lacks the magic that her Farseer series had it's still a very good book. It was well written, but I wish it had a little more action.
Rating: 
Summary: Great -- but definitely a trilogy's middle volume
Review: Robin Hobb's characterization and writing are excellent as usual in this second volume of the Tawny Man trilogy. However, the plot did not advance much. Not all series have to be in trilogy form! I had two specific quibbles, which I will describe, but try not to give away anything that would spoil people's enjoyment.
First, I found it hard to believe that with all the spying and observation that goes on in this series, there was a failure of intelligence to locate a large one armed man and a war horse in a small town.
Second, there was an instance in which Fitz went running to give away a secret told him by a friend. I found this to be very much out of character for him.
Rating:
Summary: Another winning read from Robin Hobb
Review: Robin Hobb is the best writer, nobody makes you fall for the characters like her. I love a alot of authors but she is my all time favorite! I almost understand why the women from the movie "Misery" kidnapped the author. Just kidding, but I do wish I could read each chapter as it is created! Robin I can't wait for the next book, please hurry!! A year feels like an eternity.
Rating:
Summary: I scarecly have words
Review: I got this book at 6:00 pm when I walked in the door to see my roomate had been home to recieve the mail and left the package from Amazon out that had this book in it. I'd just finished a grueling 10 hour day at the back of a even more gruelying 16 hour day with only three hours of sleep in between. I was elated to recieve the books because Robin Hobb has pretty much made my top five authors list, and I was looking forward to this book. That said, I was so exahusted that after feeding myself my only serious plan was to go to bed. I laid down, and then after a few seconds I promised myself that I'd read the first chapter before I passed out. It's three thirty now the next day. I havn't been to sleep yet. I literally couldn't put the book down, except to call in sick to work today. I don't have the words for what I've just read, but I can say this; if you get a chance pick this book up. Then again since this is the fifth book in this particular series, and the eighth book about this world, you already know that. Don't you?
Rating:
Summary: Solid Journeyman Effort
Review: Golden Fool is the second installment in Ms. Hobbs Tawny Man series. As with most middle volumes it has no real beginning and no real conclusion. Middle volumes are usually dedicated to plot and character development. In this respect Golden Fool does an excellent job. Even more so than in the Farseer series and Fool's Errand the story line begins to narrow the focus down to one characters viewpoint, FitzChivalry. As a character Fitz has more flaws than a dimestore diamond. He is emotionally crippled, mentally and physically abused, and seems unable to socially interact with even those closest to him on any kind of workable basis. He is for the most part a pitiful wreck of a human being. However in Golden Fool we begin to see real emotional growth and maturity begin to take hold. Although there is still tremendous room to improve he begins to develop a sense of empathy, a softening in his dealings with other characters. He is starting to become a reasonably likable person, and given the baggage he carries that is saying something. Readers should be aware though that to truly understand and enjoy the plot twists and character interactions in Golden Fool reading the Farseer (Assassin series) and Liveship Traders series is a prerequisite. There is no way you can understand what is happening without reading these books. This is not necessarily bad, the Liveship Traders series is one of the best I have read in a long time. The Farseer series is another matter. It has one of the most depressing story lines I have yet come across, but you really do have to read it to understand the characters and their relationships. All that said Golden Fool is a solid work that leaves you looking forward to the next installment.
Rating:
Summary: How much can one man take?
Review: What to say of FitzChivalry Farseer? An epic character, who's, thanks to Robin Hobb, life unfolds before us. So many different things happen within "Golden Fool" that it feels like real life. You know you had something for dinner a couple nights before but you just can't remember what. This is fantasy at its best. It doesn't get bogged down with side plots but revels in them, the characters don't develop but live as we do, and most of all you really care what happens to any single person, whether it be Queen or cook. One of the most amazing parts is Hobb's ability to make you recall a character, even if they seem so small in the plot you still know them as a close cousin. They may pop up for but a page but you remember and enjoy every part of their character and the life they share with our hero. You live the life of FitzChivalry as you read the Tawny Man Trilogy. You don't see the history of the Six Duchies, but embrace it through his eyes. In the first novel, "Fool's Errand" you felt just like Fitz. Reading the first half you felt like you were always catching up, as if time was flying by, trying to remember everything of old. You always were playing catch up through out the whole novel. But "Golden Fool" is different. In this novel you feel the weight of duty, each day in Fitz's life seems like a month as he dives back into the court of Buckkeep. And just so every page seems like a chapter to you, the book expands beyond its page numbers. You will sit down for hours unmoving only to stop and realize you've only read through a chapter or two in awe. You'll wonder if you will ever get through this novel just as Fitz wonders if he will ever go back to his quiet life in the country. It is amazing work, beyond words, though I have tried. The only problem is that you must wait another year for the last piece of the trilogy. That you begin this story in the middle and you end it there too. Until a novel is written in which Fitz's soul crosses over to join those that have left before him it will never end for you, you'll always want more of him, and perhaps even after that you will cry for more of the Farseers from this extraordinary author. Final Thought: Robin Hobb's Farseer novels are not read, they are experienced.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderful bitter brew!
Review: Book 2 of the Tawny Man series is everything that book 2s from Robin Hobb should be and generally are. What does that mean? She makes, it seems, book 2's her epicenter. A lot happens. Little gets resolved. However, where she excels-- where she *exceeds*-- is drawing the vivid portrayal of characters. In this case, as with Fool's Errand and the Farseer Trilogy before it, in the first person perspective of protagonist FitzChivalry Farseer aka Tom Badgerlock. I won't give away a thing of the plot, suffice it to say that the book jacket's contents, provided by Amazon here, are all you need to know. That and, if you haven't done so already, pick up Fool's Errand and read it first (if not the Farseer and Liveship series). This is a wonderful book. I absorbed it and loved it. I await eagerly book 3.
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