Narilka reads in 2018 - Part 3

The old thread was getting long. It's time for a new one!

2018 reading log part 1: https://www.librarything.com/topic/279677

My Rating System
- Absolutely horrible, don't bother

- Meh, I finished the book somehow but would not recommend it

- An entertaining read

- Highly enjoyable, I would probably recommend this book

- Excellent! The book may not be perfect but it was perfect for me. Possibly a new favorite.

A half star is given for a book that falls between those categories.

Currently Reading


Listening To


Books Read in 2018
1. Demon Lord of Karanda by David Eddings
2. Sorceress of Darshiva by David Eddings
3. The Seeress of Kell by David Eddings
4. Wake of Vultures by Lila Bowen
5. You Die When You Die by Angus West
6. Origin by Dan Brown
7. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
8. The King's Blood by Daniel Abraham
9. Glitches by Marissa Meyer
10. All Systems Red by Martha Wells
11. Hammered by Kevin Hearne
12. Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews
13. Scarlet by Marissa Meyer
14. The Queen's Army by Marissa Meyer
15. Altered Carbon by Richard K. Morgan
16. Last Dragon Standing by Rachel Aaron
17. Cress by Marissa Meyer
18. In Such Good Company by Carol Burnett
19. I Hear You: The Surprisingly Simple Skill Behind Extraordinary Relationships by Michael S. Sorensen
20. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
21. Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
22. Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo
23. The Fold by Peter Clines
24. Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett
25. Fairest by Marissa Meyer
26. The Cat, the Mill and the Murder by Leann Sweeney
27. The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi
28. The Tyrant's Law Daniel Abraham
29. I Can't Make This Up by Kevin Hart
30. Burn for Me by Ilona Andrews
31. The Widow's House by Daniel Abraham
32. On The Edge by Ilona Andrews
33. Tricked by Kevin Hearne
34. Goldenhand by Garth Nix
35. Grey Sister by Mark Lawrence
36. The Spider's War by Daniel Abraham
37. White Hot by Ilona Andrews
38. Chosen Forever by Susan Richards
39. Only Human by Sylvain Neuvel
40. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley
41. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
42. Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews
43. Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty
44. Wildfire by Ilona Andrews
45. The Dispatcher by John Scalzi
46. Ascend Online by Luke Chmilenko
47. Fate's Edge by Ilona Andrews
48. Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
49. 14 by Peter Clines
50. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
51. Winter by Marissa Meyer
52. Awaken Online: Evolution by Travis Bagwell
53. Steel's Edge by Ilona Andrews
54. In Calabria by Peter S. Beagle
55. Scent of the Missing by Susannah Charleson
56. The Last Colony by John Scalzi
57. The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley
58. Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor
59. The Princess Bride by William Goldman
60. Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
61. Bloody Rose by Nicholas Eames
62. Thief of Time by Terry Pratchett
63. Revenger by Alastair Reynolds
64. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo
65. Clean Sweep by Ilona Andrews
66. Dreams of Gods and Monsters by Laini Taylor
67. The Land You Never Leave by Angus Watson
68. The Skull Throne by Peter V Brett
69. The Core by Peter V Brett
70. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo
71. Terms of Enlistment by Marko Kloos
72. Sweep in Peace by Ilona Andrews
73. Traitor's Blade by Sebastien de Castell
74. Hail to the Chin by Bruce Campbell
75. The Motivation Trap by John Hittler
76. Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo
77. Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews
78. Minimum Wage Magic by Rachel Aaron
79. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik
80. One Fell Sweep by Ilona Andrews
81. Knight's Shadow by Sebastien de Castell
82. The Cat, the Vagabond and the Victim by Leann Sweeney
83. Private Lies by Cynthia St. Aubin
84. Captivate: The Science of Succeeding with People by Vanessa Van Edwards
85. Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
86. Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews
87. Trapped by Kevin Hearne
88. The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud
89. We Wish You a Murderous Christmas by Vicki Delany
90. Fool's Assassin by Robin Hobb

Fun Stats
Books Read: 90
Total Pages Read: 27150
Audio Book Hours: 247h 23m
Rereads: 7
TBR Challenge: 12/12
2018 Category Challenge: 25/50

2018 Series Stats
In progress: 17
Up to date: 9
Completed: 14
Abandoned: 4

TBR Challenge
This is a challenge to read more from my TBR pile this year. Pick 12 books that I've been meaning to read and add them to the list. Try to finish one a month. I've done Primary and Secondary lists in case something in the Primary list just isn't working for me. This year's primary theme is called "Let's clean up my desk!" I have a bad habit of putting books I want to read "soon" on the shelves of my desk and then choosing something else to read instead. My desk has a nice collection built up. I'm hoping this will motivate me to push through some of my desk stacks and then I can shelve them where they belong. My secondary list will be carry overs from previous challenges and anything else I feel like mixing in from my TBR.

12/12

Mission: Desk Cleanup
1. Carpe Jugulum by Terry Pratchett (Discworld 23 of 41|Witches 6 of 6) Completed 4/5/18
2. The Cat, the Mill and the Murder by Leann Sweeney (Cats in Trouble 5 of 8) Completed 4/9/18
3. Hunter by Mercedes Lackey (Hunter 1 of 3)
4. Cinder by Marissa Meyer (The Lunar Chronicles 1 of 4) Completed 2/1/18
5. Chosen Forever by Susan Richards Completed 5/31/18
6. Wake of Vultures by Lila Bowen (The Shadow 1 of 4 planned) Completed 1/20/18
7. The Republic of Thieves by Scott Lynch* (Gentleman Bastards 3 of 7 planned)
8. Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews (Kate Daniels 4 of 10) Completed 2/17/18
9. The Genius of Birds by Jennifer Ackerman
10. A Cat Named Darwin by William Jordan
11. The Gunslinger by Stephen King (The Dark Tower 1 of 8)
12. Throne of Jade by Naomi Novik (Temeraire 2 of 9)

Mission: Even More TBR
1. Red Rising by Pierce Brown* (Red Rising 1 of 3)
2. Wool by Hugh Howey* (Silo 1 of 3)
3. Foreigner by C. J. Cherryh* (Foreigner 1 of 19)
4. Digital Fortress by Dan Brown*
5. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson*
6. Everybody Lies by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz
7. In Calabria by Peter S Beagle Completed 8/11/18
8. Goldenhand by Garth Nix (Abhorsen 5 of 5) Completed 5/14/18
9. The Dispatcher by John Scalzi Completed 7/2/18
10. The Princess Bride by William Goldman Completed 9/1/18
11. In Such Good Company by Carol Burnett Completed 3/14/18
12. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo (Six of Crows 1 of 2) Completed 3/21/18

*Carried over from a prior TBR challenge.

2018 Popsugar Category Reading Challenge
This is a challenge I'm participating in a group on Good Reads. Looks like it may be interesting. If anyone else thinks this would be fun feel free to copy/paste this into your own thread and see how you do! I'm going to see how close I can come this year to completing the list though do not expect to finish. Some of these will be challenging.

RULES
- Books must be started and finished in 2018
- One book can count for a maximum of two categories
- You can join in at any point in the year and the books you have already read can count towards the challenge
- Graphic novels count
- No minimum page count (unless the category states)

PROGRESS
25/50

CHALLENGE

1. A book made into a movie you've already seen The Princess Bride
2. True Crime
3. The next book in a series you started Sorceress of Darshiva Book 4 of The Malloreon
4. A book involving a heist Six of Crows
5. Nordic noir
6. A novel based on a real person In Such Good Company
7. A book set in a country that fascinates you Daughter of Smoke and Bone
8. A book with a time of day in the title
9. A book about a villain or antihero Fairest
10. A book about death or grief Thief of Time
11. A book with a female author who uses a male pseudonym
12. A book with an LGBTQ+ protagonist Wake of Vultures
13. A book that is also a stage play or musical
14. A book by an author of a different ethnicity than you I Can't Make This Up
15. A book about feminism
16. A book about mental health
17. A book you borrowed or that was given to you as a gift Magic Bleeds
18. A book by two authors
19. A book about or involving a sport
20. A book by a local author Last Dragon Standing
21. A book with your favorite color in the title The Blue Sword
22. A book with alliteration in the title Spinning Silver
23. A book about time travel
24. A book with a weather element in the title Siege and Storm
25. A book set at sea
26. A book with an animal in the title The Spider's War
27. A book set on a different planet All Systems Red
28. A book with song lyrics in the title
29. A book about or set on Halloween
30. A book with characters who are twins Tricked
31. A book mentioned in another book The Princess Bride
32. A book from a celebrity book club Burn For Me (Felicia Day's Vaginal Fantasy Book Club)
33. A childhood classic you've never read
34. A book that's published in 2018 Grey Sister
35. A past Goodreads Choice Awards winner
36. A book set in the decade you were born
37. A book you meant to read in 2017 but didn't get to Cinder
38. A book with an ugly cover Altered Carbon
39. A book that involves a bookstore or library
40. Your favorite prompt from the 2015, 2016, or 2017 POPSUGAR Reading Challenges Hammered for last year's audio book prompt

ADVANCED

1. A bestseller from the year you graduated high school
2. A cyberpunk book Altered Carbon
3. A book that was being read by a stranger in a public place
4. A book tied to your ancestry
5. A book with a fruit or vegetable in the title
6. An allegory
7. A book by an author with the same first or last name as you
8. A microhistory
9. A book about a problem facing society today Only Human (extreme prejudice)
10. A book recommended by someone else taking the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge

My Personal Incomplete Series Challenge
I always knew I juggle a lot of series, primarily so I don't suffer series burnout and also partly because shiny new books keep being published :D I decided it was time to make it "official" and actually track all the series I have in progress for the year. The list is frightening! Maybe this will give me some incentive to finish a few more series off before I start even more new ones. Maybe ;)

Series Stats Summary
In progress: 17
Up to date: 9
Completed: 13
Abandoned: 3

In Progress
Discworld: Rincewind - 5/8
Discworld: City Watch - 5/8
Discworld: Tiffany Aching - 1/5
Discworld: Overall - 26/41
Kate Daniels - 5/10
Iron Druid Chronicles - 5/9
The Shadow - 1/4
The Gentleman Bastards - 2/3, 7 planned?
The Dresden Files - 5/15, 17 planned?
Temeraire - 1/9
The Girl with All the Gifts - 1/2
The Witchlands - 2/2.5 - #3 expected in 2019
Frontlines - 1/6
Greatcoats - 2/4
The Fitz and the Fool - 1/3
Cats in Trouble - 6/8
Jane Avery Mysteries - 1/2

Up to date and waiting
Inkeeper Chronicles - 3/3 - #4 expected Dec 2018
The Book of the Ancestor - 2/2 - #3 expected 2019
The Hidden Legacy - 3/3 - #4 expected 2019
Awaken Online - 3/3 - #4 TBD
The Band - 2/2 - #3 TBD
West of West - 2/2 - #3 TBD
DFZ 1/1 - #2 expected 2019
Skyward 1/1 - #2 due Nov 2019

Deliberately On Hold
Waiting for future publication date(s) before continuing. Some authors have a bad habit of taking too long between books (yeah, I'm looking at you GRRM). I want the series completed before continuing my reading.
Lighbringer - 1/5
A Song of Ice and Fire - 3/7?
Murderbot Diaries - 1/4 - hoping they go on sale, they're expensive for novellas

Completed in 2018
The Grisha - 3/3
The Demon Cycle - 5/5
Daughter of Smoke and Bone - 3/3
Discworld: Death - 5/5
Damar - 2/2
The Edge - 4/4
The Lunar Chronicles - 4.5/4.5
The Themis Files - 3/3
The Dagger & The Coin - 5/5
Abhorsen - 5/5
Discworld: Witches - 6/6
Six of Crows - 2/2
Heartstrikers - 5/5
The Malloreon - 5/5

Abandoned in 2018
Old Man's War - 3/6
Ascend Online - 1/2
Takeshi Kovacs - 1/3
A Year-Round Christmas Mystery - 2/3

70. Siege and Storm by Leigh Bardugo



Hunted and on the run, Alina and Mal have made their escape across the True Sea in an attempt to start a new life for themselves. It's difficult keeping her true identity secret as not using her powers is taking it's toll on Alina. The Darkling's agents are everywhere. As it turns out, you can only outrun destiny for so long.

Siege and Storm is the second book in The Grisha trilogy by Leigh Bardugo. It's a decent middle book that suffers some pacing issues. And it's characters. But first, pacing. The story opens with a feeling of repetition as we're off to find the next magical beast to slay for an amplifier! I admit, it keeps the action going for the first couple chapters. Then things slow down to quite a slog. Things pick back up in the last 20% again when the plot really gets going.

Now back to the characters. Alina continues to annoy the crap out of me. A lot of this has to do with the YA-ness of the story. Her constant pining for Mal is so frustrating! Mal is nothing but a whiny, jealous child during the whole book. I honestly don't know why she continues to want to be with him when he does nothing but bring her down. He can't handle other men flirting with her. Nor can he handle that she's a very powerful Grisha who's trying to save the world. At this point the best thing she could do is ditch Mal and all his negativity. Aside from that, Alina is starting to show her dark side and the bits we see are interesting. It hasn't helped her overcome her self-confidence issues either which is an interesting internal character conflict. I hope this is something that is explored more in book 3. The Darkling is still an interesting antagonist, a force to be reckoned with, though he's not seen near enough. I truly loved his appearances as visions to Alina. It really kept me guessing if he was real or if she was hallucinating. The highlight is the introduction to Nikolai. What a fun character! He steals every scene he's in and he delivers some of the best lines as well as some pretty good advice. I see now why he is getting his own duology soon.

The love square. Or is it a love pentagon? Oy. Does the other prince's marriage proposal count? He only did it because his brother did, not necessarily because of attraction to Alina. Maybe it's only a square after all.

That said, I still like this world and it's magic system. I do think Bardugo has a talent for prose though I have issues with the story. I also am a bit more complainy-pants in this review than my star rating really reflects as there are some great scenes with Nikolai and that whole ending is pretty darn amazing. I'm looking forward to book 3.

Rating:

Happy New Thread!

>6 quondame: Thanks! That photo is perfect :)

71. Terms of Enlistment by Marko Kloos



The year is 2108 and Earth has become over populated. Poverty runs rampant and most of the planet has been damaged by pollution. Humans have started colonizing space and, if you're lucky, you can win a ticket to one of the newly colonized worlds. Realizing this is a pipe-dream, Andrew Grayson chooses to join the military instead, in hopes that he may end up stationed off world. He soon learns that basic training is not that easy and that there are worse things in the universe than slum gangs or politicians.

Terms of Enlistment is the first in the Frontlines series by Marko Kloos. The book is a standard military scifi. If you've read Old Man's War or seen any military movie or tv show recently, you know approximately what to expect. It doesn't break any new ground in that regards and takes a good two thirds of the book before it starts to come into its own.

The story is told entirely from Grayson's first person point of view. Wanting to escape poverty, he will do whatever it takes to get off this rock. The story includes a fairly forgettable basic training, a love interest and an Earth-side combat situation. It's a story you've read or seen before without a lot of variance until Grayson finally makes it into the Navy where he boards his first ship into space. Then things start to get interesting. Alas, the story ends just as I was starting to feel vested in the Grayson and his universe.

I listened to the audio book narrated by Luke Daniels. He is fantastic as always.

As the author's debut novel, it shows promise for the series to come. I hope he takes the foundation he's created and runs with it. I'll be looking for book two in the near future.

Rating:

Happy new thread, Narilka!

Thanks @brodiew2!

72. Sweep in Peace by Ilona Andrews



This continues my reread of the Innkeeper Chronicles to prepare for the release of the fourth installment in December. I am thoroughly enjoying this reread. I had forgotten how very moving the ending to this one was. Original review below.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Caldenia blinked. "Who are the attending parties?"

"The Holy Anocracy represented by House Krahr, the Hope-Crushing Horde, and the Merchants of Baha-char. They coming here for Arbitration and they will probably try to murder each other the moment they walk through the door."

Caldenia's eyes widened. "Do you really think so? This is absolutely marvelous!"

She would think so, wouldn’t she?

Sweep in Peace is the second book in the Innkeeper Chronicles by Ilona Andrews. Dina and the Gertrude Hunt have been selected to host the Nexus Peace Summit. Nexus is a small, rugged planet inhabited by three factions. The Holy Anocracy and Hope-Crushing Horde are blood enemies who have been waging war for years with the Merchants caught in the middle. The war has carried on so long that all three sides feel they can't stop fighting yet they are so tired of watching loved ones die they will make the attempt anyway, even if things seem doomed from the beginning. Also in attendance are members from the Office of Arbitration to act as mediators for the talks. Dina definitely has her work cut out for her!

The story has a more serious tone than the first book though there are still bright and funny spots to provide balance. The wars impact on the characters involved is palpable. Everyone is worn out and on the edge of despair. You would think that would make things easier, but it doesn't. There is nothing easy about these peace talks. Dina has a lot of history and cultures to navigate through in order to sort out the mess.

Andrews have outdone themselves with the creativity of the species and characters. Each of the new species has their fun quirks and are all quite interesting. I loved that the Merchants are an anthropomorphic fox species and request a kitten as a pet! Caldenia is in her element as a bystander and revels in the change of pace and all the drama. One of my favorite additions to the cast is Orro, the Quillion chef. His species is like a humanoid sized hedgehog. He is over the top melodramatic, one of the top chefs in the galaxy and highly entertaining. I was sad to see what happens to Sean's character since we saw him last though I think things will get better for him. We also get to see more of the Gertrude Hunt as having a personality, which was fascinating.

This was a great sequel. I'm looking forward to reading the third installment.

Rating:

73. Traitor's Blade by Sebastien de Castell



Traitor's Blade is the first in The Greatcoats quartet by Sebastien de Castell. I love it when authors pay homage to one of my favorite classics, in this case Dumas' The Three Musketeers. A bit of warning first: this book reads more in line with the works of Scott Lynch and Joe Ambercrombie than it does Dumas so if you don't like it when bad things happen to your characters or don't like a grimdark-lean make sure you give this series a pass. Now, on to the review.

The King is dead and the Dukes ruthlessly rule of the country. The Greatcoats, the King's traveling Magistrates, have been scattered. Branded as traitors for standing aside while their King was murdered, their cloaks and their honor are in tatters. Yet there is still hope. Before his death the King charged each of them with a geas, a secret mission to fulfill the King's dream of unifying the country: find the King's Charoites.

I found the story to be an uneven read. The tale is told entirely from the first person point of view of Falcio, the first Cantor of the Greatcoats. The story jumps back and forth between past and present without warning or reason which kept jolting me from the story until I got used to it. Falcio is traveling with his two closest companions, Brasti and Kest, as they search for the King's Charoites. No one knows what the Charoites are or where to look for them, the King being rather vague with his instructions, so they are mostly following where rumors lead them. We are immersed in the friendship of these three, which was my favorite part of the book. The camaraderie and witty banter between the friends was a joy to read. The dialog has a great, somewhat sarcastic sense of humor that was a lot of fun.

de Castell really did his research when it came to writing rapier duels/fights. The action had an unrehearsed, breathless quality that felt very authentic.

Since the book focuses on Falcio, he is the character we learn the most about and has the best character development. For the remaining characters we're given either very basic backstories or just the barest of hints. I hope that future books help flesh out the remaining characters more.

And now for my main problems with the book. The plot is choppy at best and has a lot of randomness to it. There are way too many conveniences that allow characters to overcome some impossible situations. There is also as significant lack of world building. If the story had stuck with just being a swashbuckling adventure, I think it would have done better. Instead there is some magic thrown in that is neither explained nor built upon, just more of a "it shows up when it's needed' kind of convenience that was annoying. After giving us some truly fantastic fight scenes, the ending felt anticlimatic. Most of the plot twists happen just about where you expect them and at least two major scenes happen off screen, which was disappointing. Taking my warning from the beginning, there are also a couple of disturbing scenes of torture and rape.

Still, it was a pretty good debut novel. While the series shows promise, I'm not sure I'm in a big rush to read the second one just yet. I need a break between grimdark-ish books.

Rating:

74. Hail to the Chin by Bruce Campbell



Hail to the Chin is the second memoir by Bruce Campbell and an excellent follow up to If Chins Could Kill. Bruce treats us to a quick recap of his life so far and then picks up right where his first memoir leaves off, the years directly following Xena and Hercules. A good portion of the book is dedicated to his Burn Notice years, which I quite enjoyed as a fan of the show. Bruce tells his story in a humorous and down to earth way, as a regular working guy who has made it in the B Movie scene, his experiences with major movie franchises, both major and minor television roles and a bit of behind the scenes of the movie making process. He also gives insight into just how large the world of sci-fi conventions has gotten. The tale ends just as the show Ash vs the Evil Dead is taking off. I'm sure there will be a third memoir in another 10-15 years.

I listened to the audio book narrated by the author. This is hands down my favorite way to "read" memoirs. I love listening to authors tell their story in their own words. Also, Bruce is a fantastic narrator.

I highly recommend this book for any Bruce Campbell fans or for anyone looking for a slightly different celebrity memoir.

Rating:

My Buddy Read group just decided to do the second book in the Greatcoats. Time to put it in to my "in progress" series list.

75. The Motivation Trap by John Hittler



In The Motivation Trap, John Hittler asks: Is motivation the most appropriate tool for accomplishing what you want? He theorizes that motivation is designed for a very short duration, the spark to get people moving, and must be handed off to other tools or strategies if a team is to have sustained success. It is a great concept and this book provides a lot of food for thought for why motivation may not be the best leadership strategy companies have to create high performing teams. Or for parents have for getting their children to complete homework. Or any number of situations, both in business and in personal life. The author then goes on to outline strategies for long-term motivation and gives specific examples for each. I could have used more of these.

Even though this is a relatively short book, clocking in at only 200 pages, I found myself taking my time reading and rereading sections. I now have a couple things I want to try with my team.

I received this book for free in a Goodreads giveaway.

Rating:

Hello Narilka!

>13 Narilka: Excellent review of Hail to the Chin. I loved Burn Notice and have seen a few of his other films, but never have been into the horror genre. That said, I was sad, back in the day, when his show The Adventures of Briscoe County, J.r. was cancelled. It was the perfect vehicle for a tongue in cheek with chin guy like him. I'll be looking for this on audio ASAP.

>16 brodiew2: I hope you enjoy it :) I found it on Audible, which I have a subscription to. His first book is there too, If Chins Could Kill, and also is narrated by him. It's worth it if you'd like to hear about his humble origins. I think Briscoe is covered more in that book too, since it's early in his career, though it been years since I read it.

>14 Narilka: I hope you like the second Greatcoats book better than the first! I’ll be interested to read about what you think as you continue. This series is kinda/sorta on my radar, in that I’ve seen it mentioned enough to remember it, but it isn’t on any of my reading lists.

>18 YouKneeK: We will both find out later this month.

Oh wow!! I won a prize in the Halloween Haunt :)

>20 Narilka: Congrats! :)

>20 Narilka: Congrats, which prize?

Hurray!

>22 Karlstar: I went with a Tiny Cat tshirt.

Congratulations! They're always fun - but I never have enough time to solve the more fiendish clues.

>20 Narilka: Well done!

Thanks everyone!

76. Ruin and Rising by Leigh Bardugo



Ruin and Rising is the third book in Leigh Bardugo's Grisha trilogy. I admit I rolled my eyes when in the first couple chapters we get another retread of Alina being weak and sick from not using her powers. Thankfully the story moves on quickly as our characters rush to save Ravka from darkness.

It's been great to watch Bardugo grow as a writer over the series and I enjoyed this final installment. The pacing issues are mostly gone and I found myself loving the side characters almost more than the main ones. The band of misfit friends Alina ends up with are a lot of fun. I'd love to read a short story just about them and their antics, especially Zoya, Genya, David and Harshaw. I also liked that we get the backstory for the Darkling and Morozova's experiment. Nikolai goes through quite an ordeal. It will be interesting to see how much it's changed him, and how he deals it with it all, in his upcoming series. Alina and Mal continue to be annoying, though Mal is at his most likable in this book.

I was completely surprised with that plot twist! I was not expecting Mal to be the third amplifier. There were hints along the way and it explains a lot, I really don't know why I didn't see that coming. Well played Ms. Bardugo.

The explanation we're given of Grisha magic, the Small Science, is pretty darn cool. They are manipulating matter at it's base level - atoms! For any Grisha that choose to truly master their craft, the sky's the limits on how powerful they could be and what they could accomplish. This leaves the author a lot of room to work with in the future should she choose to.

It's funny how controversial this ending was to fans. Obviously I'm in the "I enjoyed it" camp. I think I would have preferred if Mal had stayed dead. Alina making an even bigger sacrifice, both of her power and of the person she loves most, would've had more impact. That said, I did like the epilogue. It was very sweet and a nice happily ever after for them both.

Rating:

77. Diamond Fire by Ilona Andrews



Nevada and Rogan are getting married. Just after all the family members arrive in Texas, the Rogan family's priceless tiara is stolen. Nevada is meant to wear it during the ceremony so it must be recovered at all costs. Catalina realizes that in order to solve the mystery she'll have to do the one thing she dreads most: use her magic. As a Prime of her House she knows that this would happen eventually and there's nothing Catalina wouldn't do for her sister's happiness.

Diamond Fire is a novella in the Hidden Legacy series by Ilona Andrews. It's a silly little mystery that serves as transition from Nevada's trilogy to Catalina's point of view for the upcoming novels. Turns out that Rogan has a lot of family members and most of them aren't very nice. Catalina has her hands full managing them as well as learning to use her power in a controlled manner. Speaking of powers, boy do I feel bad for Catalina! That is one magical power that must have made growing up very difficult. It also provides a lot of story options for her future books.

Rating:

78. Minimum Wage Magic by Rachel Aaron



Formerly known as the city of Detroit, the DFZ is a place where anything goes. It's the most magical city in the world and home to 9 million people. Sometimes when those people can't make rent, or an apartment is otherwise abandoned, the landlords make back their fees by putting the place up for auction. Cleaners then bid for the right to go through the apartment and sell whatever they can for profit. Opal Yong-ae is a Cleaner and she's hit an unlucky streak. Her next debt payment is due at the end of the week and if this latest Cleaning job is a bust she may lose her freedom forever. Opal's latest acquisition is an apartment with a dead body in it and people hunting for whatever it was the owner was working on. Her luck doesn't seem to be improving and her deadline is looming.

Minimum Wage Magic is the first in the DFZ series by Rachel Aaron. The story is set in the same world as the Heartstrikers about 20 years later. I have missed being in this world, I'm really glad that Aaron decided to write in it again. While there are a couple mentions from the first series, you can easily read this book without having read Heartstrikers as it includes enough background information for a new reader to not feel lost.

I love the idea of the Cleaners. They make so much sense, cleaning up abandoned apartments the way people bid on and clear out abandoned storage units. Opal is a great character, a young Korean woman trying to make her way in the world while avoiding her overbearing family. What's not to love? She's accompanied by her AI assistant, Sybal, who is definitely her own character. The story is fast paced and the situation escalates quickly. It's a slow reveal as we learn about Opal's exact situation and background to better understand her motivations. While seeming a little irrational at first, she is a great character to root for.

I thoroughly enjoyed my trip back to the DFZ. At the end of the book there's a note from the author that she's already working on book two. I can't wait!

Rating:

I attended a book signing for Brandon Sanderson today :D :D :D :D He is such a nice guy! I'll post a photo tomorrow, it's on the hubby's phone. I really need to look up more of these in my area, they are so great to go to.

And pretty cool to have my copy of Skyward personalized :)

>31 Narilka: - Cool!
>30 Narilka: - sounds fun. Heartstrikers is already on my wishlist.

>31 Narilka: Fun!

>31 Narilka: Cool! I stopped reading his books after being very disappointed by Hero of Ages, but he seems like a nice guy.

>31 Narilka: That's cool! Where was that?

>35 Karlstar: It was at a Barns & Noble in an Atlanta suburb. He had a pretty big tour for Skyward across the US.

He gave a nice speech about not fearing failure as that's how Skyward even came about, did a Q&A with the audience and then read an excerpt from his original 2002 version of Words of Radiance that ended up being edited out. Overall it was great fun. There were 450ish people in attendance and the store staff did a great job of keeping things organized. Brandon is a signing machine! I think that's why his signature is kind of a scribble lol

I asked him about Wax & Wayne 4 since I've been holding off on reading Mistborn Era 2 for the series to be complete. He's not sure if it will make it to next year as originally planned or not. Stormlight 4 is currently planned to release in 2020.

>36 Narilka: Very cool, I’m glad you had the chance to attend!

>36 Narilka: I've always heard that Sanderson is extremely nice to meet. I like his Wax and Wayne books the best, but have enjoyed the standalones Elantris and Warbreaker too. I will have to look for Skyward. So glad you got to meet him!

79. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik



Spinning Silver is Naomi Novik's loose retelling of the Rumpelstiltskin fairy tale. It reads exactly like a fairy tale you've known all your life, a world filled with magic and danger. Novik takes the core of the story and gives it a twist, adding in other familiar fairy tale elements for good measure, transforming the whole into something new.

Miryem is the moneylender's daughter. Her father is not a very good moneylender, having lent out all the family's money but unable to bring himself to collect on those debts. With the family on the edge of starvation, Miryem hardens her heart and takes it upon herself to get the money back, going from door to door demanding payment from those who owe her family debts. Finding herself up to the task it's not long before Miryem realizes she has quite a talent for commerce - she is a good moneylender. If a family cannot pay in coin, she takes the equivalent in goods which she then trades in the market. Miryem's skill of turning silver into gold is such that it catches the eye of the King of the Staryk, creatures of cold who desire gold above all else.

The story is very clever if on the complicated side. Miryem is both the monster and the princess. As the moneylender who turns silver into gold, Miryem acts as the stand in for Rumpelstiltskin and is also the princess in trouble when the Staryk King steals her away for his own purposes. It's a fascinating dichotomy that shouldn't work but does. Miryem's story isn't the only thread, though it is the main one. There are two additional "main" characters, Wanda, a farm girl in the employ of Miryem who is working to better herself and who's family ends up in trouble for reasons, and Irina, a Duke's daughter who marries the Tsar that is being controlled by a demon. Like I said, it gets complicated. Each lady is also the hero and the monster in their story threads, with the motivations to go with. All three plots weave together into one magical whole that ends in quite a satisfying conclusion.

The story is a slow burn. Novik takes her time building up the characters and the situation. I enjoyed the slow reveal, learning more about our characters and their world as the book wound on. The world building is rich and detailed. The magic system make sense for the setting and helps give the world that fairy tale feel.

On the downside, Novik chose one of my least favorite story telling styles for this book: multiple first person points of view. Yep, you read that right. When the story was alternating between just two POVs, I was OK with it. As the book progresses more POVs are added in, both main and side characters, until we end up with 6 different first person POVs. At times it can be hard to determine who's POV the story has been shifted to.

I listened to the audio book narrated by Lisa Flanagan. I love the sound of her voice. Flanagan does a pretty good job of keeping each character separate with different accents but it's not perfect and sometimes it took me a few to realize that the POV had switched characters.

There is just something about fairy tales. Even with the irritation of multiple first person points of view, this retelling hit all the right notes for me. I definitely need to read check out Uprooted.

Rating:

80. One Fell Sweep by Ilona Andrews



This finishes my reread of the Innkeeper Chronicles to prepare for the release of the fourth installment. I am very much looking forward to Sweep of the Blade! This was quite an exciting installment. Original review below.

--------------------------

"You're up early, Your Grace."

"It's a lovely day and we're under siege. People are trying to murder us." Her eyes shone with excitement. "Isn’t it marvelous?"

She would think so, wouldn’t she?

One Fell Sweep is the third book in the Innkeeper Chronicles by Ilona Andrews. So much for Dina's relatively quiet life. First, she receives an urgent call for help from her sister to come rescue her and her family from the planet they've been exiled on, a lawless and desolate place that is used as a penal colony. Then Dina agrees to help a guest with his last chance to save his dying species. Now the inn is under siege by a family of assassins putting the Gertrude Hunt and everyone's lives at risk. How will Dina keep everyone safe while also continuing to search for her missing parents?

This one has a slightly more complicated plot than the first two installments, weaving together three main story lines along with a couple side threads. One thing is quite certain: Dina takes her role as Innkeeper seriously and cares deeply for her family and the guests staying at the inn. She will stop at nothing, putting her own life on the line, to live up to her duties. If it wasn't obvious before the depth of power Dina has when she's on the inn's grounds is enormous. She is one bad ass, highly capable heroine!

All the regular characters are back along with are some great additions. Dina's sister and niece, Maud and Helen, are delightful. They provide insight into another layer of vampire society and family structure, giving that species more depth. My heart broke a little for the Hiru, an alien race that is being hunted into extinction for all the wrong reasons. They have been scattered across the universe in an attempt to stay alive. All they want is a place where they can live quietly and their delicate physiology requires them to constantly wear repulsive space suits in order to live anywhere off their home planet. The romantic thread that has been hinted at in the first two books comes to fruition and, a word of warning, there is one very steamy scene as a result. The humor is well done. The conversation where one alien tries to explain Christmas to anther based on his viewing of A Christmas Story is laugh out loud funny. This book should also get an award for best use of a fart gun.

I'm so glad the author has decided to continue the series as the book ends on a bit of a bombshell. With this story wrapped up it leaves us with a nice hook for what is to come. I look forward to it.

Rating:

>39 Narilka: "n the downside, Novik chose one of my least favorite story telling styles for this book: multiple first person points of view. Yep, you read that right. When the story was alternating between just two POVs, I was OK with it. As the book progresses more POVs are added in, both main and side characters, until we end up with 6 different first person POVs. At times it can be hard to determine who's POV the story has been shifted to. "
Argh. My least favourite too. Especially when it jumps suddenly and isn't very clearly indicated who we're now with.

You'll be glad to know Uprooted doesn't have this issue.

Robin Mckinley has written some nice fairy tale twists too.

>39 Narilka: I’m glad you enjoyed Spinning Silver so much, even on audio. I’ve seen a lot of mixed reviews, but I think yours is the first positive review I’ve seen from somebody who listened to it on audio due to the POV issue you mentioned. I can’t remember ever reading a book with multiple first-person POVs. That seems like kind of an odd choice.

I definitely want to read this eventually. I loved Uprooted.

>41 reading_fox: From reviews of the print book, it's a little better. There's a visual swirl icon to know it's a different character though you still have to puzzle out the identity yourself. Good to hear Uprooted doesn't do this.

>42 YouKneeK: I look forward to your review once you get to it.

81. Knight's Shadow by Sebastien de Castell



Knight's Shadow is the second in the Greatcoats series by Sebastien de Castell. This is a much darker installment. I think it's fair to say we fully cross into grimdark territory now. The story picks up maybe a few weeks after events in book one.

Falcio val Mond has successfully completed his King's last command of him and has found the King's Charoite. Still the kingdom is in turmoil with a civil war threatening. The peasants have been stirred up against the lords and many Ducal Knights seem to have gone rogue. Falcio must figure out who is behind the chaos and put a stop to it before it rips the country apart. Time is running out though. It appears Falcio has been poisoned and he's not sure how many days he has left.

Things start off very well with a lot of banter and camaraderie between Falcio, Kest and Brasti. The trio's friendship is easily by favorite thing about these books. It's too bad that much of the lightheartedness and fun factor is discarded in favor of a darker tone. I think the story could have used a few more moments of lightness to balance out all the grimdark. Again, the story kind of plods and meanders it's way to the resolution. This time de Castell does a better job of keeping the overarching plot in focus among all the twists and turns the story takes. The grand finale is quite spectacular and helped make up for the plodding parts along the way.

If you were hoping for deeper backgrounds of Kest and Brasti prepare for disappointment. They are still fun characters, and great supporting roles for Falcio, but at this point it's pretty obvious that this series is all about Falcio's hero journey to restore the King's line and bring, well, if not peace then at least stability to the country. There are some new additions to our merry band of misfits and I like how they, too, compliment the overall party.

I think the author may have been paying a small homage to Princess Bride in this book. First there's a whole scene about Falcio only being "mostly dead, still partly alive" from the poisoning. It is pure fun even if it's a fairly serious moment. Then there's a conversation about "I don't think that word means what you think it mean" similar to Inigo commenting on Visini's (mis)use of the word "inconceivable." Then there's a duel scene where Falcio receives twin marks on his cheeks before the fight really takes off. I think there was another moment but it's escaping me at the moment. I don't see this mentioned in other reviews I skimmed so would love to hear from someone else who has read the book to see if they noticed this too.

While there are a few breathless moments of excitement, there is a fairly long stretch in the middle of the book that just plods along. I found myself easily able to put the book down in favor of doing other things, which is never a good sign. The magic is still unexplained and now there's an extra layer of not explaining Saints very well too. A fair amount of conveniences continue to help our characters out, though they aren't quite as glaring as in the first book. There are also some fairly horrific scenes. The worst was we were told what happened to Falcio's wife in the first book and it ends up described in graphic, stomach-churning detail in this book. I get that it's meant as a sort of motivation for Falcio but I question the need to go to that level of detail.

Overall it's a good sequel for Traitor's Blade. If de Castell could even out the pacing I think I'd enjoy these books more. While I'm not in a big rush to continue I am curious enough about where this all is heading that I will likely read book three at some point.

Rating:

82. The Cat, the Vagabond and the Victim by Leann Sweeney



The Cat, the Vagabond and the Victim is the sixth in Leann Sweeney's Cats in Trouble series. It's a media circus in Mercy. Clyde the cat traveled over 200 miles to get home only to discover his former owner dead. Jillian Hart agrees to foster the famous tabby in hopes of diverting some media attention and the chaos it's creating. There's something that doesn't add up about Clyde's owner's death. Why would a man who was already dying from a terminal illness be murdered?

This continues to be an enjoyable cozy mystery series. The new characters introduced as part of the new plot are all annoying and fairly unlikable. Jillian did her best to play nice with everyone which I think was unfortunate as some of these people could have used a serious talking to. The mystery plot was well done as always. I managed to guess the main motivation while still being surprised by the final reveal.

Rating:

>81 Narilka: Can't see any other way to interpret the Princess Bride references!

I just discovered that Amazon has a Kindle Owner's Lending Library that's included in your Prime subscription. OMG! How have I not known this?! This is different than Prime reading and seems to have a lot more titles available :)

>47 Narilka: LOL, I hope you’re able to make use of it! That’s the one where you can only borrow one per month, right? I think I used it once or twice, but I haven’t put much effort into using it. I don't think I've ever used Prime Reading at all, although I browsed through the selections once or twice.

>47 Narilka: I'll have to check that out - I think I've heard of it before, and there are some books my local libraries don't carry.

>48 YouKneeK: I have no idea about the once per month thing. I need to go back and reread the fine print. Prime Reading has a smaller selection and the inventory changes. I think I tried a couple of those.

>49 quondame: I plan to experiment with it too over the next few months.

83. Private Lies by Cynthia St. Aubin



Jane Avery is at her graduation from law school. Just as she's about to walk across the stage as part of the ceremony Jane scans the audience, noticing that her mother is missing. Which is odd. Alexis Avery, one of the top private eye's in Denver, does not just go missing. After the ceremony Jane's worry increases when she finds her mother's car in the parking lot with the window smashed in. Unsure what else to do Jane begins to dig into the last case Alexis was working on. The investigation soon leads Jane down a dark rabbit hole of kidnapping, bribery, blackmail, hired assassins, and murder.

Private Lies is the first in the Jane Avery Mysteries by Cynthia St. Aubin. Jane is quite a character. She's brash, foul-mouthed, obsessed with sex (though she never gets any), overly snarky and a pathological liar. It was very hard to like her in the beginning and I didn't find her a very believable 28 year old - she acted more like she was 18, not someone who had been seriously studying law. The supporting cast is mostly male, all of which are ultra hot. Now that I think about it, it's almost a YA mystery/romance that never quite gets to the sex. Anyway, it took me about half the story to warm up to Jane and to find her antics funny. The dialog is heavy on the snarky banter which sometimes worked, sometimes didn't. The story was light and fluffy, even if eye-roll inducing at times. Not a bad little mystery. I'll probably look up the second book at some point.

Rating:

>47 Narilka: They do not make it easy to find, at all!

I'm so happy you enjoyed the Bardugo series! Yes, that was a love square (pentagon?) going on there. LOL That really was the biggest drawback for me. Though I did think the bad guy seemed particularly hot. ;o)

Isn't Brandon the nicest guy? He's such a sweet teddy bear of a man.

I just finished Spinning Silver myself. I had the same complaints about the multiple viewpoints. There were a couple of characters I don't think we really needed to hear from. :o)

>53 clamairy: I am very much looking forward to the Nikolia series from Bardugo next year. He was my favorite character :D King of Scars will be an auto buy once it releases.

I've had an eventful day. I successfully gave a presentation to over 100 people. This is my first public speaking event since college so it's been a while lol

And I received an offer letter to go permanent at my job. I've been a contract employee since I was hired this summer.

I have totally earned a new book or two this weekend :)

>55 Narilka: Congratulations on the presentation and the offer!

>55 Narilka: That's awesome, congrats!

>55 Narilka: Woohoo! Well done!

>55 Narilka: Terrific!

Thanks everyone! I'm still recovering :D

I have also lost all my anonymity at work lol I did not expect so many people to seek me out after and ask questions. Apparently it was a success :)

>60 Narilka: Congrats! Well done with the public speaking, it isn't easy.

>55 Narilka: Congrats!
>60 Narilka: Not being anonymous at work is, in my experience, a good thing. If it not entails being known as notoriously bad at things, of course. But your case seems to be the exact opposite :-)

84. Captivate: The Science of Succeeding with People by Vanessa Van Edwards



While prepping to give my first public speaking event I stumbled across Vanessa Van Edwards and her website Science of People. Vanessa has a passion for people, learning what makes us tick, why we act the way we do and how to use this information to become a better communicator. Understanding people is a big part of my job and I'm always looking for new tips and tricks I can use in my daily life. Turns out that her book Captivate is exactly what I was looking for and a whole lot more. Through her research Vanessa has found many science backed "hacks" and created a user manual for the rest of us on how to captivate anyone and build connections. She explains easy to follow strategies that apply to any sort of social interaction: conferences, parties, interviews, pitches, dating, etc. I was able to start using these strategies immediately and definitely see them helping with future interactions. Introvert or extrovert, social rock star or socially awkward, this book is for everyone.

I listened to the audio book read by the author. Vanessa's passion for her work shines through in her narration. As much as I enjoyed the audio, I need to buy a physical copy to use as a reference.

Rating:

Gratuitous cat photo! Loki playing in the cat tree.

>64 Narilka: He's a beauty, and OOOH, those pupils look YUGE! :o)

>64 Narilka: Very cute! There can never be too many cat pictures. :)

>65 clamairy: He sure was having fun!

>66 YouKneeK: Right you are. I need to take more photos :)

Cat pictures are never gratuitous! Loki is gorgeous!

Pretty kitty! So photogenic. Mine always turn their head at the last minute.

85. Skyward by Brandon Sanderson



Spensa has dreamed her whole life of becoming a fighter pilot just like her father. More than anything she wants to prove herself to be brave and strong, to do her part defending humanity against an unending alien invasion. Unfortunately her father was branded a coward when he unexpectedly deserted his team and was shot down. Living under her father's shadow means Spensa's future entrance into flight academy is uncertain at best.

Skyward is the first book in the new YA series by Brandon Sanderson. I was fortunate enough to attend one of the book tour events and got to hear Brandon describe his vision for the book. He's always loved those "boy and his dragon" type stories, yet they've been done and done by some pretty great authors already. Eventually the idea morphed into "a girl and her starship" and the story of Skyward was born. In Brandon's own words the story is like "a mashup between Top Gun and Ender's Game and How to Train Your Dragon with an old broken-down spaceship with a really weird personality." Yes, it is exactly as much fun as it sounds.

Spensa is the type of plucky heroine I enjoy from YA stories. Having grown up branded as a "coward's daughter" has definitely had it's impact on her personality. She's brash and prone to rash action in an attempt to prove herself brave. She gives some quirky speeches about "crushing her enemies" that are downright hilarious. She's charmingly socially awkward which I think will be quite relatable to many of all age groups. It was so much fun tagging along on her coming of age journey. Spensa has a great supporting cast with her teacher, flight-mates, the ship and Doomslug. I don't want to say too much other than they are quite memorable and it's interesting to watch them all go on their own character arcs to greater and lesser degrees.

The world building is excellent. It's a slow reveal throughout the story. As with many of Sanderson's works, this world feels like a real place you can go visit. Just enough background information is given and yet I was left wanting to know more as there are definitely some mysteries needing to be uncovered. The technology of the world is quite interesting and Sanderson really did his homework making it all sound plausible. The aerial combat is spectacular.

Even though this book is YA, I was fully engrossed by the story. The writing is accessible, making it a fairly quick read. No, it doesn't quite have the depth as his other "adult" books, but that's ok. The book is highly enjoyable and I can't wait to see what happens next. Thankfully it won't be too long of a wait as book two has already gone to the publisher.

Rating:

If you haven't been doing them, the 12 Days of LT scavenger hunt has been a lot of fun :) The clues have been pretty easy so far too!

>70 Narilka: I just picked this up from the library. Glad you liked it.

>71 Narilka: I love the one-a-day aspect. Doesn't make me late for work!

>71 Narilka: Dang it, we did day one then forgot! Thanks for the reminder.

>73 MrsLee: >74 Karlstar: I stopped seeing the banner and it slipped my mind. I had to go to my home page to find it. So far, the first one took the longest and I had to resort to clues, how lowering.

>75 quondame: I needed hints for #4. The rest have been pretty good. Today's was cute :)

86. Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews



Magic Slays is the fifth in the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews. It's another solid entry to the series.

As magic and technology continue their unending cycle for dominance, Atlanta remains as deadly as ever. Kate has quit her job at the Order and opened her own paranormal investigation business. It turns out that rebuilding your reputation from the ground up is no easy task and it's making clients hard to come by. So when one of the Masters of the Dead calls for help when a vampire gets lose, Kate jumps at the chance. A Master of the Dead losing control is rare enough but when it turns out not to be an isolated incident, Kate knows there is something very wrong. She must get to the bottom of things quickly before the situation goes from bad to worse.

I'm mostly enjoying Kate and Curran's evolved relationship. The dynamic has changed a bit as you'd expect given the situation with Curran having some serious jealousy and possessiveness issues any time Kate even looks at another male that he has GOT to get over. I like that Kate is still learning to navigate the Pack and it's not always easy. I did miss many of the side characters but am happy to say that Andrea's back!! She's a great side kick for Kate. The dialog continues to be sarcastic and funny and there is action galore. About the only downside is the bad guys. Andrews didn't pull from myths as deeply as in previous books instead using a secret society angle as the big bad. While the threat they represented was quite dire, it felt less personal as it was more generalized instead of being tied directly to Kate and her crazy family. The very end of the book leaves us with a great hook for the next installment, which looks like it might finally start leading to Roland.

Rating:

>73 MrsLee: >75 quondame: I also forgot when I stopped seeing the banner, but thanks, I've found them now!

>78 Karlstar: >75 quondame: If you close the banner by clicking the "x" you won't see it again. I think you can find the clues via the Home page? They are listing them in the talk thread about the treasure hunt, so you can get to them there, too.

87. Trapped by Kevin Hearne



Granuaile finally comes into her own in this fifth installment of The Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne. There might be some spoilers for previous books.

12 years have passed and Granuaile's training is complete. It's time for Atticus O'Sullivan to bind her to the earth so she can become a full Druid. Just as they're ready to start the ceremony, Atticus's cover is blow as Perun makes a sudden return to earth with a very angry Norse god hot on his heels who is determined to destroy everything in his path.

This story is definitely a bridge to the second half of the series. Most of what our heroes encounter is a lot of set up for the remaining four books. Granuiale becoming a full Druid is the main plot and all of the side threads is Hearne reminding the reader of basically everyone from mythology that Atticus has pissed off since the series started. It's a large list. It makes for a slightly disjointed story and also means there are a ton of ways for the remainder of the series to go. If I was a betting girl, I'm going to guess that Hearne will try to address all of them in the next four books. That should be interesting.

One of my favorite moments was Granuaile discovering her new shape-shifting forms as a Druid and taking them all for a test drive. This did not disappoint! Also, the simmering romance we all knew was coming is here and it's rather sweet.

Again I listened to the audio book narrated by Luke Daniels. He is brilliant and has quite a knack for giving every character a unique voice.

If I'm being fully honest, this is probably more of a 3.5 star book. I love Oberon so much that I have bumped my rating up. The book is worth reading for his witty dialog alone.

Rating:

88. The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud



Bartimaeus is one of the oldest and most powerful djinni in the world. Therefore he is utterly shocked, and a bit dismayed, to find himself summoned by 11-year-old apprentice magician Nathaniel. His new master sets him on a task to steal the Amulet of Samarkand. The Amulet is in the possession of the ruthless magician Simon Lovelace. Nathaniel is adamant - he must have the Amulet. So Bartimaeus sets off on his task which starts a chain of events that neither djinni nor master could see coming.

The Amulet of Samarkand is the first in the Bartimaeus trilogy by Jonathan Stroud. This was an unexpectedly fun read and one hell of an adventure. Set in an alternate London, the story alternates between Bartimaeus and Nathaniel's points of view. Bartimaeus is such a great character. When you've been around for 5000 years, you tend to pick up a few things. He's smart, clever, witty and his sarcastic sense of humor is hilarious. Especially important is to read all of the footnotes as you go, they really enhance the story. I found Nathaniel to be very sympathetic. It took me a while to warm up to him but I did truly like him by the end. While they might not have a normal friendship as such, there is definitely respect between the two.

I like the world Stroud has created. Magicians are the ruling class and their power comes from what kinds of demons they can summon. It ended up being a different take on the concept, very creative. This also means that most magicians are power hungry and are huge jerks in their pursuit of power. Nathaniel is not exempt from this, though he has other qualities that make him more likeable than the average magician.

While this is the first in a trilogy the story is fully contained and all lose ends are wrapped up. It easily reads as stand alone.

Rating:

>87 YouKneeK: Glad to see you are moving along in the Iron Druid series. Spoilers are kind of unavoidable there, if the reader is still back on book 1 or 2, just mentioning or not mentioning certain characters are giveaways. I like reading them but sometimes think maybe I shouldn't so much... Oberon is the best!

>88 Narilka: I thought the setting was interesting but the book relied too much on blind luck and blundering around for me, considering how powerful this djinni/demon is supposed to be! I never did pick up any others, are you going to proceed?

>81 Narilka: Well, seeing as I can read this free with my Prime membership at the moment, I'm going to give it a try.

>82 Karlstar: I haven't decided yet if I'll continue the Bartimaeus series or not. I obviously liked it but I'm feeling a little burned out on YA at the moment. Picking up another YA book just isn't appealing.

>83 MrsLee: Exactly what I did :) Prime reading for the win!

89. We Wish You a Murderous Christmas by Vicki Delany



There's a Grinch in Rudolph, New York, America's Christmas Town. Merry Wilkinson is enjoying dinner with friends and family at the Yuletide Inn when one of it's owners is stuck ill and rushed to the hospital. Everyone in town is concerned and it is relief to hear that the owner's son, Gord, is flying in to help run the Inn. That is until Gord arrives and reveals he has plans for the Inn that have nothing to do with Christmas. Just as Merry and the other shop owners begin to fret about the future of the town, Gord is discovered stabbed to death and Merry's father is the prime suspect. Merry must find out who the murderer is so she can clear her father's name and restore Christmas spirit to Rudolph.

We Wish You a Murderous Christmas is the second in Vicky Delany's A Year Round Christmas Mystery series. It is a nice little cozy mystery with a slightly more serious tone than the first installment. I had absolutely no idea who the murderer was right up until Merry discovered it herself. It was not anyone I expected at all! One of the biggest annoyances is that there is a love triangle for Merry though it appears to be settled at least in Merry's mind by the end of the book.

Rating:

I've decided I need a book with more depth next. I'm pulling out the big guns. It's time for Robin Hobb and to see how Fitz and the Fool's story ends. @Youkneek you'll probably catch up to me as I read at a slower pace then you :) It will be great to compare notes! I am expecting to cry my eyes out before the end.

>86 Narilka: Woo hoo, I’m glad you decided to read it now! It will be fun to be able to compare notes. I’m half dreading that final trilogy, for fear of just what Hobb will do to the characters.

>87 YouKneeK: I know exactly what you mean. She's the best (worst?) at that! If you're up for it, I can post thoughts as I go and you can comment later then we can flip it when you pass my pace. It would (A) be a fun delayed type of buddy read and (B) get my post count up for next years thread ;) I would wrap everything in spoiler tags and indicate which chapters I'm at so it's easy to follow along. Let me know if you want to give this a go.

If anyone else had read this series and want's to follow along it would be great to get your thoughts too!

>88 Narilka: Sure, that sounds fun! I’m usually really bad at posting mid-book thoughts, but it will help that you’re starting things off because then I’ll have something to respond to.

I’ve still got a little while to go before I can start. I’m about halfway through the last Rain Wilds book and then I want to read a short, unrelated standalone before jumping into the last trilogy. It’s about 500 more pages of reading altogether. I ought to have a decent amount of time to read over these next few days though, and then I can look forward to catching up on your comments. :)

>89 YouKneeK: I expect to take most of this week for book one and have book 2 started for New Years. Then I'll be taking a break to read two books with my book club and back for book 3. Trust me, you'll catch up :) Unless the books are so damn good I can't stop and will be late with my book club lol

Fool's Assassin Prologue - Ch 2: It feels so good to be reading Hobb again. Her prose is just amazing. After so many fluffy books in a row this is exactly what I needed :) I did not read the synopsis on the back cover so I'm going into the story semi-blind. A lot of time has passed for the characters which I did not expect. Middle-aged Fitz and Molly are... well I'm still not a fan of Molly lol We'll see if Hobb can change my mind on that. It is a relatively ominous start though with strangers hurting (killing?) a messenger in his house and Molly being sick.

>90 Narilka: Taking a break after book two seems like it would require a major expenditure of willpower! :)

Fool's Assassin Ch 3 - Ch 4 Good grief. I realize we're still in the set up but more time passed and now Molly is pregnant at 53?? Lordy. By the time everyone grows up enough to get the story going Fitz will be geriatric lol

Merry Christmas Everyone!

And to you!

>94 Narilka: Merry Christmas. :)

>91 Narilka: I finally started Fool’s Assassin today. It’s really great to finally be reading a new story about these characters!

Through chapter 2:
I’m with you on Molly! Although I think I find her more tolerable now that they have several years as a couple under their belts and their relationship no longer feels so full of angst and arguments. So far, anyway. I also agree about the ominous start.

I was exasperated with both Fitz and Web for not recognizing that obviously the mysterious “minstrels” were probably from the Fool’s race, and Fitz should have guessed that the messenger was likely from the Fool once he knew the messenger was who they were after. Web spent time with the Fool as Lord Golden in the Tawny Man trilogy, and who would know better than Fitz that the Fool and also the Pale Woman had been invisible to his wit sense? When Fitz said at the end of chapter two that “Years later, I would marvel at my stupidity,” I was thinking to myself that I had already been marveling at it. :) Now it's killing me, wondering what that message was. I hope we don’t have to wait too long for the Fool himself to show up in the story.

Oh, also… I’m feeling very alarmed by the title of chapter 3! I probably won't get to read it until sometime tomorrow.

>97 YouKneeK: I knew you'd catch up :) I agree about the minstrel thing. They really should have suspected something.

I didn't get much reading in yesterday with the Holiday. That will be solved today :)

Fool's Assassin Ch 5 - Ch 8 In Ch 5 Hobb did a good job to make me doubt my certainty about the baby. Just as I was starting to agree with Fitz and Nettle thinking that Molly was deluded, she went into labor.

My heart breaks for little Bee though I think she's going to be special and not some half wit or something once she finally starts growing. Only time will tell. Weirdest pregnancy I've read about in a long time too. Usually fantasy pregnancies are sped up and don't take over 2 years! I'm sure that will have interesting implications later. The way the child shies away from anyone with the Skill I'm betting she will be Skilled and possibly Witted though we've not seen her encounter many people with the Wit yet. She's at least Skill sensitive at the moment.

Oh! Speculation: Fitz has crazy healing since his incident in the Tawny Man books. I wonder if he passed that on to Bee? That could explain her very slow growth - it's not really slow for someone who could live double or triple the normal human time span.

I find the silence from the Fool worrying.

At the very end of Ch 8, where Fitz is ruminating about being free from the dark side of Farseer politics, I have to laugh. He's never going to be free. I don't doubt that his peace is only temporary. I did love that scene with him and Chade in the spider's lair. Brings back fond memories of how the series started.

Hobb is the queen of the slow burn. At this point I'm having a problem staying relaxed and starting to get a little anxious for events to go sideways.

For the record, I'm the only person in my dept for the next three days at work. You can obviously see how much I'm "working" ;)

Fool's Assassin Ch 9 - Ch 10 I knew it. Bee is special. With the description of branching paths of the future that she sees I suspect she's a White Prophet or similar. And she is definitely Skill sensitive. As a White Prophet does that mean she can't use the Skill though she can hear it? I wonder if there's ever been a child with her type of heritage before. It would be great if Fitz could at least teacher how to block all the other voices/emotions so she's not so overwhelmed.

At first I was annoyed by being given another first person POV. I really like Bee's voice though. I hope Hobb keeps it just to these two POVs.

And my anxiety paid off. Poor Fitz and Bee. While Molly's death did make me sad I think I felt worse for their grief more than anything.

Merry Christmas Narilka!

I'm trying not to read your synopses for Fool's Assassin since I haven't read it yet myself.

>102 humouress: They are super spoilery. Click at your own risk :)

Edit: I'll do a normal review when I finish. This is more of a fun buddy read with YouKneeK since our reading lined up. If it's in your TRB, feel free to join in any time.

Fool's Assassin Ch 10 - 14 No doubt about it, Bee is a White Prophet. Somehow I thought Whites were a special race but I guess they can pop up anywhere? I'm interested to find out more about Wolf Father. Is that a carryover from Nighteyes or is she connecting to something/someone else?

My money is on Shun being Chade's daughter. Let's see how long it takes to find out her parentage :)

I continue to enjoy both POVs. Fitz is going to have a massive panic/anger attack when he finds out Bee has been reading his old journals lol I can't wait.

>99 Narilka: I have many chapters to go before I can catch up! :) It’s the opposite for me in that I had more time to read over the holiday the last couple of days, but I have to work today through at least half of Friday when I plan to give myself an early dismissal. I’m working from home this week though, so that will give me a little extra time. I’m looking forward to the next four-day weekend!

>93 Narilka: I look forward to unmasking your previous spoilers each time I read more chapters. :)

Fool’s Assassin Chapters 3-4: LOL, I know. If she is pregnant; Fitz put a little bit of doubt in me at the end of the chapter. I was anticipating the pregnancy announcement based on some of the hints, so I didn’t even question it when Molly told Fitz about it. But then when he was so certain it was just a worse symptom of her failing memory, I started to wonder if maybe he was right. I think she probably is pregnant, because the other “failing memory” examples sound fairly normal whereas mistakenly believing you’re pregnant would be a bit on the wrong side of crazy!

I was surprised by the three-year time jump between chapters 2 and 3, although I guess I shouldn’t have been since Fitz did say he was marveling at his stupidity years later. It’s just that the previous subseries each took place over a much shorter period of time, even though there were long time gaps between the series themselves.

At least the events in chapter 3 weren’t quite as ominous as the chapter title sounded! I’m holding out some hope that the chapter 5 title (“Arrival”) might refer to the Fool. I guess it's more likely that another 9 months will have passed and it will be the arrival of the baby. Or maybe both... or neither. I guess now I've covered all my bases! ;)

>106 YouKneeK: Yep, you have every angle covered LOL I too was surprised at all the time jumps. Hobb handles it well though.

The picture at the start of each chapter, is that a skill pillar? Does your ebook have the image? I did a quick flip back and it looks to be the same on every chapter.

>107 Narilka: Oddly, or maybe not oddly for me, I barely even noticed the picture at the start of each chapter. My first reaction to your post was “What picture?”, but then when I went to look I did remember seeing it. I even remembered seeing a larger version of it just after the main cover page, but I hadn’t paused to think about what it represented. I bet you’re right that it’s a skill pillar.

Fool's Assassin Ch 15 - Ch 18 Holy crap!!! I think Ch 15 was a turning point. A lot is happening very quickly. Shun is a spoiled rich girl who is unlikeable so I bet she's going to go on a character arc if she isn't killed off. I wonder if she's going to be Bee's catalyst.

We'll see how FitzVigilant fits in once he arrives. Will they call him Vigilant? It would be confusing to have two Fitzes :)

For a series where the Fool was fairly unique in the Six Duchies, there are suddenly a lot of Whites everywhere. This is probably not a good thing.

The messenger's warning about the unexpected son... yeah too many theories there. Could be anyone - literally. Since Bee's prophecy of the butterfly "man" turned out to be a woman, I'm not sure that the gender should be taken too seriously. Also, what a horrible way to die :( That's a seriously mean execution style.

At this point my only question is how much longer before Fitz realizes it's time to pack everyone up and go searching for the Fool? Waiting seems like it might be detrimental to many peoples health.

Fool's Assassin Ch 19 - Ch 25 It's cute that Fitz realizes how Bee has learned about him but doesn't let on and it makes him proud in a way :) I think he can't help but pass on some of his assassin's training. I have a bad feeling she's going to need it. I'm going to be heart broken when bad stuff really starts happening. Hobb has made me love these characters yet again!

It seems that about all the players are in place. While there's a lot of stuff going on around the house, none of it has been earth shattering. I think that's about to change.

You’re flying through this! :)

>100 Narilka: Spoilers for Fool’s Assassin through chapter 8: I couldn’t quite make my mind up about whether the baby was real. I kept going back and forth with arguments in favor of both outcomes. Your speculation about Fitz’s healing and its impact on Bee is interesting!

I’m really curious for an explanation about how Molly got pregnant when she thought she was well past her child-bearing years, and why the pregnancy was so strange. And really curious to learn more about what Bee is going to be like as she gets older. I wonder if she’ll will develop about 3 times slower than a normal baby since Molly seemed to be pregnant with her about 3 times longer than normal.

I agree with all of your comments about Fitz and Chade at the end of chapter 8. :)

>101 Narilka: Fool’s Assassin through chapter 10: I agree, it does seem like Bee is a White Prophet. Maybe she's the new generation's prophet since the Fool had reached the end of his visions. That could get interesting! In earlier books, Fitz had mused that Dutiful was the son of Verity's soul if not his body. Along those lines, I wonder if the body swapping that happened between Fitz and the Fool near the end of the Tawny Man trilogy somehow had an influence on Bee? I'm not sure that makes much logical sense, though.

My first reaction to seeing Bee as a POV character was alarm, but I too enjoyed her voice and was soon caught up in her story. I think her POV will be interesting to read from if we continue to see it. I was amazed at just how cruel the other kids were, without even considering the consequences to themselves if they seriously hurt or killed her. And it's interesting that Fitz had dreamed in chapter 6 about witnessing the Fool bullied by other children at the castle even though he had never witnessed such a thing, and then years later Bee has similar experiences there at their own home. I'm not sure if it means anything other than Fitz maybe being subconsciously worried his daughter will have similar difficulties and being correct, but it's interesting. If the situations hadn't been distinctly different, I would have thought Bee was having a prophecy-dream and her latent skill ability somehow caused it to seep into Fitz's dream, but that wouldn't make sense unless Fitz only caught bits and pieces and reinterpreted it into a more familiar context.

I think I had a similar reaction to you about Molly’s death. I won’t miss her as a character even though she was far less annoying in this book, but I did feel very sad for Fitz and Bee. I was actually surprised she lasted this long. In the beginning, I thought she was going to drop dead at any minute with the heavy foreshadowing. Then I thought maybe she would die in childbirth. Then I gave up trying to guess. I've kind of had it in my mind from the beginning that she would die and then the Fool would show up soon after, because I expect them to go off on some sort of adventure or quest and it seemed unlikely Fitz would leave Molly for an extended trip even for the Fool’s sake. But of course now Bee is in the picture and Fitz has to take care of her, so I’m not so sure what to expect unless there's another big time jump. The Fool would be uniquely qualified to help her though if he would just show up already! :)

I think your caption for post 101 is meant to say chapters 9-10 rather than 8-9. Most of what you talked about happened in chapter 10. I realized pretty quickly that you were talking about things I hadn’t read and stopped reading your post until after I finished chapter 10, so nothing significant was spoiled for me. :)

Sorry about mixing up the chapters! >112 YouKneeK: Yeah, people, esp children, can be cruel to those that are different. I kept wondering if any of them would realize how royally screwed they and their families would be if any of them did serious harm. Or hell, just being caught harassing Bee might have been enough for Fitz to banish them.

I have not felt this book obsessed in a while. It's pretty awesome :) I'm in the final chapter and will finish tonight for sure. I have book 2 ready to go for tomorrow :D

>113 Narilka: It really is a great book! I can’t wait to start the four-day weekend and finally have a little more time for reading.

>114 YouKneeK: Oh my yes :) I'm also in luck - Saturday is a "football" day according to my husband, which means uninterrupted reading for me!

I finished last night. That was quite a roller coaster. It took me a while to calm down my adrenaline was going :) It's going to take a little bit to write up this review, I may save it for tomorrow. I'm giving the book 4.5-5 stars.

Fool's Assassin overall thoughts. Whole book spoilers.

It took me most of the book wondering how Molly and Fitz produced a White Prophet. There was in one of the chapter openers a brief thing about White Prophets being born to parents who were surprised because they didn't know they had any White blood in them. I'm assuming that's what happened here. Otherwise it makes 0 sense at all.

My speculation on Shun is that she's Chade's daughter. I wonder if we'll ever find out. The ending alluded that everyone in Withywoods was killed once they found Bee. I guess I'll find out soon since I'm starting book 2 today :)

I had a hunch that Bee would be the "son". It must be a spiritual sort of thing. It's interesting how Hobb has kept the apparent gender fluidity of the Prophets. Though I imagine since Fitz and Molly changed her diapers they know she is in fact a girl right now.

I don't know how I feel about the ghost version of Nighteyes. I know Fitz carries his memory deeply within him so I originally thought Bee was hearing a version of Fitz's memories since she is so magically sensitive. But maybe not? As much as I love Nighteyes I think his spirit should rest since he definitely crossed to the other side back in Tawny Man. It also breaks my heart that Fitz won't bond with another animal. I think he could really use it though I also understand his decision.

Bee is Witted, Skilled and a Prophet. That poor little girl. It makes me mad just how blind Fitz is to all of this and unfortunately is completely in character for him. Even with all his mad skills of observation he is shit when it comes to truly understanding other people :) I really wish she'd had more training in everything, assassin skills included, because we all knew something bad was going to happen :( Damn you Robin Hobb!!!!

My heart also broke for the state of the Fool. It is no wonder he wants to have Fitz kill his enemies. With two books left I'm sure he'll receive some sort of Skill healing to help with the physical abuse and hopefully regain his eye sight. I think his mental torture will never fully heal.

Fitz, you really should have taken Bee with you through the Skill pillar. I can't imagine his reaction to her being abducted and most everyone at Withywood slaughtered. Thank god Bee hid the other children, though they'll have one hell of a time getting out of the secret passages. Assuming the bad guys didn't burn the house down while they were trapped inside.

Turns out I needed to write the review before focusing on Fool's Quest :) It also looks like my stars have disappeared. I'll have to look into that later.

Fool's Assassin by Robin Hobb



“Time is an unkind teacher, delivering lessons that we learn far too late for them to be useful. Years after I could have benefited from them, the insights come to me.”

Many years have passed. FitzChivalry Farseer's days as a royal assassin and spy are long behind him. Having fully adopted his Tom Badgerlock identiy, he and his wife Molly have retired to Withywoods to spend the rest of their days together as they care for the estate. Haunted by memories of his old friend the Fool and wondering what has happened to him since their parting, Fitz finds himself at relative peace as he reflects on his past. When menacing pale skinned strangers appear at Winterfest and seem to have killed someone in Fitz's house, Fitz realizes his past is not done with him and he'll have to use some of his old skills if he is to protect the future of those he loves.

I don't know how she does it. Robin Hobb is the queen of the slow burn and some of the most wonderful characterizations, and best character relationships, I've ever read. Fool's Assassin is the first book in Hobb's final Elderlings trilogy titled The Fitz and the Fool and is the 7th book to star Fitz. Just when you think you've known all you can about a character Hobb proves you wrong and continues to add layers to the complex and rich world she's created and the characters that live here.

There will be some spoilers beyond this point. You've been warned.

Much of this book is devoted to the domestic daily life at Withywoods and I loved every minute of it. Hobb's prose is gorgeous. Fitz spends a lot of time being introspective of his past as Molly runs the house. I never really was a fan of Molly throughout the series. I think both time and being away from Farseer politics has helped mellow her character out so she's the most tolerable she's been to date. Even still, their relationship is a bitersweet one. Due to events from the Tawny Man trilogy, Fitz doesn't age normally and has to watch as Molly's mental health slowly declines as she ages. It is with great joy and much confusion to learn that Molly is pregnant in her 50's. The new addition to the family, their daughter Bee, is a surprise and a delight. It was wonderful reading about her and getting to know this character.

Since the focus of this book is on Withywoods, those of you hoping for old characters to make a return will be disappointed. While Chade and the others do make appearances, they are not central to this story though I suspect some of them may have bigger roles in the remainder of the series. Still, Fitz is Fitz and proves yet again that the more things change, the more they remain the same.

As I mentioned earlier this book is a slow burn. While the action is kept to a minimum until the very end there is plenty of tension throughout. It makes for an emotional and engaging read with some scenes being deeply moving. This is Robin Hobb - you just know the peace for Fitz and his family can't last. The last 100-150 pages were intense, with that final chapter being so high adrenaline that it took me a while to calm down after reading it!

Fool's Assassin is a fantastic start to this new trilogy. For those who have not read Robin Hobb, you definitely need to start back at the beginning with Assassin's Apprentice. Now it's straight on to book two for me.

Rating:

>104 Narilka: Fool’s Assassin through chapter 14: I thought the same thing, that Shun must be Chade’s daughter. I’m interested to learn more about her, but I hope she mellows out a bit after she gets to know everybody or her arrogance and antagonism toward Fitz is likely to drive me nuts. :)

Also, I was just thinking (Fool’s Assassin through chapter 14)… it would be amusing if her name had been Sun instead of Shun. Then we’d have Sun and Chade. :)

>119 YouKneeK: No kidding! Her arrogance is so annoying. As is her beyond needy behavior. I'm sure there are people like that and I'm incredibly grateful not to have anyone in my life like her. >120 YouKneeK: That would've been awesome :D

Fool's Quest through Ch 3 The suspense of waiting for Fitz to find out everything that happened at Withywoods is killing me! Of course Chade gives him a task to distract him. Back to their old roles so quickly :)

It's good to see they didn't kill everyone in the house. I was worried after the burning barn scene at the end of Fool's Assassin that the same fate would be in store for the people that survived the initial attack. I'm happy/frustrated that Bee saved Shun - I don't like the character at all but no one should have to endure what she almost did. And it's probably (hopefully) the start of her character arc to being a better person. Poor Perseverance is going to have a story no one else will believe :(

Fool's Quest through CH 5 Finally some answers!! I'm so glad we're actually getting the Fools story. He's always been so mysterious I was half afraid we wouldn't learn too much.

And he's given a plausible explanation for Bee, not that Fitz realizes it. I wish I'd thought of it! YouKneeK, you might since you've read the series so close together :) In Tawny Man when Fitz brings him back from the dead and their spirits merge for a while, possibly some of the Fool's DNA carried over, that they didn't fully separate into themselves. I love this idea and the idea that the Fool is part Catalyst now.

I'm a tad irritated that we aren't getting much of Bee's POV but so overjoyed to finally have answers.

I also believe the Fool will be healed or at least healed enough for him to meet Bee properly so they can all save the world together. I honestly don't think everyone will survive to the end though my money is on Fitz dying to save both Bee and the Fool.

>109 Narilka: Fool’s Assassin through chapter 18: I was so excited in chapter 15 when I thought the Fool had finally shown up, and then so disappointed when it wasn’t him. :) Not that I would have wanted him to be dying of course, but I was hoping “he” wasn’t as badly injured as he appeared and/or that Fitz could skill-heal him. But I also enjoyed the message and the clues the woman left to keep the reader guessing.

I was thinking the same thing about the man vs woman thing from Bee’s dream, and her realization that the dreams couldn’t be trusted entirely. It seems almost like an intentionally-planted hint. I keep going back to my earlier wild theory that maybe the Fitz/Fool body swapping from the end of the Tawny Man trilogy caused the Fool to have some influence on who Bee is. So much else about the description of the unexpected son fits her, aside from the gender. It would also explain how the “son” could be “his (the Fool's) and yet not his” as the messenger stated. Bee’s characteristics blonde hair and blue eyes also seem like they could fit the “half-blood White” description.

Then there’s also the fragmented hint at the beginning of Chapter 16 about the offspring of (presumably) white prophets, implying that it can take years for them to be born, which is what happened with Bee. It seems to imply white prophets only come once in every third generation or so, in which case it’s too soon for Bee to actually be a white prophet. But she does seem to fit the description for being the offspring of one, and we know neither Fitz nor Molly were white prophets... This fragment might also shed some light on the Pale Woman from Tawny Man as I always wondered how it was that she seemed to be able to see the future herself even though she wasn't a true white prophet.

Of course, you probably already know the real answers to all these things already if it’s explained before the end of the book! :)

I very much agree with you about Shun. She definitely looks like one of those horrific characters Hobb likes to introduce who slowly end up becoming better people. Meanwhile, she’s going to drive me nuts. :)

>124 YouKneeK: You are going down the right path :)

>124 YouKneeK: It could easily be three or more generations of normal folk since the Fool was born. Molly has grandchildren after all.

>125 Narilka: That at least reassures me that I can hope for some sort of answers by the time I get to where you are. :)

>126 quondame: Spoilers for the Tawny Man trilogy and through chapter 19 of Fool’s Assassin: I wouldn’t count the generations from the Fool’s birth, because that would count the time when the world already had a white prophet. I would count it from when the Fool stops being the white prophet. At the earliest, that would have been when Icefyre was released and the Fool died. At that time, all Molly's children with Burrich had been born and the oldest were teenagers. I may be proven wrong about where to count from (please don’t tell me until I get there), since I assume you wouldn’t be reading my spoiler comments if you haven’t already read this book and thus you may have a story-based reason to believe it should be counted differently.

I’m not 100% convinced the Fool is no longer the white prophet, despite some of the stuff he said at the end of Tawny Man. The blurb at the beginning of Chapter 19 in Fool's Assassin says the White Prophet will “wield without compassion or mercy” the Unexpected Son. I’m not far enough along yet to know for sure who the Unexpected Son is and who will do the wielding, but I’m expecting the "wielder" to be the Fool.

>110 Narilka: Fool’s Assassin through chapter 25: I liked that part too. I loved it when we learned that Bee’s activities weren’t as secret as she thought. I also liked learning how he could tell when she’s at the spyhole and when she’s read his papers. I wonder if he knows she has the messenger's invisible-ish cloak or if he really forgot about it.

>128 YouKneeK: Some of their moments are just adorable. I love that he lets her have her "secret" spying too :)

Fool's Quest through Ch 8 So many reveals I think I could almost take notes chapter by chapter!

The explanation about the Pale Woman from Tawny Man is frightening. And brilliant but mostly frightening.

I can't believe they formally recognized Fitz and Nettle as Farseers. That was a very long time coming and gave me such warm fuzzies :) Which is really a conflict because my anxiety is building for how long it's been since we've had Bee's POV and waiting for Fitz to find out she's missing. I'm expecting him to react poorly. I'm also angry at how little Fitz is really thinking of he but I know he's been heavily distracted.

Very interesting how his skill healing of the Fool is going. I wonder if anyone can learn to take on someone else's injuries or if they need a similar bond to make it work.

I just finished Fool's Assassin. Wow! :)

Spoilers through the end of the book in reference to your notes in post >116 Narilka:…

I was happy to see confirmation that Bee is the unexpected "son" so I can finally stop wondering! There are still plenty of questions left to be answered, though. In addition to some of my earlier thoughts about how/why Bee could have been mistakenly called a son, something else occurred to me while reading the last few chapters. If the existence of the unexpected son was seen visually in a dream, she might have been mistaken for a boy based simply on how she appeared in that vision. Several people throughout this book commented on her looking like a boy because of her cropped hair and the clothes she wore.

Yeah, I never quite made up my mind what was going on with the Wolf-Father thing. I never came up with any theories that made enough sense or had enough coherency for me to even try to express them.

It was so hard to read about everything that had been done to the Fool. And SO hard to wait that long for him to show up! I kept expecting him to pop up around every corner. I went through the book in constant suspense wondering if the next chapter was the one where he'd show up. I think I’m glad I didn’t know from the beginning that he wouldn’t show up until the end or I probably would have been less enthusiastic, but the book was awesome even without him.

I was screaming the same thing at Fitz in my head as he left through the skill pillar, that he needed to take Bee with him or find another plan. He didn’t have any reason to understand that her risk was higher at her home versus the risk of trying to take her through the pillar, but it was so obvious for the reader that something horrible was going to happen.

I suppose it’s too much to ask that one of the Withywoods invaders slapped Shun silly and then killed her? I assume we’re not done with her yet though. All the hints about her lineage and her past and people trying to hunt her down and assassinate her made it seem like she’s going to play a larger role in the story, but I would be ever so happy to be wrong! :)

By the way, I’ve really enjoyed doing this as a buddy read. Thanks for suggesting it! I looked forward to being able to uncover a new post and see what you were thinking. You had the hard part since you were so far ahead of me; I could blather on and on about my random theories by which time you already had much more info than I did. Thanks for being so restrained in your replies so as not to spoil anything. :)

I'll hopefully get a chance to read at least a little bit of the next book tonight, after I put together a more formal review for this one.

>132 YouKneeK: I'm enjoying this buddy read immensely :) There were a couple times in reply I had to delete what I typed for too much info lol

Fool's Quest through Ch 12 Motley is cute :) I'm glad she gives the Fool some company. Animals are healing.

Dear god that did NOT go how I expected! I knew Fitz would be frantic about events at home but to get there and the whole house be covered in a Skill fog... wow. I thought that the Fog Boy was just clouding the minds of the folks there not enchanting the whole area. Thankfully more help is on the way and perhaps with all of them they can lift the fog and start investigating in earnest. Plus let the folks of Withywood begin the healing process. Also a very intriguing use of the Skill, maybe they can learn from it as they unravel it. It is driving home just how little our main characters know of the Skill.

I'm almost sorry we caught up with Bee. The people who have abducted her are scary. I am now even more afraid for her whole story line :( Given the books title I have a bad feeling that Fitz and Bee's stories will parallel for all of the book.

There has been very minor mention of the dragons of Kelsingra. I wonder if they'll make an appearance before the end.

>122 Narilka: Fool’s Quest through Chapter 3: That’s how I’m feeling right now also, very anxious for Fitz to discover what happened at Withywoods! Although I’m somewhat dreading it also because he’s going to be so devastated. It was fun to see Fitz in his spy role again. :)

I was proud of Bee for saving Shun despite how much she dislikes her, although I’m not at all looking forward to Shun tagging along throughout Bee’s POV chapters!

I liked seeing the small ties to the Rain Wilds subseries in these early chapters. I was surprised that Chade has dragon blood, but that’s surely what was described in one of the vials Fitz noticed in the secret room. I suppose that might have been a throwaway scene-setting reference that we'll never learn more about, but I'd really like to know how he got it. Unless they end up using it to try to get the Fool healed more quickly, although I was never clear if the blood actually had any healing properties as believed or if it just created/enhanced the bond with the dragon that shed it. It was also interesting to see that (former) Chancellor Ellik from Chalced survived the dragon attack.

Edit: Actually, given what happened to Selden in that last book, I guess I shouldn't question the blood's healing properties.

Fool's Quest through Ch 19 THE FOOL IS BECOMING AN ELDERLING!!!!!! You called it in post #135, they gave him the dragon blood :)

But I must back up some. The recovery at Withywoods is heartbreaking. I'm glad the elfbark tea worked. I think knowing is much better than not, even in those horrible circumstances, with the possible exception of the kitchen girl. Plus it let Perse get his mother back.

I called it right on Shun being Chade's daughter :) It's funny I never even questioned it for Lant since he had a "father" who claimed him. Nice misdirection Ms Hobb!

Of course they're attacked on the way back to the Skill stone. I wonder if they'll give Chade the last of the dragon blood to heal him. He's in pretty bad shape at the moment. You just know the extra Skill Fitz absorbed, or whatever it was, will play a role later.

>123 Narilka: Fool’s Quest through Chapter 5: Yes, that explanation for Bee is where my mind was back in >112 YouKneeK: when I was on chapter 10 of the first book. I was happy to see it finally almost-confirmed as I’ve been clinging to that theory for a long time now. :) I think it has definitely helped that I’ve read the whole series within a fairly short time period. The details are still fresh in my mind so it’s a little easier to make connections. Also, since the first 9 books were re-reads, I've likely retained more details than I might have otherwise.

I feel like at this point the Fool should have enough info to put the pieces together and realize what Bee is if he really stops to think about it. There have been a couple times where their conversation almost led one of them to say something that surely would have made it clear, and then there’s some convenient interruption that distracts the conversation. Like when the Fool was talking about how he thought he had found the unexpected son when Fitz stabbed him, and Fitz started to say the only person around him was his daughter. It’s driving me nuts, but I knew Hobb would have to drag the revelation out because she’s cruel like that. :)

Although I’m curious to find out what’s happening to Bee, I have to admit that each time I see the next chapter is from Fitz’s perspective I’m happy because I’d rather stay with the Fool (via Fitz) if given a choice. I'm starting to take my dragon blood theory a little more seriously now since it looks like skill healing may not be enough, and I'm mad at Chade for not suggesting it when Fitz indicated that he didn't think they could save the Fool. Surely Chade knows what he has. But I'm not sure Chade has ever really grasped the importance of the Fool to the world, and he's more likely saving it for himself or in case of a health crisis with one of the Farseers.

I agree with your expectation that not everybody will survive through the end, and I too suspect Fitz may not make it. That’s the main reason I was alarmed when Bee became a POV character, fearing we needed another character who could finish Fitz’s story if he wasn’t alive at the end to tell it himself.

>137 YouKneeK: I know! There are so many instances where I just want to shake Fitz and make him stop keeping secrets unnecessarily lol

>130 Narilka: Fool’s Quest through Chapter 8: I loved, loved when they revealed Fitz to everybody. I did not see that coming at all. I knew the queen was going to reveal Nettle and her pregnancy, but I never imagined Fitz would be revealed. Much less that it would be secret-keeping Chade who would make the decision to do it. I never cared for Starling, but I even enjoyed seeing her get her moment to shine and finally tell the story she’d been keeping quiet all those years.

Yes, that business with Fitz taking on the Fool’s injuries as he healed them was very interesting. I hope we learn more about that. I’ve seen that sort of empathic healing portrayed in other fictional settings, even in one of the original Star Trek episodes, but I was surprised to see that concept show up here.

Fool’s Quest through chapter 8: I forgot to mention how much I enjoyed seeing the Fool help the crow that Fitz rescued. That was in chapter 7 I think, and chapter 8 sort of made me forget everything else. :) I wonder if she’ll end up being more the Fool’s companion than Fitz’s.

Fool's Quest through Ch 22 I can't help but think Fitz is making a huge error by racing off alone to rescue his daughter. Team Farseer has no idea about the change in power that Bee's captors just went through. I wonder if the raiders will head for the ship at all. If they still go that way then they'll definitely get there ahead of schedule since I think Ellik plans to ditch the sleds.

I hope Chade pulls through.

>134 Narilka: Fool’s Quest through Chapter 12: Yeah, that was interesting. I expected all the people to have lost all memories related to the event and to Bee and Shun, but I didn’t expect that wider effect on anybody entering the area. I was happy when Perseverance showed up so Fitz could finally get some sort of answers. I really like that character.

At least Shun is proving to be of some use and not completely worthless. She still has an attitude problem, but her situation has forced her to keep it more contained, and she has provided some useful information. She actually seems to have some extra (or complete?) resistance against the fog for some reason which seems weird. I remember Fitz couldn’t reach her with the skill when they first met. I wonder if Chade sealed her to the skill or something like he had done to himself in the previous book, and if that’s protecting her from the fogging. Or maybe I’m reading too much into it. It’s not 100% clear if she’s completely resisting it or just resisting it better.

That reminds me, completely unrelated to anything recent, but I don't think we ever actually found out how Chade was injured that time early in the first book. At the time, I found it difficult to believe he just fell. I was expecting to find out he'd been attacked by somebody. But since nothing ever came of it, maybe it really was just a fall. Or I've completely missed something.

>142 YouKneeK: I don't think they went any deeper in to Chade's injury than that. My hunch is it was to explain more about his self-sealing of his skill and how a phrase unlocks it. That's what seemed to be the important part to me anyway, as a sort of Chekhov's Gun moment.

>143 Narilka: That definitely makes sense. And I just finished Fool’s Quest chapter 13 where It was confirmed that the fog is a skill-based thing. I had been wondering how it was lasting so long after the Servants left, so I liked the explanation that it was the latent skill of the people affected being used to perpetuate it.

Oh, and Lant is Chade’s son… did you see that one coming? I didn’t at all. Well, I did idly think it at one point when Fitz was musing how important Lant seemed to Chade, but it was more of a sarcastic thought than a serious thought so it doesn’t count.

I’m looking forward to reading the next chapter where I expect they’ll administer the elfbark. It will be interesting to see everybody’s reactions and see what additional information they can give Fitz and Chade. I am hoping, without much expectation of it actually happening, that somebody will remember enough exact words of some of the things the Servants said to Bee after she had tried to help Shun that Fitz will finally make the connection. But maybe they won't remember anything from when the Servants were actively controlling their minds.

But first I have to go run pesky errands.

>144 YouKneeK: I did not expect that at all about Lant. Since he had a "father" claim him, I never really thought about it.

Fool's Quest through Ch 29 Fitz is both the luckiest and unluckiest person around. He's very fortunate to have friends so devoted to him even if he is a bastard at times. My heart hurts that they didn't find Bee but I'm pretty convinced she's not gone. Vindeliar is very strong in the Skill so they'll come out eventually. I also believe Bee is Skilled though not knowledgeable on how to use it yet.

Rather interesting glove Dwalia used. I bet that's where the Fool's finger tips went, to those odd "silver buttons." These people are horrific.

Fool's Quest through Ch 32 It's about time they finally get the show on the road! I think it's funny Fitz believes he will be able to go alone. I just know the Fool will end up with him and possibly Per and Lant too. He is not meant to go solo. And it's great he has his family's full support.

I am still convinced that Bee is not gone, just temporarily lost and will exit the Skill pillar eventually. In some ways I'm glad we got less of her POV because those people she's been capture by are at true nightmare. I'd rather be with Fitz.

I feel bad that Chade's years are finally catching up to him. He out foxed himself. Unless he does take the dragon blood, which is still possible unless the Fool uses it to restore his eye sight.

It's funny. I'm having a hard time being sad or dower like the characters are. I've been impatient for the actual quest to begin :)

Just over 100 pages for me to go. I'll have to stop reading soon for New Years Eve stuff so it will be iffy if I finish tonight or first thing tomorrow.

>136 Narilka: Fool’s Quest through Chapter 19: I was excited to finally see the dragon blood come into play. I love how Hobb plants these little innocuous-seeming hints that we can use to guess later events.

And then there are the things like Lant which are a fun surprise due to the misdirection and/or minimal hints. :) The Ash/Spark thing caught me by surprise also. The only hint whatsoever that I can remember is when Motley kept saying “Spark” and neither Fitz nor I knew why. I’d pretty much forgotten about that until she revealed her real name.

I agree about the recovery at Withywoods. If it had been me, I would want to remember, no matter how terrible it was. I would be horrified to have anything mess with my mind like that.

Happy New Year everyone! I'll get my thread for 2019 going later :)

@YouKneeK, want to keep this thread for our ongoing discussion?

>149 Narilka: Happy new year!

Sure, that sounds good to me. And our conversation just about got you to the 151 posts… one more to go!

Haha, yep! Not padding my own post count at all ;)

Some strange lag with the site today. I guess everyone is excited to post their bookish resolutions.

I finished Fool's Quest today and need to gather my thoughts. I also finished The Christmas Hirelings, so two reviews to write up already.

>141 Narilka: Fool’s Quest through chapter 22: I agree, I’m really worried about the consequences of Fitz’s decision to race off alone. It seems to fall too much into the pattern of his actions in previous books – run off and do his own thing while disregarding the direction or advice of others, make everything worse, all his friends feel angry and betrayed that he didn’t trust and respect them, he feels miserable and guilty… I’d really rather not see that cycle happen again.

Besides, it’s still the middle of the book so the rescue attempt is surely doomed to fail. :) Not that I would complain if it did all work out and we moved on to the next phase in the story, but I’ll be surprised if it does.

>151 Narilka: I don’t count it as padding because it was all substantial conversation. :) Yeah, the site was definitely having some odd issues this morning. I hunted down the Bug Collectors group to see if there was any info and apparently there was a server issue that was corrected around 10:30 ET. It has seemed ok to me since then.

I slowed down on the reading quite a bit yesterday and today, and it’s back to work tomorrow so I’m not too sure when I’ll finish Fool’s Quest. Tomorrow might be possible. If not, probably Thursday.

>152 YouKneeK: My reading is going to slow for book 3 I'm sure. Some staff returns to work tomorrow and I'll have everyone again by Monday. It's hard to get work done when all your engineers are on vacation :) Anyways, Agreed. I really really wish Fitz could break that cycle. Too bad it seems to be so much part of his personality. He is hard on himself for every little flaw and mistake too and I wish he could cut himself slack now and then.

Fool's Quest overall thoughts. That was a very interesting middle book. I missed Bee's perspective a lot but am also grateful given her current situation not to have those people inflicted upon us. I do think Fitz has grown some - he's learned to wait and be better prepared rather than rush off to deal with whatever crisis. Though as we mentioned above I do wish he'd realize he can rely on his friends more! UGH!! I wanted to shake some sense into him at so many times :)

This was a fast slowly moving book, if that makes sense. A lot of waiting for all our characters yet it was still a page turner.

At the very end, I knew Bee would come out of the stone. I'm so glad she ran. And we'll see what happens to the Fool since he's been caught as a thief. Everyone mobbing Fitz to heal them was just too real :( I hope he didn't hurt himself. I'm glad Lant slipped him some elfbark to cut him off from the Skill current. Another cliffhanger type ending. Good thing I have book 3 to start tonight :)

>146 Narilka: Fool’s Quest through chapter 29: Agreed about Fitz’s luckiness and unluckiness and his devoted, ever-forgiving family. His reckless departure didn’t end up as badly as I expected it would. Although it didn’t turn out well, at least nothing he did caused things to turn out worse than they would have otherwise.

It seemed odd to me that no mention was made of the other sides of the pillar. I thought each side usually went somewhere different. Fitz mentioned that a tree had grown up closely beside it, so maybe that side couldn’t be accessed and they could safely rule it out. And Fitz did see where snow was brushed off, so I can see why they thought that was the side used. But there was no mention made of the other two sides, whether they were covered with snow or blocked or didn't have any runes (in Bee's POV they did say Dwalia reached for a faded glyph) or what. Not that Nettle would have let anybody go through if she didn't know where they led, but I'm sure Fitz would have been willing to take the risk once the delvenbark wore off.

If that isn’t the explanation, then I wonder if it’s possible to somehow get diverted from the expected destination to another pillar while en route. Because like you said, I'm sure Bee survived somehow. I'm curious to see if Hobb will go back to her POV to confirm it, or leave her out altogether until she's found to keep us in suspense.

Yeah, that glove was horrific. I didn’t catch the hints on how it had been made until Fitz and the Fool simultaneously realized it.

I still need to write up my review. Maybe tomorrow :)

>154 YouKneeK: I never really thought about the other sides of the skill pillars. Seems like they only use one rune consistently for all their traveling.

I got a small start on Assassin's Fate last night. Through ch 4 Whew! We did not have to wait long for resolution to those cliffhangers. And we get much more Bee!! OMG my heart about stopped when they all ended up in that tomb. Dwalia is not as smart as she thinks she is.

I'm wondering where Fitz and Bee will finally meet up. On White Island? It would suck to wait so long and be very much something Hobb would do lol At least they're kinda close at the moment, her in Chalced and him in Kelsingra.

Happy New Year!

>155 Narilka: I’m not sure why I had thought that the different sides had different runes with different destinations. I must have imagined it that way when we first learned about them and got it stuck in my head that way.

>157 YouKneeK: I think you are at least partially right given an event that happens in Assassin's Fate.

>147 Narilka: Fool’s Quest through Chapter 32: I’m with you (or at least, I’m with where you were when you wrote this!) in thinking that Bee is not really gone and that Fitz will somehow end up with company, the Fool at least, before he gets too far. I’m a little worried about just what the Fool may do, though. I hope Lant doesn't manage to come along because that character just annoys the heck out of me and I'd like to ditch him.

I’ve been slowing waaay down. I don’t expect to finish tonight, but I should get close enough to the end that I can finish up tomorrow.

>159 YouKneeK: Better Lant than Shun! LOL I hear you though, they're both annoying :) Coming back to work after the holidays is always hectic. I only got through one chapter yesterday. Admittedly it was a 30 page chapter, but still :)

>160 Narilka: Fool’s Quest through Chapter 33: LOL, I groaned when Lant came through the pillar with Fitz. Good point about Shun though. Actually, I’m really not sure which I like least at this point.

Regarding our conversation on the skill pillars, I’ve been paying more attention to how they’re described and used now. In Chapter 33, the same skill pillar near the stone dragons definitely goes at least two places: to that place near Buck where Bee was taken through, as well as to Kelsingra. I’m also pretty sure this is the same pillar Fitz and the Fool came to from the ice cavern at the end of Tawny Man and then later returned there through. I remember they paid a visit to the dragons while they were in the area and the Fool gave Girl-on-a-Dragon the rooster crown, and in this chapter Fitz pays a visit to Verity-as-Dragon again from this pillar. (I really liked that scene!)

The blurb at the top of chapter 32 seemed to indicate that some of the runes are for departing, though. “Mark the runes carefully as to which ones are for arriving and which ones are for departing, lest one enter a stone face backward and face an opposing current.” So that’s interesting… and ambiguous.

And, not surprisingly, the Fool has shown up, although at this point he’s gone back through the pillar to Kelsingra with Spark and said they would be back, and that’s all I know. I wonder if he’s going to seek out the skill river/well he’s been dreaming about and try using that to heal his eyes.

>161 YouKneeK: I loved that scene of Fitz visiting Verity-as-Dragon too. Such a great moment.

What gets me while reading this, as you go through the chapter blurbs and the actions the characters take, is just how much information has been lost about the Skill. It goes way back to the first series and shows how much damage Regal did when he had all those scrolls burned. It makes me so frustrated and emphasizes how glad I am he's dead. It also makes me frustrated for Chade that he was denied Skill training for so long. Given how he likes to experiment I'm sure they'd know a lot more about it then where they do currently. Maybe if Fitz doesn't burn Clarres down they can find some knowledge in their library to take home after he kills everyone :)

Assassin's Fate through Ch 8 I'm starting to think that Bee shouldn't try to escape any more and just stick with these psychos. Then Fitz can rescue her when he gets there. I was really really hoping they'd be able to meet along the journey somewhere but that doesn't look very likely. Maybe I'm just being pessimistic since there is a lot of the book to go.

It's kind of neat, in a relation to my spoiler in #162, that Bee seems to be teaching herself to Skill a little. If nothing else if she can pick up how to reach out to others maybe she can contact Fitz at some point and give him hope.

I'm so excited that the Rain Wilds Chronicles are being woven in! Super neat that Fitz and friends will be traveling on Tarman soon :) Also a great reminder that dragons are kind of jerks lol

The speculation about the Servants causing the death of all the Elderlings and Dragons is both interesting and frightening. That's a serious amount of power they have to pull that off, even if it took decades to accomplish. It makes me wonder why exactly they need a world with them. Perhaps it has to do with magic? Skill seems to be related to Dragons somehow.

Edit to add: I'm still not sure how Bee is talking to Nighteyes. Did part of his consciousness stick around or is she able to speak with spirits? That would be an interesting skill.

>162 Narilka: Very true on both counts! It’s also a little crazy to me that they didn’t seem to have more than one copy of these important scrolls. I mean it’s not like they had copy machines, but surely it would have been worth the time to copy them by hand and have copies in different locations. :)

>153 Narilka: I just finished Fool’s Quest. Spoilers through the end: ”A fast slowly moving book” is a good description for it. :)

I’m still a little fuzzy on the apparent interconnectedness of the Skill current and the people who gave themselves up to it like Verity with his dragon, but I absolutely loved that it was Verity that saved Bee in the skill pillar. I didn’t see that coming at all. I'd always wondered who the being was that helped Fitz when he got stuck in the pillars a couple times in Tawny Man. Maybe it was another coterie member who was absorbed into a stone dragon and was still aware enough to care what happened to random, careless humans.

I can’t imagine Bee will get very far when she's leaving tracks in the snow. It took Fitz hours to get from the stone pillar to Verity-as-Dragon which is where I think Wolf Father is trying to lead her, and Bee is a lot smaller. I expect she’ll still end up getting taken to Clerres and Fitz and the Fool will finally find her after they get there.

That mob scene near the end with people clamoring for Fitz to heal them was really tense. I’m anxious to find out what happens next. I enjoyed the symmetry of the Fool being forced to re-establish the skill bond on Fitz’s wrist again.

>165 YouKneeK: Yeah, it's like some of those with the Skill become one with the Force Skill when they die. Sort of. They talk about how the Skill river shreds your consciousness so not sure how some people hold it together enough after. I always took it as Fitz ran into something "other" in Tawny Man but your speculation would work too.

Ancestral memories seem to be a big theme for this series, esp with the dragons. Maybe this is a similar thing? I hope it gets explained but am thinking it will remain a mystery.

Assassin's Fate through ch 10 HAHAHAHAHA the Fool has to own up to making Paragon look like Fitz!!! This is awesome :)

Also weird that Verity-as-Dragon counts as a "dragon" to Tarman? I didn't think a stone dragon was close enough to a real one. Very interesting. Unless it's just the Farseer bloodline that has descended from Elderlings and the fact that Verity went into the stone dragon is just a happy coincidence.

It's also about time Fitz shared Bee's dream journal with the Fool. Who better to help interpret something that might help their journey?

>155 Narilka: Assassin’s Fate through chapter 4: I was relieved that the cliffhangers from the previous book were resolved pretty quickly at the beginning of this book.

The Fool suggested they should find a liveship for transport between Trehaug and Bingtown. It would be funny if they ended up taking Paragon. If not, I hope they at least encounter Paragon long enough for Fitz and Paragon to meet each other with their similar faces. :)

>168 YouKneeK: :)

Assassin's Fate through Ch 14 Well well well! Look what happens when information is shared. They have proof Bee is alive!!

And for Bee's part, she's temporarily free from Dwalia again. I wonder if the bite on her cheek will infect the way the other lady's arm did. I really hope Bee is finally free but somehow I doubt it. It's too much like Hobb to dangle hope in front of us and snatch it away at the last instant like Lucy with a football for Charlie Brown.

>163 Narilka: Assassin's Fate through chapter 8: Yeah, every time Bee appears to escape it feels more like a tease to the reader than like anything that will lead anywhere. I like your idea of Bee possibly figuring out how to reach out to Fitz with the Skill; I hadn’t considered that possibility.

Yes, I love seeing all the pieces of all the subseries converging. It’s been fun seeing “Amber” back while still also being Fitz's Fool, and I’m looking forward to her also seeing Althea and Paragon and possibly other old friends from the Liveship Traders series. I wonder how annoyed Fitz is going to be when he meets Paragon. :) I wonder if he remembers the ship has his face, or if the Fool will remind him so he isn't caught by surprise.

The whole Wolf-Father/Nighteyes thing is pretty nebulous. I can’t remember if it was explicitly stated, but my assumption has been that Nighteyes left a small piece of himself with Fitz when he died, because they were bonded so closely. We saw that in the remainder of Tawny Man and in this series occasionally when Nighteyes would seem to be speaking to Fitz. Also, when Fitz and the Fool were having that discussion where the Fool figured out that he was another father to Bee, they were talking about how Fitz and the Fool had merged into one being, and the Fool said that all three of them (including Nighteyes) had merged into one being and maybe didn’t all get separated quite right again, which would explain why Fitz and the Fool still felt a faint bond even when the Skill bond was gone. So I think in that context, we’re supposed to believe that Fitz and the Fool and Nighteyes are all fathers to Bee as a result of their temporary merging into one being. And if Fitz hears Nighteyes in his head sometimes and passed that on to Bee, then maybe that’s supposed to explain why she hears him too although her ability to talk to him seems more tangible than Fitz's, maybe because she's more open to it.

I find that to be a little flimsy though, if that’s the real explanation. It’s not like they swapped actual DNA or anything physical, but I think we’re supposed to believe that it was the souls or whatever that had the main influence in who she became, similar to how King Dutiful is the son of Verity’s soul but the son of Fitz’s body which I think they meant more literally than poetically. I would be very happy to see a more concrete explanation before the end, but I’m not sure it’s really possible for there to be one that would satisfy me completely.

>170 YouKneeK: Yeah, I'm not crazy about that explanation but I expect you're right in that's all we'll get.

Assassin's Fate through Ch 19 I did not see that coming! Seriously I never expected the Fool to give Silver to Paragon. Somehow I doubt it will turn him into a "true" dragon since the actual flesh creature from his casing was disposed of but maybe be like the stone dragons, only fully animated and in control of himself. I'm starting to dislike the person the Fool has become and the action he takes as Amber.

Bee's chapters are hard to read :( She is definitely learning the Skill but at a horrible cost.

I'm starting to get impatient with this book. I need these characters to get to Clerres and get it on with already! I think it's a tad bit of series fatigue. Maybe I should mix in another book for a couple days.

>167 Narilka: Assassin’s Fate through chapter 10: LOL, I’m looking forward to seeing the Fool explain Paragon’s face. I’m kind of surprised the Fool didn’t warn Fitz in advance, but then I guess that isn’t really his style. He seems to enjoy Fitz’s discomfort over such things. I’m pretty sure Jek had commented on Fitz’s resemblance to Paragon when she met up with the Fool/Amber in Tawny Man, and Fitz heard that part of the conversation because he wrote about it, so he shouldn’t be so surprised. But no doubt it’s one of the things he conveniently ignored when he didn’t understand it. :)

I also thought Tarman’s reaction to Verity as if he were a true dragon was strange. In that brief scene when Fitz tried skilling to Dutiful and Nettle while on Tarman and encountered Chade, it seemed like we were being told the Skill current itself is composed of sentient beings, as opposed to sentient beings riding the current. And the dragons drink that. When/if I re-read this series someday, I’m definitely going to pay more attention from the beginning to the descriptions of the Skill, skill pillars, white prophets, etc. I don’t feel like I’ve gathered and assembled all the puzzle pieces on those topics well enough to see a clear picture.

I too was glad to see Fitz finally share Bee’s dream journal. That was a long time coming.

Assassin's Fate through Ch 22 Oh Chade :( I knew it would happen eventually and wish Fitz could have been there in person :(

Nice for Fitz to get Skilled confirmation about Bee. If I were him I'd have a hard time believing Amber's dreams too. Amber is still bugging the crap out of me at the moment. Like she can't trust Fitz with her prophecies? Really, after all they've been through?? Yeah I know they're the same character but they have such different voices I've started to see them separately. I'm ready for the Fool's personality to come back.

>172 YouKneeK: I'd like to do that too, a full series reread and pay more attention to Skill references. Unless we get a full answer by the end. Based off what I remember from prior books and thsi one, there is definitely some sort of sentience to the Skill current. When reading Tawny Man I had thought it was like a creator-type myth as it seemed to contain all sorts of knowledge. Who knows? It could be partly that and as Skill users die it absorbs some of them too.

>169 Narilka: Assassin’s Fate through chapter 14: I was very happy to see them finally figure out Bee is alive! I was a little exasperated that they didn’t figure it out sooner because some of those dreams seemed perfectly clear to me, even given the fact that the characters would have had less knowledge than the reader at the time they read them.

I’m curious who the Fool got the Skill from. I can’t guess who unless it was Malta herself. I remember Reyn being adamant against it, but I can’t remember if Malta said anything. Maybe Thymara or Tats would be other possibilities.

>171 Narilka: Assassin’s Fate through Chapter 19: Although I did guess that the Fool intended the Silver for Paragon based on his reaction when Fitz asked if he knew the “friend” it was intended for, I didn’t understand what he intended to do with it so all the repercussions of that were a surprise. I mostly understood the Fool’s motives, but I didn’t like the way he took such a catastrophic action without much apparent thought for the consequences to so many other people. Especially characters I had been invested in back in Liveship Traders.

I thought the trip on Paragon would be fun, but I haven’t enjoyed that aspect of the story as much as I thought I would. Paragon’s behavior is tiresome to me even if it is in character. At the end of Liveship Traders I’d been hoping he might stabilize a bit, but he’s still pretty nuts and the Silver just made him nuttier. I'm curious to see where things will go with the introduction of Silver to the liveships, but mostly I want to get on with the story about Clerres.

>173 Narilka: Assassin’s Fate through Chapter 22: Yeah, I was sad about Chade’s death and especially that Fitz couldn’t have had some final moments with him.

You were right when you predicted that Bee might manage to connect with Fitz via the skill! :) I was happy for Fitz to finally get confirmation of her survival that he couldn’t deny. It feels to me like things have been moving forward a bit better over these last few chapters; I was feeling like we were stalled for a few chapters there.

Fitz and the Fool always seem to have a bit of a rollercoaster experience with their relationship, but this book has had a lot of that. I tend to side more with the Fool because I feel better able to understand the reasoning behind his actions even when I don’t always like the decisions his reasoning leads him to. But I’ve been a little annoyed with both of them. I feel like Fitz has seen more than enough over the decades to be able to trust the Fool’s dreams and take him more seriously. Fitz also constantly ignores or forgets things he doesn’t understand. On the other hand, the Fool should know by now that Fitz’s refusal to accept what he’s told and do things his own way has often led him to making desired changes as the Fool’s catalyst. I feel like both of them have been too quick to get angry with each other for essentially being who they have always been, and both of them also default toward keeping secrets which adds to the trouble. Whenever they sit and talk honestly, the rollercoaster usually stops plummeting and heads back up for a while.

>177 YouKneeK: You summarized their relationship perfectly. And yeah, they've both been annoying!

I have 100 pages left. I promise I haven't abandoned you - just had a lot to take care of at home all at once. It's done and I'm back to normalish.

Through Ch 42ish That was one hell of a climax. I knew Fitz was going to sacrifice himself. I also totally get the dragon's vengeance. It seems that Bee's dreams were hinting quite a bit that the Servants had a hand in getting rid of the dragons and elderlings so it was good to see exactly how that was. It also explains the Four. Hell they were probably the original Four from the dragon slaughter and have been keeping themselves a live by eating their parts. I do not think the world needs these people in it no matter what Prilkop says.

I'm on the fence about how Fitz survived. I'm reasonably happy he's not dead but now he's Super Fitz lol I wonder if he'll get a full rest of his life with Bee or keel over actually dead once he makes it back home. He keeps being described as skeletal. I guess I'll find out tonight as I finish.

>178 Narilka: You’re practically done! :) I’m hoping to finish sometime over the weekend.

No worries, responsibilities have a tendency to take over sometimes. I was thinking maybe you had decided to mix in another book as per >171 Narilka:, or else you’d gotten so wrapped up in this one that you couldn’t come up for air. :)

>179 YouKneeK: I finished. I feel conflicted by the ending and still thinking about it. Will post overall thoughts a little later.

>180 Narilka: Congrats on finishing! I’ve been worried about the ending. I’ll look forward to reading your thoughts after I finish.

I hope you finish this weekend. I need someone to talk to :)

Book ending spoilers So I think the whole thing about Fitz carving his wolf-dragon thing is pretty appropriate given the entire series. What I hate is how they got to this point. I truly wish he'd just died in the tunnel instead of being tortured further with the parasites, the whole thing of which bugged me too in general. When Fitz sacrificed himself so Bee and the Fool could live, that was a very powerful moment and had me fully invested emotionally. A few chapters later when we see Fitz lives and escapes with a super dose of Silver, well, that was it for me. I was done and the emotional impact was mostly gone. Of course he lives now with super powers to free himself. His whole journey after felt....meh. Of course he tries to catch back up to everyone and of course miss out by choosing the wrong symbol on the skill pillar. I also don't think it felt true that he could feel something wrong in his body and not take time to fix it, esp when it was as supposedly simple as swallowing a copper coin and he'd killed those robbers who had money on them. Then you have the Fool happy to be a dad but so sad that Bee is rejecting him... but he doesn't actually want to have to work at it? So instead the first opportunity he gets he chooses to die with Fitz and abandon Bee? I feel somewhat bad for Bee at losing the father she loves (Fitz) and the father she never gave a chance too (Fool) though I bet she's better off with Kettricken. I'm not sure I"m really capturing my feelings well so hope this makes sense. It's been preventing me from writing a review - that I don't think I'm articulating what I mean just yet.

Edit: The fact that I'm still conflicted a couple days later probably says something :) I'm rating this 4 stars if for no other fact than how badly it dragged in the middle and how repetitive Bee's story was.

>182 Narilka: I think the odds are very good that I’ll finish sometime today. :)

>178 Narilka: Assassin's Fate through Chapter 42: I was screaming at Fitz the whole time, "Don't leave the explosive pot thing behind!". He did the exact same thing at the end of Tawny Man, leaving the explosive down that tunnel near Icefyre's head and it eventually exploded unexpectedly and killed/hurt various people. I don't think he has a proper appreciation for the danger of explosives...

I thought it was interesting that Prilkop let Fitz know Capra was still alive. He could have said nothing, because he knew what Fitz would do. I wondered if he was hoping Fitz would do what he himself could not.

>183 YouKneeK: Interesting theory about Prilkop. That sounds plausible.

I’ve finally finished. :) I can definitely understand your conflicted feelings about how it all ended. These are my initial (very rambling!) thoughts shortly after finishing… I’m not sure if I’ll change my mind about some things as I have more time to think about it.

Assassin’s Fate through the end:
Although I liked the way Fitz made the Fool keep his promise and save Bee, I didn't really feel like he sacrificed anything aside from having company as he died. He was trapped anyway, they had no way to free him and another pot may have exploded at any minute. It seemed like either they would all die or Fitz would die alone, so there was no sense in all of them dying. So I hated that he was left to die alone in such a horrible way, but since there were still quite a few pages left I was hoping something might happen to free him. While I never expected a very happy ending from this series, I naively started to hope we might get one when he did escape and started making his way home.

I think when Nighteyes told Fitz they had worms, Fitz either didn’t make the connection with the dart from Clerres or he was deceiving himself, I’m not sure which. He acted like they were just normal parasites, annoying but not a big deal, that he could handle later when he had proper supplies but that weren’t worth distracting himself from his main goal of getting home and meeting up with Bee and the Fool. I didn’t remember what the darts at Clerres were supposed to contain at the time he got hit by one, so I was horrified when Nighteyes detected the parasites and I finally remembered.

Nighteyes seemed more aware of what was going on than Fitz did, and I kind of wondered if it was Nighteyes that somehow influenced Fitz to put his hand on the wrong side of the pillar since he seemed to know that Fitz wouldn’t live and that the quarry was where they needed to be if they were going to survive in some form. I think that probably doesn’t make sense though, because I don’t see how Nighteyes could have known that side of the pillar would go to the quarry.

I think you're right about Bee being better off with Kettricken. I also think now that she has an understanding with Nettle, things will probably go more easily for her once she returns to Buckkeep. And she has other good friends she can count on like Per and Spark. I really liked her developing friendship with Thick and how Thick was teaching her useful things about the Skill. I’m not sure her resentment (unfounded, in my opinion) of the Fool would have allowed her to gain much from that relationship, and I think it would have been more frustrating than beneficial for both of them. I was so mad at her for how she treated the Fool. They might have grown closer in time, but I think Bee had a lot of growing up to do before that would have happened.

I too thought the wolf-dragon was a pretty appropriate ending, and I actually liked that all three of them, Fitz, the Fool, and Nighteyes, merged together into the dragon as one being. We’ve seen that Verity and Shrewd and Chade all seem to still be alive and occasionally reachable, so at least there’s some sort of sense that they’re still “out there” and not completely gone. I think that’s easier for me to take than an actual death would have been.

I think the biggest problem I had was being distanced from Fitz during those final moments, since we were in Bee’s POV. I can imagine that there was a sense of completion and understanding amongst them. It was clearly what they all wanted given the choices available to them, and it kind of seems like their whole relationship had been building up to that moment all along. I can imagine that maybe they would have created a dragon/wolf together by choice many years down the road if they hadn't been forced into the decision right then by Fitz's imminent death. But seeing it through Bee’s eyes didn’t really provide that sense of closure for me. I know it wouldn’t have made a lot of sense to be in Fitz’s head at that point, because this was the last part of his story that he never had the chance to tell anybody, but I would have happily forgiven that slight illogic to see it through Fitz’s eyes instead of Bee’s.

>182 Narilka: >185 YouKneeK: I sort of guessed what might happen to Fitz. The parasites, having been introduced, had to be used again, and the going into the stone sculpture likewise. That it was a wolf and the Fool chose to merge were pluses for me.

>185 YouKneeK: Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head. Having the final ending through Bee's POV didn't help me either. I really wish we'd had Fitz at the very end, even just a couple paragraphs of his feelings as he is rejoined by Nighteyes and the Fool. That I think would've fixed the worst of my conflicted feelings and made me cry my eyes out :) It also would have provided the much needed closure that was missing.

>186 quondame: Thanks for joining! I see your point on the parasites. That was another Chekhov's gun - it was going to be used again and was just a matter of when.

>187 Narilka: Well, er, um, I've been lurking for quite a bit. Just read all the books recently enough that they are still pretty fresh in my memory.

>187 Narilka: Yes, I think a couple paragraphs like you suggest would have made a big difference.

>188 quondame: Well I'm glad you joined in :)

>189 YouKneeK: Thanks for coming along on this journey! We should try another buddy read in the future, it was a lot of fun :)

>190 Narilka: Yes, I really enjoyed this, thank you so much for suggesting it!