It's been a little while now and I feel okay talking about Fool's Assassin. I didn't at first because I was really angry at the main character. I'm still angry but I've decided not to let it come between us.
It's been some years after the events of the Tawny Man trilogy. Fitz, as Tom Badgerlock, has everything he could have ever wanted. He is married to Molly, steward to Withywoods, and content to live out his days in retirement. Then Molly gets a strange notion that she is pregnant, despite being well past her birthing years. Fitz is heartbroken at this sign of delusion, especially after it continues past the normal span of a real pregnancy. And then Bee is born, a strange, delicate child with pale hair and features. Fitz is understandably shocked but loves his little fey daughter with all his heart and vows to protect her from any and all harm. And harm is coming. Messages from The Fool, delayed and garbled, finally reach Fitz, warning him to seek out The Fool's true son, the next White Prophet, before it's too late.
Can you see where this is going? Good. Because Fitz can't. And it drove me nuts the entire time I was reading the book. That has got to be one of the most frustrating feelings in the world, to be pounding on the glass of a soundproof room watching someone make horrible decisions because they are blind to a key piece of information. AND there's a cliffhanger of an ending! I was ready to froth at the mouth by the time I finished the last page.
Obviously, I loved it.
I've been through decades (of their lives, and one of my own) with these characters. I know them. I laugh with them, I grieve with them. They're family. And just like real family, I don't always agree with their choices. I worry about their futures. I want what's best for them, and occasionally, to slap them in the back of the head. That's what real writing does to me.
Comments
Post a Comment