Fool's Fate: The Tawny Man Trilogy Book 3 by Robin Hobb

My Rating: 4.9

Fitz, Chade, the Prince and many others set out from Buckkeep to Aslevjal to fulfill the Narcheska's challenge to lay the head of the dragon Icefyre on her hearth. Having abandoned the Fool in Buckkeep, Fitz is guilt-stricken; but determined to keep the fate of his beloved friend at bay, since prophecy foretells the Fool's death if he ever sets foot on the isle of the black dragon. But as their ship draws in towards Aslevjal a lone figure awaits them...

Despite my claim that "I don't like the fantasy genre", I continue to absolutely LOVE this series. Hobb has an incredible ability to make her writing seem simple and readable and yet she captures so much. The icy cold world of Aslevjal had me grabbing a blanket. This book had several VERY gruesome scenes (think Silence of the Lambs, torture, disturbing types of scenes) but it also brought me to tears. Hobb has such amazing ability to make you fall in love with characters and cheer for them that you are shattered and broken with how she treats your beloved friends so ruthlessly and yet seemingly so cavalierly. I do not want this series to end and yet will be immediately jumping in to the Rain Wild Trilogy. 

Amity & Prosperity by Eliza Griswold

 My Rating: 3.6

Stacey Haney, a lifelong resident of Amity, Pennsylvania, is struggling to support her children when the fracking boom comes to town. Like most of her neighbors, she sees the energy companies' payments as a windfall. Soon trucks are rumbling down her unpaved road and a fenced-off fracking site rises on adjacent land. But her annoyance gives way to concern and then to fear as domestic animals and pets begin dying and mysterious illnesses strike her family--despite the companies' insistence that nothing is wrong.

Similar to the Erin Brockovitch story, this brings to light all of the horrific impact that fracking has on the people. I am not a big non-fiction fan but this was well told and felt fair and impartial. As others have pointed out, there are some scientific inaccuracies which calls her work in to question. There is a LOT of details - both about the individuals (trying to build up sentiment) and the science (trying to back her case) that I felt the book could have done without. It was an important story but I am surprised that this was a Pulitzer Prize winner. 

Golden Fool The Tawny Man Trilogy Book 2 by Robin Hobb

My Rating: 4.9

Prince Dutiful has been rescued from his Piebald kidnappers and the court has resumed its normal rhythms. But for FitzChivalry Farseer, a return to isolation is impossible. Posing as Tom Badgerlock, bodyguard to Lord Golden, FitzChivalry becomes the eyes and ears behind the walls. And with his old mentor failing visibly, Fitz is forced to take on more burdens as he attempts to guide a kingdom straying closer to civil strife each day.

The problems are legion. Prince Dutiful’s betrothal to the Narcheska Elliania of the Out Islands is fraught with tension, and the Narcheska herself appears to be hiding an array of secrets. Then, amid Piebald threats and the increasing persecution of the Witted, FitzChivalry must ensure that no one betrays the Prince’s secret—a secret that could topple the Farseer throne: that he, like Fitz, possesses the dread “beast magic.”

Meanwhile, FitzChivalry must impart to the Prince his limited knowledge of the Skill: the hereditary and addictive magic of the Farseers. In the process, they discover within Buckkeep one who has a wild and powerful talent for it, and whose enmity for Fitz may have disastrous consequences for all.

Only Fitz’s enduring friendship with the Fool brings him any solace. But even that is shattered when unexpected visitors from Bingtown reveal devastating secrets from the Fool’s past. Now, bereft of support and adrift in intrigue, Fitz’s biggest challenge may be simply to survive the inescapable and violent path that fate has laid out for him.

I loved that no time had passed at all (maybe one day?) since the last book. It could have just been the same book and I was immediately immersed in the story. I loved the scenes of Fitz teaching Dutiful the Skill. I continue to feel swept away by these books as Hobb's is such a powerful story teller. I am jumping right in to the next one in the series and don't want it to ever end!