Golden fool: book two of the tawny man trilogy - robin hobb

As good as gold .

Golden Fool proves again that Hobb is one of the best in the business.

-- Monroe News-Star Fitz and the Fool continue their quest as new challenges beset their land and threaten the ruling family in this page-turning treat ( Romantic Times, four stars).

Prince Dutiful has been rescued from his Piebald kidnappers and the court has resumed its normal rhythms.

There, FitzChivalry Farseer, gutted by the loss of his wolf bondmate, must take up residence at Buckkeep as a journeyman assassin.

Posing as a bodyguard, Fitz becomes the eyes and ears behind the walls, guiding a kingdom straying closer to civil strife each day.

Amid a multitude of problems, Fitz must ensure that no one betrays the Princes secret: that he, like Fitz, possesses the dread Beast Magic.

Only Fitzs friendship with the Fool brings him solace.

But even that is shattered when devastating revelations from the Fools past are exposed.

Bereft of support and adrift in intrigue, Fitz finds that his biggest challenge may be simply to survive.