
Fool's Assassin
Fitz and the Fool, Book 1
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed

Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $47.91
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Lee Maxwell-Simpson
-
Avita Jay
-
By:
-
Robin Hobb
About this listen
'Fantasy as it ought to be written' GEORGE R.R. MARTIN
Tom Badgerlock has been living peaceably in the manor house at Withywoods with his beloved wife Molly these many years, the estate a reward to his family for loyal service to the crown.
But behind the facade of respectable middle-age lies a turbulent and violent past. For Tom Badgerlock is actually FitzChivalry Farseer, bastard scion of the Farseer line, convicted user of Beast-magic, and assassin. A man who has risked much for his king and lost more…
On a shelf in his den sits a triptych carved in memory stone of a man, a wolf and a fool. Once, these three were inseparable friends: Fitz, Nighteyes and the Fool. But one is long dead, and one long-missing.
Then one Winterfest night a messenger arrives to seek out Fitz, but mysteriously disappears, leaving nothing but a blood-trail. What was the message? Who was the sender? And what has happened to the messenger?
Suddenly Fitz's violent old life erupts into the peace of his new world, and nothing and no one is safe.
©2015 Robin Hobb (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers LimitedListeners also enjoyed...
-
Shaman's Crossing, Book One of the Soldier Son Trilogy
- By: Robin Hobb
- Narrated by: John Keating
- Length: 24 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hugo and Nebula Award finalist Robin Hobb crafts intricate fantasy tales featuring larger-than-life characters and exotic landscapes. Nevare Burvelle survives the King’s Cavalla Academy—where nepotism and corruption reign—to become a soldier in the Gernian king’s army. As he and his fellow soldiers are thrust onto the front lines of the king’s brutal territorial expansion campaign, they struggle against the Plainspeople—forest-dwellers who possess a powerful magic long dismissed by the Gernians.
-
-
Sometimes Magic Isn't A Good Thing
- By Therese M. Woolley on 10-18-13
By: Robin Hobb
-
Gardens of the Moon
- The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 1
- By: Steven Erikson
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 26 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting and bloody confrontations with the formidable Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii, ancient and implacable sorcerers. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen's rule remains absolute, enforced by her dread Claw assassins.
-
-
An engrossing yet demanding high epic
- By Adnan on 11-20-12
By: Steven Erikson
-
The Name of the Wind
- Kingkiller Chronicle, Book 1
- By: Patrick Rothfuss
- Narrated by: Nick Podehl
- Length: 27 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a tale of sorrow, a tale of survival, a tale of one man's search for meaning in his universe, and how that search, and the indomitable will that drove it, gave birth to a legend.
-
-
Not sure why the reviews are so polar opposite.
- By Aaron Altman on 06-28-09
By: Patrick Rothfuss
-
Defiance of the Fall
- A LitRPG Adventure
- By: TheFirstDefier, JF Brink
- Narrated by: Pavi Proczko
- Length: 23 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Zac was alone in the middle of the forest when the world changed... The whole planet was introduced to the multiverse by an unfeeling System... or God. A universe where an endless number of races and civilizations fought for power and dominion. Zac finds himself stuck in the wilderness surrounded by deadly beasts, demons, and worse. Alone, lost and without answers, he must find the means to survive and get stronger in this new cut-throat reality.
-
-
Stick with it, you won’t be disappointed
- By Clay on 06-14-21
By: TheFirstDefier, and others
-
The Blade Itself
- By: Joe Abercrombie
- Narrated by: Steven Pacey
- Length: 22 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he's on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian - leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies. Nobleman, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, Captain Jezal dan Luthar has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules.
-
-
Characters drive the story. The Narrator rocks!
- By Brian Alsobrook on 11-01-16
By: Joe Abercrombie
-
The Dragonbone Chair
- Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Book One
- By: Tad Williams
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
- Length: 33 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A war fueled by the dark powers of sorcery is about to engulf the peaceful land of Osten Ard—for Prester John, the High King, slayer of the dread dragon Shurakai, lies dying. And with his death, an ancient evil will at last be unleashed, as the Storm King, undead ruler of the elvishlike Siti, seeks to regain his lost realm through a pact with one of human royal blood. Then, driven by spell-inspired jealousy and hate, prince will fight prince, while around them the very land begins to die.
-
-
A Work of art
- By Andre on 10-22-16
By: Tad Williams
-
Shaman's Crossing, Book One of the Soldier Son Trilogy
- By: Robin Hobb
- Narrated by: John Keating
- Length: 24 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Hugo and Nebula Award finalist Robin Hobb crafts intricate fantasy tales featuring larger-than-life characters and exotic landscapes. Nevare Burvelle survives the King’s Cavalla Academy—where nepotism and corruption reign—to become a soldier in the Gernian king’s army. As he and his fellow soldiers are thrust onto the front lines of the king’s brutal territorial expansion campaign, they struggle against the Plainspeople—forest-dwellers who possess a powerful magic long dismissed by the Gernians.
-
-
Sometimes Magic Isn't A Good Thing
- By Therese M. Woolley on 10-18-13
By: Robin Hobb
-
Gardens of the Moon
- The Malazan Book of the Fallen, Book 1
- By: Steven Erikson
- Narrated by: Ralph Lister
- Length: 26 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Malazan Empire simmers with discontent, bled dry by interminable warfare, bitter infighting and bloody confrontations with the formidable Anomander Rake and his Tiste Andii, ancient and implacable sorcerers. Even the imperial legions, long inured to the bloodshed, yearn for some respite. Yet Empress Laseen's rule remains absolute, enforced by her dread Claw assassins.
-
-
An engrossing yet demanding high epic
- By Adnan on 11-20-12
By: Steven Erikson
-
The Name of the Wind
- Kingkiller Chronicle, Book 1
- By: Patrick Rothfuss
- Narrated by: Nick Podehl
- Length: 27 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is a tale of sorrow, a tale of survival, a tale of one man's search for meaning in his universe, and how that search, and the indomitable will that drove it, gave birth to a legend.
-
-
Not sure why the reviews are so polar opposite.
- By Aaron Altman on 06-28-09
By: Patrick Rothfuss
-
Defiance of the Fall
- A LitRPG Adventure
- By: TheFirstDefier, JF Brink
- Narrated by: Pavi Proczko
- Length: 23 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Zac was alone in the middle of the forest when the world changed... The whole planet was introduced to the multiverse by an unfeeling System... or God. A universe where an endless number of races and civilizations fought for power and dominion. Zac finds himself stuck in the wilderness surrounded by deadly beasts, demons, and worse. Alone, lost and without answers, he must find the means to survive and get stronger in this new cut-throat reality.
-
-
Stick with it, you won’t be disappointed
- By Clay on 06-14-21
By: TheFirstDefier, and others
-
The Blade Itself
- By: Joe Abercrombie
- Narrated by: Steven Pacey
- Length: 22 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Logen Ninefingers, infamous barbarian, has finally run out of luck. Caught in one feud too many, he's on the verge of becoming a dead barbarian - leaving nothing behind him but bad songs, dead friends, and a lot of happy enemies. Nobleman, dashing officer, and paragon of selfishness, Captain Jezal dan Luthar has nothing more dangerous in mind than fleecing his friends at cards and dreaming of glory in the fencing circle. But war is brewing, and on the battlefields of the frozen North they fight by altogether bloodier rules.
-
-
Characters drive the story. The Narrator rocks!
- By Brian Alsobrook on 11-01-16
By: Joe Abercrombie
-
The Dragonbone Chair
- Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, Book One
- By: Tad Williams
- Narrated by: Andrew Wincott
- Length: 33 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A war fueled by the dark powers of sorcery is about to engulf the peaceful land of Osten Ard—for Prester John, the High King, slayer of the dread dragon Shurakai, lies dying. And with his death, an ancient evil will at last be unleashed, as the Storm King, undead ruler of the elvishlike Siti, seeks to regain his lost realm through a pact with one of human royal blood. Then, driven by spell-inspired jealousy and hate, prince will fight prince, while around them the very land begins to die.
-
-
A Work of art
- By Andre on 10-22-16
By: Tad Williams
-
Red Rising
- By: Pierce Brown
- Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
- Length: 16 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations. Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children. But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet.
-
-
HUMANS ARE ALWAY NEGOTIATING,
- By Jim "The Impatient" on 01-30-15
By: Pierce Brown
-
Nolyn
- The Rise and Fall, Book 1
- By: Michael J. Sullivan
- Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds, Michael J. Sullivan, Robin Sullivan
- Length: 13 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
After more than 500 years of exile, the heir to the empyre is wary about his sudden reassignment to active duty on the Goblin War’s front lines. His mission to rescue an outpost leads to a dead-end canyon deep inside enemy territory, and his suspicion turns to dread when he discovers the stronghold doesn't exist.
-
-
What are you doing Michael?
- By Hotel Hero on 08-09-21
-
The Shadow of What Was Lost
- Licanius, Book 1
- By: James Islington
- Narrated by: Michael Kramer
- Length: 25 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It has been 20 years since the end of the war. The dictatorial Augurs, once thought of almost as gods, were overthrown and wiped out during the conflict, their much-feared powers mysteriously failing them. Those who had ruled under them, men and women with a lesser ability known as the Gift, avoided the Augurs' fate only by submitting themselves to the rebellion's Four Tenets.
-
-
Atrocious. Almost abusive.
- By Captain Spanky Of Nazareth on 06-10-20
By: James Islington
-
Of Blood and Fire
- The Bound and the Broken, Book 1
- By: Ryan Cahill
- Narrated by: Derek Perkins
- Length: 16 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Epheria is a land divided by war and mistrust. The High Lords of the South squabble and fight, only kept in check by the Dragonguard, traitors of a time long past, who serve the empire of the North. In the remote villages of Southern Epheria, still reeling from the tragic loss of his brother, Calen Bryer prepares for The Proving - a test of courage and skill that not all survive. But when three strangers arrive in the village of Milltown, with a secret they are willing to die for, Calen’s world is ripped from under him and he is thrust headfirst into a war.
-
-
Didn’t expect a “grow up power fantasy”
- By Mike Thomas on 07-23-22
By: Ryan Cahill
-
The Lies of Locke Lamora
- Gentleman Bastard, Book 1
- By: Scott Lynch
- Narrated by: Michael Page
- Length: 22 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
An orphan’s life is harsh - and often short - in the mysterious island city of Camorr. But young Locke Lamora dodges death and slavery, becoming a thief under the tutelage of a gifted con artist. As leader of the band of light-fingered brothers known as the Gentleman Bastards, Locke is soon infamous, fooling even the underworld’s most feared ruler. But in the shadows lurks someone still more ambitious and deadly. Faced with a bloody coup that threatens to destroy everyone and everything that holds meaning in his mercenary life, Locke vows to beat the enemy at his own brutal game.
-
-
Narrator is a bit too much
- By Brandon Yapel on 03-02-20
By: Scott Lynch
-
Best Served Cold
- By: Joe Abercrombie
- Narrated by: Steven Pacey
- Length: 26 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There have been 19 years of blood. The ruthless Grand Duke Orso is locked in a vicious struggle with the squabbling League of Eight, and between them they have bled the land white. While armies march, heads roll and cities burn, and behind the scenes bankers, priests, and older, darker powers play a deadly game to choose who will be king.
-
-
Who Cares?
- By Shark Likes on 02-17-18
By: Joe Abercrombie
-
The Hallowed Hunt
- By: Lois McMaster Bujold
- Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin
- Length: 16 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The half-mad Prince Boleso has been slain by a noblewoman he had intended to defile. It falls to Lord Ingrey kin Wilfcliff to transport the prince to his burial place and to bring the accused killer, Lady Ijada, to judgment. The road he travels with his burden and his prisoner is fraught with danger. But in the midst of political chaos, magic has the fiercer hold on Ingrey's destiny, and Ijada herself may turn out to be the only one he dares trust.
-
-
Extremely disappointing
- By Loren on 10-12-12
-
First King of Shannara
- The Shannara Series, Prequel
- By: Terry Brooks
- Narrated by: Scott Brick
- Length: 19 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this prequel to The Sword of Shannara, in which many details of the Four Lands' history are revealed, Druids, horrified by the misuse of magic, have eschewed it in favor of science. But Bremen the Druid studies magic, and becomes an outcast on its account. Bremen discovers that an invincible army of trolls are fast conquering all that lay to their south. Before them come the Nazgul-like Skull Bearers, disfigured and transformed Druids who have fallen prey to the dark arts.
-
-
A True Pleasure
- By K & L MITCHELL on 08-23-08
By: Terry Brooks
-
Malice
- By: John Gwynne
- Narrated by: Damian Lynch
- Length: 23 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Banished Lands has a violent past where armies of men and giants clashed in battle, but now giants are seen, the stones weep blood, and giant wyrms are stirring. Those who can still read the signs see a threat far greater than the ancient wars. For if the Black Sun gains ascendancy, mankind's hopes and dreams will fall to dust....
-
-
This Book...
- By Amazon customer on 03-21-20
By: John Gwynne
-
The Cycle of Arawn
- The Complete Trilogy
- By: Edward W. Robertson
- Narrated by: Tim Gerard Reynolds
- Length: 65 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The White Tree (book one): In Mallon the dark magic of the nether has been banned for centuries. Its users have been driven out or killed. Its secrets lost. But the holy book of the nethermancers has just been found by a boy named Dante. As he works to unlock the book's power, he's attacked in the street. The nethermancers aren't gone—and they want their book back. Caught between death cultists and the law, Dante fights for his life, aided by his growing skills and a brash bodyguard named Blays.
-
-
In Response to the Criticism from Other Reviewers
- By Jonah on 06-11-17
-
New Spring
- The Wheel of Time Prequel
- By: Robert Jordan
- Narrated by: Kate Reading, Michael Kramer
- Length: 12 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
For three days battle has raged in the snow around the great city of Tar Valon. In the city, a foretelling of the future is uttered. On the slopes of Dragonmount, the immense mountain that looms over the city, a child is born, an infant prophesied to change the world. That child must be found before he can be killed by the forces of the Shadow.
-
-
Read it after reading others in the series
- By Stacy Fair on 12-13-07
By: Robert Jordan
-
The Dragon's Blade
- The Reborn King
- By: Michael R. Miller
- Narrated by: Dave Cruse
- Length: 13 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Dragons once soared in the skies, but that was before the Transformation, before they took human form. Now, demonic forces stand to obliterate them. When left mortally wounded, Darnuir, the Prince of Dragons, can only be saved through a dangerous rebirthing spell. He is left as a babe in human hands. Twenty years later, Darnuir is of age to wield the Dragon's Blade. As the last member of his bloodline, he is the only one who can. He is plunged into a role he is not prepared for, to lead a people he does not know.
-
-
Awesome listen!
- By superstardrifter on 02-12-17
Critic reviews
'Hobb is superb, spinning wonderful characters and plots from pure imagination' Conn Iggulden
'Hobb is one of the great modern fantasy writers… what makes her novels as addictive as morphine is not just their imaginative brilliance but the way her characters are compromised and manipulated by politics' The Times
‘Robin Hobb is without question among the two or three finest writers of fantasy working today’ 5 stars for Fool’s Assassin, SFX
‘Fantasy writers don’t come much bigger than Robin Hobb’ Independent
The story is slow burn but like the first book of all Hobbs trilogy is sets the stakes and has plenty of twists and turns to keep you guessing.
I'll probably choose to read the text for the rest of this trilogy but that's not a reflection on Hobbs work, just my preference. I can't un-hear Nicolas Taylor's voice for Fitz's character
Robin Hobbs work is let down by her Narrators
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Utterly brilliant
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great book, but a bad voice actor
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
That and in all honesty this is by far my most un-enjoyed book by Robin Hobb. Perhaps it’s a slow start because I’ve only gotten through about half but the story is incredibly boring and all the hinted at sub plots so far are painfully transparent whilst purporting to carry mystery.
Absolutely trash voice acting.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.