Life is doing its best to heap up on Fitz when he is trying to keep as low a profile as he can in his new position as the man-servant of Lord Golden. Of course, being a servant is just a facade for the former assassins to be able to move in the Buckkeep cast unnoticed, but besides his newfound entanglement in the politics of the real, his personal life is serving problems as well. Not only does the looming engagement of Prince Dutiful and Elliana keep him and Chad occupied, but Fitz also has problems with his old friend Fool, his adopted son Hap and on top of that, he is still grieving the passing of his wolf companion Nighteyes. Not to mention his newfound secret position as the Skill master, who has to teach the principles of magic to the Prince.
As you'd expect from a middle part of a trilogy, the plot keeps thickening. While some old mysteries are solved, new ones are laid open for the inevitable conclusion. The Pieblad rebels, a violent group of Wit fielding people who tried to kidnap Dutiful in the 1st book, are still a looming threat and an obstacle in Kettricken's attempts of reconciling the relationships between normal people and those who can use animal magic. The engagement of the Prince and Elliana seems to be influenced by some mysterious force, that has plans of their own for the young couple. And Fitz is trying his best to keep Nettle, his daughter, out of the grasp of the schemes of the land. While he is a bastard, his daughter is a possible heir if something would happen to both Queen Kettricken and her son Prince Dutiful. He would prefer her to live her life in peace, but it isn't helping that she too has Skill.
So, with this setup, the story of the Tawny Man trilogy flows on. While his personal issues are pressing on, three matters of state take precedence on Fitz's attention. The 1st is obviously the new betrothed-to-be, Elliana. The more Fitz and Chade spy on her and the islanders, the more mysterious the situation turns. Who exactly is the mysterious woman they refer to? Is the proposed marriage even binding? What is the end goal?
Then there's the Wit of the Prince. Dutiful is more than keen to learn more of the forbidden animal magic, but he also has the Skill. Chade and Fitz both agree, that learning Skill is more important and With should be left on the backside. It doesn't help that there's a low noble in the court who is also witted, but his family also had a hand in the Prince's kidnapping, so the question is, can he be trusted?
And lastly, the Pieblad rebels have been alarmingly silent, but Fitz knows they are around, lurking in the shadows. the question just is, what are they aiming to do, when are they going to do it, and for whom they are going to do it.
As with many middle parts, Golden Fool feels like a heavy setup for the conclusion of the trilogy. It seemingly ties up some plot points, while leaving room for more and adds some new players to the table, like openly witted members of the court who arrive after Kettricken makes clear, that the animosity will have to come to an end.
Fitz's Skill magic also grows, thanks to a near-death experience, during which he is healed by a ragtag Skill group he has gathered around the Prince. In fact, they do so good a job at healing him, that even the old scars he suffered from his childhood abuse and the Red Ship war melt away. This leads Fitz to alter his appearance with Skill, adding some scars and a broken nose, in order to look more like how he has for the past 15 years, but those are just superficial wounds anymore, internally he is almost a new man.
The finale kickoff is also set. Elliana challenges Durtiful to bring her the head of a frozen dragon. This ancient dragon is said to reside on one of the islands, so that's where the 3rd book will take us. Then there's also a question of a blue dragon, that has heard of the possible existence of another one. And with that, the path to the last book is somewhat clear.
While Gold Fool is a well-written book, it does idle a bit at times. It suffers from a 2nd part problem, where it is solving some things, but clearly saving others so that there would be enough intrigue in the last part. It also succumbs to overexplaining some aspects, which may come out as repetition and padding.
That said, Golden Fool offers a solid springboard for the finale. There are still some unknown aspects in the story, like the mysterious Woman and the dragons and so on, but otherwise, the gameboard is now set for the Fool's Fate.
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