Fool's Fate (The Tawny Man, Book 3)

Fool's Fate is the third book of Robin Hobb's Tawny Man trilogy, and the ninth and concluding volume of the Fitzchivalry Farseer saga, one of the best high-fantasy series of the turn of the millennium. Fitz is the bastard son of the royal family of the Six Duchies, which he serves as assassin, guardsman, and Skill-magician. Fitz also serves the White Prophet as "Catalyst," the unique person who may enable the White Prophet to change human destiny for the better. In Fool's Fate, Fitz must accompany his kinsman, Prince Dutiful Farseer, to a distant northern island, where the prince must slay the world's last male dragon to win the hand of the Out Islands princess Elliania, the woman he loves. However, not even Elliania wants the dragon dead; why, then, does she require Dutiful to kill Icefyre? Are darker forces manipulating Elliania? Even worse, if Icefyre dies, the White Prophet foresees not only his own death, but a grim future for humankind. The prophet's only hope of changing the future is his Catalyst. --Cynthia Ward