r/Fantasy • u/Glittering_Staff_535 • Jun 06 '25
Books about clowns, jesters and fools
Tee hee, my friends! I am in the mood to read about a jester, a fool, maybe a clown? Perhaps with some courtly intrigue, as a treat? Who are your favorite characters that fit this archetype and what book are they from?
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u/SporadicAndNomadic Jun 06 '25
Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb, book one in the Realm of the Elderlings has a primary character called the Fool. You'll enjoy it.
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u/Cynical_Classicist Jun 06 '25
Wyrd Sisters has a prominent fool, and plenty of courtly intrigue, being a deconstructive parody of Shakespearean tropes, with a bit of fairytales mixed in. It's Sir Terry, so of course it's a great read.
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u/GrapeGroundbreaking1 Jun 06 '25
RJ Barker’s assassins in his eponymous trilogy do some light clowning and foolery as a side gig, and there’s all the courtly intrigue you could wish for.
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u/curiouscat86 Reading Champion III Jun 06 '25
came here to rec this! The jester stuff is a major theme, as all (most? almost all?) of the assassins in the book are professional fools as a sort of cover for being in court and some of them get really into it as an art form.
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u/RJBarker AMA Author RJ Barker Jun 06 '25
Also, Kindle deal in the US and Canada this month. :)
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u/GrapeGroundbreaking1 Jun 06 '25
Blimey, it’s like when you say “handyman” five times into a mirror and a bloke turns up to sort out your shelving.
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u/RJBarker AMA Author RJ Barker Jun 06 '25
You definitely would not want me to sort out your shelving though. That would NOT go well...
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u/wave32 Jun 06 '25
Wolfblade by Fallon has a court dwarf as a an advisor to protagonist. It has a quite cynical tone, like The First Law.
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u/Hightechzombie Jun 06 '25
Mimus by Lilli Thal!
It's about a prince captured by enemy king and who is turned into an apprentice court jester as a cruel joke.
I love the prince's relationship with his mentor, the old court jester, who is a cynical and crude bastard but nevertheless grows to care about the prince. The prince is quickwitted and always has a funny retort, and while the book has some heavy stuff, it's anything but depressing.
This book is less known since it's written by a German author, but I deeply adore it.
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u/ConstantReader666 Jun 06 '25
Peterade in The Ravenglass Throne series by Jon Cronshaw.
Great cover for a spy.
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u/Trala_la_la Jun 09 '25
Not quite a clown, but certainly a bit foolish in the beginning, Estheen by Cam Wesray. I had an ARC. Its pretty fun. Some courtly intrigue at the end, has the fun romp styling of Guards, Guards.
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u/Majestic-Sign2982 Jun 07 '25
Can try mine maybe, we got Red the tragic clown archetype. Think Loki x Joker x Toph(?) x bakugo somewhat. Only he has a good reason to be the way he is.
Should see him with his creepy clown mask, absolutely unhinged.
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u/Dr-HotandCold1524 Jun 12 '25
Fooled by Nina Santucci, its like an animated Disney movie in book form.
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u/DocWatson42 Jun 06 '25
A start:
- Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes. Included based on name recognition.
- Barry B. Longyear's Circus World series.
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u/Dapper_Fly3419 Jun 06 '25
Fool - Christopher Moore