Need an Escape From Reality?

Need an Escape From Reality?

Try Robin Hobb’s Masterful Series The Liveship Traders

Pirates, family schemes, and secretive cultures.

Wealthy traders, magical wood, and ships that can not only talk, but speed you faster toward your target- or oppose it, for that matter.

Whether you’re a humble apprentice of a pottery maker, a deckhand of the Reaper, or a wandering disciple of Sa, this is all you know of the peculiar Bingtown Traders. Their reputation is known by all, but their ways are kept hidden to all but their families… and their most generous benefactors.

With connections all along the Cursed Shores- and even up the Rain Wild River- the Bingtown Traders owe all their fame and fortune to their ships. A Trader wouldn’t trade you an ounce of it for five bars of gold. A Trader wouldn’t trade you an ounce of it for twenty casks of spices all the way from Jamaillia. A Trader… simply wouldn’t trade it. Send them hundreds of your best lumber from your private farm, and they’d refuse it without hesitation. For they have something much, much better. Wood from the Rain Wild Traders themselves. Wood that has been wrought into ships that can travel up the rapid, acidic current of the Rain Wild River.

Ships that can outrun the most skillful pirates.

Ships that can transport your precious goods through the Pirate Isles.

Ships…

…made of wizardwood.

Wizardwood, which transforms the figurehead of a ship into a living, breathing being to guide the course and share friendship with the captain and his crew.

Such a valuable asset; a possession coveted by the Bingtown Traders. But possessions can be stolen.

No, Kennit’s not mad; he’s just got bigger ambitions than any other pirate, and a suave disposition to match it. From the very beginning of what we learn of him he’s already searching for fabled treasure on a far-away island. And yet, he still proves himself to be intelligent and surprisingly non-cliché.

And as experienced and savvy as Kennit is, the exact opposite could be said for the younger members of the Vestrit and Haven family, arguably the most well-known- if not the most prosperous- of the Bingtown Trader families.

The ones with the strongest ties to the Rain Wild Traders.

The ones with a liveship that could soon quicken from the all-too-possible death of the ailing Ephron Vestrit, and become the swiftest liveship of them all.

And Kennit is still only an unknown threat beyond the horizon.

As unknown as the serpents which glide through the depths, riding on the currents of destiny.

The current problems…

…are at home.

As the situation of the family becomes more and more precarious due to unpaid debts, members within the family begin to take matters into their own hands to solve the family’s plight. But even with these intentions- as evidenced by such as Kyle Haven- ethics may become of a… lesser priority. Certainly the good of the family justifies enslavement of your own son, does it not?

And that is only the beginning. The Liveship Traders is a remarkably original and intelligent story; enough to to whisk you away on a journey filled with high-risk adventure, engaging dialogue, dangerous pirates, believable characters, and a whole lot more. It is the second (of many, many more) series of renowned fantasy author Robin Hobb, the first being the equally amazing yet entirely different Farseer Trilogy. It is entirely the reader’s preference on where to begin, as the only similarity between the two trilogies is that they take place in the same world. Each has entirely different stories and characters. So if you want an escape from reality or are simply looking for a great fictional story to dive into (or both!) check out the universe of Robin Hobb! Don’t expect a twist and turn on every page, but at the same time, know that everything is happening for a reason….