“The Liveship Traders:” Fantasy At Its Finest

Magic talking ships are a hard sell for a fantasy series. Paired with the task of following up the incredible “Farseer Trilogy,” even Robin Hobb’s most trusted fans are likely to pick up “The Liveship Traders” with some cautious skepticism. Hobb makes ambitious shifts with the seafaring second trilogy of the 16-book “Realm of the Elderlings” series. The cast is completely new and far removed from the first trilogy by geography and relationships. Gone is the first-person point of view, replaced by third-person shared among 14 characters. It seems like Hobb leaves her readers lost at sea as they plunge into the trilogy’s first book. However, once readers learn to navigate the new characters, creatures, and locations, they are likely to discover some of the most enchanting writing in the fantasy genre. “The Liveship Traders” trilogy is fantasy at its finest, surpassing even “The Farseer Trilogy.”

“The Liveship Traders” follows the Vestrits, a family residing in the trading city of Bingtown. The Vestrits belong to the Bingtown Traders, the original settlers of Bingtown skilled in trade and negotiation. Trader families own liveships, ships with living figureheads infused with the memories of family members who die on board. 

After Ephron Vestrit, head of the Vestrit household, dies, the Vestrits are faced with the inheritance of the liveship Vivacia. Ephron’s beloved and adventurous daughter Althea believes she will inherit Vivacia, until her venomous brother-in-law Kyle Haven is granted control over the ship and its trading voyages. Kyle sets out with his unwilling son and priest-in-training, Wintrow, to deal in the slave trade and bring prosperity to the Vestrit household. Althea, joined by her former shipmate Brashen Trell, sets out to sea to prove her mettle and win back the Vivacia. However, the sea proves more dangerous than the characters anticipate. Serpents lurk beneath the waves and pirates above them. Among the pirates, one ensures all the characters’ plans go awry. The villainous but charming Captain Kennit vows to become the king of the Pirate Isles and to seize a liveship of his own. 

As usual, Hobb’s characters are her biggest strength. While each character in “The Liveship Traders” is a gem in their own right, Kennit stands out as simultaneously compelling and detestable. His actions dramatically alter the narrative’s direction as he climbs to power and crosses paths with other characters. And while Hobb doesn’t shy away from Kennit’s disgusting actions, she manages to garner sympathy for him as the reader learns more about his past. These conflicting character evaluations apply to the series’ entire cast. Hobb ensures that readers will be frustrated with a character in one moment and cheering them on in another. These frustrations are realistic and often uncomfortable humanizations of the characters. Although it’s easy to criticize the characters’ many shortcomings, Hobb prompts readers to recognize the same in themselves. Althea’s stubbornness and her niece Malta’s selfishness are undeniable weaknesses, but how they overcome them by the end of the series creates an immensely satisfying reading experience. Each character arc also expertly weaves into the world’s precarious politics and lore, creating a sense of agency and multiple satisfying full-circle moments. 

As the characters grow or regress throughout the narrative, Hobb also explores questions of personal autonomy in an extremely nuanced manner. Each character faces external and internal challenges to their identity. Characters like Kennit are haunted by their past, while characters like Wintrow question their calling and destiny. How the characters choose to cope with their sense of self speaks to Hobb’s explorations of what it means to be an autonomous being. Characters have their bodily and mental integrity violated, but the beauty of Hobb’s messaging lies in how they succeed or fail at perseverance. Someone isn’t defined by what others do or believe about them. The self can only be defined by the self, and nothing and no one can ever take that from someone. Hobb explores this most profoundly through the liveships, ships built and infused with human memories but desirous of their own identity. Are these talking ships objects? Creatures? Humans? Hobb provides insightful answers to these questions as the characters, liveships, and even serpents grow into their best or worst selves. 

Revealing anything more about “The Liveship Traders” would be robbing readers of a sublime reading experience. Hobb’s writing is simply some of the most entertaining and thought-provoking in the genre. While the series may start slow and introduce a multitude of characters, readers who choose to brave the unfamiliar waters of “The Liveship Traders” will discover treasure unlike anything else: pure magic in novel form.

Benjamin Alvarez is the News Editor/Arts & Culture writer for The Triton.