– Althea Vestrit, who was going to stay aboard Vivacia, her Liveship, before her father died and left it to her older sister, who gave it to her brother-in-law motherfucking Kyle. And the things that those villains have done to what are a bunch of children, mostly Kyle, is deplorable. This may not seem like a lot, but they take up a lot of book time. Kyle could be anyone you know, and you wouldn’t even know it because he hides it from the people he doesn’t want to see that side of him.

He is the best villain I’ve ever read simply because he is so realistic. Nope, we meet Kennit, would be Pirate King, and Asshole Supreme.

And not one of those sexy, good guy pirates who ladies swoon over. From the very first chapter we read, we are met with a pirate. Liveship Traders is absolutely filled with villains. Hobb, why you do this to me? The cast is also, in large, a bunch of teenager and young adults. And I love them, and I want the best for them. You could definitely skip this, but I think you would miss a lot of nuance.Īs always with Robin Hobb, Liveship Traders is about the people much more than it is about the story. I would argue you do need to read Liveship Traders before reading Tawny Man, however. In fact, you would never know it was part of a larger world if you weren’t told by someone else going in. Yet you don’t have to read the Farseer trilogy to understand this. It follows up a few years after the Farseer trilogy, with a new cast of characters. When starting Ship of Magic, I immediately knew Liveship Traders was going to be an instant-favourite. The Vestrit family is one of these Trader families, and their ship Vivacia is just awakened. This is because they have Liveships, ships that awaken when three generations have died aboard their vessel and are the only thing to survive the waters of the Rain River. And only Bingtown Traders are allowed to trade with the Rain Wilds, which is a source of magical items. Sequel Series: Tawny Man, Rain Wild Chronicles, The Fitz and the Fool Blurb:īingtown sits on the edge of the Rain Wilds, at the mouth of the Rain River, a caustic and unwelcoming river if ever there was one. Genres: fantasy, epic fantasy, high fantasy, sea-faring

Dragon Essence by Niamh Murphy