The Liveship Traders Trilogy by Robin Hobb is truly a swash-buckling fantasy of epic proportions. Robin takes fantasy in a new direction with a nautical/pirate theme and she pulls it off well.

The trilogy centers around the Vestrit family of Bingtown, a trading city on the edge of a great social change. Bingtown society is very proper and structure, but their quasi-ruler in Jamillia isn’t honoring their age-old agreement.  Of course, secrets abound in Bingtown and their relationship with the mystical Rain Wild Traders, especially concerning the liveships — speaking and sentient ships which are the secret for Bingtown Traders’ success in trading with the world.

Bingtown and other settings in the series are all mentioned in Hobb’s previous The Farseer Trilogy, but this isn’t really a sequel — really just taking place in a different part of the same world.  A few things are mentioned in this trilogy about the previous one, but that takes little away from this story.

I’ll admit that I had a hard time making it through the first book, Ship of Magic .  I thought the first 1/3-1/2 of the book got really long.  It made it more difficult that you knew how it was going to end, but you just didn’t know how it was going to get there.  This gets a lot better in the last half because you see that the pieces are in place and you ride on the edge of your seat until the very end.

You sit on the edge of your seat through the next two books — Mad Ship and Ship of Destiny . I’ve heard that it is said that, in a fantasy trilogy, the second book is the weakest one.  But in the trilogy I think that it’s the best one.  Hobb introduces more characters and all of them are interested. We see tons of action and character development.  The third book is also very, very good.

Do I recommend it?  Yes, wholeheartedly to any Fantasy fan.  Once you make it through the first book, the rest is easy.  It’s a great series — 4.5 out of 5 stars!