Liveship Traders

Lore & Background

The Liveship Traders trilogy is set in the Realm of the Elderlings, specifically in Jamaillia, Bingtown and the Pirate Isles. The series features living ships constructed of magical wizardwood, which only a Liveship can brave the dangers of the Rain Wild River to trade with the Rain Wild Traders and their mysterious magical goods plundered from Elderling ruins. At one time, possession of a Liveship guaranteed a Trader family's prosperity. The first volume, Ship of Magic, was published in March 1998 by HarperCollins Voyager in the UK and simultaneously by Bantam Spectra in the US.

The second book followed in March 1999 in the UK as The Mad Ship, with a US edition titled Mad Ship one month later. The concluding volume, Ship of Destiny, was released in March 2000 in the UK and August 2000 in the US. UK covers were illustrated by John Howe; US versions were designed by Stephen Youll. Hobb explores gender through three generations of women in a patriarchal society: the rebellious sailor Althea Vestrit, who dresses as a man to work on a ship; the submissive housewife Keffria who discovers independence; and the conservative matriarch Ronica who adapts to social change.

In Ship of Destiny, Amber carves a liveship's figurehead in the likeness of FitzChivalry Farseer, revealing herself as the Fool from the Farseer trilogy.

Reader's Guide

The Liveship Traders trilogy consists of three volumes: Ship of Magic (March 1998), The Mad Ship/Mad Ship (March 1999 UK/April 1999 US), and Ship of Destiny (March 2000 UK/August 2000 US). The series was stylized as The Liveship Traders and also as the Liveship Traders. All first editions were hardcovers. Several critics regard it as Hobb's best work.

Author Orson Scott Card described it as his favorite work by Hobb, feeling she 'arguably set the standard for the modern serious fantasy novel'. Booklist regarded the series as 'probably the best fantasy trilogy of the past decade and a prospective fantasy classic'. Publishers Weekly held it was 'one of the finest fantasy sagas to bridge the millennium'. Critic Don D'Ammassa called it 'certainly her best work to date' in a 2006 survey, and The Weekend Australian echoed this view in 2009.

Praise was directed at Hobb's character development: Interzone's Chris Gilmore lauded how characters 'come alive' with strengths and flaws, praising the conflict between Kennit and his mate in Ship of Magic as 'the finest aspect of an exceptional book'. Strange Horizons's Stephanie Dray wrote that Kennit was 'one of the most captivating villains of all time'. The New Statesman remarked on 'striking portraits of three generations of women'. Dray described the series as 'revolutionary nautical fantasy'.

The plot was described by D'Ammassa as 'engaging and exciting'. Gilmore found the first book's plot 'complex but tightly controlled' but the ending abrupt. Kirkus faulted Ship of Magic for 'bloat, irresolution, logorrhea, and brake failure' and criticized the second book for casting aside control, while Gilmore conversely found it constructed with 'exceptional skill'.

Did You Know?

• Scholar Sylvia Borowska-Szerszun notes that Hobb's narrative focuses on the psychological aspects of trauma, including that arising from violence and rape, unlike George R. R. Martin's focus on brutality.
• The New Statesman wrote that despite its medieval setting, the series' themes of slavery, political upheaval and gender equality echoed in the modern world.