Liveship Traders – Ahoy, Magic Ho!

I often find myself in a place of contention as I sit in many social circles around fantasy and discuss favorite books. This is because I think the Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb is…fine. These books are often cited as readers’ favorite fantasy books of all time, and I didn’t resonate with them that strongly. I can think of a lot of things I liked about the first Elderling trilogy (The Farseer Trilogy), but I also thought the pacing had huge issues, the characters were inconsistent, and the plot went nowhere. However, given Hobb’s consistent praise, it has always been on my to-do list to check out some of her other books to delve further into her bibliography and see if my issues were just with that first trilogy. After having devoured the entire Liveships Traders series in a single month, I can safely say the issue is probably that I just don’t love Fitz.

Liveship Traders is a deeply whimsical and emotional story about a number of trader families who live in an independent city-state and sail the world on ships that are alive. The ships are made out of a mysterious and incalculably rare substance called Wizardwood, which allows them to quicken and come to life over generations of work on their decks. Families live and die on their liveships, gifting them their memories, personality, and essence in order to bring them to life. Our story follows a number of POVs but is mostly centered around numerous members of the Vestrit family. Once a well-to-do family in Bingtown, the Vestrits have fallen on hard times due to a number of business issues that have plagued the family. Each member of the family is engaged in different plans to right the family’s luck, and we follow a number of their escapades and the resulting fallout over the course of the three books.

Simultaneously, there is a new pirate king on the rise. A new charismatic captain is trying to achieve what has never been achieved before: organizing the disparate and unruly pirates that plague the seas into a single coherent force. If he can do so, it will spell doom and disaster for all that sails her waves. Last but not least, Bingtown might be a city-state, but it is a vassal to a greater empire, and they have decided to raise taxes to serious levels. With so many players in the big, wide ocean, who knows who will come out on top of this political melee?

Where to start? These books are masterpieces and have quickly become some of my favorite books of all time. My one complaint is that the pace can sometimes feel glacial, but even there, it serves to enhance the slow-burning style of the character arcs of the enormous and rich cast. There are so many incredible characters in this story, each with their own personal and beautiful arcs that are incredibly satisfying to read. The headliners (in my mind) are the three generations of women in the Vestrit family. The women of the series offer defiant and prismatic takes on femininity as they explore their places in a patriarchal society that is holding them back.

Althea Vestrit is the darling of the narrative, arguably the most central POV, and likely the most iconic character, as she dresses as a man to work on a ship. She refutes any and all gender stereotypes and takes on a man’s role in this world with aspirations of proving she can do anything. Her struggles to learn how to be true to herself and fit into a greater society are filled with insightful moments and have become a mainstay trope in modern fantasy. Then we have Ronica, Althea’s mother, the traditional matriarch who must find a new role after the death of her husband. Defined for so long by her position relative to her male partner, she must ride the waves of social change and find a way to keep from drowning. Finally, my favorite, Malta Vestrit, is a young woman defined by the “girls are good” archetype. Youthful, beautiful, clever, and charismatic, Malta has all the makings of the most eligible bachelorette in all of Bingtown. She has placed herself at the center of traditional femininity in the world and has made these elements work for her. She is also completely insufferable. Malta’s journey with her relationship with femininity offers incredible insights into the dangers of those who do fit into a flawed system, and her reckoning with her own purpose and identity is one of the best character arcs I have read.

These are only three of about twelve main character POVs, each with the same amount of loving detail and exploration shown to them across the course of all three books. The character work on display at all times is exceptional. While I will admit that this was still true in The Farseer Trilogy, the major difference here is that I actually care about the characters in this book and have a general desire to learn what happens to them. Even the minor side characters are stuffed to the brim with mystery and excitement. I was consistently impressed by Hobb’s ability to give even the smallest bit player their time in the spotlight, often to impressive effect and high levels of agency within the story. The entire series kept me glued to my seat, wondering what was going to happen next, where everyone’s story was going to go, despite its extremely slow pace.

Mystery is a tentpole identity of the series as well, with almost every element of the worldbuilding shrouded in obscuring whimsy. This is a low information setting where people are going about their lives just trying to make the best of things with very little knowledge. The truths of the world unfold slowly and have deep-standing implications for the personal struggles of the characters. This achieves a synchronous theme execution between the worldbuilding and the character identities, which elevates the series above its peers. The entire thing just works on a truly magical level of interwovenness. Unsurprisingly, the entire series feels like one 1000+ page book more than three distinct stories. The endings of the first two books in the trilogy feel borderline arbitrary, and I feel as if the best way to read this series is all at once.

The writing is beautiful, the plot is engrossing, the characters are real, and the themes are evocative. Liveship Traders is a series that excels in every possible measurable metric I can think of for a successful story. So much so that it sets new standards around a number of character arcs that it explores in wondrous detail. I see the hype with Robin Hobb now, having read this second trilogy. I suspect that because Hobb is so good at getting to the deep kernels of truth that underpin characters’ identities, your mileage may vary depending on how invested and interested you are in her specific characters. All I know is that I have seen enough to continue on with the rest of her stories.

Rating:
Ship of Magic – 9.5/10
Mad Ship – 10/10
Ship of Destiny – 9.5/10
-Andrew