I was so in love with Fitz’s story in the Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb that this second trilogy in her world took me a while to get into since it is set in a different country with a whole new set of characters with different cultures and mythologies.
The Liveship traders own ships made of a special type of wood that over time (generations) builds up sentience and a strong connection with the family who ‘owns’ it (the implications of ‘owning’ a sentient being are explored in the novels with people’s perceptions changing as understanding grows). The Liveships take on the memories and a mishmash of the personalities of the owners who have lived and died on their ships as well as their own mysterious memories and instinctual knowledge in a way that is similar to both Fitz’s witt and skill (telepathy with animals and with humans) from the first series although those magical traits do not form part of this series.
The series mostly follows the fortunes of three young members of a liveship family – all in their own way trying to run away from parental/societal control – trying to find their own way in the world and not be forced into paths not of their choosing, although they all discover that their destiny is inexplicably tied up with the liveships and unravelling the mysteries of their very existance.
After accepting that Fitz isn’t in these books, I did get invested and caught up in the stories of these new characters and still very much enjoyed this trilogy. I didn’t spot something that many reviewers thought was obvious until almost the very end (duh!) – I’ll not tell you what it was.
Sarah Wray Writer 