Not only is Liveship a good entry point, it was my entry point. It totally stands alone and I think it’s a good one for people to test the waters with Robin Hobb. There are, like you said, connections between Liveship and Farseer, but if you continue on to Farseer after Liveship you just make those connections in reverse. The character work in this trilogy is so excellent. I love all of the characters. Althea and Brashen and Wintrow have my heart. And yes every time I describe the books as talking ships to people in real life, they look at me like I’m nuts and I have to say “No you must trust me, they do not feel childish at all when you read” My biggest piece of advice as you go into the next books, do not google anything! I’m sure you probably wouldn’t have, but there is a really big connection between Farseer and Liveship that everyone in the fandom talks about and it’s so easy to inadvertently spoil the experience of making the connection yourself. I can’t wait to hear your thoughts on Mad Ship because in my opinion it’s even better! Lovely review! Happy reading 😊😊😊

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

Chris Bookish Cauldron Thank you for watching and for weighing in on that! I thought I remembered you mentioning in a comment that you read Liveship Traders first. I will definitely stay away from googling anything about the trilogy. I have my suspicions about the magical connections to Farseer, and I’m curious to see what develops. I totally agree with you about the liveships- not the easiest to explain while getting across just how convincingly Hobb portrays them. It’s awesome to get your take on this wonderful book!

I totally agree with you about the villain character development between Farseer and Liveship. The Liveship series just lives way more in the grey, which I love. I mean, I guess I agree with basically everything you've said. For such long books, Hobb has a way of convincing that almost every word is necessary. I know some readers find elements slow (especially in Farseer) but I really just settle in to the story and enjoy every moment. Lovely video!!! I find I am never this concise and organized when talking haha. "Nautical version of Thomas the Train" is going to be how I refer to the liveships from now on.

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

Beautifully said, and I agree with all your words about Hobb. You’re right too about the “greyish” characters. Even the characters we most root for, like Althea for example, clearly have their faults. It’s not like Kyle Haven is entirely wrong about her being spoiled and a bit selfish, though it’s hard to admit anything Kyle thinks is valid. But that’s Hobb for you - she gives us such vivid and complex characters, and I love that. Thanks so much for watching and commenting!

Finished it yesterday and dived into Mad Ship a few hours later. I deeply regret putting Liveship off for so long.

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

7 ай бұрын

It’s absolutely fantastic! Happy reading!

Finally finished Ship of Magic and I'm not eager to plunge into Mad Ship. Not only is Robin Hobb great with characters, but she is fearless about putting them through the gauntlet. Despite every horror these characters go through, I'm still along for the ride. Thanks for your recommendation on this series, Philip. As always, I enjoy your videos and your channel.

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

Жыл бұрын

There are some tough things that happen, but Hobb’s genius is in part how she follows up on those things. In other words, she looks at how people move on from trauma, how they can still create beauty after enduring pain. Best wishes, Danie!

"A nautical version of Thomas the Train" Ha! That absolutely killed me. I never realized the precedent for talking ships in fantasy and scifi until recently. I had first heard of this in a videogame, oddly enough, Divinity Original Sin: 2. The ship is magic and made out of livewood. I just looked it up and it turns out many people at Larian Studios love Hobb's work from producers to developers and writers and added this to honor Hobb's work. Then in the episode "Tin Man" of Star Trek: The Next Generation, they also took the concept seriously by having a (depressed to the point of suicide) sentient starship whose crew has been long dead. I love this concept as we tend to personify ships, often talking about them as beautiful, nurturing women or wives, and these stories and many others take it further or close the gap by making them sentient. As always, thanks for the video! Your videos help expand my knowledge of fantasy allowing me to enjoy it even more. I need to go find myself a copy of Ship of magic.

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

D A Excellent point! I think talking ships are almost a staple of science fiction. The first that comes to mind for me is from 2001: A Space Odyssey. I bet you would enjoy the Liveship Traders Trilogy a lot. Thanks, as always, for your awesome comments!

I think I mentioned before on this channel that the Liveship Traders Trilogy is my favorite by Robin Hobb. The journey of her characters, the liveships and the story arc across all three books is just absolutely amazing. I believe Robin Hobb is one of the towering masters of fantasy. Wonderful review. Looking forward your thoughts on Mad Ship.

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

Robert Hall I believe you did mention your admiration for Hobb’s books and for Liveship Traders in particular, which yet again shows your excellent taste! I’m excited not only for the rest of this trilogy but to read everything in the Realm of the Elderlings. Always fantastic to hear from you!

Read it last week and LOVED it. Quite excited to continue.

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

Жыл бұрын

This is excellent to hear, Mike! I look forward very much to hearing your thoughts on this trilogy.

So happy you and Andy both enjoyed this so much. I absolutely agree with your placement of Hobb among such eminent peers, but she more than earns it. It's incredible how beautiful her writing is but like you say without being complex or pretentious. Everything is very grounded, every character is realistic and relatable... never more so than in this trilogy. Kennit in particular always comes to mind as one of *the* best written characters I've ever read. There's something so compelling about his struggle to overcome his failings despite being pretty bad at it. But really, he's just one among many - they're allllll great. Can't wait to hear more.

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

Zan Morris Thanks! I’m looking forward to having a chat with Andy on Liveship Traders once we’re both done with the trilogy. I completely agree with your assessment of Hobb’s writing, and I can’t wait to get to know these characters even better!

I love how you lumped in SE with all the greats. I also love the live ship traders too (thought I can’t say I really rooted for Kennit 🤪). I’m a big Robin Hobb fan as well!

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

Iskar Jarak It’s awesome to hear from you! Anyone objective would have to recognize the greatness of Erikson’s prose. Honestly, it was the thing that kept me reading even when I was confused by the big plot shifts in the early Malazan books (something I later came to appreciate). It doesn’t surprise me that you’d be a Hobb fan. Thanks for watching!

Thanks for a no-spoiler review! I guess it's finally time to check out this series :)

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

Жыл бұрын

I hope you’ll enjoy it!

When I have finished Erikson's ten-part saga, I'll tackle Robin Hobb's books. You have whetted my appetite. What you say about style is very important. Style in itself carries a whole world. Words have a reality of their own, in their sound, weight, rhythm, and their resonances. Style enables me to read and re-read someone like Clark Ashton Smith, ever since I discovered him in 1973/4, age 13. I'm Dutch, but read him in English even then...

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

Johan Herrenberg I couldn’t agree more with you regarding style. The fantasy writer in particular has the opportunity to create a sense that the reader has entered a different world through the prose. A slightly elevated style with a few well placed archaic words can help the reader to remain immersed in that world. My problem with many modern fantasy books is that the modern and often unsophisticated prose keeps bumping me out of the story to awkwardly land back in the familiar. That never happens with Hobb, who knows how to write fantasy. Thanks for watching and commenting!

I have DNFd this book twice now. I love the Farseer trilogy and don't know why this one hasn't worked for me (I always give up at the 1/4 point). You've convinced me to give it another go!

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

Galactic Reads Yay! Most Hobb fans tell me the Liveship Traders Trilogy gets better with each book. I found a similar pattern with Farseer: first book starting a bit slow with lots of character development but the plot moving along nicely later. If you go for it, I’ll be eager to hear your thoughts!

@GalacticReads

3 жыл бұрын

@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy I'll definitely try reading it again because I loved the world and characters of the Farseer books. I miss the Fool so much! This is the kick up the butt I needed to try again!

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

Galactic Reads Ha ha! In that case, I’m happy to have delivered it! 😁

There's a reason the series is named after the liveships - not only are they central to the plot, they are excellent characters in their own right. And this being adult fantasy written by a master should tell readers enough to take it seriously. Although it has been years since I've read these, I do remember being moved to tears multiple times. By the ships as well. I think you'll be impressed by where this story goes.

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

Rob Paul I have no doubt you’re right in every respect. I’m really looking forward to book 2 as many fans have told me it’s even better. Like Farseer, this trilogy seems to start at an enjoyable canter only to inexorably gather momentum- I’m looking forward to the gallop!

This sounds like something I’d enjoy especially with the villain angle. I tend to enjoy books where the villain has a relatable arc and seems like someone that you may actually root for to a degree. Awesome review man. I’ll check this one out next year along with Malazan

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

Joe's Review Journal Excellent! In my opinion, Hobb’s books deserve an even wider readership. She’s an extremely talented writer. Awesome to hear from you!

After finishing Malazan, I was having a very difficult time finding something else I like. I am so grateful I found your and Andy's review on this book. Malazan was my first fantasy book. My wife has never read fantasy. I am currently reading this book to her (she hates audiobooks) and we are both really, really enjoying the book. Now I'm looking forward the the rest of the trilogy followed by the Farseer series. Hopefully my wife will join along with me. A big thank you to you and Andy.

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for the kind words! It makes me happy when other people enjoy books I love, and Hobb and Erikson are among the very best. When you’ve finished The Liveship Traders Trilogy, if you’d like a longer discussion on it, Andy and two other great BookTubers joined me to talk about it. The first part of the chat is spoiler free, but later we talk spoilers for the trilogy and make references to Farseer as well, so you might want to wait until you’ve finished Farseer too. Anyway, I’m glad you’re enjoying the Realm of the Elderlings so far!

@Canoe64

3 жыл бұрын

@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy When I returned to my home page, the video you just mentioned came as as the second video. That was convenient. Kinda scary too.

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

@@Canoe64 KZread reads our minds!

Also looking forward to seeing what you think of path to ascendancy-great tease!

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

Iskar Jarak Ha ha! Yes, so far, Dancer’s Lament is great!

I hope these also get the illustrated edition treatment the Farseer Trilogy got.

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

Benjamin Molina That would be awesome! Especially since the cover on the edition I have isn’t the greatest, in my opinion.

@benjaminmolina3456

3 жыл бұрын

Philip Chase yeah, i can see that with a few hardcovers that do not do justice to the book.

Yes! This is my favorite from Hobb and one of my favorite series in all of fantasy. I absolutely adored the characters and their motives. Kennit, he is one of my favorite characters for sure. I have never felt more conflicted about a character than this one. Early on, you know his ambitions and how roughness he can be to obtain what he wants but I still want him to succeed. I am curious to hear your thoughts on Malta. I can't remember how much time was dedicated to her in the first book but this is one character that people tend to hate and then Hobb does a masterful job with her development. Will be curious to see your reaction to her character.

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

A Fantasy Babble Regarding Malta, I saw her in a way that is very similar to how I viewed Sansa Stark in ASOIAF. I understand why people get annoyed with her due to her combination of naïveté and cunning, not to mention her shallowness and lack of concern for others, but it’s important to remember that Malta is, in spite of her assertions to the contrary, a girl who still has a lot to learn. Unfortunately for her, if I’m right about where Hobb will be taking her character, she’s in for a quick education and a rough ride that will probably increase my sympathy for her. I’ll be interested to see. Thanks for your excellent thoughts!

How timely, just started this after finishing the Farseer books! It feels a bit weird switching to another setting instead of continuing with Fitz but after reading all the praise for this series, I guess I won't be dissappointed :)

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

Erik Verf I predict that, if you loved Farseer, you’ll love Liveship too. I also wanted to see Fitz again, but it didn’t take me long to connect with these characters, and the best part is we’ll meet up with Fitz in The Tawny Man Trilogy. Thanks for watching and commenting!

Sounds enchanting! I've been hearing so much praise for Robin Hobb lately. This review makes me even more eager to pick up her books. I loved how you described her prose and characters. The ships coming alive sounds very intriguing! When are you planning your Malazan reread? Are you planning to read each book consecutively?

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

Johanna I’m coming to think of Hobb as a must read for the genre. Andy Smith is reading The Liveship Traders Trilogy right now too, and we’re talking about doing a discussion on it with the two of us once we’re both done. He’s loving it so far too, and I’m confident you’d love Hobb if you wander into the Realm of the Elderlings!

@Johanna_reads

3 жыл бұрын

​@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy I would love to watch that discussion video but may have to wait until I read the series first. I very recently subscribed to Andy's channel and am already a huge fan. Allen let me know the three of you are planning a Malazan discussion some time as well. As long as I can avoid major spoilers, I'm looking forward to that one as well!

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

Johanna Yes, I think the idea in our Malazan chat is to avoid spoilers, so it would be wonderful to have you watch!

Great review and a huge reminder. I've put off reading Hobb forever now, with no particular reason either. I'm gonna have to put a mental note in the noggin, pick up Hobb 😉

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

Slowly Red There are too many great books to read in one life, but that’s a wonderful problem to have! I do recommend putting Hobb on the high priority list, though. While her books aren’t grimdark, she’s brilliant at character work, and her characters definitely suffer. Great to hear from you! A little idea for the future: At some point, perhaps we could do a collaboration video on Mark Lawrence or Joe Abercrombie or Stephen King. Just an idea, but it could be fun.

@slowlyred2082

3 жыл бұрын

@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy I would love to, im actually going to be brushing up on a bunch of Lawrence in November. Definitely putting book 2 of the Dark Tower in there as well. Im also continuing The Land Fit For Heroes trilogy by Richard K Morgan, which is very brutal in some ways. But its definitely subverting tropes on a massive scale ⚖

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

Slowly Red Cool! Let’s give it a ponder as to what books we could chat about. I’m open to suggestions. Perhaps in December or early January?

@slowlyred2082

3 жыл бұрын

@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy sounds good 👍

Great review and sounds like a book I'd really enjoy. I just recently acquired Assassin's Apprentice for my first experience with Hobb. I really excited to see what you think of Kellanved's Reach, as I've heard the series is much better written than ICE's earlier books like Crimson Guard which I did not like AT ALL, but K & D are two of my favorite characters.

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

The Library of Allenxandria So far, so good, but I’m not even 100 pages into Dancer’s Lament yet. I think you’d like Hobb, and I look forward to your eventual review of Assassin’s Apprentice, which starts a bit slow but gets going nicely later.

So my introduction to Robin Hobb has been unconventional to say the least. I read the Rain Wild Chronicles first because I was browsing a used bookstore one day and came across the first book. Me being me, I was all "ohhh dragons!" and so that's the first Hobb series I devoured. Now retroactively I'm reading the Liveship Trader books and while clearly some major things character and lore-wise have been spoiled for me reading RWC first, it's still been a very rewarding experience and I look forward to committing fully to the reverse order and reading the farseer books and then the final series lol Also mini rant on the subject of Kennit....the only way I'm 'rooting' for him is for horrible things and (hopefully) eventual death. He's a horrible person with no redeeming qualities....any good he does is purely out of manipulating others and not out of genuine feelings or desire to do good. As his charm says "you don't deserve these people'. Kyle is also a horrible person but I think in a way he's far more terrifying than Kennit because we all know someone like Kyle...Kennet just comes off as a pure sociopath or even a psychopath.

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

Жыл бұрын

That definitely qualifies as unconventional, Margi! It sounds like it could end up being a wonderful way to become immersed in the Realm of the Elderlings, though. Best wishes for the rest of Liveship Traders!

Great review! I just bought the Farseer trilogy. I’ve heard that Liveship Traders is larger (more POVs) and people seem to like it more than Farseer, but I thought I would start at the beginning and slowly move my way through the Realm of the Elderlings while reading other series in between. How would you say this book compares in quality to the Farseer trilogy?

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

Marcel Beaudoin Thank you! I think your plan for moving through the Realm of the Elderlings is the best approach- it’s what I’m doing too. As for quality relative to Farseer, so far I think Liveship has a slightly better start, keeping in mind that I loved Assassin’s Apprentice. Thanks for watching and commenting!

@marcelbeaudoin3886

3 жыл бұрын

Philip Chase That’s great to hear. I love me some author progression. Have fun with the series!

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

Marcel Beaudoin Thanks! I hope you’ll enjoy the Realm of the Elderlings too.

I find the comparison between Hobb (and fantasy in general) and literature interesting - I agree with you, that she stands with up with "the best of literature" but I find the unspoken premise behind this type of comparison to be somewhat flawed: Most people when they say "literature" are already talking about general fiction writing they deem to be the best. To then compare the whole swathe of any given genre to it sets up the average of that genre to fail, because it's not equally being compared to the average of "literature". It would be somewhat like trying to make a fair comparison between "oscar movies", and westerns. There is in reality plenty of terrible "literature", it's just that we apply the label in a very selective fashion that has very little to do with the works themselves which results in bad literature often not being included.

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

CuriousKey You make a good point here! You’re right that my use of the word “literature” conveys a vague sense of superiority without actually being terribly helpful. It’s pretty lazy and imprecise, especially when I really meant only the best literature. Of course, “literature” in reality includes the range of quality that you suggest, and I agree with you that “genre fiction” has a similar range. I’m glad you agree, however, that Hobb’s writing is among the best. Thanks for watching and commenting!

Really need to pick up Hobb. Stop adding to my list!

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

Ha ha! Hobb is too good not to pick up. On the bright side, you’ll have so many books to look forward to in the Realm of the Elderlings!

@EricMcLuen

3 жыл бұрын

@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy Not helping... do authors just write single books anymore?

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

@@EricMcLuen Ha ha ha! Nope. I’m afraid a trilogy is a must to be considered a genuine fantasy author. 😉

I'm in the minority. I loved the farseer trilogy, but did not care for liveship traders. I found the characters (and story) much weaker in this series. I got thru the first book, but not the second. I skipped ahead to tawny man, which I'm enjoying. It doesn't even feel the same author wrote the liveship trilogy to me. Disappointed.

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

2 жыл бұрын

One cool thing about The Realm of the Elderlings, I think, is that you absolutely can pick if you want to. You can read the Fitz books or the Bingtown books or both. Happy reading!

U wud look below 30 if u shave ur beard and remove goggles

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

2 ай бұрын

Ha ha! To quote Gimli: “Not the beard!”

@anilmlalwani

2 ай бұрын

I wish to see u someday shaved and without goggles

@anilmlalwani

2 ай бұрын

@@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy I wish to see u without beard and goggles

I definitely think that its best to read The Realm of the Elderlings in the order of publication. You could read Liveship before Farseer but, especially in the later series of Tawny Man and the Rainwild Chronicles, the stories begin to intersect much more heavily. Great review, you capture the essence of this book with the themes of losing a way of life, and the strange grief that comes with that. One of my favorite things about this trilogy was how well it explores grief and anger. These emotions are commonplace, but Hobb makes them feel palpable and her writing is simply captivating. Your comparison to Erikson makes me excited--if he's on the same level as Hobb then I think he might be a new favorite. I recently picked up Gardens of Moon so while you delve into Hobb, I'll be discovering Erikson's world!

@PhilipChaseTheBestofFantasy

3 жыл бұрын

riddhima That’s awesome! I hope you’ll love Erikson’s writing. He’s unlike any other fantasy author I know. If you saw Andy Smith’s video on Malazan as a postmodern work of fiction, you’ll have some idea of what to expect. And, yes, I can’t wait to read more Hobb!