Ship of Magic The Liveship Traders by Robin Hobb

The first book in a seafaring fantasy trilogy that George R. R. Martin has dubbed “Even better than the Farseer Trilogy—I didn’t think that was possible.” Now for the first time in trade paperback, and with a glorious new cover!

Bingtown is a hub of exotic trade and home to a merchant nobility famed for its liveships—rare vessels carved from wizardwood, which ripens magically into sentient awareness. Now the fortunes of one of Bingtown’s oldest families rest on the newly awakened liveship Vivacia.

For Althea Vestrit, the ship is her rightful legacy. For Althea’s young nephew, wrenched from his religious studies and forced to serve aboard the ship, the Vivacia is a life sentence. But the fate of the ship—and the Vestrits—may ultimately lie in the hands of an outsider: the ruthless buccaneer captain Kennit, who plans to seize power over the Pirate Isles by capturing a liveship and bending it to his will.

Story Locale: Fantasy world/Realm of the Elderlings

Series Overview: Chronicling the adventures of a trading family and their living ship, set in Robin Hobb’s famed fantasy world.