I just finished Robin Hobb’s Liveship Traders trilogy today. I’m pretty satisfied, although I’d like to have more of what the world is like with the dragons restored.
My question, though, isn’t about that. Is Amber a character in the Farseer Trilogy, also? I got the impression throughout the Liveship books that I was supposed to recognize Amber, as if she’d appeared in another story before. Not having read any of Hobb’s books before, I didn’t.
I think Amber is The Fool. I say “I think” because that’s my recollection – but I also remember the answer not being terribly in doubt. Like she wasn’t very circumspect about the answer… but I’m only like 75% sure that “The Fool” is the answer. The part I’m especially remembering is when Amber makes a figurehead and it’s someone she loves, and from the description it’s pretty clearly FitzChivalry, who The Fool loves.
Or I could be wrong, but I don’t think I am.
[Added before clicking submit] The first Google hit for Amber “The Fool” seems to bear this out.
Okay. Thanks. Farseer is my next library borrow. 
The connection between Amber and The Fool will be made more clear in the Tawny Man trilogy, the trilogy immediately following the Liveship trilogy, yes. As far as Liveship goes, though, the connection is pretty much half fanservice, half fantorture.
Isn’t her latest series a follow on from the Liveship Traders about the world now with dragons?
I haven’t read them yet, so I’m not sure. Should probably look into doing that…
The ones I’m aware of in that world are Farseer, Liveships and Tawny Man. I wasn’t aware that Farseer was the first trilogy in that world when I picked up the Liveships books,though, otherwise I’d have probably begun with that.
You haven’t missed anything by doing so. There’s no crossover to speak of, even the one mentioned here doesn’t matter to the story.
And this is the fourth series in the world - The Rain Wilds Chronicles.
Not in terms of crossover story no. I seem to recall a couple of minor cross references about events in the Farseer kingdom.
But personally I enjoyed the Farseer trilogy far more than Liveship Traders.
Ooooh…shiny! And still in progress!
Okay, read Farseer, read Tawny Man, start reading Rain Wild…
The wikipedia entry says that The Rain Wilds Chronicles happns after / the same time as the Tawny Man series.
I’ve only read the Liveship Traders (and liked it *). Do folks think the Farseer triligogy would be the best to read next?
*I was at the bookstore and heard good things about Hobb, and the idea of sentient ships intigued me - so I picked that series up. Or maybe I got the 1st book and once I determined I liked it I got the other 2.
Thanks!
Brian
Same with me, except at the library rather than the bookstore. And our library does not have one single Farseer book*…I had to order used copies off of Amazon (which should, hopefully, arrive today).
I really liked the pace at which she revealed the secret of the wizardwood. It was possible to figure it out before the reveal, but not TOO easy.
*Which is hardly the only inadequacy of our local library system…a comparison of this multiple-local-branch system with my hometown’s single-building library might make a decent thread. I’ll have to think about that…MPSIMS or the Pit? Hmmm…