In her third and final volume of The Live Ship Traders trilogy Robin Hobb brings the thrilling events of this seminal work of fantasy to a triumphant finish.  Bingtown is in smoldering ruins and its citizens are at war.  The decadent Chalcedean Satrap Cosgo, author of the troubles is adrift in leaky boat on the Rain Wild river with Malta Vestrit and his companion while the others, including her suitor Reyn wonder where she can be.  The mad ship Paragon is afloat once more with Althea and Brashen at the helm, rushing to the rescue of the Vestrit liveship Vivacia which is currently serving as a pirate vessel for self-styled King of the Pirates Kennit.  Meanwhile Wintrow is sick after liberating She Who Remembers and the sea serpents are swarming.  If you haven’t read the other books in the set yet then this brief synopsis of the state of play at the start of the third book ought to convince you that it is stirring stuff. 

As a reader of fantasies I am used to both long books and trilogies – hardly any fantasy comes in any other format.  But I am also used to more words than story and books that sag in the middle like an old bed – this is not one of them though.  Hobb cut her writing teeth on the Assassins trilogy which was good but this trilogy proves that she is out in the forefront of fantasy writers.  Why?  She can plot, write dialogue, construct convincing and likeable characters you care about – there are no black or white characters in her books, only ones made up of many complex traits like real people.  There is plenty of suspense that kept me turning the pages wanting to find out what happened next and lots of adventure, but not so much action that there is not time for the more contemplative moments when the characters get to know each other.  It even has a satisfying ending…most excellent!  I hope she is hard at work on another book set in this wonderfully realized world.