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Fantasy as it ought to be written' George R.R. Martin The final instalment of Robin Hobb's Sunday Times best-selling series The Rain Wild Chronicles. Dragon blood and scales, dragon liver and eyes and teeth. All required ingredients for medicines with near-miraculous healing powers. The legendary blue dragon Tintaglia is dying of wounds inflicted by hunters sent by the Duke of Chalced, who meanwhile preserves his dwindling life by consuming the blood of the dragon's poet Selden Vestrit. If Tintaglia perishes, her ancestral memories will die with her. And the dragons in the ancient city of Kelsingra will lose the secret knowledge they need to survive. Their keepers immerse themselves in the dangerously addictive memory-stone records of the city in the hope of recovering the Elderling magic that once allowed humans and dragons to co-exist. In doing so they risk losing their own identities, even their lives. And danger threatens from beyond the city, too. For war is coming: war between dragonkind and those who would destroy them.

'As addictive as morphine' THE TIMES From the author of the classic Farseer trilogy, SHIP OF MAGIC is the first part of the Liveship Traders. Set in a land bordering the Six Duchies, Robin Hobb begins her epic tale of pirates, talking ships, magic, sea serpents, slave revolts, dashing heroes and bloody battles. Wizardwood, the most precious commodity in the world, comes only from the Rain Wilds. But only a liveship can negotiate the perilous waters of the Rain Wild River, and liveships are hard to come by. They quicken only when three family members from successive generations have died upon their deck. The liveship Vivacia is about to undergo her quickening: Althea Vestrit waits for the ship that she loves more than anything in the world to awaken. But her dream of taking her father's place at Vivacia's helm is not to be, for her family have other plans...And the dark, charming pirate Kennit also lusts after such a ship: he well knows the power of wizardwood and has plans of his own ...

'Hobb is a remarkable storyteller' GUARDIAN The second volume in this superb trilogy from the author of The Farseer trilogy continues the dramatic tale of piracy, serpents, love and magic. The Vestrit family's liveship, Vivacia, has been taken by the pirate king, Kennit. Held captive on board, Wintrow Vestrit finds himself competing with Kennit for Vivacia's love as the ship slowly acquires her own bloodlust. Leagues away, Althea Vestrit has found a new home aboard the liveship Ophelia, but she lives only to reclaim the Vivacia and with her friend, Brashen, she plans a dangerous rescue. Meanwhile in Bingtown, the fading fortunes of the Vestrit family lead Malta deeper into the magical secrets of the Rain Wild Traders. And just outside Bingtown, Amber dreams of relaunching Paragon, the mad liveship ...

'Even better than the Farseer books. I didn't think that was possible' GEORGE RR MARTIN The triumphant conclusion to the magnificent Liveship Traders series. The dragon, Tintaglia, released from her wizardwood coffin, flies high over the Rain Wild River. Below her, Reyn and Selden have been left to drown, while Malta and the Satrap attempt to navigate the acid flow of the river in a decomposing boat. Althea and Brashen are sailing the liveship Paragon into pirate waters in a last-ditch attempt to rescue the Vestrit family liveship, Vivacia, who was stolen by the pirate king, Kennit; but there is mutiny brewing amongst their ragtag crew, and in the mind of the mad ship itself. And all the while the waters around the Vivacia are seething with giant serpents, following the liveship as she sails to her destiny ...

`Fantasy as it ought to be written' George R.R.Martin The second volume in Robin Hobb's internationally bestselling Farseer Trilogy. Honesty is the bedrock for any relationship. But how can Fitz - royal bastard, trainee assassin, holder of secrets crucial to the security of the kingdom - bare his soul to his beloved Molly? Danger lies all around him - from the raiders savaging the coastal towns, and from within the court. The king has been struck down by a mystery illness and his eldest son, Verity, is bound up in the defence of the realm. When Verity leaves the court in search of the mythical Elderlings, Fitz finds himself friendless apart from his wolf, Nighteyes, and the king's strange, motley-clad fool, exposed to Prince Regal's malign ambitions. He will be asked to sacrifice everything - his heart, his hope, even his life - for the sake of the realm.

`Fantasy as it ought to be written' George R.R. Martin The kingdom of the Six Duchies is on the brink of civil war when news breaks that the crown prince has fathered a bastard son and is shamed into abdication. The child's name is Fitz, and his is despised. Raised in the castle stables, only the company of the king's fool, the ragged children of the lower city and his unusual affinity with animals provide Fitz with any comfort. To be useful to the crown, Fitz is trained as an assassin; and to use the traditional magic of the Farseer family. But his tutor, allied to another political faction, is determined to discredit, even kill him. Fitz must survive: for he may be destined to save the kingdom.

`Fantasy as it ought to be written' George R.R. Martin The gripping finale to Robin Hobb's classic Farseer Trilogy. With the king no longer living and the heir, Verity, missing and declared dead, Prince Regal has treacherously seized the throne. Regal's torture has left Fitz more dead than alive, and more closely than ever bonded with his wolf. All who once loved him believe him dead: even Molly, now pregnant with his child. But he cannot go to her without placing her in terrible danger. With nothing to lose, Fitz sets out for Tradeford, where Regal has withdrawn, having heartlessly abandoned the north of the kingdom to the Red-Ship Raiders. His quest: to assassinate the man who has destroyed his world.

Pouť zubožených draků a jejich lidských průvodců do ztraceného dračího domova pokračuje. Je ale Kelsingra skutečná? Není to pouhý střípek naděje skrytý hluboko v dračí paměti? Draci i lidé zjišťují, že je cesta neznámou divočinou zvláštním a nebezpečným způsobem mění. Vzájemné pouto se sice upevňuje, všechny však sužuje hlad, povodně a predátoři. Ty největší hrozby však číhají přímo mezi nimi a snižují šanci na to, že všichni dorazí Kelsingry živí.

Lidé i draci konečně doputovali k bájnému městu Kelsingra. Z paluby živé lodi Tarman, vedené svérázným kapitánem Leftrinem, objevují svět strašidelných ulic lemovaných obrovskými budovami z černého kamene a míjejí sochy, které vypadají jako živé. Proč slyší podivný šepot a mají pocit, že je někdo pozoruje? Čas běží a chalcedští vrazi jsou drakům i strážcům v patách. Kdo bude slavit vítězství?

Return to the world of the Liveships Traders and journey along the Rain Wild River in the third instalment of high adventure from the author of the internationally acclaimed Farseer trilogy. The dragon keepers and fledgling dragons have discovered a route to the lost city of Kelsingra but there is one problem: they need to be able to fly to cross the treacherous waters and enter the fabled city. At first, only a few dragons are willing to try - the others are either too ashamed of their deformed wings and feeble muscles or too proud to risk failure and humiliation. But the rewards waiting at Kelsingra for those brave enough to take to the air are worth more than they could possibly imagine. This was a city built for dragons and their keepers. Alise Finbok is overwhelmed by the treasures she finds there, and spends hours carefully uncovering wonder after wonder, recording her findings for posterity. She knows the knowledge will change everything the world thought about dragons and the Elderlings. Yet rumours of the city's discovery have floated down the Rain Wild River and reached envious ears in Bingtown and beyond. Adventurers, pirates and fortune hunters are coming in droves to pillage what they can from the city. Will the dragons, only just finding their strength, and their keepers, who are changing in their own mysterious ways, be able to fend them off? And what has happened to Tintaglia, the dragon-mother who started it all? Has she really abandoned her offspring forever? Or will she too return to seek the riches of Kelsingra...

Return to the world of the Liveships Traders and journey along the Rain Wild River in the second instalment of high adventure from the author of the internationally acclaimed Farseer trilogy. The dragon keepers and the fledgling dragons are forging a passage up the treacherous Rain Wild River. They are in search of the mythical Elderling city of Kelsingra, and are accompanied by the liveship Tarman, its captain, Leftrin, and a group of hunters who must search the forests for game with which to keep the dragons fed. With them are Alise, who has escaped her cold marriage to the cruel libertine Hest Finbok in order to continue her study of dragons, and Hest's amanuensis, Bingtown dandy, Sedric. Rivalries and romances are already threatening to disrupt the band of explorers: but external forces may prove to be even more dangerous. Chalcedean merchants are keen to lay hands on dragon blood and organs to turn them to medicines and profit. Their traitor has infiltrated the expeditionand will stop at nothing to obtain the coveted body parts. And then there are the Rain Wilds themselves: mysterious, unstable and ever perilous, its mighty river running with acid, its jungle impenetrable and its waterways uncharted. Will the expedition reach their destination unscathed? Does the city of Kelsingra even exist? Only one thing is certain: the journey will leave none of the dragons nor their human companions unchanged by the experience.

The first book in a two part series from one of the greatest writers in the fantasy genre. Dragon Keeper returns fans to Hobb's best-loved world, full of dragons, magical ships and unforgettable characters. Guided by the great blue dragon Tintaglia, they came from the sea: a Tangle of serpents fighting their way up the Rain Wilds River, the first to make the perilous journey to the cocooning grounds in generations. Many have died along the way. With its acid waters and impenetrable forest, it is a hard place for any to survive. People are changed by the Rain Wilds, subtly or otherwise. One such is Thymara. Born with black claws and other aberrations, she should have been exposed at birth. But her father saved her and her mother has never forgiven him. Like everyone else, Thymara is fascinated by the return of dragons: it is as if they symbolise the return of hope to their war-torn world. Leftrin, captain of the liveship Tarman, also has an interest in the hatching; as does Bingtown newlywed, Alise Finbok, who has made it her life's work to study all there is to know of dragons. But the creatures which emerge from the cocoons are a travesty of the powerful, shining dragons of old. Stunted and deformed, they cannot fly; some seem witless and bestial. Soon, they become a danger and a burden to the Rain Wilders: something must be done. The dragons claim an ancestral memory of a fabled Elderling city far upriver: perhaps there the dragons will find their true home. But Kelsingra appears on no maps and they cannot get there on their own: a band of dragon keepers, hunters and chroniclers must attend them. To be a dragon keeper is a dangerous job: their charges are vicious and unpredictable, and there are many unknown perils on the journey to a city which may not even exist...

Bingtown je známým střediskem exotického obchodu a domovem obchodnické šlechty známé svými živými loděmi – vzácnými plavidly zhotovenými z čarodějného dřeva, které magickou cestou dozrává k vnímajícímu vědomí. Osud jedné z nejbohatších bingtownských rodin leží na nově probuzené živé lodi Vivacii. Pro Altheu Vestritovou je loď jejím právoplatným dědictvím, které jí rodina nespravedlivě odepřela – a ona se rozhodne riskovat všechno, aby ho získala zpátky. Pro Altheina mladého synovce Wintrowa, kterého vytrhli ze studia na kněze a přinutili sloužit na palubě lodi, znamená Vivacia rozsudek na doživotí. Avšak osud Vestritovy rodiny – i její lodě – se nakonec může ocitnout v rukou úplně cizího člověka. Krutý pirát Kennit hledá způsob, jak se chopit moci nad všemi obyvateli Pirátských ostrovů… přičemž první krok jeho plánu vyžaduje, aby se zmocnil živé lodě a podrobil ji své vůli…

V impozantním závěru trilogie Živé lodě Robin Hobb umně splétá fascinující příběh o kdysi vzkvétajícím městě, jež se ocitlo na pokraji zkázy, o úchvatném a mytickém druhu, kterému hrozí vyhynutí, a o Vestritově klanu, jehož osud je nerozlučně provázaný s oběma…Bingtown se řítí vstříc katastrofě a Ronica Vestritová, matka klanu označená za zrádkyni, usilovně hledá způsob, jak semknout obyvatele města proti chalcedské hrozbě. Její dcera Althea netuší, co postihlo Bingtown a její rodinu, a zatím pokračuje v nebezpečné výpravě, jejímž cílem je vypátrat její živou loď Vivacii a vyrvat ji zpátky z rukou nelítostného piráta Kennita. Její plán je velmi odvážný, ale může vyjít vniveč. Neboť až vyjde najevo tajemství živých lodí, její milovanou Vivacii čeká nejstrašnější konfrontace ze všech. Je to pravda tak zdrcující, že může zničit nejen Vivacii, ale i všechny, kdo ji milují, včetně mladého kněze Wintrowa Vestrita, jehož život již nyní visí na vlásku…

Druhý díl strhující trilogie o bingtownských kupcích z pera Robin Hobb. Příběh Vestritova klanu, jejich živé lodě Vivacie a všech, kdo se jí chtějí zmocnit, získává nový, dravý spád, který žene naše hrdiny na výsluní slávy i do propastí hrůzy. Starobylé tradice původních bingtownských kupců se postupně bortí pod tlakem nového, nelidského řádu prohnilého vládce. Vestritovi úzkostlivě očekávají návrat své živé lodě, a nejvíc ze všech Althea, která se nedávno vrátila z plavby na palubě živé lodi Ophelie. Stále sní o tom, že vznese nárok na Vivacii, své ukradené dědictví, a bude se s ní plavit na širém moři jako její kapitánka. Jenže kapitán Kennit není ochoten vzdát se své vytoužené věci. Když pak Vestritovy zastihne zpráva o ukořistění Vivacie piráty, je to pro ně zdrcující rána. Jejich finance vysychají a teď vzala za své i poslední naděje. Bez podpory ostatních starých kupců Althee nezbývá nic jiného, než aby se se svým někdejším druhem z lodi a milencem Brashenem pokusila živou loď osvobodit. Je tu pouze jeden problém: jejich plán může mít pro svět daleko ničivější následky, než kdyby loď ponechali v rukou ctižádostivého piráta Kennita…

Druhý díl strhující trilogie o bingtownských kupcích z pera Robin Hobb. Příběh Vestritova klanu, jejich živé lodě Vivacie a všech, kdo se jí chtějí zmocnit, získává nový, dravý spád, který žene naše hrdiny na výsluní slávy i do propastí hrůzy. Starobylé tradice původních bingtownských kupců se postupně bortí pod tlakem nového, nelidského řádu prohnilého vládce. Vestritovi úzkostlivě očekávají návrat své živé lodě, a nejvíc ze všech Althea, která se nedávno vrátila z plavby na palubě živé lodi Ophelie. Stále sní o tom, že vznese nárok na Vivacii, své ukradené dědictví, a bude se s ní plavit na širém moři jako její kapitánka. Jenže kapitán Kennit není ochoten vzdát se své vytoužené věci. Když pak Vestritovy zastihne zpráva o ukořistění Vivacie piráty, je to pro ně zdrcující rána. Jejich finance vysychají a teď vzala za své i poslední naděje. Bez podpory ostatních starých kupců Althee nezbývá nic jiného, než aby se se svým někdejším druhem z lodi a milencem Brashenem pokusila živou loď osvobodit. Je tu pouze jeden problém: jejich plán může mít pro svět daleko ničivější následky, než kdyby loď ponechali v rukou ctižádostivého piráta Kennita…