The Liveship Traders Trilogy by Robin Hobb

Due to travel and a busy summer in general I haven't had a lot of time to read, so it took me a while to finish this trilogy. It comes between the Farseer Trilogy and the Tawny Man trilogy. I was mistaken in my earlier comment that this trilogy was about what the Fool was up to during the time gap; really it focuses on the Vestrit family in Bingtown (and a few other people in the general area) and their unique liveships. Though all of the three trilogies can stand on their own, I think they are best read together, and in order. This means taking a break from Fitz's life for a while and working on this story line. It fills in quite a few gaps in my knowledge from both the first and last trilogy and is a worthwhile read regardless; just as good as Fitz's story. Having read all three of the trilogies I can now say that I'm glad to have read them all but I'm still left with questions about the future. But all is not lost! As I have recently discovered, Hobb has written more books set in the same world: The Rain Wild Chronicles. From the description of the first book it looks like it takes place either towards the second half of the Tawny Man trilogy or long after. I will begin the series as soon as I can but first I must complete my summer reading. I may or may not evaluate those books on here but if I'm a long time in posting again, that's probably why.