Farseer Trilogy

  1. Assassin’s Apprentice (1995)
  2. Royal Assassin (1996)
  3. Assassin’s Quest (1997)

Liveship Traders Trilogy

  1. Ship of Magic (1998)
  2. The Mad Ship (1999)
  3. Ship of Destiny (2000)

Tawny Man Trilogy

  1. Fool’s Errand (2001)
  2. Golden Fool (2002)
  3. Fool’s Fate (2003)

Rain Wild Chronicles

  1. Dragon Keeper (2009)
  2. Dragon Haven (2010)
  3. City of Dragons (2012)
  4. Blood of Dragons (2013)

Fitz and the Fool Trilogy

  1. Fool’s Assassin (2014)
  2. Fool’s Quest (2015)
  3. Assassin’s Fate (2017)

Where to start: Assassin’s Apprentice, then read all 16 books in the publication order above.

The Realm of the Elderlings (also called the World of the Elderlings) is Robin Hobb’s 16-novel saga in five connected sub-series. Penguin Random House, the U.S. publisher of the Farseer, Liveship Traders, Tawny Man, and Fitz and the Fool books, numbers each of those trilogies in the order shown. Years are first publication. Some editions title book 8 The Golden Fool.

Can you start with Ship of Magic?

You can, but it is not the best first book. Ship of Magic opens the Liveship Traders trilogy with a new cast in Bingtown, a different part of the world from the Farseer books, so it does not depend on knowing Fitz. Even so, Robin Hobb said in a 2012 Lightspeed interview that readers should start with the Farseer trilogy and then move on to the Liveship Traders, because “the events that happen in Farseer directly affect what’s happening down in Bing Town.”

If you have already started with Ship of Magic, finish the Liveship Traders, then go back to Assassin’s Apprentice and read the Farseer trilogy before Fool’s Errand. The Tawny Man books continue Fitz’s story, so they need Farseer first.

How the sub-series connect

  • Farseer introduces FitzChivalry Farseer and the Fool.
  • Liveship Traders moves south to Bingtown and the liveships, with new characters.
  • Tawny Man returns to Fitz, years after the Farseer books.
  • Rain Wild Chronicles goes back to the Liveship Traders’ setting with a mostly new cast, set between the Tawny Man and Fitz and the Fool trilogies.
  • Fitz and the Fool closes the saga with Fitz and the Fool.

The Rain Wild Chronicles is the sub-series readers most often consider skipping. It is the only quartet, and it sits between the last two Fitz trilogies. For a complete read, keep it in place rather than saving it for later.

Short fiction

Hobb has also written shorter Elderlings works, including The Willful Princess and the Piebald Prince (2013) and “Words Like Coins” (2009). They are optional; the 16 novels carry the story.

Audiobooks

The order is the same in audio, print, and ebook. Check the sub-series name and book number on each listing before you buy.

Sources

This guide is desk research from publisher and author sources, not a review. Checked October 3, 2026. Robin Hobb’s official site was unavailable when this was checked.

For similar character-led fantasy, see books like Realm of the Elderlings .