Ship of Magic (The Liveship Traders, Book 1)

Rating:
Summary: Flawless fantasy
Review: Robin Hobb has managed to achieve the impossible with her Liveship Traders trilogy. In a genre that so often uses the same themes and ideas, Ms Hobb has produced an original work.
The Liveships of the title are very expensive and rare ships built from the mysterious wizardwood only found in the Rain River Wilds. After 3 generations of the owner's family have died on board, the wizardwood 'quickens' and the ships become living, sentient beings.
Throughout the book, the author interweaves the story of the Liveship traders, the story of the sea serpents who are driven by an instinct to search for their 'beginnings' and the tale of Kennick, a ruthless man determined to be King of the Pirates.
Ms Hobbs shows an extraordinary talent for characterisation. There are no totally black or white characters in her stories but realistic characters who have their good sides and their faults in abundance. At times the reader will feel antipathy toward the heroine and at others empathy for the 'bad guy'.
This is a book that you will find difficult to put down. Highly recommended

Rating:
Summary: Long and boring
Review: Very Long, very boring, none of the characers are likeable. I read this one after finishing the Tawny Fool Trilogy expecting to be as good. Boy was I dissappointed. I can't believe I read the who thing.

Rating:
Summary: Topnotch epic fantasy.
Review: The Liveship Traders trilogy is some of the best epic fantasy written since LOTR. All of Robin Hobb's works are worth your time but these books are her best. 2400 pages is a substantial commitment, but upon finishing each of those pages you'll find yourself turning eagerly to the next. Buy these books and enjoy them. Buy Robert Jordan's books and despise them.

Rating:
Summary: Great start to new Hobb Series
Review: Thus far I have read the first two books of this series and have started the third, so I have a fairly good idea of where the series is headed. This book is a great beginning to the series and provides the reader with a detailed look at the lives of the liveship traders. The setting is within the world Hobb created in her Assassin trilogy, although it's not the same region.

The characters are exceptionally detailed and I found myself getting angry at certain characters and feeling sorry for others. The book allows the reader to suspend their disbelief and actually feel as if the action described on the page is real. It is also written in such a style that it keeps the reader hungry for more.

If there is any downfall to the writing style it is the way in which storylines can be abrubtly dropped for 100 pages before picked up again. There is not a real aspect of seamless weaving between the storylines until the third book in the series. The story may follow a particular character for several chapters and right as something important is going to happen the story will shift focus to another character and another storyline. To be honest, that's actually the only reason I wouldn't classify this book as a "true" page-turner. After reading for several hours, I'd find myself stopping at one of those abrubt shifts, because it's convenient to do so.

Overall, however, that one negative aspect doesn't detract from the actual story or the vivid way in which it is presented. I'd highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of fantasy. I'd also recommend, if you like this book, Terry Goodkind's "Sword of Truth" series or Robert Jordan's "Wheel of Time" series.

Rating:
Summary: Personal Opinion *no spoilers*
Review: I have read over 450 fantasy novels and this is one of the very few times that I have come away with so little connection with the characters. The closest I came to flowing with a character was when I was reading the chapters about the pirate Captain Kennit. What I mean by "flowing" is that when I am reading a book I prefer being totally immersed in the characters and story, to the point where I feel that I am seeing everything in my mind rather than reading word after word. Don't get me wrong I still enjoyed the storyline and especially the environment. There are many redeeming qualities to this series. I especially enjoyed the subplot of the serpents and the rich detail of the life aboard ship. This series has great potential and I am looking forward to the next two books.

I think Robin Hobb is a great author and I hope she writes many more novels.

One final note: I read the Farseer and Tawny Man trilogies before I started this trilogy and I am glad I did. I lost a little of the mystery of one of the characters in this series, however I think I gained more enjoyment from the Tawny Man trilogy by reading in this order.

Rating:
Summary: Good beginning to another great Hobb series.
Review: Robin Hobb, Ship of Magic (Bantam, 1999)

Hobb, author of the critically acclaimed Farseer trilogy, took a break from the world of Fitz and his companions to write the Liveship Traders trilogy. Only a small break, mind you; the first two books, both of which weigh in over eight hundred pages, were both published in 1999. That's a whole lot of words. Ship of Magic is the first of the Liveship Traders novels.

The Vestrits are one of the Old Trader families who live in Bingtown, sandwiched between the sea, Jamaillia, Chalced, and the Rain Wilds. Jamillia is the country from which their charter comes, but the current leader has been ignoring his ancestors' promises to Bingtown, and in the process making things difficult. Chalced is a country of barbarians, where slavery is legal and women are treated much like perfumed cattle, and their ways are becoming more popular in Jamaillia. The Rain Wilds are a place of mystery, full of goods that command very high prices, but are also home to rampant disease and a mortality rate roughly akin to that in Europe at the time of the Black Death. Ephron Vestrit, current scion of the Vestrit clan, lays dying, while his ship is sailed by a greedy, careless son-in-law, Kyle Haven. The Vestrits, like all Bingtown Trader families, are into the Rain Wild families for generation's worth of debt, thanks to the commissioning of the liveships, worked in wizardwood, with sentient figureheads. Ephron's younger daughter, Althea, has been groomed to take over command of the family's liveship, the Vivacia, since she was very young; when Ephron dies, though, her older sister, Kyle's wife, inherits the ship, and Kyle starts making changes. Althea and the ship's former first mate, Brashen, go separate ways, but both wish to see the ship taken out of Kyle's hands. Kyle, instead, is bent on grooming his son Wintrow, a priest in training, to take over the ship, but he'd rather continue training to be a priest. Then you throw into the mix a pirate captain whose lifelong dream is to capture own a liveship, sea serpents, society parties, a mad liveship who's been abandoned on a rocky beach, the Others (half-man half-fish prophets), an illegal trade in wizardwood artifacts, and any number of other subplots and characters, and you can see why the trilogy requires 2,500 pages.

If you're familiar with Hobb from the Farseer books, you should know what to expect here-- well-defined characters, readable prose, and in general, all the things that make a massive fantasy trilogy worth your time. It's genre writing, and never really strays outside the conventions of genre, but it's very good genre writing, and that shouldn't put you off. Fans of fantasy literature will find a good deal to like about Ms. Hobb's second trilogy. If it tells you anything, I was planning on waiting a few weeks before startting Mad Ship, the second book in the trilogy; I ended up starting it about half an hour after I finished this one, instead. *** ½

Rating:
Summary: Truly Awesome
Review: I am very impressed with Robin Hobb. I read this book on the recomendation of a friend. At first I was a little worried. The book starts out a tad slow. I was a little confused by the chapters pertaining to the serpents and the opening with the mysterious island didn't have me frothing at the bit.

But then you get in the book and you just can't put it down. There are so many good storylines that run through the book. You quickly become engrossed in the actions and well being of the characters who are well rounded with their share of quirks and demons.

The story line has you turning pages at an ungodly rate and when you reach the end you'll probably do what I did and run out and buy book two and three.

But if like me you find yourself having problems getting into the book at first stick with it. It seems to be a trademark of the Robin Hobb books to start slow then explode into action.

Rating:
Summary: Looks like another excellent Robin Hobb series
Review: I picked up Mad Ship on the strength of my positive experience with her Farseer trilogy. I am glad I did, because it looks as though it will be another series that will keep me entertained and engaged-- even when it means reading a book *way* past my bedtime.

Ship of Magic draws from a wealth of other maritime writing to provide enough realistic details to make the conceit (a town that depends on a kind of living ship for their livelihood) work very well. I was willing to buy the details of life on board the ships and I was not able to easily poke holes in the fantasy world that the book creates.

Her characters are both strongly drawn and appropriately flawed. One of the best things about her work in general has been the fine and realistic characters with whom she populates her fantasy world. I liked the way that Althea and Wintrow (the two main characters in this book) are introduced and contrasted and I see enough in both of them to keep the reader hooked throughout the rest of the trilogy.

A great beginning, and an overall great read for fans of literate and readable fantasy novels.

Rating:
Summary: What a great concept!
Review: I just had to write a review of this series. I purchased the whole series about a year ago, and have since read it at least 5 times. I think the concept that is portrayed in this series is quite refreshing. I had never really thought about dragons in this light. I have been an avid fantasy reader for a long time, and this was a terrific 'twist'!

Wish Robin Hobb would continue with it!!!


Rating:
Summary: Exceeeeeeelent.
Review: This is quite simple one of the best fantasy series around. Get it now.

I preferred this trilogy to the farseer trilogy as I seemed to get stuck on the first book, but with this series I never lost interest. However, I did lose sleep and the will to continue with my dull 'ordinary' life!

What I particularily liked was the range of characters. I cant say that I found any of them boring. Kennit is a brilliant character, hes an extremely ruthless and efficient pirate with great ambition - yet despite this he becomes extremely likeable.
Malta on the other hand begins the story as an annoying brat of a child - yet by the third book you find yourself liking and respecting her development into a responsible woman.

The plot holds your interest. In fact it does more - Robin Hobb seems to have the ability to spoonfeed bits of information, but enough to make you more and more curious and as the story moves on you become more desparate for answers to questions..
By the end, the story is a cascade of events where all the plot lines come together and everything fits together perfectly. Storytelling at its finest.

I have always thought that the best fantasy writing is that which allows us to most believe a fanatsy setting as real. Robin Hobb certainly does that.. everything has an ultimate purpose in the overall plot, the magics are toned down and creative, the characters change and grow and while im no expert on sailing, it would seem that Robin Hobb is knowledgeable about sailing matters and this reinforces the believability of the story.

Buy it read it and then read everything else by her!!
(Oh and be warned - you might lose a few days/weeks of your life!)