Rating: 
Summary: One of the best books there is (in my opinion)
Review: I think it could make a really good film if done right cos the book was just so good, absolutely brilliant anyone who hasn't read just don't be put off by the length it doesn't matter if you HATE reading I can guarintee you won't regret reading it!
Rating:
Summary: It's brillianto, spifferific (ok I'm weird)
Review: I mean honestly all this stuff about harry potter which is nothing compared to Robin's works. Robin's charcters have a huge amount of depth and I ended up hating each one at a certain point in each book but then theres always some spark of goodness in them afterwards and um... ahem Liveships are an INCREDIBLE invention of the imagination (hope you heard that...hmmm...) wasn't really pointing that at anyone you know honest but anyhow do not worry about the books being long because beleive me by the end of the trilogy you wish they'd been longer!
Rating: 
Summary: Same old stuff.
Review: This is probably a fine book for teenagers who devour every fantasy book their fingers can touch, and it is better written, technically, than a lot of fat, generic fantasy series. I'm inclined to categorize it as escapism, which is not so much a criticism as a shrug. There's nothing particularly special about the setting (liveships included); there's nothing inspiring or unique about the writing (I can think of dozens of authors who sound just like this one); the characters are standard teen/teen-like holograms that the reader is expected to project themselves onto; and at 809 pages, it is what every fantasy fanatic expects of a book these days -- complication without complexity, characterization without depth, darkness without getting your hands dirty, and a rather flat/acceptable/non-threatening view of storytelling.It's about the same as watching a mini-series on the Hallmark channel. It'll pass the time, but don't expect it to have any sort of impact on you.
Rating:
Summary: More than just a high seas adventure
Review: As a fan of both ships and the ocean, I cannot help but feel that liveships are a truly unique fantasy idea. Sure you have the typical characters etc., but the idea of living, feeling ships alone makes this series worth reading. Having also read the other two books in the trilogy, I can say that Ship of Magic is a wonderful start, yet would be an incomplete story without the other two. In other words, if you can't commit to all three, then steer clear of this book. However, if you're ready to tie the knot with three books at once, then go for it! The Liveship Traders trilogy is full of adventure and a facinating new world - one that is not far different from our own (except for the fingerprint of dragons.) Readers will quickly make connections with the ships themselves - perhaps more so than the human characters - but after all, it is the liveships that make these books a treat for fantasy lovers and ordinary readers both.
Rating: 
Summary: A Waste of Time
Review: This is 809 pages of adolescent drivel. The conflicts established provided ample opportunity for a satisfying resolution that never occurred. Far too much elaboration on the shallow reflections of flat characters. As a reader, I felt cheated.
Rating:
Summary: Satisfying
Review: Satisfying-- that's what I thought after I read the entire series. These books are in my favorite genre- fantasy- but different enough from the cookie cutter fantasy story to really capture my attention. The concept of the liveships is fabulous and Althea (or any of the other characters) was not the typical farm-boy-finds-out-he's-royalty-and-has-to-save-the-world fantasy character. I enjoyed this series more than the Assassin's Apprentice series, which dragged a little at it's very dark conclusion. This is definitely a highly recommended read!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Book!!!
Review: Most of you must agree that this book was wonderful. I know it left us hungry for more but I guess that's what a good author is after anyway, right? I really enjoyed this book and I enjoyed the sequel even more! I've read Robin Hobbs other trilogy and I can see that this author is here to stay!
The characters were so lifelike that I could almost picture myself in the book with them.
Rating:
Summary: Awful!
Review: I read fantasy all the time, and this book stands out as really, really bad. The plot was good, but the author ruined it. The characters are unbelievable, the story dull. Even the writing style bored me. This book is definitely one of the worst I've read.
Rating:
Summary: Absorbing
Review: Robin Hobb's second series after the Farseer Trilogy is absorbing. Never afraid to kill, maim or torture her characters, Hobb weaves an intricate story that provides some answers to riddles from her first series but is in every way a completely new story about lands and cultures that simply share the same planet with those of the Farseer books. Robin Hobb's writing transports me into the lands she describes and I feel a connection with the characters she develops so well. They feel REAL.
Rating:
Summary: Book of Magic!
Review: This is a very fine work of fantasy literature. First of all, as far as I'm concerned, the premise of liveships is utterly original. Sick of sparkly wizards, clanking knights and flaming dragons? Read of Robin Hobb's talking, feeling ships. Hobb's genius is manifold. First, her characters are extremely real, very human in behaviour, and every single one of them effortlessly evoking sympathy (or anti-sympathy) in the reader. Hobb's remarkable skill is in entering the mind of the character she is writing - even though the book is written in traditional third-person perspective, whenever a character is "on stage", the author's writing creates multiple unique nuances in speech, description and thought to identify each and every one's personality - hence the intimacy. Second, Hobb's main plot is very compact and assured, with its subplots tightly hugging alongside. Her storyline devices (the ship-hunting quests of Kennit and Sorcor, the issue of Paragon, Althea's quest for a ticket) are fascinating and completely believable - nothing is absurd or incredulously outrageous - all this enhance the realism of her magic. I should warn though that a reader going through the book for the first time may be at a total loss as to the whole thing about the serpents - the prologue and epilogue hint at something much larger, but it is probably only when one reaches the second book that things start to come into the light. So, if you get a bit confused with all that obscure serpentine underwater talk - don't worry, all will be explained later. All in all, Hobb paces the book extremely well, sailing between tantalizing sluggishness and quick, lively momentum - 880 pages? No problem, every chapter is worth it.
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