Rating: 
Summary: A lovely book
Review: Ship of Magic was an excellent book, upholding the high standards of writing set by her previous "Farseer" trilogy, and surpassing it in many ways. One of the best things about her work is that she writes about characters, not situations. There are no world shattering battles or anything, not even a profusion of physical fights at all, but she puts all her characters through hell nonetheless. And what an array of characters! There are tons of characters, and not a one boring, uninteresting or flat. They are all well fleshed out and interesting people, and it's amazing to see how they all interact. The writing style is lovely, although the cover was a bit awkward. I won't go into plot details, because there are simply far too many of them, but this book isn't really about the plot; rather, the plot manages to fit into the lives of the Liveship Traders. I definitely recommend this book to everyone, and it sets the stage very nicely for the rest of the trilogy.
Rating: 
Summary: The beginning and the end
Review: The first book of Mr. Hobb I have read. The book captured my interest with the first few chapters. In the middle of the book, I found myself frustrated as if Mr. Hobb were taking particular delight in kicking me in the teeth. He seemed to find specail pleasure in crushing any hope out of his characters and his readers. I continued reading only because of habit and a desire to see if he could possibly mangle his characters further. The end of the book did hold out hope that the next book would have the possiblility of becoming entertaining again. This book will not be on my reread list unless the subsequent books are better.
Rating:
Summary: Surprising Format
Review: When I picked this book up at a bookstore, I instantly liked the cover. After reading the back, I put it back on the shelf. However, when I went back the next time, I went ahead and bought it. What a great book it was when I read it at last. The beginning was a little confusing, because the back of the book talked mostly about Althea Vestrit. The only thing i had a little trouble understanding was where the serpents fit into the story, and in the first few encounters, I didn't realize that they were serpents. Overall, I really enjoyed the book. What I didn't like was the fact that Hobb kept me hanging on the Brashen and Althea situation. (If you want to understand, read the book, it's too hard to explain here.) I absolutely recommend this book to any book lover.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book!
Review: I read the Farseer Trilogy, and I thought it was pretty good, but Ship of Magic is far better. The characters have much more depth and feeling. I thought that Kennit was one of the most interesting characters. Althea was admirable, although a little too stubborn for her own good. My one complaint is that Brashen didn't receive as much attention as he deserved. This is a must read for anyone! Also, another great series is the Death Gate Cycle by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. The Death Gate novels were the best I have ever read, so check them out sometime.
Rating: 
Summary: the ship of magic by marije
Review: well i think it was great. mainly because there are many stories in one book who are all related to each other. it is all about the ship but there are many substories! i just loved it and i am waitng for part two.
Rating:
Summary: Truly Great!
Review: I have been strictly a Fantasy reader for the last 23 years. After reading the Farseer Trilogy, I was anxious to read other works by Robin Hobb. I must say I was a tad bit leary of this title. It looked a bit "historical romance" to me. To my surprise, this novel turned out to be delightful! Robin Hobb, you have created a devoted fan of your work. I just ordered Mad Ship in the hardback edition. I only do that with authors I truly enjoy! Your work will be among that of Tolkien, Eddings, Weis & Hickman, Salvatore, and various other favs of mine. Thank you!
Rating:
Summary: A magical Journey
Review: Ship of Magic is a monster of a book (weighing in at 800+ pages) and the first I had read of Robin Hobb's, so I approached it with some trepidation. It is a Fantasy novel far removed from the norm. Instead of kings, castles and knights the action is set on the seas of pirates, traders and whalers. I suspect Robin must have considerable sea-faring experience as no amount of research could capture what it is really like to live and work on a ship and this book gives you that. The mysteries of the Bingtown Traders, their relationships with the dark Riverwild folk and the wonders of wizardwood, are teased out slowly - setting you guessing and thinking. With one book over, the reader is left feeling there is so much more to learn, despite the complex and detailed descriptions. It will not be to everyone's taste: there is no sign of a big dark menace threatening the world, there are no armies of wizards and knights, no quests and no magician's sons growing up as stable boys... This is different. There is conflict, yes - battles of wills between the stubborn and strong principal characters, including the Ships themselves. This is an adult book: issues such as slavery handled intelligently as well as realistically. This book is well deserved of praise. My only dislike was the author's attempts to portray how the sea-serpents functioned and thought, from their own point of view, perhaps I was not giving this a chance as it featured only slightly throughout the book. I will see how this develops in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Captivating
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed this book from beginning to end. I read the Farseer trilogy first, and then moved on to this book. I really enjoy her writing style and the world which has been created is captivating, and seems to be endless. I look forward to future books, and have strongly encouraged friends to read these for themselves. I can't wait til I can get my hands on Mad Ship. I must see what happens next!
Rating:
Summary: Ship of Magic: The Liveship Traders
Review: Months after finishing this book, I could conjure up the characters and wonder how they made out in the sequel. The author created an intriguing world.
Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: I first picked this book up in Sidney,AU, hoping for a good read on the plane back. I wasn't at all disappointed!Hobb's charecter development was EXSQUISITE, and I could actually feel the pains and happiness of the charecters. I would definately recommend this book to anyone who likes a good read! ~Celestina Kimsey~ ~13~
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