Rating: 
Summary: I missed it, I guess
Review: I have no idea why so many people loved this book so much. I admit, it has some good points, but 'The best book I have ever read'? Maybe I missed something. Yet, After plowing through such an immense tome as this, surely it's impossible that I missed a thing. Of course, it's possible that anyone who did not have a high opinion of this series bailed out after the first book (no pun intended). Having loved Hobb's 'Farseer' trilogy, I wanted to see if 'Liveship Traders' would get better. Well....As I said, the book has some good points. The storyline is compelling, and the plot ideas are original--it's certainly not typical Sword & Sorcery. The fact that I managed to read it all the way through, despite my lack of enthusiasm, can attest to the fact that Hobb knows how to plant her hooks to keep you reading. Hobb also deserves credit, as she proved in the 'Farseer' trilogy, for being willing to deal with harsh realities most authors will steer clear of. True, many authors kill off characters, but seldom do they subject them to the living traumas that Hobb's characters are forced to experience. When the unthinkable can happen, it lends an unprecedented realism and suspense to what might otherwise be typical fantasy. However....Let's take the dialogue, first of all. Am I the only one who noticed the characters' propensity to lecture one another? Anything that could have been said in one line is said in four. This makes for rambling conversations that sound anything but natural and are dull, besides. Tension or other strong emotions are normally expressed with rapid-fire dialogue, which is missing here. One can almost picture the characters, in parody of a Shakespeare play, stepping up to the microphone to recite. The effect is forced and contrived. Perhaps this is one of the reasons the characters never took off for me. One thing is certain: I don't care about *anybody*. It's impossible to truly care about them--they remain so distant from the reader, either engaged in Deep Thought or in Deep Angst. They never display any spontaneous bursts of genuine personality--everything is planned and rather flat. Althea is annoying and predictable (Is there anyone who didn't guess she'd make a fuss at the Trader's meeting?) and the love triangle is as worn-out and trite as a dishrag--and equally as predictable. The Vestrit family, for which the reader is supposed to have a deep affection, engenders only the barest sympathy. Kennit is interesting, but emotional attachment to him as a character is well-nigh impossible. Of course, I found any kind of attachment to these characters to be extremely difficult, and often it was hard to summon up even simple interest. The fact that so many characters crowd under the spotlight contributes to this, and gives them short shrift for development. This can be illustrated by the transitions the characters go through. One minute Malta is a cold, shallow, and sadistic little horror. The next minute--before one can even say 'Huh?'--she morphs into someone we are supposed to think of as thoughtful, passionate, and destined for greatness. At this point she casts back and recalls 'the girl she had been last year'--but as far as I, the poor reader remembered, it was 'the girl she had been in the last chapter'. Suddenly I am supposed to take Malta seriously? Admire her? Huh? A more realistic transition was in order. Then there's Wintrow--ah, Wintrow. I can't help but wonder if Hobb has any idea of the personality she wants for him. In any case, he is also an example of a weird transition. First he questions Kennit's views, then a second later he is *totally* and utterly brainwashed to his cause. That was fast. And the worst part is that one would think, with all these glaring ommissions, that the book would at the very least be cleanly written and fast-paced. Not a chance. It wallows and trudges along in pages of useless dialogue, Deep Thoughts and Angst which ultimately go nowhere. If ever a book needed an editor, this is it. 300 pages could have probably been cut out without making a dent. I usually love nice long books (ala Tad Williams and Guy Kay) but only when length is justified by the quality of the content. Here most of the content is filler. My last pet peeve is the serpents. I skipped those sections after a while, because I just couldn't take it anymore. The humans are hard enough to care about--we're supposed to care about *snakes*? And *ships*? I think the author needs to get her people straight before she expects us to sympathize with reptiles and talking inanimate objects. To sum up, this book gets three stars from me for the good points listed above, and because the story still has potential. That said, I would recommend this either if (1) you loved the first. By all means, dig in! (2) You need a filler book while your favorite author is writing a sequel. Otherwise, don't bother.
Rating: 
Summary: Really great book
Review: Be sure to have a lot of spare time on your hands! this book is as good as the first, and I was slightly miffed that the paperback sequel isn't out yet. I like seeing Malta develope beyond a spoiled brat into a respectable young lady. I didn't like her in the first book, but am beginning to respect her. I've always liked Althea, as the strong heroine of the book, and she is beginning to lose some of her brashness. The thing I don't like about Vivacia is how gullible she is. With all the memories available to her, and Althea's ancestor's opinions on piracy, why does she not realize the evils of piracy? She justifies piracy to free the slaves, however, which is believable. All in all, a good read.
Rating:
Summary: Possibly the Best Ongoing Fantasy Trilogy
Review: This may well be the best ongoing work of fantasy being written. A strong statement, perhaps, but one I believe is easily supported by the literate quality of writing, the depth of both the characterization and world she has created, the complexity of her plot development, and the originality of both her world and the elements of fantasy and and the magic underpinning it. In terms of the latter, it is refreshingly difficult to perceive any borrowings stemming from her predecessors, and her treatment of dragons is so far the only example I have discovered that is not either childish, overly drawn from earlier and worn stereotypes, or lacking credible treatment. In terms of the former, Robin Hobb is one of only a few fantasy authors who can truly write well. This is a series that should grace the shelves of any serious reader of fantasy, and rises far above the simple, run of the mill fare we so often encounter, with their characters and magical elements rarely ascending above the conventional or the borrowed. I noted that an earlier reviewer found this installment weaker than first; however I feel this to be the strongest volume of the series (I have obtained and read the concluding novel). In terms of the interweaving of the multiple plot lines, "Mad Ship" closes much that was left unresolved in "Ship of Magic," and propels the plot along at a much brisker pace, successfully setting up anticipation for the final resolution to come in "Ship of Destiny." It seems to me more tightly written, both in terms of character development and story line. Some appear to have found the plot overly complex, yet I would counter that the complexity and multiple plotlines are one of the books strengths, and that the absence of simplistic and largely linear storylines, as can be found in works by more conventional authors such as Eddings, Brooks, MacCaffrey, or Feist, creates a narrative that offers the reader far greater dimension and interest than a work that plods along the path of a single character. This, I suppose, is a matter of taste, but for me the more character perspectives the better, as long as they are individually and fully developed, which certainly is the case here. This offers the reader a narrative of greater depth and richness. Hobb's storyline here, with its multi-dimensional threads of plot, never strays, evolving over time into a cohesive yet multifaceted entity as wonderfully rendered as 'Maulkin's Tangle.' I was somewhat baffled by an earlier criticism regarding a lack of characterization: One of Hobb's undeniable strengths are her characterizations; few other authors are so thorough in creating unique and individual characters whose responses are neither black nor white. And it is hard to find more credible female characters. Finally, in response to another reader, while I am one who continues to read Jordan with enjoyment, I believe the Hobb is shown here to be the better writer, at least in terms of the maturity of her characterizations and the originality of her world, and certainly his equal when it comes to descriptive narrative. While Hobb may not offer the epic scope of Jordan's vision, it waits to be seen whether the greater strength lies with her more tightly envisioned approach to storytelling.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Bad!
Review: Mad Ship is good but not nearly as good as Ship of Magic. The plot jumps from perspective to perspective frequently and without warning. More new characters are introduced which I felt swamped an already crowded cast of characters. However, many characters (such as Malta) were fleshed out in this novel and the importance of the dragons was finally revealed. You'll have to be patient to unravel all the plot twists but, I feel it was a lot better than her Farseer Trilogy. I look forward to the conclusion, Ship of Destiny
Rating:
Summary: Excellent, and I have 3rd book!
Review: I LOVE this series! I was simply going nuts having to waituntil [its release]...[it] lives up to the first two novels, but surpasses them. I thought I'd be bored with the characters by now but I find myself in greater anticipation as I read. My roommate is reading Mad Ship right now and I can't help but taunt her with "I know something you don't know" with most every chapter I finish of the fantastic final book. ::grin:: To anyone starting the series, it took me a good 150 to 200 pages to really get into the first novel. I actually considered not finishing it. I'm not sure if the book just took off after that or I just needed to get used to the characters. Who knows. Who cares! I'm so glad I stuck it out. Also, for those of you who are George R.R. Martin Game of Thrones fans, his third book of that series is coming out in the UK a good 4 or 5 months earlier than the U.S. as well.
Rating:
Summary: A Blaze of Glory
Review: I loved this book! Carrying on the plot from the first book, Robin weaves and twists the story line until you have no idea where it is going to end up. The characters are suffused with such powerfull emotions that you find it very difficult not to be dragged right into the heart of the story. You love, hate, laugh and cry all the way through it with the characters you cherish and the ones you love to hate. I am avidly haning out for the next installment. Way to go Robin!
Rating:
Summary: Hobb goes from good to very good!
Review: Hobb has a number of qualities that I apreciate, chief among them that she is not afraid to kill or hurt main caracters (something that adds an element of suspence never attainabull in for exempel the work of Eddings where main caracters are immortal). However previosly I have never considerd her more the good (three out of five). The stoy that begun in "Ship of magic" unfolds and actually gains momentum. Unlike most second books that usually become nothing but setup for the third Hobb lets the plot unfold and brings it forward. This is not to say that she does not leave you with a cliffhanger but that the book contains a lot more then an ending meant to make you buy the next book (books). Those who have read "The Farseer" books will recognize most of the caracters and many elements of the plot, but there are enough differences to make it acceptebull. All in all this is an very good book, purhaps not good enough to buy in hardcover but good enough to borrow from somebody who buys hardcover and then buy in paperback.
Rating:
Summary: I can not rave enough
Review: This book was so well developed and written that I can not find enough emphatic praise for it. It built such a crescendo that I can not wait for the third book. My fear, after having read the Farseer trilogy, is that the third in the series will be a let down, but it will be fantastic if it is even half as good as Mad Ship. She had the same pattern in the Farseer trilogy as the liveship traders trilogy. Book 1: slow moving, but methodical and detailed and rich. Book 2: Crescendo! Book 3: Well, farseer's was not what it could have been.
Rating:
Summary: Whether or not you'll like this book...
Review: ...you will be unable to put it down. Hobb is wonderful at making her tale flow; I rushed headlong through the 800 or so pages, finishing the book in less than two days. I was in so bad that I even pretended to be sick one day, just to stay home from school and read the darn thing. (Actually, by now I'm certain I *was* sick, but the book had something to do with it anyway...) The characters are very believable, and if you don't agree with me, you'll at least be astounded by how emotially involved you will be! I can't wait for SHIP OF DESTINY to come out, I really can't.....it's so unfair that fans in the UK can reach Hobb's books first.....!
Rating:
Summary: entertaining fantasy
Review: The same quality of fantasy as the first "Ship of Magic" the "Mad Ship" keeps the story alive and interesting by introducing new ideas and going deeper into the already developed concepts. You can either quickly skim or go slow and envelope every word. (i do both depending on my mood). A quality read the whole way thru, thanks "Robin Hobb" (its her pen-name).
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