Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb
Rate and review Ship of Magic! | What does everyone else think?
The Ship of Magic is book one of the Liveship Traders trilogy written by Robin Hobb. First published in 1998, the series is set far to the south of The Six Duchies, the setting for the excellent Farseer Trilogy.
After having read and thoroughly enjoyed the Farseer trilogy I was expecting more of the same again. I was not disappointed; in fact I found the writing of even higher calibre. This is no small compliment as I find Robin Hobbs’s use of the English language superb and a joy to read.
The story is unique, the character development excellent. In just a few chapters the characters are well drawn and take on a life of their own. There is a distinctly nautical feel to the Liveship Traders but it is in no way important that you have a passion for the sea as the story could be based on land, sea or air, it really wouldn’t matter.
The event upon which the story is central is the “quickening” of the liveship Vivacia. Once three family members of separate generations have died on board the ship it will become “alive” and share the memories of the deceased and become a being in it’s own right. This is a wonderful notion and adds certain freshness to the story that remains throughout.
Ship of Magic: Prologue
Once the liveship Vivacia has been wakened, the pace of the narrative slows down; the characters are further developed, at this, a key moment in the lives of all the main characters. The inevitable infighting that plagues families times of bereavement also affects the Vistrits and they are a family torn apart. Kyle Haven exerts his newly foundcontrol of the family and this drives a further wedge amongst them.
It is at this point that Paragon once again returns to the narrative. Paragon (or Pariah) is a half-crazed liveship, renowned for being cursed and bad luck. It is to this ship that Brashen and Althea turn in their hour of need. This is a very interesting sub plot and hopefully will play a bigger part in the subsequent books.
‘I had the strangest dream,’ she said engagingly. Then she smiled at Althea, a grin that was at once impish and merry. ‘Thank you so for waking me.’
Ship of Magic: The Quickening of the Vivacia.
The second half of the book follows Althea, Wintrow and Brashen as they endevour to find contentment within their new lives. Alongside their stories is the social-drama that is life in Bingtown for Keffria, Ronit and Malta. There is a definite class system in place and image very important. Keeping up appearances even though they have fallen on hard times is very important to the Vestrit family.
Wintrow's troubles however far outweigh the rest of his families. He is a figure that is easy to fall in behind, a soft, gentle caring boy who is thrust into a life that he does not wish for.
You can add to this story a pirate by the name of Captain Kennit and have an excellent nautical tale fall of excellent characters.This is a large book and takes some reading. It is an orignal theme that has very good characters and a gripping storyline. Thoroughly enjoyable.
The book's cover illustration's are by the John Howe.
"Refreshingly original" Jenny Wurts
The Liveship Traders 1: Ship of Magic (Amazon.co.uk)
Author: Robin Hobb
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 896
Publication date: 1999-03-01
Publisher: Voyager
RRP: £8.99
Lowest new price: £2.16
Lowest used price: £0.75
Robin Hobb, author of the Farseer trilogy, has returned to that world for a new series. Ship of Magic is a sea tale, reminiscent of Moby Dick and Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series in its details of shipboard life. It is also a fantasy adventure with sea serpents, pirates and all sorts of magic. The "liveships" have distinct personalities and partner with specific people, somewhat like Anne McCaffrey's Brain ships and their Brawns, though these are trading ships and have full crews.
Hobb has peopled the book with many wonderfully developed characters. Most of the primary ones are members of the Vestritts, an Old Trader family which owns the liveship Vivacia. Their stories are intercut with those of Kennit, the ambitious pirate Brashen, the disinherited scion of another family who served on the Vestritt's ship, and Paragon, an abandoned old liveship believed to be insane. The sentient sea serpents have their own story which is hinted at as well.
Though Ship of Magic is full of action, none of the plot lines is resolved in this book. Readers who resent being left with many questions and few answers after almost 700 pages should think twice before starting, or wait until the rest of the series is out so that their suspense won't be too prolonged. But Hobb's writing draws you in and makes you care desperately about what will happen next, the mark of a terrific storyteller. --Nona Vero
Amazon.co.uk Review
Ship of Magic (Liveship Traders) (Amazon.com)
Author: Robin Hobb
Binding: Paperback
Number of pages: 896
Publication date: 1999-03-01
Publisher: Voyager
RRP: $16.50
Lowest new price: $3.99
Lowest used price: $1.50
Robin Hobb's acclaimed Farseer trilogy--Assassin's Apprentice, Royal Assassin, and Assassin's Quest--wove a spellbinding tale of magic, passion, and glory. Now, in the first book of a new trilogy set in the same world, she tells the magnificent story of a proud seafaring clan and the enchanted ships that carry them on far-flung, ferocious tides....
Not far from the Six Duchies lies Bingtown, hub of exotic trade and home to a merchant nobility famed for its liveships--rare vessels carved from wizardwood, which ripens magically into sentient awareness. Bingtown's Old Traders, their wealth eroded by northern wars and the rapacity of southern pirates, now face an influx of upstart merchants who bring change to a complex society.
The Vestrit family's only hope of renewed prosperity is the Vivacia, a liveship they have nurtured for three generations. Now, as old Captain Vestrit lies dying in Bingtown, the Vivacia cuts homeward through the waves, about to quicken into a living being. The ship carries Vestrit's daughter Althea and the conniving son-in-law he has named as the Vivacia's next captain.
But lovely, wild-spirited Althea, sailing the Vivacia with her father since childhood and sharing its half-awakened memories and ocean secrets, has bonded with the ship in her deepest soul. Joined by Brashen--her father's first mate, now demoted by the Vivacia's new commander--she will stop at nothing in a bitter quest to claim its captaincy.
Meanwhile, in the rocky cays known as the Pirate Isles, a ruthless man lusts after his own kind of power. The pirate captain Kennit, in his scheme to be king of this outlaw realm, has vowed that he will wrest a liveship from its owners and turn it to his own use. His twisted ambition will bring him into a strange partnership with a boy-priest turned seaman--and into violent conflict with the wizardwood magic of Althea and Brashen.
From the peculiar magic realm of the Others to the bawdy, raucous lair of the pirates, Ship of Magic sweeps a dazzling cast of characters into an epic of terrible beauty and mysterious sorcery.
Product Description
Submit your own mini-review
Let people know what you think about Ship of Magic. You can write your own mini-review and give the book the rating that you think it deserves. Your reviews will go towards giving Ship of Magic its overall rating that will decide where Ship of Magic finishes in the top 100 fantasy books of all time.
Books you may also enjoy...
The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece. The Lord of the Rings is the best known as most enjoyed fantasy book of all time. If you have never read this, or The Hobbit before, then you are in for a real treat! ... read the full review
Summary: It is hard to put into words the happiness that can be felt when reading literature as good as this.
The Earthsea Quartet by Ursula Le Guin
The Earthsea Quartet brings together Ursula Le Guin’s four legendary Earthsea sagas for the first time in a single volume. ... read the full review
Summary: Stunning, thought-provoking fantasy.
The Mad Ship by Robin Hobb
The Liveship Traders series continues with the second book, The Mad Ship. Althea Vestrit continues her quest to reclaim her rightful inheritance, the liveship Vivacia. The Vivacia has been seized by pirates led by the enigmatic Kennit, a man who believes that destiny leads him to become King of the Pirate Isles. The Vestrit family are nearing financial ruin which leads them closer to the mysterious Rain Wild Traders who own the ship. Amidst these events the mad ship, Paragon is once again launched despite the history of death and despair that surrounds him. ... read the full review
Summary: A spell-binding story full of wonderful characters and intrigue.
Also in this sub-genre...
- The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
- The Earthsea Quartet by Ursula Le Guin
- The Mad Ship by Robin Hobb
- The Judging Eye by R Scott Bakker
- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
- Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll
- The Adventures of Pinocchio by Carlo Collodi
- Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak
- Assassin’s Quest by Robin Hobb
- The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
- Magician by Raymond E Feist
- The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip
- Lord Fouls Bane by Stephen Donaldson
- Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb
- Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb
- A Darkness at Sethanon by Raymond E Feist
- The Other Wind by Ursula Le Guin
- Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb
- Before They Are Hanged by Joe Abercrombie
- The Illearth War by Stephen Donaldson
- Wizards First Rule by Terry Goodkind
- The Power That Preserves by Stephen Donaldson
- Tales From Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin
- Fool’s Errand by Robin Hobb
- The Golden Fool by Robin Hobb
- Fool’s Fate by Robin Hobb
- The Last Unicorn by Peter S Beagle
- Silver Mage by CM Debell
- Shaman’s Crossing by Robin Hobb
- The Ice Crown by Sean Beech
- The High Lord by Trudi Canavan
- The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
- The House of the Stag by Kage Baker
- The Magicians Nephew by CS Lewis
- The Diamond Throne by David Eddings
- The Dragonbone Chair by Tad Williams
- The Wounded Land by Stephen Donaldson
- The Silmarillion by JRR Tolkien
- Jarrak’s Darkness by Colin R Parsons
- The Riddler’s Gift by Greg Hamerton
- The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
- The Novice by Trudi Canavan
- Magyk by Angie Sage
- The Lost Barkscrolls by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
- Fire by Kristin Cashore
Book of the Month
Apartment 16 by Adam Nevill
Some doors are better left closed . . . In Barrington House, an upmarket block in London, there is an empty apartment. No one goes in, no one comes out. And it’s been that way for fifty years. Until the night watchman hears a disturbance after midnight and investigates. What he experiences is enough to change his life forever.
Latest interviews
Interviews plus question and answer sessions with authors, narrators and publishers.
Must-reads
The following reviews are of books that begin the very best fantasy series available.
Competition: Win a signed copy of Graham Hancock's Entangled
Graham Hancock is the author of The Sign and the Seal, Fingerprints of the Gods, Keeper of Genesis, Heaven's Mirror, Supernatural and other bestselling investigations of historical mysteries. His books have been translated into twenty-seven languages and have sold over five million copies worldwide. Written with the same page-turning appeal that has made his non-fiction so popular, Entangled is his first work of fiction. We have five signed copies of Entangled to give away as prizes. Email us the answer to the following question and the lucky winner, chosen at random, will receive a copy of the book, signed by the author.
Special Feature: Fantasy Book Review talks to the Book View Cafe
Book View Cafe is a cooperative site created by a group of writers - including internationally renowned authors Katharine Kerr, Ursula Le Guin and Vonda N. McIntyre - who want to take advantage of the internet's possibilities for reaching a wider audience and to distribute their work directly to their readers. The Book View Cafe is a place where you can find free, original fiction plus the authors' best and out-of-print work for a fee. Fantasy Book Review spoke to Book View Cafe member, science fiction author and memoirist Chris Dolley in February 2010.
Special Feature: Understanding the author of Alice in Wonderland
Lewis Carroll, the elusive author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass, has been the subject of enduring fascination for the past hundred years. The destruction of many major documents about his personal life by his descendants has only magnified the mystery. Jenny Woolf's biography, published to coincide with the release of the new Tim Burton Alice in Wonderland film, lays waste to the myths and suspicions that have obscured Carroll's reputation by placing him firmly in the context of his own time.
