Ship of Magic (Liveship Traders Trilogy Book 1)

Ship of Magic is not just one of the best fantasy books I've read but one of the best fiction books I've ever read. I was reluctant to leave Fitz after finishing the first trilogy. But it turns out that I enjoyed Ship of Magic even more. As this is only the first book of a trilogy, it makes for even higher praise. Many books and other pieces of art leave you feeling that maybe you yourself could have slapped it together with a little work. But this book is a unique and irreproducible masterwork of craftsmanship from start to finish. You are left wide-eyed asking, "how did you doooo that?" The pages are dripping with heart, care and wisdom. The plot and storytelling are beautifully paced. The world-building is done so well that you simply buy into talking wood. The dialogue and characterization are so smart you feel as if you are sitting at a table listening to old friends. For me, the most impressive aspect of Hobb is her emotional intelligence and grasp of real human nature and human behavior. Good and evil will overlap between characters. People act with nobility in one scene while flawed and selfish in another. Each character struggles with very believable conflicts that have no neat answers or solutions. The world setting is extremely gritty and outcomes are unpredictable. And with all this, there are deeper philosophical points being made strongly throughout, without making you feel as if the author is *trying* too hard to do it. They just arise organically from the plot. The historical period of the setting is captured very well, from the style of dialogue to the expectations of age and gender. Hobb effectively writes from many different perspectives at once. You will be inside the head of an individual character for a moment, then an omniscient perspective, then inside the head of another character. It felt seamless, and it's a style that effectively immerses the reader. You will walk a mile in the shoes of the characters while watching yourself do it.

This is my first Hobb book. I tried Farseer but I couldn't get into it. I thought I'd give her another try since so many people seem to like her so much. I'm glad I did, and I'll have to give Farseer another try. Possibly spoilers here... First the good stuff. The magic was really kool. The whole system was very intricate and believable. The wizardwood was really intriguing and even though the liveships do kind of have a cheese factor, I still liked it. The story was really a pageturner, I looked forward to picking up the book everyday ( I read it on breaks at work mostly). A lot of the characters broke out of the stereotypes of pirates and such although Althea...I dunno she kind of seemed too much the spunky heroine ya know? I liked her and all...but she wasn't the most interesting of the bunch. The most I liked her was when she did something I didn't expect, which was only a couple times...the plot point of her dressing up as a boy could be seen a mile away. But it doesn't put a damper on it, I think she still has potential in the rest of the story esp with Brashen. I also liked her thing with the woodworking girl Amber...which wasn't as much as I wish it would have been. The world was nice, and I liked the family dynamics and the contract with the Creepy Traders...although Malta was a bore. Kyle...who can say why Ephrom ever trusted him for a moment? Now for some of the not so good stuff... Paragon...I don't know, he was interesting but just a bit too blank sometimes characterwise. I can see why that could be since he lost his memories...but some of the stuff with him and Amber I didn't think added much to the story. Interminable setting details...could have been A LOT shorter and tighter if some of that stuff was left out. While I really liked Kennit and his whore...I wish there were more background information about what made him the way he is...hopefully that will be brought out in the next two books...but I would have liked more in this one! It would have made him less of just a villain. Wintrow...was interesting and everything it's just I didn't find myself liking him very much at all. That's not all bad...I realize not every character has to be likable...but I had to read a lot about him and I thought he was spiteful and pompous...but I do see room for him to grow and I hope he does I think the worst aspect of the book was the serpents...it did not go anywhere and was just a muddle. I know we'll see more...but bring it somewhere in the first book! Most of this stuff is probably nitpicking...but I gave the book four stars and overall it is a really good book...just a few things that maybe will be resolved over the course of the trilogy but I wished were brought to a better tantalizing crescendo in the first book. Happy reading!

I enjoyed this story much more than Assassin’s Quest. The multiple POVs were a fantastic change from Robin Hobb’s writing in the Farseer trilogy. Without a doubt, Hobb writes characters and ‘slice of life’ as well as any author that I have ever read. She understands how to make characters appealing (or not appealing) to her audience in ways that few writers do. Her prose is magnificent and easy to read - she puts the reader physically in the story! I think this will become one of my favorite trilogies, even though I’m just now finishing book one!! Highly recommended!!

The Liveship Traders Trilogyの一冊目。世界設定が同じだけでファーシーアとは無関係かと思っていたが、そうではなかった。フィッツはでてこないがファーシーアの登場人物もひとり登場するし、時間的にはファーシーアとTawny Manの間におきたことが描かれている。海洋冒険ファンタジィ。 舞台は六公国以南、パイレーツ諸島やビングタウンが主な舞台となっている。ビングタウンにはライブシップという、意思を持つ船が存在しており、その船には必ず船を所有する貿易商一族の血縁者が乗船しなければならない。ヴェストリット家の次女アリシアは、女ながらも父親と共に何年もこの船に乗っていたが、父親の死後船長となった姉の夫カイルによって船を追われる。父だけでなく船を失うアリシアと、父カイルに無理やり乗船させられるウィントロー、海賊王になることともくろむケニット、さまよう大海蛇の群れなどを中心に物語が展開するのだが、場面がころころ変わり、しかも何人もの視点で語られるので、歯がゆいことこのうえない。２巻になれば登場人物同士が出会い、それによって場面転換も減り、物語も回転し始めるが、１巻目は舞台と状況の説明にかなり費やされているので、とにかく我慢の一冊。 わたしの場合はファーシーア、Tawny Man 、Liveship Traderの順番で読んだが、Tawny Manで多少疑問に思った点も、このシリーズを読んで納得がいった。正直いうとファーシーアやTawny Manのよりおもしろさは落ちるので、フィッツのその後が気になる人はTawny Manに直行することをお勧めする。それでも読み足らないくらいこの世界が気に入ったなら、やはり読む価値は十分にあると思う

Like many others who have reviewed the work of Ms. Hobb, I could not put this work of art down. For me, the mark of a really good book include: The feeling of extreme disappointment when you have been reading for three hours solid and suddenly realise you have nearly finished; characters which make you love, hate, admire and empathise with all at once; a storyline which is so fresh and original with new theories presented in an artful and subtle way; a story which catches you up and doesnt drop you until the very last word of the very last page. This trilogy and this book in particular fulfill all this and more. The first book of hers I read was the Assassin's Apprentice and I bought it, not realising it was in first person view. So I left it and came back to it a few months later. I only regret not discovering this lady's immense talent earlier. To my mind, no other fantasy author who has been published can come near her for style, strength of her characters, technical ability, plot and originality. She packs more into one book than some authors pack into three or more. A real inspiration to an aspiring authoress and a truly epic book.

O livro nos trás de volta ao universo criado pela autora na Saga do Assassino. As semelhanças são pequenas no começo, mas aos poucos o leitor mais atento consegue fazer conexões entre as duas séries. Fortemente recomendado para quem gostou de um trabalho anterior de Hobb

Ursprünglich hatte ich nur nach etwas gesucht, das mir die Zeit bis zum Erscheinen von George R. R. Martin’s neuem Buch der "Song of Ice & Fire“-Saga vertreiben würde, dabei bin ich jedoch (via Amazon-Empfehlungen) über die "Liveship"-Trilogie gestolpert. Ich bin nun inzwischen –viel zu schnell, wie mir scheint- in der Mitte des 3. Bandes angelangt, und ich liebe es noch genauso wie von der ersten Seite an! Robin Hobb's Tempo ist nach wie vor unvermindert hoch, dennoch nimmt sie sich genug Zeit, um ihren vielen Charakteren (es dürften so um die 10 Hauptcharaktere sein) diese wunderbare Tiefe zu geben. Diese sind durch die Bank vielschichtig und interessant, und sie entwickeln sich weiter- es ist vollkommen unmöglich, sie in "Gut“ und "Böse“ zu unterteilen, und gerade dies macht sie so realistisch. "Ship of Magic", Buch 1, ist sozusagen die Einleitung, in der die Charaktere vorgestellt werden und die Story aufgebaut wird, "Mad Ship" ist Buch 2 und das Buch der Wendepunkte, nach dem nichts mehr so sein kann wie es einmal war, und "Ship of Destiny" ist das Buch der Auflösungen, in dem sich die Schicksale der einzelnen Charaktere erfüllen- sowohl in die eine als auch in die andere Richtung. Daß ich solch eine reiche Fantasy-Welt vorfinden würde, damit hatte ich trotz der positiven Bewertungen wirklich nicht gerechnet. Die Handlungsfäden ziehen sich im Laufe der Reihe immer weiter auseinander, sind aber dennoch miteinander verbunden, so daß es einem nicht schwerfällt, den einzelnen Charakteren auf ihren Abenteuern zu folgen. Besonders gefällt mir, wie nach und nach das Geheimnis um die Liveships gelüftet wird- das ist einfach wunderbar gelungen. Lebensnahe Charaktere, faszinierende Fantasy-Welten, und das alles auch noch mitreißend geschrieben- Fantasy-Fans kommen um diese Bücher nicht herum. Nachdem ich jahrelang aus Mangel an interessantem, originellem Lesestoff der Fantasy-Sparte ferngeblieben bin, bin ich nun wirklich begeistert, zuerst George R. R. Martin und nun auch noch Robin Hobb entdeckt zu haben. Und das Beste ist: die "Farseer“-, "Tawny Man“- und die neue "Soldier Son“-Trilogien liegen alle noch vor mir! Ein Wort noch zu Martin (da die beiden ja oft zusammen genannt werden): im direkten Vergleich zur "Ice & Fire"-Saga würde ich sagen, daß die "Liveship Traders"-Reihe genauso reich und interessant, allerdings weniger dunkel und negativ ist. Während Martin's Hauptcharaktere seit 3 Büchern ständig vom Regen in die Traufe kommen, gibt es bei Robin Hobb hin und wieder auch mal kleinere Lichtblicke. Qualitativ stehen sich beide Autoren in nichts nach.

It's a lot of fun to read this book. It's all so wide open of possibilities for her characters in the other two books, that it keeps you engaged all the time reading it. And yes, it is characterdriven as they say everywhere, but that is totally okay, because they all read like in a movie in my head. Thank you for a good book!