Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warning-Some sexual content
This was such a facinating book to read. Super enjoyable. I think what I liked so much about it was that the characters were individual, unique, and diverse. And I felt so much for them. Whether it was that I hated them, was super annoyed by them (like I was supposed to be), rooting for them, intrigued by how they become who they were...just so much. I loved the complexity of their stories.
This was such a facinating book to read. Super enjoyable. I think what I liked so much about it was that the characters were individual, unique, and diverse. And I felt so much for them. Whether it was that I hated them, was super annoyed by them (like I was supposed to be), rooting for them, intrigued by how they become who they were...just so much. I loved the complexity of their stories.
adventurous
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Having loved the Farseer trilogy, I didn't expect to enjoy the beginning of this the Liveships trilogy. The blurb on the back made the whole idea of sentient trees and ships a bit ridiculous. By the time I was 100 pages in I was hooked. Hobb makes the characters to well rounded and interesting that it was a struggle to put this book down and do other things. I started the next one straight after finishing this one!
"Ship of Magic" is the first book in a new Robin Hobb trilogy, dealing with Liveships, politics, pirates, and coming of age. Liveships are built from wizardwood and quicken after three generations, making the figureheads of the ships to persons who can speak, act, and feel, which is a truly fascinating concept. When Althea's father dies, she is supposed to inherit the family liveship, the Vivacia, but her unfair, bossy, bully of an uncle gets the ship instead and Althea runs away, while the uncle forces his son who was destined to be a priest to stay on the ship. The unfairness and violence in this book made me quite uncomfortable just like how likely rape and sexual violence are touched upon. I know that Hobb does things like that on purpose to make us feel uncomfortable, but it doesn't feel challenged enough and I'm not sure that a younger version of myself would've really felt that a lack of consent was a problem here. I don't know. Anyhow, we also meet Amber (aka the Fool <3 from the Fitz books) and another interesting characters, such as an asshole pirate named Kennit, a blind and mad ship called Paragon, Ronica Vestrit the matriarch of the family, an asshole uncle who should die already, a priest who no longer can be a priest, a drug abusing love interest who should just leave, and many more complex and not all quite likeable characters. The political dimension of the story is also quite interesting, how trade works (both with other countries as well with the Rain Wilds) and how life in Bingtown changes through time. Prepare to really hate characters and then end up liking them. It's weird!
4 Stars
4 Stars
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated