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4.27 AVERAGE
4.27 AVERAGE
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Riveting. I don’t have the next one yet but I need it because these characters and this story is incredible.
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-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
Masterfully paced and plotted, the web that Robin Hobb has spun here is incredible collection of interlocking tragedies and triumphs, familial devastation and personal opportunity, adventure and intrigue. Characters, often fully realized in their own right when they first step onto the page, find their lives utterly transformed by forces (both the great and cosmic, and the gut-wrenchingly personal) they never anticipated, and watching the declining Vestrit family, the charming yet sociopathic pirate Captain Kennit, and the expansive cast of characters orbiting their lives deal with the fallout and find themselves anew is a pleasure that propels the reader across 900 pages of pirate islands, idyllic monasteries, bustling port cities, and sentient shipwrecks. Hobb expertly lays out a tense and shifting political backdrop in her fictional universe, one that feels real and threatening and not overly metaphorical--as in most great fantasy, the hand of the writer is only felt here when the narrative tide begins to shift or the gears begin to turn, when you get the exciting feeling that something important is happening and the pages begin to flip faster and faster, totally enthralled. The characters are deliciously selfish, funny, stupid, wise, cruel and altogether human--even the ones who aren't, as the book features some very nice prose from the POV of serpents and ships both). Hobb empathizes greatly with this motley assortment of scoundrels, good-hearted fools and spoiled brats--even the most loathsome are a joy to read about--and exploring their humanity offers insights and laments that elevate their exploits to something grander than pure plot--and the brewing mystery underlying the narrative thrust of this first book promises greater conflict down the road. In fact, what I am most impressed with is that the book telegraphs its eventual destination relatively early on--Hobb spends around 600 pages building up to a final confrontation you can very clearly see coming, and still manages to engage and thrill along the way, off the strength of the characters and the deeply fascinating, fantastical world they inhabit.
4.5 stars
Wow, I thought Farseer was pretty great and this book just took that up a notch. I loved the characters, the additional world building on top of the Farseer world and the multiple points of view.
from Kennit's charm
Then a page or so later
So many questions.
I'm really looking forward to the next book to see what the pirate and the priest get up to. Is Althea ever going to get her ship or will Kennit just charm the decks off of Vivacia? Can Kennit get a peg leg made of wizard wood? Are the serpents and Liveships somehow related. What's with the serpent chapters?
Wow, I thought Farseer was pretty great and this book just took that up a notch. I loved the characters, the additional world building on top of the Farseer world and the multiple points of view.
"Wintrow," he chided softly. "Refuse the anxiety. When you borrow trouble against what might be, you neglect the moment you have now to enjoy. The man who worries about what will next be happening to him loses this moment in dread of the next, and poisons the next with pre-judgment."
Spoiler
The charm, however, was not. “Captain Kennit can be a heartless pig. But I assure you that I understand that you did what you had to do to preserve me. I thank you for your deed.”
Shock warred with fury that the charm would so betray itself to another. He immediately clapped his hand over it, only to feel tiny teeth sink savagely into the meat of his palm. He snatched his hand away with a gasp of pain as Etta lifted her face to regard him with tear-filled eyes. “I understand,” she said hoarsely. “There are many roles a man has to play. It is probably necessary that Captain Kennit be a heartless pig.” She shrugged her shoulders and tried to smile. “I do not hold it against the Kennit who is mine.”
from Kennit's charm
“A likely urchin. Perhaps something useful can be made of him.”
Then a page or so later
“Because he is a part of my luck,” he said quietly. “The same luck that has given this ship to me so easily. You must see this is the ship I am meant to have. The boy is part and parcel of that.”
He almost wanted to make her understand. But no one must know of the words the charm had spoken when the boy looked so deeply into his eyes.
So many questions.
I'm really looking forward to the next book to see what the pirate and the priest get up to. Is Althea ever going to get her ship or will Kennit just charm the decks off of Vivacia? Can Kennit get a peg leg made of wizard wood? Are the serpents and Liveships somehow related. What's with the serpent chapters?
adventurous
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wowwwwww. Wow wow wow. This broke me out of my reading slump. 5 stars freely given!! My new all time favorite pirate book and a new favorite fantasy.
At its start, the first third of this tome felt very sluggish to me. It was hard for me to truly care about the characters, and I detested the audiobook narrator. But once I switched to the kindle version, I was hooked. 2/3 of the way through, I knew this was going to be a five star read. And I even started looking up where to buy the other 15 books in this series.
I love an author that puts their characters THROUGH IT. But in a way that feels believable and not just chaotic and terrible for the sake of shock. It’s hard to articulate. But I love when authors are not afraid of writing irredeemable characters but still maintaining their humanity.
These characters are so well fleshed out. And so dastardly! Almost all of them are terrible people that made me incredibly mad. But it was so much fun following them. I loved that the romance subplot was so small yet hit my chest with yearning I haven’t felt since throne of glass.
Hobb balanced so many storylines so masterfully, and wove them together in a clearly intentional way without giving anything away.
I stayed up late and put off work/chores because of this book. All the different POVs helped it move along so quickly once I was past the exposition.
My only complaint is that I want more female screen time and just a titch more female rage. But I have a feeling that’s coming.
At its start, the first third of this tome felt very sluggish to me. It was hard for me to truly care about the characters, and I detested the audiobook narrator. But once I switched to the kindle version, I was hooked. 2/3 of the way through, I knew this was going to be a five star read. And I even started looking up where to buy the other 15 books in this series.
I love an author that puts their characters THROUGH IT. But in a way that feels believable and not just chaotic and terrible for the sake of shock. It’s hard to articulate. But I love when authors are not afraid of writing irredeemable characters but still maintaining their humanity.
These characters are so well fleshed out. And so dastardly! Almost all of them are terrible people that made me incredibly mad. But it was so much fun following them. I loved that the romance subplot was so small yet hit my chest with yearning I haven’t felt since throne of glass.
Hobb balanced so many storylines so masterfully, and wove them together in a clearly intentional way without giving anything away.
I stayed up late and put off work/chores because of this book. All the different POVs helped it move along so quickly once I was past the exposition.
My only complaint is that I want more female screen time and just a titch more female rage. But I have a feeling that’s coming.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Everybody raves about this trilogy, but I'm torn on whether to continue. The 35-hour audiobook kept me company on a lot of runs, but I don't love the narrator, and the Vivacia is such a whiny ship that I kept wishing someone would sink her. Maybe it gets better, but I miss Fitz from the last trilogy!
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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
Robin Hobb, I'm sorry I doubted you when I first picked up this book and found it confusing 😂 you had me gripped in the lives of these people and questioning all things human and humanity, spiritual and tactile. Wow.
4.5 stars
This book was a bit of a slow burn for me, but did I ever end up loving it.
I can't say much more than has already been said about this masterful fantasy. Hobb creates incredibly real and thoroughly three dimensional characters who inhabit a richly imagined fantasy world. The story is full of heartbreak and hope...actually, the hope part is mainly me wanting things to improve for the sadly burdened characters and for just desserts to continue to be served apace.
Most definitely I will be continuing this series.
Look forward, not back. Correct your course and go on. You cannot undo yesterday's journey.
This book was a bit of a slow burn for me, but did I ever end up loving it.
I can't say much more than has already been said about this masterful fantasy. Hobb creates incredibly real and thoroughly three dimensional characters who inhabit a richly imagined fantasy world. The story is full of heartbreak and hope...actually, the hope part is mainly me wanting things to improve for the sadly burdened characters and for just desserts to continue to be served apace.
Most definitely I will be continuing this series.
Look forward, not back. Correct your course and go on. You cannot undo yesterday's journey.