Reviews with content warning for Rape - Ship of Magic

What with the web of names, places and plotlines to keep up with - not to mention the glacial pace - it took me a while to get into this. But I was rewarded with some of the best character work I've ever read! The "villains" are all really fun to hate, the underdogs (Especially Wintrow and Althea) are absolutely put upon, and even characters I found annoying (I'm looking at you Malta) got more interesting towards the end.

I'm really looking forward to picking up the next in the trilogy now, even though this one took me nearly a month to get through.

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lacyparrish's review

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I had heard about this book on several YouTube channels and have waded my way through it over the past three weeks. I'm going to hold off on continuing this series in the immediate future (or at least until the book chat in mid-March). While it was not a bad book, it was a struggle to stay engaged with the story. I have not read any of the other books in this world, so I feel like the worldbuilding itself staggers from piece to piece with very little to hold it together. It get an intrigued meh from me.

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buzzingnat's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

2.0

Despite having a blurb that sounded like a romp and a fascinating setting, I found this book to be a miserable slog that I barely finished. I tolerated most of the characters but loved none of them and only got to properly hate one or two of them. The whole book was a knife’s edge of feelings and not a romp at all.

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indi72547's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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mariebrunelm's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-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

4.75

The first time I read The Liveship Traders trilogy, I was baffled by the complexity of the narrative and how different it was from the Farseer trilogy. I know a few readers who have preferred Liveship Traders because of its variety, and I certainly praise that, but I've always felt a deeper attachment to Fitz and the Fool. However, re-reading Liveship made me realise just how stunning this book was. Yes it's complex, but I appreciated it a lot more knowing from the first pages who was whom and I loved the hints at where the story was going. I hadn't realised the first time round how the whole 800-page volume was about slavery. It's certainly obvious, but I'd been so focused on understanding what was happening the first time that it had slipped my attention.

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genny's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was so good. I knew going in that the Liveship Traders trilogy is very well-loved, so I had high expectations. Hobb did not disappoint (this was my first book by her!). The worldbuilding is there and you can see the overarching plot forming nicely, but the character work is where this book really shines. Every conversation is gripping and there wasn't a POV that I didn't enjoy (except maybe for the serpents, but those chapters were short and I'm sure they're important, haha). Yes, some of the characters were incredibly frustrating (Malta!! Kyle, the bane of my existence!) but I was still invested in where the story would take them. All I want is to protect Wintrow! 😩

It was daunting to pick up an 800+ page book but the length truly is justified. I'm eager to continue with the next book as there was no resolution at all here - the threads of the protagonists' fates just begin to connect towards the end.

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the_midwest_library's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

It's really hard to find a fault with this. I was really worried I was going to enjoy this first installment of this continuation of Hobbs world because it's a new cast of characters from the original trilogy-boy was I wrong. I absolutely loved this. This book has some of the most infuriating characters I've ever read behind those in ASoIaF. I was so furious with the entire first half of the book in the best way possible and couldn't stop myself from reading on. I'm in love with these characters and am racing to start book 2 after that ending.

The world is amazing, it's fantastic to read a story in the universe we know and love while feeling so rich and contained within its own lore. I can't wait to finish this trilogy.

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szuum's review against another edition

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adventurous dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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