Reviews

Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb

tanuja_'s review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The plot goes to some dark places and I’m anxious to find out what happens to all the characters. I was dreading certain plot points but the things that happened before that event were so much worse! I find myself thinking “if only!” a lot. Loved the characters, loved the book. 

thefatgingerone's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No

3.75

rainberry's review against another edition

I spilled lemon coke all over it :( was a bit boring anyways xp

youngthespian42's review against another edition

5.0

I loved the Farseer trilogy but it was work to get into it and like the characters as much as I did. By Assassin’s quest I had grown to love this large cast of characters and their relationship with each other.

Ship of magic does not have the rough start. Every character in this book is immediate interesting and I was engaged in each of their arcs immediately. The references to the Six Duchies feel natural and not forced and this book continues to build on a world that demands the number of books this series has by the end. I am desperate to crack The Mad Ship and return to these characters.

leeman_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

4.0

hannah0120's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring tense medium-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? Yes

4.0

nocosmo's review against another edition

I tried so hard to keep reading, but even though it has so many fantasy elements and things I love, including the wonderful prose, I just keep finding reasons not to read it. Maybe at a different time. 

fruitface's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious reflective medium-paced

4.5

aradi_yusuf's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

scottsforayintofriction's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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

4.25

Book Review - Ship of Magic

Rating 8.5/10 ⭐️

After reading Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb and having mix views on that series, I was told by a number of people that The Liveships Traders might be more up my alley.

No better way to test that theory then diving head first into Ship of Magic.

Man I really enjoyed this book, Immediately gripped by the plethora of complex characters. This book was well balanced on its pacing albeit a little slow for my personal tastes. 

From the off I could tell I would love this series more than Farseer, pretty much everything was better, from setting to the characters and of course the magical ships.

One thing you’re guaranteed to get from a Hobb novel is the awesome writing and Hobb didn’t disappoint. 

In Ship of Magic we follow the story through multiple POVs.

The main focus is around the Vestrit family and the impending “quickening” of their Liveship, Vivacia.

For a Liveship to quicken 3 generations of family captains need to die upon the deck of their ship. 

Althea is the daughter of the current captain of Vivacia and one of my favourite characters. She was expecting to inherit the Vivacia upon her father’s death. Alas, this doesn’t happen, instead of sailing Vivacia as she was trained to do she takes us on a different adventure. 

Away from the Vestrit family, we follow the ambitious captain Kennit, a legendary pirate with dreams of sailing his own Liveship.  

He’s not a nice man, extremely selfish with a laser focus on delivering his dreams. 

There are plenty more characters to love and hate. All enhance the story and are there for a reason not to just fill pages even the spoilt bratty ones. 

If you didn’t love the Farseer Trilogy, I highly recommend giving Liveship a go. Actually, even if you did love Farseer you will probably love this series, so no reason not to read it.

I’m really excited to see where the story goes in book 2, The Mad Ship.