Review by and_so_it_goes - Ship of Magic

and_so_it_goes 's review for:

Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb

4.0

adventurous dark emotional sad tense slow-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

This felt completely different from the Farseer trilogy, not just because of the switch from 1st person to 3rd. This book is full of very insufferable characters who are all separate brands of horrible. The ones who aren’t horrible are suffering nonstop. Several of the POVs were not as enjoyable as the others.

The serpent ones in particular made no sense and went nowhere.

The key emotion someone will be feeling during this book is anger at certain characters. In some ways, it felt like an 800 page prologue.

I also have conflicting feelings on

the rampant sexism, not because it exists but because there are some trends Robin Hobb uses that I am not a fan of. Malta’s POV sometimes feels very realistic to a thirteen year old, and other times comically insane, like when she is talking about wanting men to desire her and not wanting to get ‘fat with babies’. The language used just felt off, even for a girl who lives in a sexist society. Also, Althea’s backstory with her first time; Starling also had this backstory and yet Brashen’s trauma never comes up to effect his relationships in the same way beyond implying he is uncomfortable with men potentially liking him once.

Men and women also seem immune to being friends. Even the literal ship can’t escape.

However, I do think the book overall was solid. Robin Hobb is a master at creating complex characters. Kennit’s chapters, despite his in general manipulation, sexism, etc, were the most entertaining because he was the most take-charge character and interesting to think about. It surprises me that he is the only one who gets

hints of a backstory to re-contextualize his behavior. I liked the implication that he is obsessed with cleanliness because of his drunk father, and the fact his backstory is kept hidden. This is what I enjoyed in the Farseer trilogy, and I think this book could’ve used more of that.

I was also rooting for Althea so badly.

Content Warnings