Review by malaks - Ship of Magic

malaks 's review for:

Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb

4.5

adventurous emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I tried reading this book twice, though admittedly the first time I thought Fitz would be there and discovering he wasn't made me less enthusiastic, the first hundred pages slowly ease you into a much vaster world then Hobb first introduced in the Farseer trilogy. In this, the politics, the economy, the traditions and values of each area are depicted in an impressive way. Even mentions of Six Duchies and their view of them and their culture was interesting (#JusticeToTheSixDuchies they were catching strays for no reason). You can really tell Hobb's expertise through writing and introducing all of this depth in her world, setting up lore and introducing a huge cast of characters in the first book of a trilogy. All that, and never did it feel like an info dump or draining to get through, put in through relevant interactions and issues arising for characters with subtlety.

One of the reasons Farseer Trilogy became one of my favorite ever was Robin Hobb's writing, she manages to depicts emotions and character struggles in such beautiful prose that does not feel overly flowery or trying to hard. Here, her writing has evolved even more, where every sentence had a purpose, gave more characterization to the pov of choice and felt so neat. (I will be a Robin Hobb glazer you will never hear the end of this)

The cast was impressive we get over ten different povs across the book, some only appearing a couple of times. I am not sure if this made it better or not, I do not have the same attachment I had following Fitz (which is why it's not a five stars), and yet the characters Wintrow, Vivacia, Keffria, Brashen, Althea, Paragon, none really lacked any character work and depth nor felt like they were rushed. Each struggling with their own identity and purpose, loneliness and freedom to do what they want whether they are tied with family, contracts, or their own place in society, they can't manage to do it.

May Kyle see his torturous end by the third book of this trilogy (won't complain if it's earlier).

Content Warnings