Review by caitibeth - Ship of Magic

caitibeth 's review for:

Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb

5.0

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Liveships. Built from a magical wood at immense cost, they quicken to life after three generations of their owning family die on their decks. The third-generation captain of the Vivacia is in his final illness, and she is about to awake. But what will she find when she wakes? A family in crisis, her intended next-captain disinherited, a community besieged, and a strange current in the waters that isn't solely pirates...

This second trilogy in the Farseer universe is set in a different land with entirely different characters (the Duchies are mentioned a few times, but that's it). Unlike the Farseer trilogy, this is third-person and multi-POV. That's sometimes frustrating -- you're super immersed in one storyline and then yanked away to cycle through five others before you can find out what happens next -- but does allow for a more nuanced and multi-threaded story.

There is also an entirely new magic system, which is intriguing so far, and hints at new and deeper mysteries to be discovered in the next two books. Hobb's character work continues to be strong, and I can't wait to continue this series! :)

Content Warnings