Book Thoughts: Ship of Magic (Robin Hobb)

A strong start to this trilogy for sure!

★★★★★★☆

Title: Ship of Magic (Liveship Traders #1)
Author: Robin Hobb
Genre: Fiction/Fantasy
First published: 1998
Edition: Paperback, published by Harper Voyager in 2015

The liveship Vivacia is about to undergo her quickening: Althea Vestrit waits for the ship that she loves more than anything in the world to awaken. But her dream of taking her father’s place at Vivacia’s helm is not to be, for her family have other plans. . .

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First line(s):

Kennit walked the tideline, heedless of the salt waves that washed around his boots as it licked the sandy beach clean of its tracks.

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I felt it was time to dive into the next Hobb Trilogy after completing the Farseer Trilogy last year. So it was on to the Liveship Traders, and I have to say that I think I may prefer this setting and storyline. It took me a long time to read, but I really enjoyed it.

The time it took to read this, does in no way reflect how much I enjoyed this book. I had less reading time than normal and it was probably not the best time to read a book of almost 900 pages. However, it really did not take me long to feel invested in the characters and every time I picked up the book I looked forward to spending some time with these characters.

Some characters I loved to be on this adventure with, others I loved to hate. They just worked in the context of the story. The main characters were all interesting and all have their own goals in life, which of course get thwarted time and time again.

The serpent chapters were a slightly weaker point for me, but I am sure they will pay off in the books that follow.

There is a lot of social commentary in this one and some of it is truly horrific, especially relating to the depiction of the slave trade in this particular world.

There were several storylines I loved and I can’t wait to read the next book to see what will happen!

6 out of 7 stars

CAWPILE score: 9.2

• Characters: 9
• Atmosphere: 9
• Writing Style: 10
• Plot: 9
• Intrigue: 9
• Logic: 9
• Enjoyment: 9.5

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