Ship of Magic (The Liveship Traders, Book 1)

by Robin Hobb

Book Overview

The first book in a seafaring fantasy trilogy that George R. R. Martin has described as "even better than the Farseer Trilogy--I didn't think that was possible." Now in a glorious new edition Bingtown... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0553575635
• Release Date: February 1999
• Publisher: Spectra
• Length: 832 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 1.3" x 4.2"

Customer Reviews

The best from Dickens, Tolkien, Melville and O'Brien!

Vivacia is a liveship - a seagoing vessel made of wizardwood sailing out of the trading hub Bingtown - that has magically come alive into self-awareness after the death of Ephron Vestrit, patriarch of the family that owns her. His youngest daughter, Althea, feels her it is her rightful legacy to command the Vivacia but the elders of the family, her mother, Ronica, and her older sister, Keffria, persuade Ephron before his death that it is in the family's best interests to give the captain's chair to Keffria's husband, Kyle Haven. This is the starting point for a story that, while set in a fictional world that includes the magic of liveships and wizardwood and the fantasy of sea serpents, is actually a monumental family saga in the finest sea-faring tradition of the 17th and 18th century British empire - merchants, slaves, pirates, meat hunting ships, strict codes of decorum and family behaviour, religion and the harsh justice familiar to readers of Dickens' novels that was meted out to those who defaulted on debt. Hobbs' mastery of her plot lines is nothing short of extraordinary! With what is actually a relatively small cast for such a huge story, she has set up a multitude of plot lines and conflicts that realistically weave in and out of another with absolutely perfect pacing designed to keep any reader flipping pages at a breathless pace! Althea masquerades as a boy to establish legitimate sailing credentials and win back her right to the Vivacia. Kyle's son, Wintrow, struggles with his love of monastic life and a desire to become a priest while his father cruelly kidnaps him to a shipboard life on the Vivacia to push him into his stereotypical vision of manhood. Kennit, the pirate captain, refuses to recognize the love that his first mate, Sorcor, and the whore, Etta, offer him. Like Ahab chasing after his elusive white whale, he pursues his dream of becoming a king and captain of a liveship, no matter the cost to any around him. Wintrow's sister, Malta, is nearing womanhood with spoiled, profligate ways that threaten to pull the Kestritt and Haven families over the brink of bankruptcy. Ronica, now the matriarch elder, tries to hold her fractured family together and deal with their teetering contracts with the Rain Wild Traders. The depth to which Hobbs has developed the characters of these people and pulled them off the page into reality will take your breath away. Can she maintain this level of suspense and excitement through the remaining two entries in The Liveship Traders trilogy? I don't know but I sure intend to find out just as quickly as I can get to the nearest bookstore! And, for what it's worth, Hobbs has proposed some sort of underlying mythology that explains a relationship of some kind between the sea serpents and the liveships that remains unresolved as of the end of Ship of Magic. I am definitely looking forward to seeing what Hobbs has in mind! Unquestionably, a 5-star novel that can be recommended as one of the finest bo

A sort of magical "Two Years before the Mast"

"Ship of Magic" is a little over 800 pages long and tells a slo-o-owly developing story from the multiple viewpoints of a family of liveship traders, the liveship herself once she is awakened, plus various sea serpents, a pirate king, and other more peripheral characters--at least they're peripheral in "Ship of Magic" but this is the only the first book of a trilogy, 'The Liveship Traders.' I've also read this author's 'Farseer Trilogy,' and once settled into one of her books, it is very hard to put down until the last page is read. I'm kicking myself because I didn't immediately order the two concluding books of this trilogy as soon as I started "Ship of Magic." If Patrick O'Brien had collaborated with Charles Dickens and written "Oliver Twist Goes to Sea in a Magical Ship," this book might have been the outcome. All of the characters are minutely detailed and believable, even the would-be pirate king, who is a much nastier man than Gilbert and Sullivan would have him. He ends up performing glorious deeds by accident, and I wouldn't be surprised if his title turns out to be 'the Great Liberator' rather than 'King' by the end of this trilogy. The man who does the most evil in this book is a merchant captain who believes that he alone knows the right course to steer, both for his liveship and his family. In fact, I wonder if "Billy Budd" was also an inspiration for "Ship of Magic." The relationships between the self-righteous captain, his unworldly son, and an evil Claggart-like second mate are almost pure Melville. The innocent boy is even accidentally responsible for the deaths of his shipmates, brought about when he tries to comfort a dying slave. Merchants, pirates, slavers, and hunters (meat ships) are all brought to life in a fantasy setting that seems to draw on the 18th century British Empire for its inspiration. The trading port of Bingtown is only a few generations away from having been forcibly settled by convicts and debtors. The fortunes of its most prominent merchant families are bound to their liveships, which are sailing vessels partially constructed of wizardwood. When the well-respected Captain Vestrit dies in his prime, he wills his liveship 'Vivacia' to his priggish son-in-law rather than to his daughter. Thus begins his family's precipitous decline, and the start of what promises to be a fascinating saga. I am very much looking forward to the arrival of "Mad Ship," the second book in this magical seafaring trilogy.

Riveting.

This is the first book in The Liveship Traders trilogy (before The Mad Ship and Ship of Destiny).Althea Vestrit is the 19-year-old daughter of a family of Bingtown Traders, the only community who can possess a Liveship, a magic vessel made of wizardwood, a precious and legendary ware. Always her father's favourite, she spent all her childhood on board the family's Liveship, the Vivacia, whom she's come to love more than anything.Alas, the captain is very ill and is going to die soon. He has to be taken on board the Vivacia so that with his death, the third of a family member on the ship's deck, the latter can undergo her quickening. Althea knows that when the Vivacia awakens, she'll become hers to sail. Only at the last moment, she discovers that her mother and sister have convinced her father to leave the ship to Althea's brother-in-law, an execrable and authoritative Chalcedean, Kyle Haven. And as the Vestrits are crippled with debt, it won't be long until Kyle starts trading in the most profitable of goods, slaves.Banned from her own deck, desperate to have to leave the only recently quickened and emotionally fragile ship to such a horrid fate, she decides to run away. Disguised as a boy, she'll work on a slaughter ship and try to gain a ship ticket, a token to prove Kyle she's tough enough to become the rightful captain of the Vivacia. Knowing the ship has to be comforted to sail safely, Kyle drags his 13-year-old son Wintrow from his monastery where he's studying to become a Priest of Sa, and forces him to work as deck hand. Soon though, Wintrow reluctantly admits his bond with the Vivacia.Kennit, captain of the Marietta, is a pirate whose dearest dream is to become King of the Pirates. He knows that if he helps freeing slaves, he'll gain the reconaissance of their families and friends, the people of the Pirate Islands. With his first mate Sorcor, he decides to stop looting merchant ships and start chasing Liveships and attacking Slavers instead...I read Robin Hobb's astounding Farseer Trilogy more than a year ago, and it instantly became my favourite series, the one to which I've compared everything I've read since. Knowing that the third and last book of The Tawny Man, the sequel to the Farseer, will only come out in paperback in more than a year from now, I have forced myself to wait until now to read Robin Hobb's other trilogy, The Liveship Traders. So you can imagine how much I expected, how much hope I'd placed in these books, how much I feared I wouldn't like them as much. But the only thing I can tell after reading the first volume is that it didn't disappoint me. At all. The story is tremendouly gripping, the descriptions fascinating, the characterization flawless. Everything Robin Hobb touches is gold. Don't overlook her!

A stunning, complex, uplifting novel, truly amazing...

I have been reading sci fi/fantasy since I was 13 (I'm now 32!) and this is by far one of the best books I have ever read. The characters are so well defined that you empathize with them and share all that they go through. This is even more amazing because although the story is told from the point of view of several characters, you are never lost nor do you struggle with the different viewpoint. You sink right into the reality of each individual, whether it is the strong and fierce heroine or the Satrap's (ruler's) courtesan who gambles her life on her political abilities in order to create a life of her own.The world is brilliant, with a complex social system and political intrigue that is missing from most fantasy novels. The trials and the sacrifices that the Vestrit family endure in order to hold fast to their values and their way of life is to the point of heartbreaking. However, what they achieve through their perserverence is something that fills you with wonder and awe.This book is a must read. I have given copies to all of my friends, and their reaction is the same as mine was after finishing each book, and the series: "wow."

Truly Great!

I have been strictly a Fantasy reader for the last 23 years. After reading the Farseer Trilogy, I was anxious to read other works by Robin Hobb. I must say I was a tad bit leary of this title. It looked a bit "historical romance" to me. To my surprise, this novel turned out to be delightful! Robin Hobb, you have created a devoted fan of your work. I just ordered Mad Ship in the hardback edition. I only do that with authors I truly enjoy! Your work will be among that of Tolkien, Eddings, Weis & Hickman, Salvatore, and various other favs of mine. Thank you!