Ship of Magic (Liveship Traders Trilogy Book 1)

It’s hard not to give 5/5 and truthfully I don’t give such a score often. You can clearly recognize the mastery of this book, it can’t be denied.This is a huge book for starters. It has multiple narrators and the ones we spend more time on, we get to like for sure. I can’t say I didn’t want to read a specific story even though I was more anxious to see what would happen to another protagonist.If I could describe the essence of this book in a word I would say “grey”. The morality and the choices here are hard. Sometimes hardships look inevitable, other times wrongness feels so injust and so hard to fight against. This is not a funny, carefree, happy story, but one with jagged turns, painful and cathartic.This is what makes it unique. There is a lot of philosophy, you can find real life dilemmas and you can ponder on them for long, as there is no easy answer.If you are a parent, the pages speak to you louder I must say.This roller coaster of a story grabs you and doesn’t let go. There is not so much raw action, as expected by Hobb, but the pacing is good and the protagonists evolve themselves. Hardships or destiny forge them and we are eager for more.If you like magic, well, there isn’t much, not meaningful at least. Don’t expect fireball shooting mages, magic in this story comes in more subtle flavor, mainly though liveships.I must say, other than the course of our protagonists, that I must admit feels a bit pre determined early on (I’m pretty sure I will be caught off guard as with the first Hobb series I picked), we also have a backstory about the serpents and the origins of live ships. That’s good.This book shouts “masterpiece”. The story is very deep, with writing that will wake up your brain and your conscience. If you like deep books with a taste of magic, don’t think about it twice, read it!!!

This is my first Hobb book. I tried Farseer but I couldn't get into it. I thought I'd give her another try since so many people seem to like her so much. I'm glad I did, and I'll have to give Farseer another try.Possibly spoilers here...First the good stuff. The magic was really kool. The whole system was very intricate and believable. The wizardwood was really intriguing and even though the liveships do kind of have a cheese factor, I still liked it. The story was really a pageturner, I looked forward to picking up the book everyday ( I read it on breaks at work mostly). A lot of the characters broke out of the stereotypes of pirates and such although Althea...I dunno she kind of seemed too much the spunky heroine ya know? I liked her and all...but she wasn't the most interesting of the bunch. The most I liked her was when she did something I didn't expect, which was only a couple times...the plot point of her dressing up as a boy could be seen a mile away. But it doesn't put a damper on it, I think she still has potential in the rest of the story esp with Brashen. I also liked her thing with the woodworking girl Amber...which wasn't as much as I wish it would have been. The world was nice, and I liked the family dynamics and the contract with the Creepy Traders...although Malta was a bore. Kyle...who can say why Ephrom ever trusted him for a moment?Now for some of the not so good stuff...Paragon...I don't know, he was interesting but just a bit too blank sometimes characterwise. I can see why that could be since he lost his memories...but some of the stuff with him and Amber I didn't think added much to the story.Interminable setting details...could have been A LOT shorter and tighter if some of that stuff was left out.While I really liked Kennit and his whore...I wish there were more background information about what made him the way he is...hopefully that will be brought out in the next two books...but I would have liked more in this one! It would have made him less of just a villain.Wintrow...was interesting and everything it's just I didn't find myself liking him very much at all. That's not all bad...I realize not every character has to be likable...but I had to read a lot about him and I thought he was spiteful and pompous...but I do see room for him to grow and I hope he doesI think the worst aspect of the book was the serpents...it did not go anywhere and was just a muddle. I know we'll see more...but bring it somewhere in the first book!Most of this stuff is probably nitpicking...but I gave the book four stars and overall it is a really good book...just a few things that maybe will be resolved over the course of the trilogy but I wished were brought to a better tantalizing crescendo in the first book.Happy reading!

Nice paperback. Easy to read.

This book is hard to put down once it's taken you. Each character's story is so bittersweet. Gritty and fantastical.

This trilogy of books is very well written, has an excellent story and most of the characters develop a great deal during the story. However, beware that the lives of almost all characters are extremely difficult and they endure treatment that some readers may not wish to think or read about.The writing by Robin Hobb is excellent, as usual, and I almost always felt engaged in the story and wanting to know what happens next. A great deal happens at the end of the third book of this series. And the story development is much slower up to that point. This sudden rush of story development at the end is a little less extreme than in the Farseer trilogy.Many of the experiences endured by the characters in this story are horrendous, and they are described at length. The intensity may be slightly less than the abuse described in the Farseer trilogy, but only slightly. Sexual situations are also described in detail but not in a physically graphic way. These experiences drive a great deal of character development. But if you are at all squeamish about reading of horrible treatment by others, then this book is definitely not for you. You have been warned.

I enjoyed this story much more than Assassin’s Quest. The multiple POVs were a fantastic change from Robin Hobb’s writing in the Farseer trilogy. Without a doubt, Hobb writes characters and ‘slice of life’ as well as any author that I have ever read. She understands how to make characters appealing (or not appealing) to her audience in ways that few writers do. Her prose is magnificent and easy to read - she puts the reader physically in the story! I think this will become one of my favorite trilogies, even though I’m just now finishing book one!! Highly recommended!!

Amazing book. Awesome characters. I couldn't put this book down. Robin Hobb is one of the best epic fantasy writers around.

These books by Robin Hobb are easy to read I got captured in the weaving of the story. Hard to put down

After reading the Farseer triology, I just wanted more of Fitz and his adventure, so I was skeptical about reading a totally orthogonal story in the realm. I am glad I listened to advise online not to skip the live ship traders. This series is just another masterpiece. The characters are all so well thought out. Robin Hobb knows how to develop a character through the story.The character journey portrayed here is the spine of the story, from Kennit to Malta, to Althea or Brashan. Add that to the intricately thought out world. I can't wait to gobble up rest of the books in the Elderling Saga.

Hace mucho que no cogia un libro que no puedo dejar de leer. Es de esos que lo devoras por simple placer de lectura. Llevo ya 10 anos esperando por el tercer libro de The Name of wind, el siguiente de The Gentleman Bastards, ya para no hablar de The Winds of Winter, que R.R. Martin sigue comiendo hamburguesas pero poco escribir, con todo esta espera me puse a leer muchas cosas buenas pero ya hace anos que no uno tan bueno como Ships of Magic. Hace muchos anos devoré Assassins Quest de la misma autora pero este me parece mejor.

Libro de bolsillo, tapa blanda sin sobrecubierta, idioma Ingles. La presentación no es la mejor, pero es muy práctico para llevar y por el precio, la letra no es demasiado pequeña pero si algo reducida