Customer Reviews
it is a gem of a book - I loved it. - By: Isabella Balkert, 20 Aug 2008 
It does not get more original than this. It is a breathtaking book, go for it & get the second & the third when you order - You will not regret it.
Go away & hide. Unplugg your phone or tell people you are abroad, you will be hooked on this series till it ends.
Very entertaining - By: Ephiny, 18 Apr 2008 
I thought this was a very entertaining & engaging read, & will definitely be reading the rest of the trilogy. One warning - if you find the first chapter difficult or offputting, I recommend you persist, because the rest of the book is a great improvement. It's unfortunate it has such a bad start - awkwardly written & difficult to follow - however what follows is packed with great characters & storylines. So don't be put off!
The start of another excellent Robin Hobb epic - By: russell clarke, 12 Mar 2008 Having read the Robin Hobb Assassin & Tawny Man series i had come to the conclusion that Hobb is a fantasy writer fit to be compared to such luminaries as Tolkien & George R R Martin.Any lingering doubts i may have had dissipated on reading the first instalment of the Liveship trilogy. Hobbs creates wonderful characters & unlike say Tolkien who painted his characters in vivid black & whites,Hobbs manages to invest hers with dichotomous characteristics that give them more discernible human traits( The people populating these novels are acknowledged as human) For instance Kyle Haven , is a stubborn mendacious bully with a violent temper, but he is also a hardworking family man , devoted to his wife & with a strict moral code-though it could be argued his moral code would,nt stand much scrutiny.
Kyle Haven is the father of Althea , a member of the Vestrit trading family who run their "Liveships" from the "Cursed shore" settlement of "Bingtown". Their liveship " Vivicia" is made of wizardwood- a very valuable substance that ensures that when the ship "quickens" it becomes a sentient being . This occurs when Ephron Vestrit dies, & his daughter Althea assumes she will inherit the ship & is mortified to find the ship has been given to her sister who has in turn passed it on to her husband Kyle Haven , who is set that his son ,Wintrow, who had originallly been slated to enter the priesthood will in turn inherit Vivacia from him. Kyle Haven has in turn decided to use the ship to transport slaves- a trade that Ehpron always abhorred- as they are the most profitable cargo , in order to pay off debts the Vestrit,s owe to to the mysterious "Rain Wild Traders" . the providers of the lIveships.
Elsewhere roguish pirate Captain Kennit has ambitions to unite the pirate hordes with him as leader. He attacks slave ships & liberates the slaves in order to ferment popular support for his cause. But most of alll he covets a liveship & he means to capture one no matter what it takes-putting his crew & his own life on the line in dangerous seas alive with sea serpents.
Althea sets out to prove her sea-worthiness by disguising herself as a boy by taking a job aboard "The Reaper"- a slaughter vessel. This is nasty dangerous work but there is the added complication of Bashren-the former first mate of VIvicia but sacked by Kyle Haven-who is also a member of the crew giving her secret away. There are numerous sub-plots seething away not the least of which is Havens other daughter Malta being a precocious spoilt brat & causing tension with the Rain Wild traders & thus putting the Haven,s precipitous buisness dealings on even choppier waters.
I thought it impossible for Robin Hobb to equal the six books books about Fitz , the royal bastard , but Ship Of Magic , set in the same world as the Assassin & Tawny man series, is every bit as good & promises ,almost unbelievably, to be better. Every character is wonderfully drawn , the writing & the plotting are superb & most importantly for a fantasy serie it feels like a world fully realised. Fantasy is a genre given short shrift by the purists yet done well ,or as is the case with Robin Hobb exceptionallly well , it is genre that cover alll facets of the human condition- even it,s often done with elves, goblins, dwarfs , dragons & sea serpents. You will never read a better example of this than Ship Of Magic. Consequently i cannot wait to read the next installlment
Liveship review - By: Laylarnie, 29 Aug 2007 Another master piece from my favourite fantasy writer of the age! These books are easily underappreciated if you read them directly after the Farseer books. They are far bittier & follow several characters in intertwining story lines.
What stands these books apart is how each character develops & grows, characters you hate at the start become you're favourite at the end. She manages to write characters that are more balanced & complete than any other author I have discovered in fantasy writing.
Once again Hobb has created a world & filled it with characters, incorporated masses of magic & mythical creatures & yet alll of this seems believable. The real power of Hobbs writing is how she manages to explain complex ideas in a logical & straightforward way.
Great Fun - By: SoshUK, 07 Apr 2007 If you can get past the "Circled in endless Circles" in the opening pages , this is a great series. It is a little stilted at the start but she reallly writes her way into it. The characters are strong & the world & its history imaginative & brought credibly to life. Once book gets going, the desire to find out what happens next is compulsive. Well worth a read.
