Ship of Magic (The Liveship Traders, #1)
About the book
Author: Robin Hobb
Publisher: Del Rey
More info:
The StoryGraph | Goodreads
Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the review.
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My review
My Robin Hobb journey continues! And she continued to deliver with exquisitely rendered characters getting themselves into extraordinarily messy situations, plus a healthy dose of magic and adventure.
It’s been a few months since I finished the Farseer trilogy, and I wasn’t sure how much overlap to expect here. The result: not much! It’s set in the same universe, but a totally different city, and we have none of the same characters. (I had mixed feelings about this but I know I’ll eventually reunite with Fitz and the Fool in a future trilogy, so I got over it very quickly.) That said, there are PLENTY of characters to replace the old ones — as I read the first several chapters, I was surprised over and over by just how many POVs we get. And when their stories started to coalesce, it got really fun. And now, with the hints of how these events are going to cross over with things we learned in Farseer, I’m excited to keep going.
Again, what strikes me most about Hobb’s books is how real her characters feel. There were several scenes that literally made my jaw drop (the audacity of that man!! IYKYK!!), and yet I found myself thinking things like “I can’t believe [person] just did that! Well, actually I can, but still!” because each person’s backstory and personality and motivations are so clear. That makes the story feel surprising and inevitable at the same time.
I really liked this book and I’m very excited to continue on with the next one!!
Content and trigger warnings
Slavery (non-racial)
Violence
Child abuse
Sexual content (minor/once)
Drug use
