Ship of Magic is far from the only fantasy story to suffer these flaws, but they hobble what should be a fun swashbuckling adventure. Other threads, like that of the serpents themselves, effectively go nowhere for this entire book, and although they’ll be important later on in the trilogy, their inclusion here feels rather aimless. On the other hand, this first novel’s plot is incredibly slow, and one of its major threads doesn’t even connect with anything until the very end. As the ancient tradition of Bingtown’s Old Traders slowly erodes under the cold new order of a corrupt ruler, the Vestrits anxiously await the return of their liveshipa rare magic ship carved from sentient wizardwood, which bonds the ships mystically with those who sail them. The characters too are largely an interesting bunch, and by bouncing around among a large cast, Hobb is able to weave a more complicated narrative than the Farseer books could offer. On the one hand, you couldn’t ask for better atmosphere in a fantasy yarn of pirates, sea serpents, and talking figureheads, and the rich worldbuilding wonderfully fleshes out an area on the edges of the map from author Robin Hobb’s earlier Farseer trilogy. Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb (Liveship Traders #1)Īs always, I have mixed feelings about this book and its sequels.
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