Ship of Magic: The Liveship Traders, Book 1

I have just finished reading the full Liveship Traders trilogy, from this 1st book 'Ship of Magic' to the final volume 'Ship of Destiny', and I am still amazed by Robin Hobb's skill.This is the 3rd trilogy I have read, the other two being `The Farseer' and the `Tawny Man', and the author has been consistently good throughout, creating characters you really care about, a lot of imagination which brings original settings to life, and a beautiful writing. Despite the fact that Robin Hobb's tales are multi-stranded, the reader does not get lost and does not need a list of the characters at the beginning to keep track of who is who, unlike some other authors I have read who tried the same gimmick. Also Robin Hobb does not lose the thread of her narrative and manages to tie up all the loose ends by the end of each trilogy, leaving the reader deeply satisfied with the conclusion.I had gone straight from the Farseeers trilogy to the Tawny man trilogy as I wanted to follow the story of the Farseers to its end and thought that the Liveship Traders trilogy would be about something totally different but I needen't have worried as it follows the Fool during the intervening years between the other two trilogies and I now fully understand some of the references to the Fool's past in the Tawny Man trilogy.A 'warning' to the readers: the books in all three trilogies are quite addictive. I found it hard to put them down once started!

I can’t wait to read the next two books in this exciting trilogy. The characters are believable and engaging, flawed and authentic. I love how Wintrow’s search for wisdom is almost Stoic - I highlighted several passages that really spoke to me. A slight criticism - something I struggle with in fantasy novels is when authors make up names but use actual English words (e.g. Malta, Restart…) - why do that?! But really I couldn’t find anything to dislike about this book.

I'm reading it for the fourth or fifth time since it first came out. Timeless classic , really enjoyed it

Pleased

Like many others who have reviewed the work of Ms. Hobb, I could not put this work of art down. For me, the mark of a really good book include: The feeling of extreme disappointment when you have been reading for three hours solid and suddenly realise you have nearly finished; characters which make you love, hate, admire and empathise with all at once; a storyline which is so fresh and original with new theories presented in an artful and subtle way; a story which catches you up and doesnt drop you until the very last word of the very last page. This trilogy and this book in particular fulfill all this and more.The first book of hers I read was the Assassin's Apprentice and I bought it, not realising it was in first person view. So I left it and came back to it a few months later. I only regret not discovering this lady's immense talent earlier. To my mind, no other fantasy author who has been published can come near her for style, strength of her characters, technical ability, plot and originality. She packs more into one book than some authors pack into three or more. A real inspiration to an aspiring authoress and a truly epic book.

This is the second series of books by Robin Hobb that I have read. Although I enjoyed reading this, I did find it to be a little slow. It did not really capture the imagination the way that the assassin series did and never really had me at a point where I couldn't put it down. Overall, I felt it could have been condensed into a shorter package. That said, if you like this author you will probably enjoy reading this as it is well written with sound characters and a decent plot.

Well I finished the set of 3 Fitz and the Fool trilogies! Took some doing. I was quite reluctant to start another of her series as I thought it wouldn't be as good. And then didn't Amazon offer me the book for free. Unlike the Farseers, which are all written in the first person, this series is a combination of different characters, who at some point come together. I do think Robin Hobb is a bit naughty because none of her books stand alone, you must read the whole series which is in effect 1 very long bookI liked the characterisation in this book. I often hate fiction because all the baddies are just baddies. No person is all black or white but novels rarely take that into account. Although Kyle is an unattractive character you can see why he makes his decisions and in many ways they are perfectly logical, even if you disagree with them. In the same way the heroine of the piece has several very unattractive attributes. So they do come across as real people who you can relate too.I enjoy her writing and she does draw you in. I miss F & F although maybe the Fool does appear...

The book is very long; only start it if you have the time to read 900 pages and then to read the rest of the story in the remaining 2 900 page volumes! I bought the kindle version and so didn't realise quite what an epic tome it was going to be until it just kept going - you certainly get your money's worth.However, that all said, it was an enjoyable read - the kind of story that gets in your head and is hard to let go of until you know what happened. If you are a fan of adventure and magic, pirates and dragons and stories set in a time long passed, you might also enjoy the tale.I found the characters well written and could relate to the heroine's emotions as she dealt with the blows given her and got frustrated with the teenage behaviour of young Malta and her self-absorbed father. There are several separate but converging strands, that will no doubt come together in the final volume. This books ends with lots of loose ends, but I get the sense that it has been written as a very very long story broken into 3 volumes.

I came into Robin Hobb's worlds through her original Assassin's trilogy which was very good but had a sort of epic slow burn pace that felt a differ from my usual reading habits.That's not the case here. The story starts and pulls you into new adventures in the same world but to the south of the 6 Duchies. In a realm of seafaring, trade, old families, intrigue and change. I love the concept of these magical ships (I'm not spoiling things here, the name of the book does it already) and the characters attached to them.Great story, great characters that pull your emotions this way and that. I'm engrossed in this series and am currently reading the second one. Can't wait.

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!!

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