Ship of Magic (The Liveship Traders 1) - Robin Hobb

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⭐ 9.0/10

(Originally written by Tim)

Hobb wrote the Farseer trilogy, which I loved, and when I realized she had 4 other trilogies in the same universe I was intimidated, thinking I had already read the best books in the whole series. Well, I am delighted to say this trilogy is off to a very strong start and could even dethrone the Farseer books for me.

The plot of these books is wacky, and the connections to the other books so minor in a way I really love. This book is based around a trader family that owns a Liveship, a ship that basically gets a soul and can talk once 3 members of the family from 3 straight generations die on the boat. Once the ship is alive it has supernatural sailing abilities, so the family can get rich. As I said, weird premise, but this book is not hokey in any way. In fact, this feels as close to ASOIAF as I have gotten. The family members and dynamics are distinct and compelling. We meet them all individually to start, get to understand their relationships, then they are all in the same place for us to get the group dynamics, then they split up in smaller groups. I thought each story thread was as exciting as the others, and I started every chapter excited to get the next POV.

The magic system is intense, but it isn't used for spectacular battles and epic moments, more for interesting character-driven conflicts. The books moves pretty slowly, but it feels like so much happened, and I feel a connection to these characters I haven't felt in a long time. They feel memorable in a way where 10 years from now I will remember specific moments from each of their stories.

The story has a lot to say around slavery and freedom and gender and paying for the sins of your forefathers, very similar to ASOIAF. Its a gritty world, with off hand mentions of the lands from the other books I have read, and I am exciting to see if these connections grow deeper. I am taking a break from the series so I don't burn through it too quickly, but I can't wait to get in to the next one.

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