Ship of Magic: Book One of the Liveship Traders by Robin Hobb

The first in the trilogy of Robin Hobb’s ‘Liveship Traders’ series was a wonderfully self indulgent read for me. Science Fiction and Fantasy have always been the bedrock of the books that I read and always make me feel good!

The story revolves around the key characters and the decisions they take in the world Hobb sets her books in. The traders of Bingtown have certain priveleges in trading across the territories of Jamaillia and can create ‘Liveships’ from Wizardwood, ships that come alive after the death of three captains from the owning family. Liveships can help sail themselves, can access areas regular ships can’t and can outrun the ever increasing pirate attacks. This is the basic premise of the book and to go into ANY more detail would require something the length of an essay. The story centres around the liveship Vivacia and the characters which surround/come into contact with her and unfolds with a rare narrative grace.

 Robin Hobb's Six Duchies (Farseer Books) and Cursed Shores (Liveship Traders)

Hobb’s stories revolve around the consequences of actions on characters and how they move on and develop from choices over which they had no control. If you’ve never read any of her stuff before it can seem very hard going and does take a little getting used to. However by the time you have adjusted yourself to her prose the books become almost impossible to put down. This style also delves into the inner workings of any character and you feel a strong connection with what happens to them. This has the effect of shifting your mood alongside that of the characters; one area which I think can define a brilliantly written book (such as Sebastian Faulk’s Engleby and Marcus Zusak’s The Book Thief).

One of the key themes which runs through the book and which adds another layer of meaning and understanding to the experience is contradiction and resolution. The way in which the characters (underpinned by the dominant religion, the following of ‘Sa’) resolve conflicts is gone into in great depth and is a joy to read. The character of Wintrow best highlights this as an acolyte of ‘Sa’ and one who struggles to ‘choose’ between the surname of his father (Haven) and the surname of the trading family which ties him to the Liveship Vivacia (Vestrit).

Overall the book is hard work but more than worth it once the pace starts to pick up. I’m really looking forward to book 2 “The Mad Ship” once I can finally afford to buy books again!