Bingtown is a hub of exotic trade and home to a merchant nobility famed for its liveships—rare vessels carved from wizardwood, which ripens magically into sentient awareness. The fortunes of one of Bingtown's oldest families rest on the newly awakened liveship Vivacia.
For Althea Vestrit, the ship is her rightful legacy unjustly denied her—a legacy she will risk anything to reclaim. For Althea's young nephew Wintrow, wrenched from his religious studies and forced to serve aboard ship, Vivacia is a life sentence.
But the fate of the Vestrit family—and the ship—may ultimately lie in the hands of an outsider. The ruthless pirate Kennit seeks a way to seize power over all the denizens of the Pirate Isles...and the first step of his plan requires him to capture his own liveship and bend it to his will.
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"I liked the FitzChivalry books a lot, but if this first book is any indication, this series is even better, ranking right next to Game of Thrones. The characters are really interesting, not cliches--I particularly enjoy Wintrow--and even Kyle Haven has some sympathetic moments. The plot is compelling, and the setting--well, I have a thing for books set aboard ships, and if it is a magical living ship made of something called wizardwood, that makes it all the better."
— Gayla (5 out of 5 stars)
The characterizations are consistently superb.... Kudos to the author and encore!
— Booklist Starred Review" Awesome, why can't they make THIS a tv series? That I would to see! "
— Amber Lamont , 3/9/2020" I'm not a huge fan of ships and ship-lore, and some of the characters were quite distasteful (especially when shown from their point of view - Malta and Kevin come to mind), but the mystery of the Rain Wilds is offered up as a tantalizing tease and the main characters only get more well rounded and compelling as the book went on. After a somewhat lackluster start I am practically frothing at the mouth to read the next one. "
— Leslie, 2/19/2014" Good enough to make me check the next one out! "
— Nicole, 2/9/2014" The first third of Ship of Magic feels bogged down in exposition, which is understandable considering that it's the 800-page first novel in a trilogy. Once all the groundwork has been laid, however, the plot picks up steam and the characters really come to life. I'll definitely finish the Liveship Traders trilogy, but given the heft of the books, it'll take me a while to do it! "
— Autumnmoon, 1/30/2014" Giving up on this, as although I loved the idea of the liveship, I am just getting irritated by the characters. "
— Kate, 1/22/2014" Ship of Magic (The Liveship Traders, Book 1) by Robin Hobb (1999) "
— Jenn, 12/26/2013" When you dream about a book your reading you know it's a good book. "
— Jessica, 12/26/2013Robin Hobb was born in California but grew up in Alaska, where she learned to love the forest and the wilderness. She has lived most of her life in the Pacific Northwest and currently resides in Tacoma, Washington. She is the author of the Rain Wilds Chronicles, the Farseer trilogy, the Liveship Traders trilogy, and the Tawny Man trilogy. Her books under the pseudonym Megan Lindholm include Wizard of the Pigeons, The Windsingers, and Cloven Hooves. She is also the author of The Inheritance, a collection of stories written under both names. Her short fiction has won the Asimov’s Readers’ Award and been a finalist for both the Nebula and Hugo awards.
Anne Flosnik, a seasoned audiobook narrator, has over four hundred titles to her credit and several awards and distinctions, including AudioFile Earphones Awards, a USA Today Recommended Listening selection, an AudioFile “Best Narration of the Year” selection in 2009, and the American Library Association’s Special Services to Children Award. She has also been a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. She is an award-winning British actress with lead credits on stage, on television, and in commercials and voice-overs.