Why must we leave now? ' Ship of Magic: Prologue In a hundred years, winter has never come here. Shreever spoke for them all when she asked, ‘Why? The water is warm, the feeding easy. ' They all looked up at him from the sea-bottom, their great eyes of green and gold and copper unwinking. This is a wonderful notion and adds certain freshness to the story that remains throughout. Once three family members of separate generations have died on board the ship it will become “alive” and share the memories of the deceased and become a being in it’s own right. The event upon which the story is central is the “quickening” of the liveship Vivacia. There is a distinctly nautical feel to the Liveship Traders but it is in no way important that you have a passion for the sea as the story could be based on land, sea or air, it really wouldn’t matter. In just a few chapters the characters are well drawn and take on a life of their own. The story is unique, the character development excellent. This is no small compliment as I find Robin Hobbs’s use of the English language superb and a joy to read. I was not disappointed in fact I found the writing of even higher calibre. First published in 1998, the series is set far to the south of The Six Duchies, the setting for the excellent Farseer Trilogy.Īfter having read and thoroughly enjoyed the Farseer trilogy I was expecting more of the same again. The Ship of Magic is book one of the Liveship Traders trilogy written by Robin Hobb.

The ship of magic