The Mad Ship (The Liveship Traders, Book 2)

The Mad Ship is a book by American writer Robin Hobb, the second in her Liveship Traders Trilogy. It appeared in the USA as simply Mad Ship. Contents. 1 Plot; 2 Reception; 3 Editions; 4 References; 5 External links.
Table of contents

She's a young liveship compared to Paragon and so she's more easily influenced by the people on board her and in this book she certainly starts to become something other than what she always believed she'd be. She's a character who goes through a lot of growth in this book with the help of one of the Vestrit's and she becomes a much better woman because of the help she gets.

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She's a strong-willed fighter and she resents people looking down on her or helping her, but when she does let someone in she's kind and considerate too. I enjoyed seeing the way that her personality evolved with a little nurturing and help. She;s a fairly mysterious character and as yet her origins are unknown by the reader, yet she brings new advice and perspectives to the traders and she tries her best to help maintain the old ways of Bingtown.

Many of the thought-provoking writing came from conversations between her and others in the book, particularly Paragon, and I enjoyed that immensely. She's an intelligent and well-qualified advisor to the Satrap but when the relationship between Jamaillia Satrap's home and Bingtown start to deteriorate she sees it as her chance to slip from his clutches as she hates the Satrap and run for freedom.

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Things don't end up going the way she had hoped, but she's a resourceful character and she uses her intelligence to ensure a future for herself, however she needs to. We see glimpses of their passage as they swim around in search of someone who will help them. The story of the Serpents is mystical and magical, and in this book we begin to see all the strands of the various stories coalesce into a great woven story involving not only this book but also elements from the previous Farseer books.

They became a key interest to me particularly in the later half of this book! On the whole everything in this book just worked out so perfectly and so well for me that I couldn't imagine a better story. I was hooked, captivated and enjoying every moment of the ride along with the characters. We really see them develop, and we believe in them and their actions because of how genuine they feel to us. I'd highly recommend this series to one and all who love fantasy because there's so many cool ideas and the pacing and plot is brilliant.

The chaarctaers are stellar, and the book as a whole was fatastc. There's still so much to learn in book 3 Ship of Destiny - which I have already started as i was too hooked and excited not to and I cannot wait to see how everything with the families finishes up. View all 5 comments. Jul 27, ijeoma Agbaje rated it really liked it. Those are the facets of a full life but not single facet defines the jewel" - Ship of Destiny View all 6 comments. I enjoyed the second book in the Liveship Traders series, though the pacing was less satisfying than in Ship of Magic. I very much enjoyed watching Malta's character unfold, and asked myself several times if I'll ever stop wanting to strangle her.

Hobb created amazing characters for this trilogy and they all have a lot of depth and especially the villains are three dimensional and definitely the heroes of their own stories. None of the antagonists are doing anything just so for the sake of being I enjoyed the second book in the Liveship Traders series, though the pacing was less satisfying than in Ship of Magic.

None of the antagonists are doing anything just so for the sake of being the antagonist. They all believe they're doing the right thing.

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This adds a ridiculous amount of depth to the entire story. Finding out more about the liveships was a punch to the gut. Definitely worth a read! Nov 20, Shelby M. One of the best books I've read this year. I'm dying to start Ship of Destiny but I know I can't yet. Excellent character development, evenly paced plot, interesting world building and some jaw dropping revelations.

As a storyteller, Robin Hobb really knows how to engage the reader and make them care deeply for her characters. This book continues straight on from the previous without missing a beat. Its the second book of a unified trilogy so in that regard it does suffer a little from being the middle book in that it doesn't have the same novelty as the first nor the resolution of the last. Havi Excellent character development, evenly paced plot, interesting world building and some jaw dropping revelations.

Having said that, by no means does this book simply tread water while we wait to read the third book. The plot is advancing, the characters are continuing to grow and develop, and the lore of the world, especially the dragon lore, is being expanded. We visit the Rain Wilds, we see the Elderling cities, and we learn of the relationship between the serpents and dragons and liveships and we even learn more of the dragons of the Farseer Trilogy. As the title would suggest, the liveship Paragon gets more of a focus this book. We get glimpses of why he is the way he is and we get some clues of what may have happened to tip him over the edge.

Everything is not as it seems. Malta's character was a surprise. She starts off as naive and rather shallow but out of all the characters she probably grew the most as the events in the larger world eventually threaten to swamp her hopes and dreams and childhood fancies. As any who has read the Farseer Trilogy and the first book of this trilogy may know, Hobb likes to pound her characters on the anvil of adversity. Development for her characters comes at a cost that often has me wincing. Last book she took a finger and a leg, and this book there are more losses and sacrifices to be endured.

George RR Martin may like to kill off his characters to keep the suspense real, but Hobb does the same by letting them live - not that all will live of course. Thoroughly enjoyable A solid 4 to 4. Gracias por todo esto. View all 4 comments. This is the second book in the Liveship Trader's trilogy and I thought it was brilliant! As I read more of Robin Hobb's work I am slowly falling more and more in love. This trilogy follows many characters and spans not only land but the ocean as well. We primarily follow a young lady called Althea as she attempts to save her families liveship a liveship is a ship that has a living figurehead.

Not only do we sail the sea with Althea, we also hear of pirates, dragons and magical tree-top cities. This trilogy honestly has such an array of exciting things going on I'm sure there is something for everyone to love! Despite taking me almost a full two months to read, I still found this book absolutely compelling. Characters so, so strong - Robin Hobb's bread and butter is of course her characters. This series continues to blow Farseer out of the water and I liked Farseer, but recognize its many weaknesses. Probably not even close. Now excuse me while I run to start Ship of Destiny!

But still, this series continues to be everything I want in fantasy, and more. Jan 06, Mark Harrison rated it it was amazing. Superb middle book of an amazing series. Excellent development of some of the major characters, particularly Malta from bitch to fave, sea battles, romance, political intrigue, revelations about where the River Wild Traders obtain wizardwood, betrayal and some sad losses. A brilliant series - right up there with the best I have read. Hay un par de cositas que no puedo dejar de mencionar y que no me gustaron del libro: Esta clase de libros es por lo que amo a la autora.

Supera al antecesor con creces: Un descubrimiento mejor que el otro. Confirmado, fue publicado por primera vez en el ' En este, rompieron los esquemas, los retorcieron, se retractaron, perdieron coherencia consigo mismos y volvieron al camino de antes. Eso es crear buenos personajes. Bueno, eso no ocurre con este.

Si bien se abre el paso para Las Naves del Destino , muchas cosas tienen su comienzo y su fin en este segundo tomo. Una de las diferencias entre el bien y el mal es que el bien puede soportar la existencia del mal y sobrevivirlo. El mal, en cambio, termina siempre derrotado por el bien. Apparently all it takes is pages of setup for Hobb to get into her stride. All of the setup that she did in the first book pays off here, especially since the characters are coming together and there are fewer narrative threads to follow.

I'm really glad I stuck with this series, because it's really original and full of interesting, nuanced female characters. The one exception to that rule is Amber, who I'm guessing view spoiler [will be some sort of deus ex machina, or what Matt calls the "Kalinda" from The Good Wife - if there's an insurmountable problem, Kalinda solves it by the end of the minute episode, and Amber is already too convenient for the plot hide spoiler ].

But that's a minor quibble. The character development that she goes through here is certainly believable, but I wish it had been a bit more gradual - it's like a switch gets flipped and she immediately thinks differently about her situation. The best Malta moment is when she snaps at the Satrap and recognizes the tone as the one that her grandmother used to use with her.


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They're basically scavengers living in the forest, which is interesting but not quite as mysterious as I was hoping. I wish there had been more to them. Also, are we done with the contract between Bingtown and the Rain Wild, or is that going to come up in the third book? I understand he's still in his formative years, but the chain of piety that led him to the slave rebellion in the last book and then to belief in Kennit is just one big sigh. I sort of side with Kyle Haven on this one. He got everyone in the crew killed. He has not really redeemed himself in this book, though some of my favorite scenes are between Wintrow and Etta.

I love this conceit. I am dying to know what happened to Paragon , though I have many guesses. There's a lot of noise about propriety and tradition, but that rings the most hollow for me. This is definitely not a fantasy of manners. It's more interesting to think about Althea's acceptance as a woman on the ship, and less interesting to think about "is Reyn's courtship proper? It just doesn't feel fully fleshed out. The adventures of the Vestrits, the liveships and Kennit continue.

And what a mystery! Also to reiterate from my book one review this series smokes Farseer where I hated Fitz. The characters are so much more robust and layered. Looking forward book three to see how it all turns out. Oh Kennit, you magnificent bastard. You never cease to amaze me with your ingenious cunning, charismatic leadership, and downright selfishness. You are absolutely horrible, yet I can't help but cheer you on.

Las batallas en islas de arenas blancas y aguas turquesa, el sabor de la vida portuaria y casi al final el mundo del bosque lluvioso de los Rain Wilds. Soy fan de Wintrow. Kennit, el pirata seductor, muestra atisbos de humanidad palpable durante la guerra entre su ego, su rencor y su carisma. Reyn pasa al frente del escenario desde el papel relativamente secundario del libro anterior. Amber se trae algo entre manos.

Hobb efectivamente no sabe mucho de barcos. When you read a page book like The Mad Ship , writing a review like this seems so inadequate in capturing the essence of the book. If you love rich high fantasy novels, I highly suggest adding Robin Hobb's books to your to-be-read pile. It may be daunting because they're so long, but they are well worth it.

It's a direct continuation of the first book, Ship of Magic , and it provides us with answers to questions we were left with When you read a page book like The Mad Ship , writing a review like this seems so inadequate in capturing the essence of the book. It's a direct continuation of the first book, Ship of Magic , and it provides us with answers to questions we were left with the first time. We learn more about the liveships' history and creation, the mysterious sea serpents, and the Rain Wild Traders. We even visit the Rain Wilds and find more about the fascinating pasts of the Elderlings!

Book One of the Fall of Shannara. A Conjuring of Light. The Lady of the Lake. An Echo of Things to Come. The Vagrant The Vagrant Trilogy.

The Mad Ship by Robin Hobb

The Third Soul Omnibus One. The Heart of What Was Lost. The Bear and The Nightingale. The Fate of the Tearling. The Broken Mage Frostborn 8. A Closed and Common Orbit. A Tear in the Sky. The Rain Wild Chronicles: The Complete 4-Book Collection. The Farseer Series Books 2 and 3: The Complete Tawny Man Trilogy: The Complete Soldier Son Trilogy: The Complete Liveship Traders Trilogy: The Wilful Princess and the Piebald Prince. The Book of Swords.

The Players of Luck. How to write a great review. The review must be at least 50 characters long. And Althea, who always expected to inherit her father's ship, hatches the most daring plan of all with the Vicica's former first mate Brashen, to take the abandoned and blind liveship Paragon-who killed two of his crews and is mentally unstable-out to find Vivica and attempt to ransom her back or recapture her.

At the same time political strife is stirring with Bingtown's homeland as their leader, a young and foolish man, prepares to visit the colony. Up the strange rain wilds river the origins of the fantastically strong wizardwood liveship are constructed out of is hinted at. In Bingtown itself trouble is caused by the increasing slave population. A strange prophetess with a way with wood befriends Althea and Malta and joins on to save Vivica.

And the sea serpents continue their mysterious but all important search for both "she who remembers" and an illusive goal none of them can quite recall-but know the absolute importance of all the same This is really a great book and only enhances the mystery and overall excitement of the trilogy further. It's every bit as wonderfully descriptive as "Ship of Magic" in both landscape, history and characters but fortunately some of the more hateful characters have way less face time in this novel, or actually manage to grow a little so you don't feel like smacking them. I enjoyed this immensely and raced eagerly towards the third.

And have the last book "Ship of Destiny" ready at hand-the ending is such you won't want to waste any time. Kindle Edition Verified Purchase. I'd read that for many Robin Hobb fans, this was their favorite series. As a firm Fitz and Fool fan, I'd have to say this series is not my favorite. With the exception of Althea's dead father, Amber and the Mad Ship, all the characters are somewhat reprehensible.

Selfish, lacking in empathy, lacking in basic morals, etc. Despite their human frailty, this wide cast of characters take us on a wild ride through Bingtown, the pirate isles and many more magical places so well described that they feel real. One person found this helpful. See all reviews. Most recent customer reviews.


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Liveship Traders Trilogy Review & Discussion

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