1. By accident. If true, be informed as such.
2. You want to know whether Robin Hobb's The Mad Ship (1999) is as good as Ship of Magic? Yes. Go—no, Run! to your favorite bookshop—and buy it.
Want to know a little more, read on.
The Mad Ship picks up precisely where Ship of Magic ended. It doesn't miss a beat. All of the characters readers are familiar with, at least those who survived Ship of Magic, return. Hobb adds one or two more to round things off, notably a courtesan within the satrap's inner court to give the reader a glimpse of the happenings there, as well as more light on the life of a woodworker whose skills come in particularly handy for one major plot thread. These two become particularly important as The Mad Ship ratchets up political tension; where Ship of Magic effectively used the Vestrid family affairs as its launch pad for antagonism, The Mad Ship puts more spice in the stew with a kingdom in crisis.
The Mad Ship really does feel like the next wall of scenes in the tableaux room, such is the seamless nature which it picks up and carries forward the Liveship series. There was one particular character about-face that felt a bit rushed, a bit Hallmark. But it's after such a traumatic event that I have to shove it to the gray area of: Maybe? Everything else is as organic as Ship of Magic. Things are constantly zigging when they should be zagging, but always in accordance with the foundation stones of story Hobb has already laid. Legend-level story crafting.
And Hobb's exquisite presentation of social scenes, dialogue, and emotions through gestures, body language, and indirect expression, continues. I'm gushing, but it's masterful. The reader empathizes with every character and scene, for better and worse, for immoral and righteous, for psychotic and virtuous, for... It's amazing.
In the end, The Mad Ship had me in the same rarefied air as Ship of Magic—giddy reading and giddy in anticipation of the glorious story still ahead. What will happen? How will all of this pan out? What sly twists does Hobb have up her sleeve? Oh goody-goody-goody, I don't want this to end. Part of me feels shame writing those words. After all, peculiction doesn't use the word 'giddy'. It's in our charter. We are a noble, snooty blog. We don't take such things lightly. And yet I can't wait for Ship of Destiny, third and final book in the Liveship Traders series. Eeeeeeee!!!
Smooths hair, straightens tie, takes a deep breath, and... opens the door to the real world.
2. You want to know whether Robin Hobb's The Mad Ship (1999) is as good as Ship of Magic? Yes. Go—no, Run! to your favorite bookshop—and buy it.
Want to know a little more, read on.
The Mad Ship picks up precisely where Ship of Magic ended. It doesn't miss a beat. All of the characters readers are familiar with, at least those who survived Ship of Magic, return. Hobb adds one or two more to round things off, notably a courtesan within the satrap's inner court to give the reader a glimpse of the happenings there, as well as more light on the life of a woodworker whose skills come in particularly handy for one major plot thread. These two become particularly important as The Mad Ship ratchets up political tension; where Ship of Magic effectively used the Vestrid family affairs as its launch pad for antagonism, The Mad Ship puts more spice in the stew with a kingdom in crisis.
The Mad Ship really does feel like the next wall of scenes in the tableaux room, such is the seamless nature which it picks up and carries forward the Liveship series. There was one particular character about-face that felt a bit rushed, a bit Hallmark. But it's after such a traumatic event that I have to shove it to the gray area of: Maybe? Everything else is as organic as Ship of Magic. Things are constantly zigging when they should be zagging, but always in accordance with the foundation stones of story Hobb has already laid. Legend-level story crafting.
And Hobb's exquisite presentation of social scenes, dialogue, and emotions through gestures, body language, and indirect expression, continues. I'm gushing, but it's masterful. The reader empathizes with every character and scene, for better and worse, for immoral and righteous, for psychotic and virtuous, for... It's amazing.
In the end, The Mad Ship had me in the same rarefied air as Ship of Magic—giddy reading and giddy in anticipation of the glorious story still ahead. What will happen? How will all of this pan out? What sly twists does Hobb have up her sleeve? Oh goody-goody-goody, I don't want this to end. Part of me feels shame writing those words. After all, peculiction doesn't use the word 'giddy'. It's in our charter. We are a noble, snooty blog. We don't take such things lightly. And yet I can't wait for Ship of Destiny, third and final book in the Liveship Traders series. Eeeeeeee!!!
Smooths hair, straightens tie, takes a deep breath, and... opens the door to the real world.
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