Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb

26 reviews

readwithbells's review against another edition

4.0

I give this a tentative four stars. I love (and hate) the characters of this book, I am incredibly invested in their lives and relationships. Hobb transitions well into the third person POV and the world she creates is expansive and devastating and real. I don’t think I have ever viciously hated a character as much as I hate Kyle. The depiction of domestic violence is difficult but well done, as is the depiction of how women slowly lose their power in an oppressive place. It reads like a punch in the gut, hard to escape into so be aware of that going into it, but it’s a good story. 

That being said. A primary focus of this book is slavery, specifically the slave trade on ships. While I do think Hobb did her research and had good intentions, I also take issue with a white woman writing so extensively on slavery. It’s just a little icky?? And very hard for me to put into words. I think this book would have been just as good, if not better, without slavery as a plot device. I think it’s done tastefully, truly. But it gives me the ick and that’s a real bummer because I want to love these books and I am weirdly conflicted in my feelings for them. These are older books and I can acknowledge that Hobb was likely bringing attention to something not a lot of other authors were talking about, but at the same time it gives me an uncomfortable feeling. So. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, and Slavery

Moderate: Sexual assault, Blood, and Vomit

lunafrmoon's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Misogyny, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Bullying, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Excrement

kaziaroo's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Excrement, and Vomit

Multiple graphic limb amputations

kfox's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

nadia's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

My first 5⭐️ fiction read of 2022 and my favourite book of the year so far!

The last Hobb I read was in July 2020 and when I started this one I berated myself for leaving her books for so long, given how much I loved the Farseer Trilogy!

I was so immersed in this world, loved the variety of characters and storylines, and all of the different aspects covered. I'm so curious to see what happens next!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Slavery, Violence, and Blood

kabrahams's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

5.0

Going into this knowing we wouldn't be following Fitz, I wasn't sure how much I'd like it. But as soon as I started reading, I started asking myself, "Is this the best Robin Hobb book yet?" The characters, the many interweaving plots, the new types of magic--amazing! My heart broke so many times for Wintrow and Althea. I hated Kyle more than I've hated many a villain. And after being disappointed by my pirate books I now know that THIS is exactly what I'm looking for in a pirate book. Can't wait to read more of liveships, sea serpents, pirates, traders, wizard wood, arranged marriage, ancient pacts, and whatever other goodness Robin has in store for us in the rest of this trilogy!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Bullying

Minor: Sexual assault

rabbitreid's review against another edition

adventurous emotional tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery

Moderate: Cursing, Death, Blood, and Alcohol

rayreyes's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Excrement, Murder, Gaslighting, and Colonisation

Minor: Bullying, Blood, Excrement, and Alcohol

wolfthorn's review

adventurous dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

It's taken me 19 days, but I've finally finished this book. All 897 pages of it. It wouldn't have taken me so long if I'd not switched to reading something else part-way through! I am rather glad to be done with it, it is so incredibly grim. The entire book is full of misfortune and there's only one truly happy moment that I can think of. There are so many irritating characters, even the main two - Althea and Wintrop - are annoying. I think possibly the Vivacia is about the best character in the whole book. But the most infuriating bit was the fact that the book just stopped. It didn't finish with some parts of the storyline resolved, no, it just ended. Grrr. I don't know if I will read the second book. Part of me wants to see Althea get her ship and Kyle get the comeuppance he truly deserves, but I don't know if I can deal with any more misery. Especially not another 850 pages of it.  

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Addiction, Chronic illness, Drug use, and Death of parent

Minor: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Excrement, and Alcohol

genny's review against another edition

adventurous emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This was so good. I knew going in that the Liveship Traders trilogy is very well-loved, so I had high expectations. Hobb did not disappoint (this was my first book by her!). The worldbuilding is there and you can see the overarching plot forming nicely, but the character work is where this book really shines. Every conversation is gripping and there wasn't a POV that I didn't enjoy (except maybe for the serpents, but those chapters were short and I'm sure they're important, haha). Yes, some of the characters were incredibly frustrating (Malta!! Kyle, the bane of my existence!) but I was still invested in where the story would take them. All I want is to protect Wintrow! 😩

It was daunting to pick up an 800+ page book but the length truly is justified. I'm eager to continue with the next book as there was no resolution at all here - the threads of the protagonists' fates just begin to connect towards the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Blood, and Trafficking

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, and Death of parent

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault