Reviews tagging Blood

Ship of Magic, by Robin Hobb

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

Moderate: Sexual assault, Blood, and Vomit

lunafrmoon's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Bullying, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

Minor: Excrement and Suicidal thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

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: Violence, Slavery, Blood, and Gore

emily_mh's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

4.25

I definitely struggled to get into this one. Although the pirate-y/sea-faring vibes are immaculate, the pacing was incredibly slow as there wasn't much plot direction for most of the book. I did, however, enjoy the pacing of Hobb's world-building, which was layered and intricate. I also loved the variety of POVs we got, although I absolutely despise Kyle and Malta. I'm really intrigued to see where the trilogy is going to go in the next book! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/injury detail, Misogyny, Child abuse, Slavery, Medical content, Sexism, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Murder, Blood, Animal death, Physical abuse, Confinement, Sexual content, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Drug use, Death, Violence, Death of parent, and Ableism

Minor: Alcohol, Child death, Suicide, Excrement, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Fatphobia, Body horror, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, War, Self harm, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Bullying, Police brutality, Body shaming, Toxic friendship, Torture, Sexual assault, Rape, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, and Pedophilia

Moderate content warnings for loss of a loved one, illness, toxic masculinity, eye trauma. Minor content warnings for epidemic, suicidal ideation, a depressive episode, child brides, a stillborn birth, menstruation, hunting, hazing, earthquake, insects.

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

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: Alcohol, Blood, Cursing, and Death

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

Minor: Alcohol, Bullying, Blood, and Excrement

wolfthorn's review against another edition

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

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

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