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A review by ostrava
The Mad Ship by Robin Hobb
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The title of this very long book refers to two ships actually, the more obviously “mad” ship Paragon and the corrupted and scarred Vivacia, to whom the efforts of everyone in the Vestrit family seem to have been dedicated since book one. Strangely enough, and in spite of its omnious title, two things happen in this part of the story: virtually everyone grows for the better except for one character (who is in turn corrupted by a bad influence himself), while their life circumstances take a turn for the worst. No one is safe from the “mad“ events of this terrific sequel.
It’s such a strong middle book. What usually happens, especially in the fantasy genre, where plotting is prioritized at the cost of everything else, is that the second book in a trilogy is the weakest one, because it’s merely there to advance the plot. I have a hard time believing that that will be the case of Mad Ship, and I only hesitate in this line of thought because I expect great things from Ships of Destiny, just like how I expected great things from Mad Ship.
Again, it is everything I await to find in a good fantasy book when I open it. There are those who will complain about its pacing, but only because they do not understand, or do not want to engage with, Hobb’s patient storytelling.
Stop focusing on the “plot” and the “adventure” for a moment and you will be rewarded with ridiculously well crafted narratives. This is what it’s all about! Scene by scene Hobb crafts a very vivid and true inner and outer world for her characters. EVERYTHING they do matters for the plot because the characters are the plot! But the vision here is, crucially, only accessible if you accept the ride for what it is. I probably failed to do that with the Farseer trilogy, though then it was apparent for me that the trilogy was flawed, which hindered some of my enjoyment. The good news is that The Liveship Traders is significantly stronger than the Farseer. Most of fantasy fantasy for that matter...
How was I so blind to Hobb’s charms before?
It’s such a strong middle book. What usually happens, especially in the fantasy genre, where plotting is prioritized at the cost of everything else, is that the second book in a trilogy is the weakest one, because it’s merely there to advance the plot. I have a hard time believing that that will be the case of Mad Ship, and I only hesitate in this line of thought because I expect great things from Ships of Destiny, just like how I expected great things from Mad Ship.
Again, it is everything I await to find in a good fantasy book when I open it. There are those who will complain about its pacing, but only because they do not understand, or do not want to engage with, Hobb’s patient storytelling.
Stop focusing on the “plot” and the “adventure” for a moment and you will be rewarded with ridiculously well crafted narratives. This is what it’s all about! Scene by scene Hobb crafts a very vivid and true inner and outer world for her characters. EVERYTHING they do matters for the plot because the characters are the plot! But the vision here is, crucially, only accessible if you accept the ride for what it is. I probably failed to do that with the Farseer trilogy, though then it was apparent for me that the trilogy was flawed, which hindered some of my enjoyment. The good news is that The Liveship Traders is significantly stronger than the Farseer. Most of fantasy fantasy for that matter...
How was I so blind to Hobb’s charms before?