Mad Ship (Liveship Traders Series #2) » (REPRINT)

Robin Hobb is the author of the Farseer, Liveship Traders, and Tawny Man trilogies. She has also written as Megan Lindholm. She currently resides in Tacoma, Washington.

In the second breathtaking volume of Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders trilogy, a new tide of glory and terror sweeps forward the story of the Vestrit clan, their liveship Vivacia, and all who strive to possess her.

As the ancient tradition of Bingtown's Old Traders slowly erodes under the cold new order of a corrupt ruler, the Vestrits anxiously await the return of their liveship—a rare magic ship carved from sentient wizardwood, which bonds the ships mystically with those who sail them. And Althea Vestrit waits even more avidly, living only to reclaim the ship as her lost inheritance and captain her on the high seas. But the Vivacia has been seized by the ruthless pirate captain Kennit, who holds Althea's nephew and his father hostage. Althea and her onetime sea mate Brashen resolve to liberate the liveship—but their plan may prove more dangerous than leaving the Vivacia in Kennit's ambitious grasp....

KLIATT

The second volume in this fantasy author's doorstop trilogy about the sentient Liveships and those who would captain them, Mad Ship more than delivers on the promise of the first volume. Having established a rich milieu and a strong cast of characters in Ship of Magic (reviewed in KLIATT in July 1999), Hobb does much more than just push these characters around while she winds up the tension in preparation for volume three. In this outing, the Liveship Vivacia has been seized by the pirate Kennit, while young Wintrow, who as a blood-member of the Vestrit family has a unique claim on Vivacia, struggles to hold her loyalty and keep her nature from being distorted. Althea Vestrit, who has long striven to become Vivacia's captain, teams up with Brashen Trell in the risky enterprise of rehabilitating Paragon, the beached "mad ship" of the title, and use him to rescue Vivacia. As always, the sea serpents roil and wander, trying to recall their history and return to their place of renewal. Hobb truly justifies the sometimes-wearisome fantasy conventions of extreme length and myriad viewpoints in this sequel—the characterizations and overall quality of the writing are excellent and the story keeps the reader's attention. (The Liveship Traders, Bk. 2) KLIATT Codes: SA—Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 1999, Bantam/Spectra, 850p, 18cm, $6.99. Ages 16 to adult. Reviewer: Lisa Firke; Freelance Writer, Wallingford, CT, July 2000 (Vol. 34 No. 4)