Ship of Magic: The Liveship Traders, Book 1

The Liveship Traders, Book 1

By: Robin Hobb

Narrated by: Anne Flosnik

Length: 35 hrs and 20 mins

Publisher's summary

From the author of the classic Farseer trilogy, Ship of Magic is the first part of the Liveship Traders. Set in a land bordering the Six Duchies, Robin Hobb begins her epic of pirates, talking ships, magic, sea serpents, slave revolts, dashing heroes and bloody battles.

Wizardwood, a sentient wood. The most precious commodity in the world. Like many legendary wares, it comes only from the Rain River Wilds.

But how can one trade with the Rain Wilders, when only a liveship, fashioned from wizardwood, can negotiate the perilous waters of the Rain River? Rare and valuable, a liveship will quicken only when three members, from successive generations, have died on board. The liveship Vivacia is about to undergo her quickening, as Althea Vestrit’s father is carried on deck in his death-throes. Althea waits for the ship that she loves more than anything else in the world to awaken. Only to discover that the Vivacia has been signed away in her father’s will to her brutal brother-in-law, Kyle Haven. . .

Others plot to win, or steal, a liveship. The Paragon, known by many as the Pariah, went mad, turned turtle and drowned his crew. Now he lies, blind, lonely and broken on a deserted beach. But greedy men have designs to restore him, to sail the waters of the Rain Wild River once more.

©2012 Robin Hobb (P)2012 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

“Hobb is one of the great modern fantasy writers … what makes her novels as addictive as morphine is not just their imaginative brilliance but the way her characters are compromised and manipulated by politics.” ( The Times)

“Assassin's Apprentice:A gleaming debut” ( Publishers Weekly)

“Assassin's Quest: 'Assassin's Quest achieves a bittersweet, powerful complexity rare in fantasy” ( Locus)

“Robin Hobb writes achingly well” ( SFX)

“Praise for The Liveship Traders series: 'Even better than the Assassin books. I didn't think that was possible” (George R R Martin)

“Hobb is a remarkable storyteller.” ( Guardian)

Great series w/ pirates, talking ships & serpents

What did you love best about Ship of Magic: The Liveship Traders, Book 1?

Talking ships, Sea Serpents, Pirates....

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

This book is not my cup of tea, but it has enough elements to intrigue me and get me to consider buying the next book.

What An Epoc!

What did you love best about Ship of Magic: The Liveship Traders, Book 1?

The scale of the story is vast and it is one of those books that is impossible to put down once you pick it up.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Ship of Magic: The Liveship Traders, Book 1?

The introduction of the live ships

Have you listened to any of Anne Flosnik’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This was the first performance by Anne Flosnik I heard

Any additional comments?

Stick with this one, you wont regret it!

not the best narrator

loved the story but it took a long time to get over the narrators voice. it just doesn't fit. 1.2 speed made it bearable.

Excellent book let down by an abysmal narrator

Would you be willing to try another one of Anne Flosnik’s performances?

Hell no. Not if you paid me.
She is slow, monotone and entirely boring as a narrator

Any additional comments?

Speeding the audio up to 1.1x speed improves things significantly but this would be best fixed with a better narrator.

Truly awful narrator

Would you try another book from Robin Hobb and/or Anne Flosnik?

I'd certainly read a book from the same author, but not the narrator unless for a very specific reason.

Was Ship of Magic: The Liveship Traders, Book 1 worth the listening time?

The story is good, the narrator almost made me give up.

Anne Flosnik does a good job

The story is stunning and impossible to lay down. The reader is really very good, although she does take a few minutes of getting used to after listening to the farseer books.

Disappointing reader

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

I purchased this book, but was finally very disappointed. The person reading this book is not very good.

What other book might you compare Ship of Magic: The Liveship Traders, Book 1 to and why?

In comparison, Nick Taylor, who read "Fool's Fate" from the same author, was much much better.

What didn’t you like about Anne Flosnik’s performance?

The tone of voice employed by Anne Flosnik is very monotonous and slow. Sometimes I even struggle to understand the text. For these reasons, I was not able to finish listening to the book.

I'm not sure I'm gonna make it

The narration is horrendous! I cannot concentrate on anything that is being said because the narration is very bad. I don't know what they were trying to do with the way the narrator is speaking but it is just horrible!

Not for me

Neither the story nor the narrator was for me, I think. Other people who enjoy such books as the Song of Ice and Fire series will probably love this. Too much sexism and violence in the story's society for my liking. I only cared for three of the characters, Althea, Ophelia, and Vivacia, and I strongly disliked the rest cast. I would ho as far ad to say I hated the other named characters. The narrator put a strange melody to the sentences when she read, it sounded a bit like how we speak in Norwegian, but I didn't care for it in English at all. It made most sentences sound like questions, and there were a lot of strange, long pauses. I'm sure other people might love it, though!

If you can read the book, don't go for audio

This narrator is appalling! I mean seriously appalling. She reads as with no intonation other than elongating the last word of every sentence to extraordinary length. Then the voices she makes for the characters is just awful, I mean really awful.
Just read the book if you are able, the audio version is unlistenable